Azure Gunvolt 2 is more Azure Gunvolt. It looks good, sounds good, and this time [i]plays[/i] good too. This game includes more levels and a second playable character with a full campaign. It is still plagued by some faults that existed in the first game, but they are not as severe here. It is the same run-and-gun Mega Man style gameplay, but with much better level design.
Narratively speaking, it assumes you have played the first game. If you care about the story, you will unfortunately need to play that to get the full experience, though the story itself is nothing special.
[h2]Story[/h2]
This game follows the same narrative structure as the first. You have an introduction with cutscenes, after which you can freely choose which boss level to do in any order. There are no cutscenes in between, so the story is easily ignorable. You have optional scenes you can view at the level select with your companion, which are also easily skippable. The scenes are charming at best. Finally, there is a big story segment at the end.
Additional story is told through mid-level dialogue, which is just as bad as in the first game. This time, you cannot accidentally miss it, which is an improvement. However, boss battle monologues are the worst part. Each time, you must sit and dodge just to read what they are saying, and it is not always trivial information either.
To get the final "true" endings, you must play the final level two times per character, which is a little annoying. There is no indication in-game that you must do this, other than the lacklustre default ending.
Both stories from Copen and Gunvolt feel quite threadbare. You do not learn much about either of them or their supporting cast. Bosses are not particularly well developed either beyond their single monologue. Some reappear slightly more often, but most meander and do not meaningfully contribute to the story. You also learn very little about the antagonists. The main antagonist of this game was a minor boss in the previous title, which is an interesting throwback but ultimately inconsequential.
The most enjoyable part of the story was the side interactions between Copen and Gunvolt's supporting cast. These are viewed awkwardly during level select, where you roll the RNG in the hopes of getting a non-repeat scene. It is clunky.
There is also a secret epilogue if you complete enough objectives. It is not really worth the effort to see.
[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
You can play as Gunvolt and Copen, each with distinct styles of play. General gameplay still revolves around high scores and is otherwise quite easy due to pre-evasion. Pre-evasion being on by default is a poor choice, as it feels like easy mode is enabled automatically. If you want any semblance of challenge, I recommend turning it off.
[h3]Gunvolt[/h3]
Gunvolt plays exactly the same as before, and it is just as good here as it was in the first game. You tag enemies, zap them, and win. High scores focus on zapping many enemies at once, getting simultaneous kills, and avoiding damage.
In contrast to the first game, Gunvolt’s levels are much less gimmicky with respect to his electricity. The most interesting twist is the water level, where using electricity drains all your EP if you are submerged. Otherwise, the levels are fairly generic, such as an ice stage.
[h3]Copen[/h3]
Copen is dramatically more agile than Gunvolt. His core mechanic revolves around his "bullets", which he uses to dash. If he collides with an enemy mid-dash, he gains Gunvolt’s auto lock-on, and firing his gun will hit that enemy from anywhere on the screen. Getting high scores with Copen mainly involves staying airborne, as that maintains the combo. Colliding with an enemy refreshes the used dash charge, encouraging you to dash into enemies consecutively. You dash extremely fast and far, making him a blast to play.
Copen’s levels lack strong gimmicks or themes based around his moveset. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is noticeable when compared to Gunvolt.
Most levels are reused between Gunvolt and Copen across both campaigns, with subtle differences. Each character has four unique levels out of eight or nine total. I suspect this reuse hampered the creativity of some stages.
[h3]Equipment System[/h3]
Gunvolt’s equipment system remains mostly the same as in the first game. He can equip modifications to his gun, his EP, two eye accessories, and more. Copen, on the other hand, uses a "memory" system. You can equip anything as long as you have enough memory slots, with each item consuming a significant amount. Some items are generic, such as damage reduction, while others grant movement abilities like double jump or air dash. Copen’s options feel more generic overall compared to Gunvolt’s.
[h3]Quests[/h3]
Quests are moderately improved. You no longer need to manually accept three every time you return to the level select, which is a massive quality-of-life improvement. However, they are still very monotonous. A quest such as "Complete stage under 11 minutes" unlocks "Complete stage under 8 minutes", forcing you to replay levels even if your best time already meets all criteria. This is quite annoying. Some quests are unique to specific levels, but they are not particularly interesting. They reward materials used to craft gear for each character.
[h3]Crafting[/h3]
After each level, you are given random materials. All of their sprites look very similar, making it difficult to tell materials apart. Beyond that, the RNG-based system means that if you want to craft something specific, you have no idea how to obtain the required materials. Are they tied to certain levels? Are some more likely to drop in specific stages? The game never explains this. The system is frustrating and actively interferes with engaging in the entire equipment system. This was also an issue in Gunvolt 1.
[h3]Level Design and Bosses[/h3]
Level design is vastly improved over the first game. In Gunvolt 1, many enemies fell from the ceiling directly onto you or fired from off-screen, resulting in unavoidable hits. This happens far less here. Cheap hits are much rarer, making S+ ranks feel more attainable.
However, cheap hits still exist, primarily in boss fights. Some bosses have poorly telegraphed moves, particularly when they suddenly jump or move across the arena in unpredictable ways. Many boss ultimate attacks function more like puzzles that must be learned rather than tests of pure reaction. This leans heavily into memorisation for high scores, which is not appealing to me. Gunvolt, and to some extent Copen, still suffers from poor visual clarity when using EP moves, leading to additional hits. These issues discourage me from learning levels deeply enough to pursue S+ ranks. The combo requirements are too strict given how often you can take unavoidable or barely visible hits.
On that note, S ranks are much easier to obtain than before. It feels far better than constantly earning B ranks, but it also feels overtuned. I frequently achieved S ranks on my first attempt. Despite performing very well, I often failed to reach S+. The gap between S and S+ feels massive. The ranking system would benefit from interim ranks, such as "SS" or "SSS", to provide a clearer sense of progression toward S+.
Once again, vocal tracks are tied to achieving a 1000+ combo, which is frustrating. You want to trigger them, but reaching the threshold is difficult, and maintaining it is often brief. This significantly undermines a large portion of the soundtrack.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
I highly recommend this over the first game. The levels are fun, and the new playstyle brought by Copen makes the experience feel fresh. The story is... present. It is plagued by many of the same issues as the first game, but overall this feels like what the original should have been.
