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“...Very well. In that case, I'd like to fast track some attitude adjustments for the cheeky one..."
—Apollo, Azure Striker Gunvolt 3
[2]
Apollo "The Swinging Jester" is one of the berserk Adepts in Azure Striker Gunvolt 3, appearing as the boss of the mission Pendulum Heart (Stormy Megafloat).
Following his defeat, he joins the Sumeragi Group's Bureau of Dragon Saviors, gaining a three diamond rank comparable to Kirin and Shiron. He provides assistance with his Septima in the mission Hot & Cold.
His Septima is Pendulum, which allows him to apply vectors to objects and himself.
Website Description[]
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English site
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Japanese site
Adept with the Septima “Pendulum,” allowing him to apply vectors to any objects he touches, including himself.
On the surface, Apollo is a stickler of rules and manners, but beneath lies a kind young man.
He was once involved in shady business, but is currently working to be on the up-and-up. Apollo enjoys working with finesse, and his hobbies include puzzles and building models.[2]
触れた物にベクトルを与える
規則やマナーにちょっと厳しい青年、神経質だが根は優しい。元々は後ろ暗い仕事をしていたが、カタギに戻ろうと努力中。模型やパズルなど繊細な作業が得意。[3]
Appearance[]
In his masked form he wears a gray suit with white and black parts under black armor with purple and white accents. His boots have upturned spikes like a jester's, his chest armor has an eye and from his back protrude fin-like structures. His mask is purple with a large horn on the front and has 4 small horns on the back side, and the bottom of the mask resembles a mouth that connects to the eyes.
In his normal form, he wears a white shirt under a burgundy vest and a toothpick in various shades of purple, black pants and brown shoes. He has what is likely a watch on his left wrist and a necklace with a greenish blue stone and glasses. His hair is a little spiky and white on top with a spiky part at his neck and his eyes are purple.
Gallery[]
Main article: Apollo "The Swinging Jester"/Gallery
Personality[]
Apollo is a serious and mysterious person with a dark background. When given any job, he is strict on himself and his coworkers and comes off as a taskmaster. This was taken to the extreme when he was a berserk Primal Dragon.
Despite this, he is actually a very sociable person when off the clock or on break, bonding with his coworkers through shared interests.
History[]
Backstory[]
In the past, Apollo used to be involved with shady activities and gained many useful combat and practical skills till he one day decided that he had enough and start an honest life. According to Apollo, he started going from job to job using the practical skills he learned to adjust to his new life. Prior to meeting Kirin and Gunvolt, he found a labor job in Neptune and is allowed to use his Septima to move heavy cargo.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3[]
Dragon Crisis[]
During his shift, Apollo is exposed to a severe amount of Dragon Radiation, causing him to become a Primal Dragon and went berserk forcing the whole facility to shut down. In response, Kirin and Gunvolt are sent in to put a stop to his rampage. When Kirin and Gunvolt confront him, Apollo gets into an argument with Kirin about proper work ethics as they fight.
Following his defeat he comes to his senses and realizes what he did as a Primal Dragon. He joined the Dragon Saviors to atone for the trouble he caused.
ATEMS Invasion[]
During ATEMS' heists on the Binding Brands, Apollo joins Kirin and GV to try and stop Prado stealing a Brand hidden in Neptune.
Apollo and the other Dragon Saviors participate in the assault on ATEMS' Sunrise Palace. As they reach deeper, he sees phantoms from his past which overwhelm him and is forced to retreat.
The True Ending reveals that Apollo survived, and continues working for the Dragon Saviors.
Epilogue ATEMS[]
In the Dragon Saviors office a wounded B.B. informs the group of ZedΩ and ATEMS being active again. Kirin unsure of what is going on orders everyone to apprehend ZedΩ for questioning. Apollo finds ZedΩ on Neptune and interrogates him and is forced to fight ZedΩ when he refuses to cooperate and is defeated.
