Azure Striker Gunvolt

Azure Striker Gunvolt

Developers
	Inti Creates
Release dates
Windows	August 28, 2015
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, DLC
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Scrolling, Side view
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Platform, Shooter
Art styles	Anime
Themes	Cyberpunk, Sci-fi, Supernatural
Series	GUNVOLT

GUNVOLT
Azure Striker Gunvolt	2015
Mighty Gunvolt	2015
Mighty Gunvolt Burst	2019
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX	2019
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2	2020
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2	2022
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3	2022

Warnings

This game requires an internet connection on launch.

Azure Striker Gunvolt is an anime action platform game developed by Inti Creates. It is the spiritual successor to the Mega Man Zero sub-series in the Mega Man franchise and the company's first independent title.

The game was initially developed for the Nintendo 3DS as a downloadable eShop title, however, its overseas version received a number of cut story elements and removed most of the game's voice-acting. A Steam version, released on August 28, 2015, was initially released to combat this issue with the 3DS version while adding some additional modes, however, at the time of its release the PC port was mostly a direct port of the 3DS version, complete with dual simulated screens and some actions requiring input from the mouse to use the clickable bottom screen. The initial localization issue in the 3DS version was later circumvented with a patch, and the game later received an updated compilation re-release with its sequel on the Nintendo Switch as the Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack in 2017 and PlayStation 4 in 2020. The PC version would eventually get a similar update from the Nintendo Switch port with Build 2765014 on May 11, 2018. It does, however, retain the lower resolution art assets and the reversed Confirm/Cancel button layout from the initial PC port; see Widescreen resolution and Input settings for more information. Some of the PC version's non-Japanese localizations are still based on the cutdown versions from the 3DS. The game also favors DirectInput-based controllers over XInput ones.

Unfortunately, an issue that has still yet to be addressed in the PC version is its broken Steam DRM implementation, which causes the game to not function at all if Steam is in Offline Mode. Its Simplified Chinese localization patch also introduced a bug where the game's Speedrun Mode cannot be accessed due to a "Memory Shortage" error, despite how much memory the player's computer has.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Humble Store
Steam		Game does not work with Steam in Offline Mode.

All versions require Steam DRM and an internet connection on launch.

Monetization

Type	Notes
DLC	Downloadable soundtracks.

DLC and expansion packs

No DLC or expansion pack information; you can edit this page to add it.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\save\gv_config.ini
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/388800/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\save\*.bin
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/388800/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

Launcher graphics settings.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		2D game.
Windowed		1024x576, 1280x720 or 1920x1080 only.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use Borderless Gaming. The launcher window will be stretched, however the game window will confine itself to the selected resolution.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		In-game V-sync however may cause frame-rate issues. See Very low frame-rate.
60 FPS		Frame rate cap has been raised to 60 FPS as of Build 2765014.
120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Build 2765014 features support for 16:9 widescreen and the menus all fit in a single screen similarly to the Nintendo Switch port.

Some assets are directly ported from 3DS version while others are remade in much higher resolution. Some pixel artwork assets are upscaled using bilinear filtering. See in-game general screenshot for demonstration, where buttons and text on sides are higher quality than the rest of the assets. Build 2765014 also does not include the higher quality art assets from the Switch version.

Input

In-game general settings.

Launcher controller rebinding. Keyboard rebinding is identical, excluding right stick skill activation as regular buttons can be used.

Xbox/Nintendo button prompts are always shown with keyboard prompts for special skills only.

Esc is used to instantly close the game in fullscreen mode, while a confirm prompt appears for windowed mode.

Controller uses Japanese style/Nintendo layout where secondary button (DualShock O, Xbox B) is used as an confirmation while primary button (DualShock X, Xbox A) as cancel.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Added with Build 795287. Buttons are bound into controller buttons. Skill activation keys are bound to F1-F4 and cannot be remapped.
Mouse acceleration		Mouse not used in game.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		The screen is no longer clickable due to the game being resigned for a single screen.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		DirectInput only. Remove/disable all DirectInput controllers to use XInput compatible controller.
Full controller support		Quitting the game requires Esc or Alt+F4.
Controller remapping		Both launcher (bind controller buttons into Xbox 360 controller buttons) and in-game (change buttons in game action).
Controller sensitivity		Digital movement.
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts		Prompts however do not reflect on remapped bindings configured from the launcher.
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers		Game recognizes DualShock 4 controllers as generic DirectInput controllers. Use DS4Windows or Steam Input as a workaround.
DualShock button prompts
Light bar support
Connection modes	V2, Wired, Bluetooth

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		Lacks vibration feedback features from the console versions.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Audio is stero.
Subtitles		Can be toggled in some circumstances with a button when Japanese Voice Mode is enabled.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Launcher language settings.

Most localization options besides English (Japanese Voice Mode), Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese are missing nearly all of cutscene dialogue and voice-overs similarly to the 3DS version (pre-v1.3).

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				English and English (Japanese Voice Mode) uses different text localizations and the former is missing most of the cutscene dialogue. The latter option is recommended.
Simplified Chinese				Simplified Chinese added in update ver. 20200917, but breaks Speedrun Mode and unable to enter such mode with "Memory Shortage. Unable to Start Game" error.
Traditional Chinese				Traditional Chinese added in update ver. 20200622 to match up the localization of the second game.
French
German
Italian
Japanese				Fully-voiced cutscene dialogue are only available in English (Japanese Voice Mode), Japanese, Korean, and Traditional/Simplified Chinese.
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

Issues unresolved

Game does not launch in Steam Offline Mode

The game will run in the background but will not actually play or even show the configuration launcher if the game is being played when Steam is set of Offline. This issue has not been officially fixed.

Issues fixed

Very low framerate

This should have been dealt with update Build 756226 and Build 760608. Developer suggests turning off Vsync if the issue remains. Alternatively, force Vsync externally from your GPU's respective control panel instead.

Game process running in background after closing the game

The game would remain running in the background despite closing the game down. This issue should be addressed with Build 2770885.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
Shader Model support	3.0

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Re-enabling Christmas Mode

Christmas Mode was a seasonal mode that features Christmas-themed visuals, background music, and arranged gameplay mechanics. It had two revisions, Christmas Mode and Christmas Mode 2016, with the latter receiving further gameplay changes, however, they have since been disabled through later patches. Although these modes no longer activate during the holiday season, they can re-enabled by pressing Ctrl+X at the main menu.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	XP, 7, 8, 8.1, 10
Processor (CPU)	2 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 512 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible Shader model 3.0 support
Other	Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller