History VideoGame / AzureStrikerGunvoltSeries

* ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt3'' (2022) -- The third entry in the main series. After awakening to a power known as "Primal Dragon", Gunvolt is forced to undergo sealing under Sumeragi's watch to contain his unstable powers. After several decades, Kirin, a Battle Priestess of Shadow Yakumo, is sent to stop Gunvolt from causing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Successfully sealing his powers, Kirin and Gunvolt team up to stop the Berserk Adepts, Adepts corrupted by Dragon Radiation, in the process bringing to light dark secrets of Sumeragi and confronting a mysterious foe that seeks to use that power for their own gain.

* ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt3'' (2022) -- The third entry in the main series. After awakening to a mysterious power known as "Primal Dragon", Gunvolt is forced to undergo sealing under Sumeragi's watch to contain his unstable powers. After several decades, Kirin, a Battle Priestess of Shadow Yakumo, is sent to stop Gunvolt from causing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Successfully sealing his powers, Kirin and Gunvolt team up to stop the Berserk Adepts, Adepts corrupted by Dragon Radiation, in the process bringing to light dark secrets of Sumeragi and confronting a mysterious foe that seeks to use that power for their own gain.

* ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt3'' (2022) -- The third entry in the main series. After awakening to a mysterious power known as "Primal Dragon", Gunvolt is forced to undergo sealing under Sumeragi's watch to contain his unstable powers. After several decades, Kirin, a Battle Priestess of Shadow Yakumo, is sent to stop Gunvolt from causing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Successfully sealing his powers, Kirin and Gunvolt team up to stop the Berserk Adepts, Adepts corrupted by Dragon Radiation, in the process bringing to light dark secrets of Sumeragi and a mysterious foe that seeks to use that power for their own gain.

* ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt3'' (2022) -- The third entry in the main series. Gunvolt's successful defeat of Eden has caused his Azure Striker powers to mutate into a form beyond Septimas, unwillingly transforming him into a being only known as the "Primal Dragon". When Shadow Yakumo, a sister organization of Sumeragi, catches wind of unusual activity from Gunvolt and Sumeragi, a Battle Priestess named Kirin is deployed to seal away Gunvolt's new powers.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the very first mission, Kirin comments on how Sumeragi was able to keep Gunvolt's sealed state buried from almost everyone, even the likes of Shadow Yakumo. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Sumeragi was hiding more than just GV in that facility under even deeper security and secrecy.]]

* FacelessGoons: Both Sumeragi and Eden soldiers wear helmets that completely conceal their faces.

* PowerLevels: According to ''Fleeting Memories'', supernatural or supernatural-sensitive entities are graded on scale from Level 1 through Level 7; the lowest level are essentially {{Muggles}}, Level 7s are [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Adepts]], and anyone in-between possesses some form of lower power that elevates them above normal humans but are not tangible or accessible enough to be considered a superpower, a la Quinn. [[spoiler:The climax of ''3'' involves going up against an Octima: essentially a PhysicalGod.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: Nearly every single boss you fight in the series is KilledOffForReal within a single battle besides a couple exceptions, including the more sympathetic ones. The BadEnding of the first game [[spoiler:sees both Gunvolt and Joule murdered by Asimov, which becomes an entire AlternateTimeline to boot, meaning even the protagonists aren't completely safe.]]

* WallJump: A basic ability for both characters. Notably, the game uses ''VideoGame/MegaManX''-style wall jumping where holding against a wall and repeatedly pressing the Jump button allows the character to scale it, but characters cannot slow their descent by pressing against the wall.

** The first game initially isn't this as it's about a LaResistance vs MegaCorp that goes into {{Cyberpunk}} territory. The second game and onwards plays this straight and focuses more on fighting against a terrorist group.

** In pre-release footage from ''3'', Kudos no longer vanish at all, but taking damage inflicts a "negative Kudos" penalty where your ability to gain Kudos is frozen until you earn back your Kudos "debt". The penalty's effects are based on the severity of the damage and how many hits in a row you've taken, with poor play being punished by bigger debts.

** Both Sumeragi and Eden deploy them, supplanting their flesh and blood counterparts. They make up most of the fighting force within the two.

* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: A downplayed variant. Protagonists and supporting casts are drawn with a subtle white glint at the side of their irises, and antagonists are drawn without it. The only exception is Copen in ''2'' and the ''iX'' series, who carries over his lack of glint from the first game, when he was exclusively an antagonist. It's played straight for ''truly'' deranged or broken characters such as [[spoiler:Zonda and the Mother Computer, who have both dulled eyes and expressions. It also becomes subtle {{Foreshadowing}} for Asimov's antagonistic role, since if one looks at his eyes behind his sunglasses, he's drawn without the glint from the beginning.]]

* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: A downplayed variant. Protagonists are drawn with a subtle white glint at the side of their irises, and antagonists are drawn without it. The only exception is Copen in ''2'' and the ''iX'' series, who carries over his lack of glint from the first game, when he was exclusively an antagonist. It's played straight for ''truly'' deranged or broken characters such as [[spoiler:Zonda and the Mother Computer, who have both dulled eyes and expressions. It also becomes subtle {{Foreshadowing}} for Asimov's antagonistic role, since if one looks at his eyes behind his sunglasses, he's drawn without the glint from the beginning.]]

* SuperpowerLottery: Being an Adept doesn't automatically translate into you being super-human for real. The Septimas of most Adepts are too weak or too non-practical for combat use, making them no different from regular humans. Even if an Adept happens to have a Septima that is indeed practical for combat, some Septima types are significantly stronger or more versatile than others, and even within those brackets an Adept might be stronger because of they are more well-trained/pro-efficent than another in using them. Being a stronger Adept however, comes with its drawbacks; people ''will'' discriminate you if they find out, especially if your Septima is too similar to a criminal with the same type as yours, and Sumeragi might declare you a public threat and capture you for experimentation (which often makes things worse, but at least those crazed and unstable Adepts are hidden from public view).

** All enemies in ''iX2'' play this straight as the entirety of them are MechanicalLifeForms.

* MechaMooks: Both Sumeragi and Eden deploy them, supplanting their flesh and blood counterparts.

* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: A downplayed variant. Protagonists are drawn with a subtle white glint at the side of their irises, and antagonists are drawn without it, the only exception being Copen in ''2'' and ''iX'', who carries over his lack of glint from the first game, when he was exclusively an antagonist. It's played straight for ''truly'' deranged or broken characters such as [[spoiler:Zonda and the Mother Computer, who have both dulled eyes and expressions. It also becomes subtle {{Foreshadowing}} for Asimov's antagonistic role, since if one looks at his eyes behind his sunglasses, he's drawn without the glint from the beginning.]]

** In pre-release footage from ''3'', Kudos no longer vanish at all, but taking damage inflicts a "negative Kudos" penalty where your ability to gain Kudos is frozen until you earn back your Kudos "debt". The penalty's effects are based on the severity of the damage and how many hits in a row you've taken.

* ScoringPoints: The main gimmick of the series is the Kudos mechanic. By dealing damage, defeating enemies, and performing certain stylish actions such as [[{{Combos}} defeating multiple enemies in a row/simultaneously]] or finding secrets, you gain Kudos, tracked by a counter at the left side of the screen. Kudos aren't points, but by touching a checkpoint or casting most Special Skills, you can "bank" Kudos, converting them into points by multiplying the current value by the accompanying Kudos Multiplier. The multiplier rises as you gain Kudos, encouraging you to hoard lots of Kudos and then turn them into a big score stash at once. The main threat is that if you get hit, even if your Prevasion activates, you lose all of your unbanked Kudos and the points are wasted. In addition, your score at the end of the stage is affected by multiple additional factors, including clear time and (in ''[=iX=]'') DifficultyLevel. This encourages the player to play fast, efficient, and smart to maximize score and get higher ranks.

* AnyoneCanDie: Nearly every single boss you fight in the series is KilledOffForReal besides a couple exceptions, even the more sympathetic antagonists. The BadEnding of the first game [[spoiler:sees both Gunvolt and Joule murdered by Asimov, which becomes an entire AlternateTimeline to boot, meaning even the protagonists aren't completely safe.]]

* PowerLimiter: The Glaives, a sword-shaped weapon created by Sumeragi that contains an Adept's "Adept gene" that holds their powers. As a result, Adepts under Sumeragi's employ generally stay in the form of normal humans until they enter combat, upon which they use their Glaives to activate their Septimal power.

* ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZero'': Inti Creates' reboot of the mutant-blasting classic features Gunvolt as a playable character, while [[VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroII its sequel]] features Copen.