Powers and Abilities[]
Apollo holds the power of the Pendulum Septima, which allows him to manipulate vectors, altering the direction and inertia of anything he touches including himself.
When in combat, he uses acrobatic movements to evade and uses his Septima to throw objects as projectiles.
Boss Battle Skills[]
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
(ベンデュラムチャージ)[3] |
Apollo moves to one of six spots; The upper or bottom corners, or the middle of either wall. He'll use a rope to sling himself there, or move along the ground. Apollo will always use this once after having done a different move. |
(バウンドデコイ)[3] |
Apollo jumps to the other side of the screen and throws a projectile to a bottom corner, which will spawn a ball of trash which bounces off the floor and walls. The ball can be destroyed, though if left alone, it will bounce in shorter and shorter heights from the floor before destroying itself. Apollo can perform other attacks while the ball is bouncing.
In Hard Mode, Apollo will target both bottom corners, spawning two balls instead. |
(リバースアーチ)[3] |
Apollo moves across the ceiling before jumping to the other side. The ceiling will then throw bits of trash in an arch. The trash can be destroyed by either sword slashes or GV's Flashfield. A few seconds later, Apollo dashes towards the other side of the room.
In Hard Mode, more pieces of trash are thrown out, making an arch of trash with no gaps in between. Apollo will also dash the moment the trash arch comes down. |
(ラピッドフォール)[3] |
Apollo moves to an upper corner of the room and pulls out medium sized trash balls from the opposite wall, which form a line over most of the room before dropping down. He then drops down and pulls another batch from the wall he was on, before pulling out one more batch from the opposite wall. The trash balls can be tagged and destroyed.
In Hard Mode. Apollo dashes across the room as the third line of trash comes down. |
(ウォールクロウラー)[3] |
Apollo moves to the other wall along the floor, which will throw up bits of trash in an arch a bit after he passes. The trash can be destroyed by sword slashes or GV's Flashfield. In Hard Mode, the trash is thrown at a farther distance from the floor/walls, and Apollo will jump to the other side of the screen after having reached the other wall. |
(サイドアーチ)[3] |
Apollo throws a dagger at one of the upper corners of the room, before dashing across the room and then jumping and swinging back to where he started. While this is happening, a line of trash bits gets launched in a wide arch from the corner of the room where Apollo threw the dagger. Another then appears from the opposite corner, followed by another from the initial position. Just like with Reverse Arch, the trash bits can be destroyed by sword slashes or the Flashfield.
In Hard Mode, the second and third lines are accompanied by shorter lines of trash which appear from the other sides of the room. |
(リフレクトストライカー)[3] |
Apollo throws projectiles at a top corner, which will spawn a big ball of trash that will move around the screen diagonally, bouncing off the floor, ceiling and walls. Similarly to Bounding Decoy, the ball can be destroyed despite having a larger health bar. If the ball is not destroyed in time, it will crash into the ceiling and break into four trash bits which can be destroyed by sword slashes or the Flashfield. |
(サテライトペンデュラム, Satellite Pendulum) |
Apollo's special skill. Apollo moves to a bottom corner if not in one already, and then throws a bundle of projectiles to the other bottom corner. He'll then jump to the opposite top corner and does the same to the other top corner. The corners affected will spawn two huge balls of trash, which will bounce around the screen in a (counter)clock-wise motion, before Apollo forces both of them to go towards one of the lower corners of the room, destroying the balls in the resulting collision. The balls can be tagged and Arc Chained through.
