Gunvolt "The Azure Striker"

"I -AM- electricity!"

- Gunvolt

Gunvolt, the Azure Striker, is the main protagonist of his self-titled game Azure Striker Gunvolt. He is an adept with control over electricity.

English Website Description
Our hero is a 14 year old boy whose real name is unknown, but he goes by the codename "Gunvolt." When the story begins, he is a member of the armed resistance movement named QUILL, whose sole purpose is to fight against the Sumeragi Group. Although he is a cool, level-headed guy most of the time, Gunvolt’s youthful rebellious streak tends to rear itself when he is forced to do things that go against his principles. His septima, known as the "Azure Striker," grants him the ability to control lightning.

Backstory
There isn't much information about Gunvolt, other than the fact that Asimov supposedly saved him from an experimental facility at a young age, and thus came to see Asimov as a father figure.

Meeting the Muse
Gunvolt is given a mission by QUILL to find and destroy the Muse, a virtual idol that Sumeragi uses to control and manipulate both people and adepts. During this mission, he is captured by an agent of Sumeragi and tortured via electrocution, which is ineffective given his abilities. He discovers that the Muse is onboard a train headed for an unspecified location, and pursues. After fighting his way through Sumeragi forces, Gunvolt discovers that the Muse is in fact, not a program, but rather a young girl. As he stares, the Muse materializes in front of him. The Muse introduces herself as Lumen, a manifestation of the girl's septimal power. Her lack of control over her power allows Lumen to take an avatar and act on her own will. Lumen asks Gunvolt to take the girl away from Sumeragi, but Asimov maintains the order to unplug the Muse by killing the girl. Gunvolt refuses, and tells Asimov that he is resigning from QUILL. Asimov lets him go, and Gunvolt escapes with the girl to a hideout.

Missions for QUILL
Some time after the first mission, Gunvolt is depicted to be in hiding with the girl, whose name is now Joule. As Joule is being pursued by Sumeragi agents wishing to reclaim the Muse, she cannot go out of hiding, and Gunvolt takes jobs from QUILL to earn money. QUILL sends Gunvolt a set of 6 jobs, each involving the general sabotage of Sumeragi facilities and neutralizing Sumeragi commanders.

Meeting the Adept Slayer
About 3 missions through, Gunvolt receives a message from QUILL. It is a job to take down Zonda, a commander of Sumeragi. After meeting with Zonda and dealing with Zonda's illusions, Gunvolt finally tracks Zonda down, witnessing Zonda's death at the hands of a mysterious hooded figure. The hooded figure attacks Gunvolt, using a gun and a shield that becomes a crossbow. After his defeat, the figure retreats, stating that "when you meet God to face judgement, you will hear him whisper a name. Copen..." On that cryptic note, Gunvolt returns to his original objective. Eliminate the remaining Sumeragi commanders.

Old Faces Return
Soon after defeating the last Sumeragi commander, Gunvolt returns home, only to find Merak back from the dead and kidnapping Joule. Gunvolt contacts QUILL for assistance, then rushes off to Sumeragi Tower. After fighting against Merak a second time, he speaks with the leader of Sumeragi, Nova. Nova offers a reward to Gunvolt for keeping Joule and the Muse safe this whole time, but Gunvolt refuses. Nova teleports to the top of the tower, challenging Gunvolt.

Boss Rush
Gunvolt ascends the Sumeragi tower, fighting against several commanders once again. He encounters problems fighting Elise, who reveals a third self who infinitely revives the other two. Then Copen suddenly shoots Elise, taking out her third self and killing Elise permanently. Gunvolt offers a truce, but Copen refuses, citing his hatred of adepts. He fights Gunvolt, using powers stolen from the commanders that Gunvolt previously defeated. After defeating Copen, Gunvolt proceeds on, meeting Nova.

The Leader of Sumeragi
Nova placed Joule into a machine to control Lumen, who is now silent and a servant to Nova, providing him with a shield. After Gunvolt fights him, Lumen disappears, weakened from both the machine's control and damage in the battle. Nova states that the reason he needs the Muse is to control all adepts, as they would otherwise run amok and destroy humanity. He then transforms into his final form, a giant, multi-armed figure, as if he were a god. When defeated, he leaves Gunvolt with a final message, saying that the adepts will destroy everything without Sumeragi to guide them. Gunvolt frees Joule, and the two begin to leave the tower.

Betrayal ~ Bad Ending
Gunvolt and Joule are intercepted by Asimov on their way to the elevator. Asimov congratulates them for defeating Sumeragi, stating that he can now become leader of all adepts, and destroy all humans. Joule is horrified at the prospect, while Gunvolt is offered a chance to join Asimov and lead the adepts. He refuses, and prepares to fight, but then Asimov takes out Copen's gun and shoots Gunvolt with it, disabling his powers and killing him. Joule screams out his name before Asimov shoots her too. He says that while it's a shame things didn't go as planned, plans can be rewritten. In the event that this end is reached, Gunvolt will wake up back at the hideout, the whole event being a nightmare.

A Difficult Miracle
To avoid the Bad Ending, Gunvolt must acquire 7 gems, one from each mission. Then he must talk to Joule and give each gem to her. Once all 6 gems have been given to Joule, talking to her again will give Gunvolt a new pendant, made using the gems he gave her. While this piece of equipment has no effects at all, Gunvolt must wear it through the final stage. Once Nova is defeated at last, the scene will proceed like the bad ending, but things change after Joule dies. Joule wakes up to find she has taken Lumen's form, having acquired control over her power. She sees Gunvolt, and finds that miraculously, her pendant stopped Asimov's bullet from killing him. However, he is still horribly hurt and will soon die. With no options, Joule hears the voice of Lumen, saying that there is one way to save him, but it will cost them their lives. Joule accepts, and her power implants into Gunvolt's body. Gunvolt awakens to find Joule dead, and begins to despair. Until he hears the voice of Joule, who has become one with him for eternity. Gunvolt understands that he has one last thing to do, and with that, he moves on to stop Asimov, with the Muse's song echoing in his heart.

