Armed Blue Gunvolt: Sou Soundtrack

Armed Blue Gunvolt: Sou Soundtrack
Released	September 27th, 2016
Catalog No.	INTIR-033/034
Price	4,400 yen
See Also	Into the Blue Electro Rotation Armed Blue Official Soundtrack

The Armed Blue Gunvolt: Sou Soundtrack (蒼き雷霆 ガンヴォルト 爪 サウンドトラック) is an album made for Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. It contains all of the tracks heard in the game, including the game loop versions of the vocal songs, and comes with a 16 page booklet.

The booklet lists who composed which tracks and contains developer comments, character profiles, and a comprehensive timeline of the Azure Striker Gunvolt series at the time of the soundtrack's release, including games, side media, and certain events.

A rough translation of the booklet's contents can be found below. For the sake of convenience, on this page English localization names and terms will be used.

Translated booklet text document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GvU2qZFGQlbZLRNvn-8Ze0b6KQ9vaoSTwo9w0DRp42E/edit#heading=h.girkycjqmu7i

Gallery

Obi front

Back (depicts the cut Mantis Delta)

Booklet Contents

GV2 Prologue

It’s been some months since the battles involving The Muse - and the Diva Project. Gunvolt is resting his hurt wings at a girl’s house. But then a boy chased by some mysterious Adepts appears before him.
“Gunvolt, I need your help. I want you to stop them… Stop the invasion by “Eden”!”
Gunvolt is aware. He is aware of the calamity that he has caused. Just like there are no endless nights, there are no nightless days either. The confusing darkness is deep and dark and is indeed spreading…

Production Notes

• Comment by Ippo Yamada (Sound Production, Acoustic Direction)

This game’s making was barely finished in time, it was harder than the 1st one. Since it’s got different gameplay, scenario, enemies, stages; it’s like you combined two games into a single one. And then Tsuda’s order was to make two different themes (in the music). The GV part took the previous game into account, and the Copen part had more solid and digital sounds to it. But we didn’t have the time to make them totally different so but by making the Eden tracks into a 3rd axis, we were able to make both protagonists musical themes coexist.

While the volume of tracks has become almost the double (compared to the previous game), there were several scheduled tracks to be made which we were unable to make in the end… In terms of vocal tracks, counting both the Striker Pack (exclusive) and Lumen and Lola, there’s a total of 14 songs, more than the 1st game. In terms of settings, Lola isn’t actually a “songstress” per se so we covered Lumen’s tracks, since she is the “songstress” of the world of “Gunvolt”; but if Lola turns out to be an actual “songstress”...

For the vocal tracks, apart from us Inti Sound Team, we had Hakofactory make the song lyrics, and Yamajet helped with the Lumen songs arrangements; as for the live concerts, we had Masahiro Aoki from “GodSpeed” help with the duet arrangement.

As for Lola, we had decided that we would need to make a different axis, something attractive for her music, so that it wasn’t the same as Lumen’s. But we had no definitive goal in mind and we had to make along the way as trial and error so at first we looked for a young arrangement handler but ultimately we asked Keishi Yonao whom we’d worked with the past and we trusted a lot.

As for this soundtrack, there’s possibly people who haven’t played the previous game but bought it nevertheless so I wish for them to listen to it while you’re at it, hence why I put some previous game tracks on it too. Also, regarding the (vocal songs) album(s) for “Gunvolt 2”... We have no chance to record them soon so I’m adding the Striker Pack’s “Parallel Worlds” and the Shovel Knight battle track as bonus tracks. As well as a secret track to avoid doing the same rhythm as in the previous album. Enjoy this album with a lot of dedication put into it.

Track List

• (C) = Composition
• (A) = Arrangement
• (L) = Lyrics

The sound team (III) is credited as the arranger for all non-vocal tracks.