In Hard Mode, Apollo will sling around the side he's at and throws bits of trash as additional projectiles towards the side he's not in. Apollo also ends the attack by moving the balls towards the player's position instead of a corner. |
Boss Battle Voices[]
Japanese[]
| Event | Translated | Romaji | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Can you keep track of my moves? | Ore no ugoki, mikireru ka? | オレの動き、見切れるか? |
| Start (Epilogue ATEMS) | I'll detain you! | Kisama wo kousoku suru! | 貴様を拘束する！ |
| Pendulum Charge | You won’t be able to keep up! | Mikireru mono ka! | 見切れるものか！ |
| Here I am! | Kocchi da, kocchi! | こっちだ、こっち！ | |
| Try avoiding that! | Sakete misero! | 避けてみせろ！ | |
| There! | Hora hora! | ほらほら！ | |
| Where are you looking? | Doko wo miteiru? | どこを見ている？ | |
| Bouncing Decoy | Can you stop that? | Tomeraru kana? | 止められるかな？ |
| Reverse Arch | I’ll drive you into a corner! Reverse Arch! I’ll finish you off! | Tatami kakeru! Ribaasu Aachi! Shitomeru! | 畳み掛ける！リバースアーチ！仕留める！ |
| Rapid Fall | I'll show you! (?) | Yokete miseru! (?) | 避けて 見せる! |
| Wall Crawler | There! Let's go! | Hore hore! Ikuzo! | ほれほれ！行くぞ！ |
| Side Arch | Eat this! Now! | Kurae! Imada! | 喰らえ！今だ！ |
| Reflect Striker | This is gonna hurt! Can you dodge THIS? | Koitsu ga itaizo! Yokerareru kana? | こいつが痛いぞ！避けられるかな？ |
| Atom Smasher | My last resort! Atom Smasher! Let's go! I'll crush you! It's over! | Okunote da! Sateraito Penderamu! Iku zo! Tsuburero! Owari da! | 奥の手だ！ サテライトペンデュラム！ 行くぞ！ 潰れろ！ 終わりだ！ |
| 1st Phase Down | Such crafty moves...! | Kozakashii mane wo...! | 小賢しい真似を…！ |
| 2nd Phase Down | I can't lose to someone like...! | Konna yatsu ni...! | こんなやつに…！ |
| Defeated | DAMN YOUUUU!! | Onoreeee!! | おのれえええ！！ |
English[]
| Event | Voice |
|---|---|
| Start | Will your eyes be able to keep up? |
| Start (Epilogue ATEMS) | You're under arrest! |
| Pendulum Charge | I'm over here! |
| Just try to follow! | |
| Hahaha! | |
| Where are you looking? | |
| Bouncing Decoy | Take this! Can you stop it? |
| Reverse Arch | I'll bury you! Reverse Arch! For the kill! |
| Rapid Fall | Get out of the way! How's this!?
(Hard Mode) There! |
| Wall Crawler | Try to keep up! |
| How about this? | |
| Side Arch | Eat this! Now! |
| Reflect Striker | This one will hurt! Can you dodge this?! |
| Atom Smasher | My last resort! Atom Smasher!
Hrah! Here it comes! Hrrrrrgh! I'll crush you! This is... the end! |
| 1st Phase Down | You insolent...! |
| 2nd Phase Down | These little...! |
| Defeated | Aaagh! DAMN YOUUUU! |
Special Skill Chants[]
Atom Smasher:
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English
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Japanese
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English fan translation
Over hill of crumbling corpses
Rise the twin stars
Of massacre and vengeance
ATOM SMASHER
朽ちたる亡骸の丘
昇りし双極の遊星
仇なす者砕き屠れ
Hill of decaying corpses
The rising bipolar planets
Crush and slaughter my foes
SATELLITE PENDULUM
Designer Comments[]
Source: Dengeki Online interview about Gunvolt 3 character design and illustration
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English
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Japanese
(Disclaimer: Top paragraph is an edited machine translation)
I think the concept was that of an ex-mafia or mafia-like person. Apollo was decided on without many changes, but the attire took some twists and turns, and it ended up being a tight suit. The suit would have looked very ordinary and uninteresting, so I adjusted the design so that it would look casual with patchwork-like colors. Come to think of it, I didn't think there were any guys with glasses throughout the series, so early on I decided to go with a cool glasses guy.
