"Beliefless power... has no meaning."
Despite the excellent sprite work, and snappy controls, Azure Gunvolt trends into being a lifeless clone of the Blue Bomber. Stages filled with brain-dead enemies, characters who are basic archetypes, and a repetitive core mechanic all but wash away the high points of this adventure. A tragedy almost, as the framework it is all squeezed into isn't necessarily faulty on delivery. A colorful designed cast, and reliable action-styled gameplay should be a winning formula. Yet, when you forget what makes the inspiration you draw from so memorable you become substandard in turn. Nothing drives you forward unless you are magically endeared to saving amnesiac robot girls for a living. The trepidation of lacking originality becomes reality, as you wish upon a star for a new dream. The indelible stages leading up to bosses are naught to be found. Instead plain and dull set pieces carry you towards vacuous encounters one after another. It manages to be one of the greatest sins a game can achieve. Neither broken nor terrible, Azure Gunvolt is a messy myriad of tropes that bores the player into submission. I can recall clearly to this day after almost ten years most paths that lead to Robot Masters, yet I can neither picture the visuals nor moves of the enemies I prevailed over in Azure. It just doesn't leave an imprint.
We hereby award: The Black Seal of Malcontent
Despite the excellent sprite work, and snappy controls, Azure Gunvolt trends into being a lifeless clone of the Blue Bomber. Stages filled with brain-dead enemies, characters who are basic archetypes, and a repetitive core mechanic all but wash away the high points of this adventure. A tragedy almost, as the framework it is all squeezed into isn't necessarily faulty on delivery. A colorful designed cast, and reliable action-styled gameplay should be a winning formula. Yet, when you forget what makes the inspiration you draw from so memorable you become substandard in turn. Nothing drives you forward unless you are magically endeared to saving amnesiac robot girls for a living. The trepidation of lacking originality becomes reality, as you wish upon a star for a new dream. The indelible stages leading up to bosses are naught to be found. Instead plain and dull set pieces carry you towards vacuous encounters one after another. It manages to be one of the greatest sins a game can achieve. Neither broken nor terrible, Azure Gunvolt is a messy myriad of tropes that bores the player into submission. I can recall clearly to this day after almost ten years most paths that lead to Robot Masters, yet I can neither picture the visuals nor moves of the enemies I prevailed over in Azure. It just doesn't leave an imprint.
We hereby award: The Black Seal of Malcontent