• Disc A

Number	Length	Name	Context	Musician(s)
01	1:17	A Dark Night Arrives 昏き夜の訪れ	Title theme	Ippo Yamada (C)
02	1:30	The Endless Plotting 終わらぬ策謀	Opening cutscene	Mina Hatazoe (C)
03	1:32	The Unsheathing Blade 鞘抜く剣	Opening confrontation	Mina Hatazoe (C)
04	2:58	Dancing in the Chaotic Night 騒乱の夜に舞う	Seraph Interior (Gunvolt's opening stage)	Ippo Yamada (C) Yamajet (A)
05	1:05	The Thunderclap Rages 迅雷怒涛	VS Medium Bosses (Gunvolt)	Ippo Yamada (C) Yamajet (A)
06	0:06	Accomplishment 完遂	Mission clear (Gunvolt)	[No specific person listed]
07	1:04	Return & Reward 帰還と報酬	Mission results (Gunvolt)	Ippo Yamada (C) Ryo Kawakami (C)
08	1:30	A Brief Peace 束の間の平穏	Encountering Mytyl	Ryo Kawakami (C)
09	1:53	The Intercrossing Dragon & Tiger 交わる龍虎	Gunvolt and Copen cooperation	Ippo Yamada (C) Yamajet (A)
10	1:04	A Void Light 空虚なヒカリ	Joule fragmented	Ryo Kawakami (C)
11	2:21	A Warm Gaze 温かなまなざし	Home conversation (Gunvolt)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
12	2:08	The Warriors’ Home 戦士たちの寄辺	Mission select (Gunvolt)	Ippo Yamada (C)
13	2:21	The Steel & Blood Masquerade 鉄血仮面舞踏会（マスカレイド）	Mysterious Manor (Gibril's stage)	Kotaro Yamada (C)
14	2:21	The Currents’ Surge Arrive at the Oceans 激流のうねりは大海へ到る	The Sewers (Milas' stage)	Kotaro Yamada (C)
15	2:08	The Mocking Cyber-labyrinth 嘲笑うは電脳迷図	Data Facility (Teseo's stage)	Aoi Takeda (C)
16	2:47	The Frozen Swords Madly Dance in the Snow 凍剣六花乱れ舞う	Frozen City (Tenjian's stage) (Gunvolt)	Ippo Yamada (C)
17	1:30	Their Ambition is Journeying to Paradise その野望は楽園への道程	Grimwald Seven encounter	Aoi Takeda (C)
18	1:21	Dark Clouds are Closing In 差し迫る暗雲	Grimwald Seven transformation	Aoi Takeda (C)
19	1:56	A Fierce Battle Wave 激争波動	VS G7	Ippo Yamada (C)
20	0:10	Victory 撃破	Boss defeated (Gunvolt)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
21	1:23	The Silver Bullet of Revenge 復讐の銀弾	Copen encounter	Ryo Kawakami (C)
22	1:55	Judgment: Annihilation 断罪討滅	VS Copen	Ryo Kawakami (C)
23	1:49	The Holy Girl’s Sacred Ground 聖少女霊域	Zonda encounter	Ryo Kawakami (C)
24	2:27	Crazy Mirrors’ Mad Melody 鏡乱狂奏	VS False Zonda	Ryo Kawakami (C) Mina Hatazoe (C)
25	1:20	The Torrent of Power 力の奔流	Zonda absorbs the mirror pieces	Aoi Takeda (C)
26	2:53	The Burning Garden's Chorus 烙苑唱和	VS Zonda	Ryo Kawakami (C) Aoi Takeda (C)
27	1:30	Paradise's Phantom Melody 楽園幻奏	Zonda's SP skill: Paradise Lost	Aoi Takeda (C)
28	2:16	Reincarnation Alternative - Karaoke 輪廻 新章(リインカネーション オルタナティヴ) (カラオケ版)	HODOKENAI KOKORO TOKASHITE NIDO TO	Ippo Yamada (C) Yamajet (A)
29	1:48	The Nightmare Comes 訪れる悪夢	Despair theme (Gunvolt)	Ippo Yamada (C)
30	2:47	At the End of the Battle 戦いの果てに	Normal ending credits (Gunvolt)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
31	1:59	Innocent Prayers 無垢なる祈り	Joule revives	Ryo Kawakami (C)
32	3:01	The Fulfilling Hope 満ちゆく希望	Epilogue (Gunvolt)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
33	3:04	All Melts Into the Morning Sun すべて朝焼けに溶けて	True ending credits (Gunvolt)	Ryo Kawakami (C) Yamajet (A)
34	1:43	Indigo Destiny 藍の運命	Joule version	Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Yamajet (A)
35	1:45	Vast Circle 虚空の円環（リング）	Joule version	Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Yamajet (A)
36	1:32	Multi-Universe 多元的宇宙（マルチユニバース）	Joule version	Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Yamajet (A)
37	1:11	Iolite 菫青石（アイオライト）	Joule version	Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Yamajet (A)
38	2:06	A Flash of Azure 瑠璃色刹那	Joule version	Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Yamajet (A)
39	1:24	Reincarnation Alternative 輪廻 新章(リインカネーション オルタナティヴ)		Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Yamajet (A)