I remember I struggled to give him a jester silhouette in his Primal Dragon state. The main, most appealing trait of jesters is smiling so I had to add it yet I wasn't satisfied with my attempts. A younger staff member drew an idea which was semi transparent parts covering the face. It was cool. I still struggled even though I liked the idea. Giving these characters masks to give a feeling of rampaging was after the drafts were submitted, but adding the smile to the mask solved that internal struggle I had.
--Munehiro Araki
元マフィア、マフィアっぽい人のようなコンセプトだったと思います。レクサスもさほどブレずに決まっていきましたが、服装は紆余曲折合ってきっちりしたスーツ姿になりました。
スーツ姿はともすればすごく普通の面白くないデザインになってしまいそうだったので、パッチワークっぽく色が入れてカジュアルな感じになるように調整しました。
そういえばシリーズ通してメガネ男子がいなかったと思いまして、早い段階でクールなメガネの人にしています。
暴龍状態については道化師のようなシルエットにするのが非常に苦労した覚えがあります。道化師の特徴で強烈なのが“笑顔”でこれを入れないとなんだかしっくりこなかったんです。若手のスタッフが描いた顔を半透明のパーツが覆ってるアイデアがカッコよくて、やはりこうだよなぁ～と思いつつ悩んでました。
実は暴龍の4人に暴走感を出すため仮面を被せようという話になったのは、一通り草案を出した後でだったんですが、この仮面デザインにその笑顔の意匠を入れることでモヤモヤが解消されたという経緯があったりします。
--荒木宗弘
Musical Themes[]
(C) = Composer
(A) = Arranger
| Title | Context | Musicians | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order on the Stormy Seas (軋轢波浪規律, Discord, Surge, & Rules) |
Stormy Megafloat stage | Yusuke Sakai (C) | |
| Order on the Stormy Seas -Roar- (軋轢波浪規律 ー |
Gunvolt version | Yusuke Sakai (C) Hiroaki Sano (A) |
Trivia[]
- Apollo's design motifs are the Major Arcana 0, The Fool, and Leviathan[4], matching the Arcana theme of other Gunvolt 3 characters and draconic theme of the Berserk Adepts. The Leviathan motif ties into his stage and former workplace.
- Apollo is likely named after the Apollo Intensa Emozione sports car. His Japanese name, Lexus, likewise references the Toyota luxury car brand. This matches the car theme naming of fellow Berserk Adepts, Black Badge, Cayman, and Shiron (Chiron).
- His English name also matches the multi-national tire manufacturer, Apollo Tyres.
- While Apollo's shady past is only hinted at in-game and in his site description, a promotional pamphlet published months before the game's release outright stated that he used to work as a hitman.
Reflection Adept concept
- In one early concept Apollo had the Reflection (反射) Septima, which allowed him to seal Septimal power attacks into something called "Jester Pendulum" and shoot it back to his enemy. This was based on the Japanese martial art Aikido. Curiously, this concept is similar to Kirin's Radiant Fetters, although the notes don't seem to mention her.
- Considering that his rampage results in the distribution of vital goods across the country being halted, combined with the references of BB and to a lesser extent Shiron and Cayman, it's possible that another motif of Apollo is Famine of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
- The Berserk Adepts' designs may pay homage to the Four Guardians from the Mega Man Zero series, with Apollo referencing Hidden Phantom. The way he swings across the ceiling is also reminiscent of the Model P (Phantom) pseudoroid Purprill.
- Apollo's Japanese title uses the French spelling and pronunciation of harlequin, arlequin.
- He is the second Adept to have a Septima that controls vectors, the first being Dystnine.
References[]
- 4gamer.net article about Apollo.
- Gunvolt News Channel Episode 45, Apollo's debut stream featuring his Japanese voice actor Harasawa Kouichi as a guest.