Azure Wings ~ True Ending
Gunvolt journeys down Sumeragi Tower, fighting Carrera one last time, though the commander is no match for Gunvolt's new power. Once he reaches the elevator, he faces Asimov, who reveals that he too, is an Azure Striker who can manipulate electricity And has all of of his guns but better. In a dramatic final battle, Gunvolt overwhelms Asimov's power using the power of Joule's song, ending his ambitions. Asimov's final words to Gunvolt are a request, saying he must now lead the adepts to freedom. Gunvolt remains silent, and the elevator stops at the bottom floor. Gunvolt's friends from QUILL ask him what happened, and are shocked to discover Asimov dead. Gunvolt remains silent to their queries, and walks away. Joule tells Gunvolt that they could go anywhere in the world and she will forever be at his side. He says nothing as he disappears, a scattering of azure feathers in the sunset sky.

Abilities

 * Tagging: Tagging is a core battle mechanic in Azure Striker Gunvolt. Through "bolts," or weapons, he wields in battle, Gunvolt can mark enemies and objects with "tags." Enemies or objects that have been tagged can then be charged with Gunvolt's electrical abilities—even at a distance.
 * Enemies and objects can be marked with up to three tags.
 * Bolts permitting, multiple enemies and objects can be tagged at once.
 * Flashfield: Gunvolt's inherent septimal ability and a core battle / platforming mechanic in Azure Striker Gunvolt used in tandem with the tagging mechanic. Enemies and objects that have been tagged by Bolts can be electrocuted through the activation of the Flashfield. The Flashfield can also be activated mid-air to slow Gunvolt's descent to the ground as well as increase the lateral distance at which he can move as he descends. Lastly, the Flashfield can act as a physical barrier to enemy projectiles. Activating the Flashfield consumes EP.
 * Each additional tag opens up more channels through which electricity can flow, effectively increasing damage or electrical output.
 * Performing a dash-jump and then activating the Flashfield increases the speed at which Gunvolt can move laterally as he descends.
 * The Flashfield cannot shield Gunvolt from energy-based projectiles, such as lasers.
 * Should Gunvolt's EP become 0, he will temporarily overheat—preventing him from using the Flashfield. Neither quick-charging nor the skill "Septimal Burst" negate overheat. However, the skill "Split Second" can instantly restore Gunvolt's EP to max in the case of an Overheat.
 * Despite Gunvolt's supposed ability to recharge from various electrical sources, as shown in the first cutscene, Gunvolt is NOT immune to electricity. This is demonstrated in the Abyss mission, where some areas contain water or gradually flood with water. Should Gunvolt attempt to activate the Flashfield while underwater, he will be shocked, causing damage and instantly shorting out his EP.
 * Prevasion: A special passive ability granted by some of Gunvolt's equipment. As long as Gunvolt has EP available to expel, any incoming attack is neutralized and lowers the EP meter instead of Gunvolt's health meter.
 * Thus, constant EP recharging grants Gunvolt pseudo-invincibility.
 * Prevasion will not activate if Gunvolt has the Flashfield active.
 * Even if Gunvolt avoids damage with Prevasion, one hit will break his Kudos.
 * Prevasion does not work against attacks that cause Chaff or Stone.
 * Air Hops: A special action ability granted by some of Gunvolt's equipment. Gunvolt consumes EP to perform a hop mid-air.
 * Air Dashes: A special action ability granted by some of Gunvolt's equipment. Gunvolt consumes EP to perform a dash mid-air.

Special Skills
As Gunvolt damages or defeats enemies, he gains experience and can potentially levels up. As he levels up, Gunvolt may learn new that he can use in battle. There are offensive and non-offensive skills that Gunvolt can use, and they consume SP instead of EP. Below is a list of skills in the order in which they're obtained: * Note*: Gunvolt gets an extra 500 Kudos if he defeats a boss with a skill.
 * Astrasphere: "Lightning that flickers/ Like a star, and purges all/ That violate its realm! Lightning Sphere!" Gunvolt creates three damaging electrical orbs that briefly circle around him; Gunvolt remains stationary for the duration of this attack.
 * Galvanic Patch: Gunvolt instantaneously recovers a quarter of his maximum health.
 * Septimal Burst: Gunvolt recovers EP at a faster rate than usual for thirty seconds.
 * Luxcalibur: "Sacred sword agleam/ Barbarous and bathed in blue/ Cleaving right from wrong! Spark Calibur!" Gunvolt unleashes a large electrical sword directly in front of him, dealing massive, instantaneous damage to any enemy within range.
 * Split Second: Gunvolt instantaneously restores his EP to a full meter. It can negate the Overheat and Chaff statuses.
 * Alchemical Field: The health recovery rate, credits gain rate, and experience gain rate are doubled for thirty seconds.
 * Galvanic Renewal: Gunvolt instantaneously recovers his health completely.
 * Voltaic Chains: "Bolts of rebellion/ A thunderous voice in his heart/ Speaks of one true law! Voltic Chains!" Gunvolt summons several in chains that criss-cross the screen. He proceeds the attack by charging them with electricity. The damage output scales with the number of tags on screen.
 * Septimal Surge: Gunvolt's damage output is doubled for thirty seconds.

Trivia

 * During Nova's edition of the Gunvolt CD dramas, Gunvolt's real name is nearly revealed by Nova before GV interrupts him.