• Disc B

Number	Length	Name	Context	Musician(s)
01	1:56	Symptoms of a Harsh Battle (Prelude) 烈戦の予兆（プレリュード）	Character select screen	Ryo Kawakami (C)
02	1:36	The Furious Silver Tiger 憤激の銀虎（びゃっこ）	Downtown (Copen's opening stage)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
03	1:30	Calling on Evil Spirits 天魔招来	VS Medium boss (Copen)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
04	0:06	Realization 貫徹	Mission complete (Copen)	Ippo Yamada (C)
05	1:04	Give me Retribution 手には応報を	Mission results (Copen)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
06	2:21	The Brother and Sister by the Window 窓辺の兄妹	Home conversation (Copen)	Ippo Yamada (C) Ryo Kawakami (C) Keishi Yonao (A)
07	2:16	Igniter (Lola transforms) 大祓（イグナイター） -RoRo変身-	Lola's human form	[No specific person listed]
08	1:43	The Gunsmith of Annihilation 覆滅の銃工	Mission select (Copen)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
09	2:39	The Entangled Star-roads 縺れ合う星路	Babel (ASG2) (Desna's stage)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
10	2:02	The Puppets Dance in Silence 人形よ静寂に踊れ	Isle of Dreams (Asroc's stage)	Aoi Takeda (C)
11	2:28	The Glowing Prism, the Collapsing Rhythm 煌めく水晶（プリズム）, 崩落の律動（リズム）	Prism Highway (Ghauri's stage)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
12	2:48	Frozen Sword and Madly Blooming Snow 凍剣六花狂い咲く	Frozen City (Tenjian's stage) (Copen)	Ippo Yamada (C)
13	2:12	Giant God Cleverness 巨神機巧	VS Plasma Legion VS Gran Torta	Ippo Yamada (C)
14	0:09	Annihilation 討滅	Boss defeated (Copen)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
15	2:54	Utopia (Foreigner) 理想郷～異邦～	The Garden 1	Ippo Yamada (C)
16	4:42	Utopia (Gathering) 理想郷～集う者～	The Garden 2	Ippo Yamada (C)
17	1:30	Utopia (Extending Mirrors) 理想郷～延鏡～	The Garden 3	Ippo Yamada (C)
18	1:30	Sinking in Grief 愁傷に沈む	Despair theme (Copen)	Aoi Takeda (C)
19	2:22	One Conclusion ひとつの結末	Normal ending credits (Copen)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
20	1:04	A Violent Tremor Surges 激震奔る	Gunvolt encounter	Ryo Kawakami (C)
21	2:37	Claws & Jaws 絶爪顎門	VS Gunvolt	Ippo Yamada (C) Ryo Kawakami (C)
22	3:00	Indigo Destiny (Duet Version) 藍の運命 (デュエット版)		Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Masahiro Aoki (A)
23	1:34	Silence Comes 静けさが満ちて	Mytyl revives	Ryo Kawakami (C)
24	1:56	Those Who Advance 道往く者	Epilogue (Copen)	Ryo Kawakami (C)
25	3:21	Dawn Comes 黎明の時	True ending credits (Copen)	Ryo Kawakami (C) Keishi Yonao (A)
26	1:05	The Blue Bird by the Window 窓辺の青鳥	Mytyl's epilogue	Ryo Kawakami (C)
27	2:22	Behind the Story 物語の裏側	Secret ending	Ryo Kawakami (C)
28	1:43	Indigo Destiny 藍の運命	Lola version	Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A)
29	1:45	Vast Circle 虚空の円環（リング）	Lola version	Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A)
30	1:32	Multi-Universe 多元的宇宙（マルチユニバース）	Lola version	Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A)
31	1:11	Iolite 菫青石（アイオライト）	Lola version	Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A)
32	2:06	A Flash of Azure 瑠璃色刹那	Lola version	Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A)
33	2:09	Igniter 大祓（イグナイター）		Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A)

• Bonus Tracks

Number	Length	Name	Context	Musician(s)
34	2:02	The Shovel Knight 円匙の騎士	VS Shovel Knight	Jake Kaufman (C)
35	1:52	Parallel World 並行世界（パラレルワールド）	Japanese Limited Edition Nintendo 3DS Striker Pack 3DS Theme Background Song	Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Yamajet (A)

Creator Comments 1

• Comment by Ryo Kawakami (Sound Design, Music)

I am writing the explanations of the tracks once again; I am Kawakami, in charge of the music and sound engineering. There’s a lot of things I want to talk about but this time I’ll limit myself to a few topics and compile them in a neat manner. Let’s find a font size that doesn’t need a magnifying glass to read!

---Arrangement:
For this game I put dedication in manifesting the 3 parties of Gunvolt, Copen, and Eden through different timbre sensations. In practical terms, this is the how:

• Gunvolt = an exhilarating timbre with transparency and strength
  
• Copen = mechanical and aggressive, with a quirky timbre
  
• Eden = orchestra-like music with appeal and tension
  

Just like in the previous game, all the tracks have the same tempo (150 BPM) but as a result of the experimenting, I think I was able to express a difference in the playing sensation of both characters as well as make more sounds with more variety in the scale. I hope you pay attention to the changes of music in either character’s route as well as in their common route.
I got help from Mr. Yamajet and Mr. Yonao to do the arrangement of non-vocal tracks and Ms. Aoi (Takeda), the bright flower of the sound team, who handled the orchestration on her own; this time I feel it really was a team effort indeed. Thank you everyone!

