Platform: Switch
Publisher: INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Developer: INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Release Date: June 15, 2017
Mighty Gunvolt Burst is a 2D side-scrolling shooter game, developed and published by Inti Creates for Nintendo Switch.
Virtual Reality Gone Bad
Mighty Gunvolt Burst places both Beck (Mighty No. 9) and Gunvolt (Azure Striker Gunvolt) in a virtual reality world. After the events of Mighty No. 9, Dr. White places Beck in a training program to prepare Beck for future catastrophes. After training, Beck notices he can’t return to his world. A mysterious figure appears before Beck that claims to be Gunvolt, the Azure Striker. Gunvolt claims that the virtual world is under his control and challenges Beck to defeat the bosses and reach the final destination if he wants to escape.
In Gunvolt’s story, it takes place after events in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 as he and his ally, Joule are dragged into a virtual world, very similar to the training program Beck is in. At the end of the stage, a Shadow Beck approaches Gunvolt and tells him that he has no choice but to participate in the Super Mighty Battle Showdown if Gunvolt wants to leave the Virtual World. Gunvolt accepts Shadow Beck’s challenge and follows through with it.
Both characters have similar goals, their paths run parallel from each other until the next stage after defeating the eight stages in the game. There, they find themselves pinned against each other, not knowing that they were tricked into fighting one another.
After the battle, Teseo, a character from the Azure Striker Gunvolt series claims he copied Beck and Gunvolt and used the copies against them as part of his devious scheme to control the Virtual World. Afterward, Beck and Gunvolt apologized to each other for fighting and team up to go after Teseo in order to get back to their real worlds.
Gameplay
Mighty Gunvolt Burst is a side-scrolling shooter that plays just like Mega Man. You are first thrown into a stage after you choose between Gunvolt or Beck. With only a basic shooting weapon on hand, you adventure challenging stages to get to the stage’s boss.
The game has a system called “Burst Combo System”, which means when you defeat an enemy up-close, you score points. The more combos, the more points are added to your final score when you complete the stage.
While I have mostly played as Gunvolt in this review, his assistant, Joule has been of great help when playing against bosses in-game. Joule provides protection against attacks although, at times, she’s inconsistent when she shows up, especially when I am nearly out of health.
This game, in particular, doesn’t limit you as to how many times you can die until getting a “Game Over” screen. When you die, the game brings you back to your last checkpoint and you can start again where you left off. Playing on normal mode, after dying a couple times, my fruit inventory was back to what I had before, whether I used them up or not. Fruits in this game help you to recover your health once you’ve been hurt. While this is great for those who want to keep the pace going, it does takes some challenges out on what games like Mega Man once had.
While Mighty No. 9 had its own problems, the way Beck plays in Mighty Gunvolt Burst is what fans and myself have been looking for in a game as a “spiritual successor” to the Mega Man series.
Power Up!
The powers Beck and Gunvolt possess in their respective titles are gone in this game. You are left with regular bullets but can be customized. Changing the bullet size, speed, type, duration, piercing, spread on screen are just a few things you can do.
The depth on making your own customized weapon is pretty deep and unique. You have up to 24 bullets you can customize. While playing, you can switch and adjust between each customized bullet. While customizing, you are limited to a number of “cost points” (CP). The points let you use a certain amount of abilities to make your customized weapon. Once you start having better customizations available, stages will become easier.
One of the features early in the game lets you feel HD rumble to discover hidden areas in each stage. However, in order to use this ability, you have to equip it to your customized bullet and spend a few CP. The rumble felt great and would vibrate quicker as you came closer to the secret area. Other items you can obtain may not even be power-ups such as different colors of your character’s outfit.
Collect Them All!
After clearing each stage, you are rewarded with CP increases, rare item drops, and even pixel stickers. Pixel stickers don’t give you a boost in power or defense but they do change the icons of your custom bullets. You won’t be able to get every item on each stage in one shot, so you will have to go through a few rounds to get them all.
When playing, you complete “challenges” that doesn’t really reward you with much, mostly pixel stickers but it’s more of a self-accomplishment on mastering the game.
Replay Value
When you complete a stage, you’re given a letter score based on how well you did; timing, deaths, etc. To get that passing grade, expect to revisit the stage multiple times especially if you’re looking to collect all pixel stickers and items.
Portable Burst!
Playing Mighty Gunvolt Burst on the go is still a great experience. When playing, expect your battery life to diminish 20% for every hour, giving you about 5-hrs of gameplay in portable mode. A typical amount of battery life for the Switch although it seems a bit low for running a small-file game like Mighty Gunvolt Burst.
Conclusion
Mighty Gunvolt Burst pays homage to games like the Mega Man series and those before it. Definitely, a must have for those who enjoy retro-style games.
Mighty Gunvolt Burst is available now on the Nintendo eShop for $9.99.
