For me personally, the bittersweet story of the GV series has always been a large reason why I've loved them so much. Seeing this game fumble that bag has been a difficult experience. Even if the writers did get themselves into a corner with GV2, it still hurts - especially because Kirin herself is such an interesting character. She just barely develops, and a majority of her time spent is done putting down Gunvolt and acting like what he sacrificed in the last two games weren't justified. It's a hard pill to swallow for me, who found the story to be one of the best aspects of the last two games.

What about gameplay? That's why MOST people play these games, after all. I love it, but hate it! Kirin is busted! She's so busted you can speed through levels unqualified and just BARELY get through, but it's always fun as heck. To counter this, the game has a gacha system that requires you to replay and explore the levels over and over till you get lucky. I originally didn't mind this concept, but as each level got more complex and obtuse with how you used Kirin's ability, it became very monotonous to replay stages.

You're not forced to replay the game, of course. Doing what you want should give you a decent time, an. As for the game's presentation, it's a large step-up from the first two games. The new English voice actors do a very good job at representing characters who used to have an amazing legacy, and the game looks fun and plays fun for what it is.

Still, my gripes with this game comes with the story. I hated seeing my favourite characters be left, forgotten, or completely put down upon by the newer ones, and it felt like the timeskip was unwarranted. The game oozes that usual GV charm that the series carried before it, but it sacrificed a lot for me to make it like that.