---Melody:
There is a very important rule when making Gunvolt music. It’s “use the melody as a way to express a character”. Being music for a game, it’s obvious you’ll have to make music matching each scene background but I also put a lot of dedication in showcasing the traits of each character’s behavior in the melodies.
For example, Gibril’s “hysterical and simple-minded feeling” or Teseo’s “making fun of others” or Ghauri’s “rap-speak and very high mood”... Those would be easy to tell examples, I’d say. Other examples would be Milas’ “composed and big bro-like”, Desna’s “mysterious and no idea how to make sense of her”, Asroc’s “always cold in nature and freely controlling robots” as well as Tenjian’s “level and calm as well as the strongest”... For these characters with strong peculiarities I poured my love into them and made them up as I had heated discussions.
There’s also a lot of dedication to the “meaning” of melodies apart of the stage BGMs; GV’s menu theme (Disc A, Track 12) involves adding 3 sub-melodies to the main melody but this is done to express that he’s got 3 allies. When Copen fights GV, the melody (Disc B, Track 21) is a complicated mixup of Track 32 from the GV1 OST as well as Disc A, Track 22 of this CD. As for why I used the Asimov battle BGM as reference, I think you can get an idea if you read the GV1 OST booklet.
Joule and Mytyl; their theme songs have the biggest role in this game’s musical acting. When the story enters the latter half then their melodies go on varying in many shapes; such as turning into Joule’s melody in the same scene or into Mytyl’s melody, or sometimes mixing together… Oops. Can’t say any further than this. “Why is it this melody?”... To answer this question, I hope you listen to this CD and slightly get a grasp of the reason.

---Vocal songs:
This game’s songs have a lot of energy poured into them, too. Hakofactory wrote lyrics that perfectly matched the world of the game; Yamajet and Yonao helped with the arrangements, masterful works, to make the charm of both singers stand out; the burning guitar arranger for the duet, by GodSpeed, is also amazing; I take off my hat, even.
As for the music composition, I personally intended to make melodies far more dramatic than in the 1st game; I ended up overdoing it and Mr. Ippo told me “make them more straight!”, even. I feel like I was acting without any control… As a result, I consider that the songs were very hard to make but the two singers amazed me as I saw them sing up the complicated songs during recording sessions; if they ended up being such melodies with soul poured into them it was thanks to both of them being watchful in the emotional parts and putting passion into the singing.

---Summary:
And all of that led to this album full of things to listen to. The arrangement of the Shovel Knight track, which I efforted to transcribe through hearing, as well as the Striker Pack exclusive track are also part of this huge volume. Please slowly enjoy the oversurging musical Septimal Wave.
To wrap it up, I want to thank all of you who bought this CD and everyone else who encourages us. Thank you very much!

• Comment by Yoshihisa Tsuda (Original Idea, Direction)

The “beast” that appeared laughing was Asroc, the former cook that controls things through strings… That asides, thank you for buying this game’s soundtrack. I am Tsuda, the director, who just now thought of the Gunvolt lead song. Did you play the main game until the very end, too?
Apart from the two protagonists, their respective singing partners provided a lot of vocal songs, helping embellish the game. Looking back at it, when we finished work on the 1st game, I’d told the Sound Product Mr. Yamada “being able to complete this game was nothing short of a miracle! We can’t possibly pull this stunt ever again! We won’t find a singer as good as Ms. Sakuragawa so easily! Make less vocal songs!”; I persistently warned him yet… Well, you know how that ended up like (LOL) Sorry, Mr. Yamada, Mr. Kawakami and the members of the Sound Team. But I didn’t say anything about the huge amount of tracks for this game and that having to make different songs for each character arc would mean double the amount of work… (Kidding).
The sound room in late stages of development was a frightful battle against time; whenever we checked the master ROM we’d find a new song added in… It felt like a zombie or the grudge of something, even… It must be someone further sadistic and masochistic than Gibril… But I won’t say who it is. This game is full of these masterpieces made by this struggling team, so please make sure to enjoy all of them.
To wrap it up, I must thank for your support, since I can once again leave my comment on a Gunvolt soundtrack. I hope we can meet like this once again next time. (While thinking that the ending of the sequel could be a painting song or so…)

• Comment by Munehiro Araki (World Director, Character Designer)

This must’ve been shortly after the 1st Gunvolt ended development…
Talks about making a sequel began all of a sudden and some of the staff began to be gathered up to begin making “Gunvolt 2”. About 1 year since that day, in which nothing had been decided, I am impressed, as if I wasn’t part of it, how we managed to smoothly wrap things up. What did we do to manage to complete it? I don’t really remember. Well, they do say “once it's past the throat, one forgets the heat”.
I did have a vague awareness that we’d make a sequel but didn’t expect to actually do it…Of course, I am very grateful at the fact but, as one of the makers, the previous game will inevitably become a hurdle; so both game contents and design must overcome that hurdle! That idea was strong within me.
Even if I didn’t much as director in the previous game, I did have regrets and things I wanted to amend for… Being allowed to resume this role made me feel that I’d gotten a chance to redeem my tainted honor right away. But it’s not as easy as it sounds, ended up asking the impossible out of the developers, had Mr. Hatakeyama do a lot of corrections… In short, I was very busy.
When it came to character designs, I was told to work with Mr. Hatakeyama as a three-legged race… I did consider that giving out orders was frightening and I couldn’t do it but once we got past that we worked very smoothly. Sorry for that, Mr. Hatakeyama… As a result of the effort, everyone welcomed me with open arms once the game had been released and my goal of “take the prequel into account and take it a step further ahead” could be considered to be completed… Or so I assumed.
So I hope that you enjoy this miraculously completed game to the core… Or more like until the tips of your fingernails instead… Nevertheless, please have fun with it!

World Timeline

• Gunvolt Series Episodes List

Games, novels, drama CDs, as well as an OVA… The Gunvolt world is expanding without stop. Here we’ll look back at the (events) leading to “Gunvolt 2” while also adding yet-to-be-published information.

(Left to right)

• The first Septimal Adept in the world is found in the depths of South America.
• Sumeragi begins “Project Gunvolt” to transplant the “Azure Striker” factors from the 1st Adept into test subjects.
• Due to the rampage of test subject “Takefutsu”, Copen’s father dies. (Web Radio Interactive Wave Serialized Novel “Fleeting Memories”)
• Nova is incompatible with the “Azure Striker” factors. He gains “Psychokinesis” from other factors transplanted instead. (Drama CD “Justice Rage”)
• “Takefutsu” changes his name to “Asimov”, cooperates with allies from multiple nations, and establishes the Adept Liberation Organization “QUILL”.
• Asimov rescues a test subject boy from a Sumeragi facility and names him “Gunvolt”
• Nova rises in rank faster than anyone else within Sumeragi and is appointed manager of the Defense Unit.
• Viper is invited to join Sumeragi by Nova. (Drama CD “Justice Rage”)
• Eden carries out sabotage against the national defense boundary. The Defense Unit, led by Nova, quells the attack. Zeno and Moniqa use the ensuing confusion to infiltrate into the nation. Team “SHEEPS” is established. (Nintendo 3DS Striker Pack Limited Edition Drama CD)
• An odd incident happens within the MMORPG “September Record”. Sumeragi seizes Elise. (Drama CD “Lazy Kingdom”)
• The EM Boundary “Prevasion” is discovered. The QUILL-made Pendants are developed.
• GV allows Sumeragi to purposely catch him to get information. (Armed Blue Official Soundtrack Booklet Prologue)
• GV meets Joule and quits QUILL.
• GV lives together with Joule. (Drama CD “Admiration to Peace”; Dengeki Nintendo Serialized Novel "Joule's Story")
• Asimov and Copen battle in the orbital base “Firmament”; Copen loses his shield and gun. (Dengeki Nintendo Serialized Novel "Copen's Story")
• GV defeats Nova (Game: Azure Striker Gunvolt)
• Copen retrieves his stolen gun and gains the Azure Striker factors from the blood stuck into it. (Armed Blue Official Soundtrack Booklet Epilogue)
• GV, who was aimlessly wandering, meets Quinn. (Dengeki Nintendo Serialized Novel "Quinn's Story")
• An Eden spy disables the national boundary. The Eden members and Xiao, taking advantage of them, infiltrate the nation.
• The invasion by Eden begins (Game: Azure Striker Gunvolt 2)

Character Profiles: Team Gunvolt and Team Copen

• Gunvolt

A 14-year old boy. AKA “GV”.
He has the Septima “Azure Striker” that can control electrons and is the strongest Adept. He ended up wounded of heart and body after his battles with the Sumeragi Group and he’s currently living in Quinn’s house.

• Quinn

A 16-year old girl. Ever since GV saved him from some delinquent Psychics who were bothering her, she’s been hiding him at her house. Her kind and peaceful personality and she’s become someone who GV relies in a lot. She can see Joule despite that normal people cannot.

• Joule

She’s a soul lodging in GV and has a Septima that can power up GV through songs, the “Muse”. In the past, she was Lumen, used by the giant conglomerate controlling Japan, the Sumeragi Group, as a virtual idol. And now Eden has stolen most of her power so she can’t use her original power leading to her appearance shrinking too.

• Xiao Wu

A 12-year old boy who supports GV as his Operator. AKA “Xiao”. He crossed the seas to come warn GV about Eden’s invasion. He’s serious and straight to the point but he sometimes shows hatred and anger towards Eden for their invasion of his homeland.

• Copen

A 14-year old boy who fights for the annihilation of Adepts as he warns of the dangers of Septima and inherits the researches of his late father. He’s a normal human without a Septima but the equipment developed on his own and his great battling sense he’s got battling strength above that of many Adepts.

• Mytyl

Copen’s twin sister. She’s a kind girl caring for her family and she gets along with Lola since she talked with her during her medical treatment. She’s got a weak body and due to a surgery during her childhood she’s unable to speak so she talks through a tablet. However, her status seems to improve whenever Lola absorbs a Mirror Piece…?

• Lola

She’s a battle support AI unit, a “Battle Pot”, developed by Copen. She has a function to pseudo-recreate, in a limited form, any Septima, by analyzing the septimosome she absorbs, called the “EX Weapon Mirroring”. When she absorbed a piece of Joule’s power, the “Mirror Piece”, she became able to turn into the “Muse”.

• Nori

A mysterious maid with an unknown track record who serves Copen and his sister. A cool beauty who perfectly carries out support for Copen in his lifestyle and in battle as well. She does use bitter words but she respects both siblings from the bottom of her heart.

Character Profiles: Eden

• Eden

Oppressed Septimal Adepts joined forces and created this Multi-National Adept Union. The girl “Zonda ”, who’s also the maiden, and the elite unit protecting her, the “Grimwald Seven” are the core of the union.

• Zonda

An 11-year old girl who’s the symbol of Eden. Her Septima “Phantasm Mirror” allows her to generate all kinds of illusions freely. She used a fake appearance to infiltrate Sumeragi and spy on them but once Eden began the invasion of Japan, she revealed her true form.

• Tenjian

17 years old. He’s the leader of the “Grimwald Seven”, those within Eden with a powerful Septima. His ability, “All Freeze”, is a 7th Wave that freezes everything and he’s a master of a skilled style of using 7 ice blades. The blades of his swords are a cold temperature even below absolute zero and cut everything they touch.

• Teseo

A 14-year old boy who uses the Septima “Hack the Planet” to turn matter into data or vice versa. He used to be an uploader at a popular overseas video site and got fascinated by Eden’s communications tech, thus joining them. He uses a lot of net slang constantly and whenever he talks his actions annoy others but it’d seem he himself has no ill intent.

• Ghauri

16 years old. He’s the “Prism Cataclysm” Adept and can generate crystals at will. He used to be a street dancer and his positive behavior makes him the mood maker within Eden. His words are filled with groove feeling and he’s always marking the rhythm. He’s currently spending day and night trying to combine his Septima into his original dances.

• Milas

He’s the “Ichor” Adept, capable of controlling liquids. He’s a young man 19 years old who loves the seas. He joined Eden while his lifework is working to preserve the oceans and is a bit of an oddball, but his lively and neat character make his pals respect him as a reliable big bro.

• Desna

18 years old. She’s the “Splitting Ends” Adept and can control hair in many forms. Her main hobby is astrology and she’s a mysterious; she joined Eden because she claims that “the stars told me to”. Her words are also very elusive.

• Asroc

15 years old. He’s the “Puppetwire” Adept, using string-like energy to control machines. He used to be a very capable apprentice patissier but the excessive discrimination against Adepts lead him to be possessed with revenge against the normal humans. His favorite mecha is the “Galette Krone”, made by combining several weapons through his Septima.

• Gibril

A 14-year old girl who has the “Metallion” Septima which allows her to control metals. She’s got a cruel and sadistic personality but her true nature is that of a masochist. She’s got a strong complex regarding her low height and whoever says “small” or “dwarf” in front of her will end up receiving an overwhelming torture in full.

Character Profiles: Mecha

• Gran Torta

A giant weapon built by Asroc, who used his Septima to combine scrap together. It actives when the core, the Galette Krone with Asroc inside, is combined with it. Starting with the “Caramelize Nova”, shot by Galette Krone itself, the arms’ “Feuilletage Cannon”, the shoulders’ “Dressage Blast” and the giant muzzle in the chest, “Glaze Laser”, it’s equipped with a huge variety of weapons.

• Fazent

A flying weapon that Sumeragi was making in top-secret within the giant drone “Seraph”. Given an issue in the generator it’s unable to seize enough output to fly and thus development had gotten stuck but being reinforced by Asroc’s Septima allowed it to fly. The upper half is the flying unit, and the lower half with the anti-ground weapon “Mantle Blazer” are what compose it.

(Editor's note: The Plasma Legion was included in the GV1 OST booklet.)

Creator's Comments 2

• Comment by Toshiaki Tai (Planning, Scenario)

Wake up twice. Double Pe(ace)... No, that’s not it. It’s me, Tai, DEATH, who also worked in the scenario for Gunvolt 2. The comments below will include some spoilers so those who haven’t finished the game yet should turn the page right.
Well, well! So we got a 2nd entry into the series indeed!
Who’d said we’d end up making a sequel… When we were making the previous game, I didn’t stop to think about how to continue it and wanted to pour all of my strength so I wouldn’t be left with regrets afterwards so trying to come up with a follow-up to the story was a pretty hard job. What’s more, we now had two protagonists so we’d have double the story amount! (In terms of sensations it was like four times). I was the one who suggested turning Copen into a playable character but I didn’t expect to struggle this much… And, also, I’ve heard that, at first, GV was a foe but at some point he was back to being a playable character… In the end I asked for more staff to work in the scenario allowing us to somehow finish writing it up. Guess you can call it a fortunate error but as a result we wrote up a good story that I alone couldn’t have written up.

We’ve got a lot of characters with a personality of their own, since I didn’t want them to feel lacking compared to the previous game. And since this time I knew from the start that the game was going to be fully voiced allowed me to build their characters using the voicing as basis… The full voices for the previous game was an idea of late into development so I couldn’t write up their characters based on the voice. The live novel was something to make the screen lively, something “you wouldn’t / couldn’t read” hence why I wrote so much crazy stuff there; but when I heard about the voicing I felt a shudder go down my spine. You’re gonna have others read those texts full of jokes!? And since the text had to wait for the voices, the timing of them didn’t work as I’d initially intended…

However, the end result was a good match and the great performances during recordings, beyond my expectations, lead to a great product being the result of another fortunate error… Using that experience, here I made things so that the acting would complete the characters. Gibril, with her badmouthing read up in a pretty voice. Teseo, whose acting read up those annoying phrases and managed to bring it to the edge between getting annoyed or not. Even though they’re all supposed to be foreigners (to Japan), Nike is the only one who speaks in a broken Japanese. Ghauri with his rap-line phrases. Nimrod, who was a dangerous guy to begin with but brings out the aura of a reliable big bro. Asroc and Tenjian, who are truly dead serious despite their lines having jokes in them too… If I had to give more examples I’d take forever but the whole deal was such a reckless idea to begin with indeed. Who thought of doing this!? … Oh, no, it was all my idea!

Ghauri is a special case in, even though his main trait is his “street dancer-like speech (smirk)”, that nuance wasn’t really understood by the Sound Team so I did think at how odd it was… Turns out I was mixing up dancer and rapper (sweatdrop). Even after being told the mistake, I went and said “it’s fun so keep it as it is” but I got ACE(!) who was in the business, to direct things and thanks to them we achieved something which had a high level of creativity.
*ACE only directed how to read the sentences. The phrases were thought up by the Scenario Team so if you want to complain that it’s not actual rapper speak, please complain to us (Inti Creates) instead… They were thought by outsiders of the business, so we’re very thankful to ACE and Mr. Chiharu Sawashiro (Ghauri’s Voice Actor).

The staff scratched their heads to make a more brighter ending for this game since the previous one ended in such a bitter note. When I joined the team during the previous game, Director Tsuda’s first suggestion was “please kill the heroine” but this time around even he had to say “let’s make it a happy ending this time around”. Who is he to spe(ak)... Ahem, ahem.

And so we intended to make it into an end where you felt some salvation, more than the previous one, but what was your impression when you saw it? The battles will still go on but a future in which both parties can get together must be waiting for us… If you could feel how that “hope” is filling then I’d be very happy at it.
It ended up a pretty long exposition but this game is also another of those times in which I flung all of my strength without thinking in the future. Whether a 3rd game is made depends on your support, but if it were to happen I wonder what kind of story it’ll be like… I’m also curious about it!

• Comment by Yoshitaka Hatakeyama (Character Designer)

The 2nd Gunvolt game and its OST have been finally released! By the time I’m writing this comment, I’ve yet to fully play the game or listen to all of the music so I’m looking forward to how both ended up like.
For this game's character designs, I picked up the ideas by Mr. Araki and we made progressed as we clashed over what we agreed on and we didn’t agree on. So even if it’s supposed to be a mutual work, it is allowable.
Since you can see the characters with an approach different to one’s usual one; I think it allowed me to see character designing in another way. Also, since this time I could make way more girl characters that’s made me very satisfied (laughs).
For the illustration I used Quinn, who even though is one of the heroines, I don’t get to draw her as a main character often.

III Sound Team Bios

• Ippo Yamada (Sound Designer / Producer)

Born in Kanazawa Prefecture. Joined Capcom in the year 93. Worked on “Super Street Fighter II (SNES), “Resident Evil (PSX)”, etc. Joins Inti Creates’ foundation in the year 96. Works in “Convertible Running Attack Gunbike (SNES)”, “LOVE & DESTROY (PSX)”, “Rockman Zero (GBA)” series, “Crayon Shin-chan (GBA, NDS, 3DS)” series”, “Rockman ZX (NDS)” series, “Psalms of Planets Eureka seveN (PSP) “, “Doraemon: Nobita and the Legend of the Green Giant (NDS)”, “Rockman 9 (Wiiware, XBLA, PSN)”, “Rockman 10 (Wiiware, XBLA, PSN)“, “J. J. ROCKETS (Android, iOS)”, “Pack World (3DS)”, “Armed Blue Gunvolt (3DS)”, “Mighty Gunvolt (3DS)”, “Gal Gun Double Peace (PS4, PSVita)”, “Mighty No. 9 (PC, PS4, PS3, XBox 360, XBox One, WiiU)”, and other games. He’s also in the making of Inti Creates label CDs, producer of live events as well as Director of Monster Designs in “Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children The White Tome (GBC)”.

• Ryo Kawakami (Sound Designer)

Born in Tokyo Prefecture. He began his musical activity as an electron demonstrator in junior high, and after several bands and support sessions, he became an arranger-composer focusing on game music.

After providing tracks for the the drama CD series “Tailor’s Workshop”, the game “Beyond the Bird-Cage (PS2)” “Rockman ZX (NDS)” series and others, he joined Inti Creates in the year 07. After he works in several “Crayon Shin-chan (NDS)”, he also works in the “ZX GIGAMIX (CD)”, “Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Mythos (CD)”, and other NDS games. Other projects include many other games such as “Rockman 9 (Wiiware/ XBLA, PSN)”, “Rockman 10 (Wiiware/ XBLA, PSN)”, “POWER RANGERS SAMURAI (NDS, Wii)”, “Gal Gun (XBox 360)”, “Armed Blue Gunvolt (3DS)”, “Mighty Gunvolt (3DS)”, “Gal Gun Double Peace (PS4, PSVita)”, “Mighty No. 9 (PC, PS4, PS3, XBox 360, XBox One, WiiU)” and many more.

He does a lot of sound engineering on his own, starting with CD Mastering.

• Kotaro Yamada (Sound Designer)

Born in the city of Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. He began playing the guitar in junior high and by high school he was part of a musical band. He played the guitar, was vocalist and composed tracks for several bands, then learnt acoustics and took part in sound recording, visual media, acting and audio dramas too. Joins Inti Creates in the year 2014. “Armed Blue Gunvolt (3DS)”, “Fujiko F Fujio Big Meeting of Characters! SF Slapstick Party (3DS, Wii U)”, “Gal Gun Double Peace (PS4, PSVita)”, “Mighty No. 9 (PC, PS4, PS3, XBox 360, XBox One, WiiU)” are some of the games he’s worked on. He’s part of the Sumeragi Electronic Orchestra and took part in the “SUMERAGI GROUP PRESENTS MORPHO SUPER LIVE”.

• Aoi Takeda (Sound Designer)

Born in Gifu Prefecture. 4th year graduate of the HAL Specialty School Nagoya Music Department. She got in contact with music since her childhood through rhythmic and theater and began playing the piano. Fell in love with videogames during elementary school and got interested in game music. While learning music composition at HAL Nagoya, she becomes interested in foley and carries out external recordings amongst other things. She joins Inti Creates in the year 2015 and works in games such as “Gal Gun Double Peace (PS4, PSVita)”, “Gal Gunvolt (PS4, PSVita)”. I feel like… I’m finally able to beat those Inti Creates games I couldn’t properly play when I joined the company.

Credits

(To see who made which track, check the Track List above)

III:Sound Create Unit

• Ippo Yamada: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
• Ryo Kawakami: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
• Kotaro Yamada: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
• Aoi Takeda: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement

• Lumen (Megu Sakuragawa): Vocal
• Lola (Yurika Endo): Vocal
• Zonda (Kaori Nazuka): Voice

• Yamajet: Computer Programming, Arrangement
• Keishi Yonao: Computer Programming, Arrangement
• Masahiro Aoki: Guitars, Computer Programming, Arrangement

• Hakofactory: Lyrics

Staff

• Produce, Supervise: Ippo Yamada
• Mastering: Ryo Kawakami
• Recording Enginerr: Yu-ya Iwaki (Allblue)

• Label, Layout Design Works: Hakofactory

• Illustration: Yoshitaka Hatakeyama

• Special Thanks:
  • Yoshihisa Tsuda (INTI)
  • Toshiaki Tai (INTI)
  • Munehiro Araki (INTO)
  • and All Inti Creates Staff

• Sales Promote:
  • Go Maeda
  • Shigeru Nakagawa

• Executive Producer: Takuya Aizu

References

• Inti Direct product page
• Video Game Music Database