Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX

This page is about the game Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX. For the character also known as "The Luminous Avenger iX", see Copen "The Luminous Avenger iX"

"Get ready for the apeX of 2D action!"
—Tagline , Luminous Avenger iX trailer

Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX, also known as Luminous Avenger iX , iX (known as「白き鋼鉄のＸ（イクス） THE OUT OF GUNVOLT」, White Steel of X: THE OUT OF GUNVOLT) and commonly abbreviated to LAiX, is an upcoming game in development for the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Steam as a canonical side-story in the Azure Striker Gunvolt series. Focusing on Copen after the events of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, the game features his playstyle from the latter game as the main gameplay mode.

Gameplay

Luminous Avenger iX returns to having one player character, this time series anti-hero Copen. His gameplay is largely recycled from his playable debut in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, consisting of using his boosters to fly towards enemies to tag them, then unleashing a storm of homing shots to gain kudos, though there are slight adjustments. For example, after bouncing off a target, Copen will continually use his boosters to slow his descent, allowing for more time to think and react.

He is once again accompanied by Lola, an A.I helper that allows him to use EX Weapons to replicate the Septima of any Adept he defeats. As with past games, when the kudos count hits 1000, Lola assumes her "idol" form, and overrides the stage music with a vocal track. When Copen's HP reaches zero, he can be revived by "Anthem", which also triggers a second form for Lola known as the "awakened mode". However, there also exists at least one other, "darkened" form of Anthem that can activate, though how it does so and how it differs from regular Anthem are unknown.

Copen, as before, appears to have one special move: Twin Shredder, which is functionally identical to Shred Storm from the previous game, acting as a screen-clearing attack that gradually recharges. However, it is much more dynamic and features several pieces of artwork. This reflects the overall distinct style of the game, which is noticeably flashier and more detailed, with cutscenes using full body shots and result cards being more elaborate the higher your end score is.

Plot

Sometime after the events of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, Adepts have now become the dominate species on the planet, far outweighing humans (now known as "Minos") in terms of numbers. The Sumeragi Group has now reformed as the Sumeragi Institute of Human Evolution, hunting Minos to extinction to usher in a new age of humanity.

However, one mysterious young man stands alone to protect Minos from Sumeragi's genocide. Spoken only in hushed whispers, urban legends talk of a warrior clad in pure white armour and his robotic companion: the Muse of Hope. That warrior is known only as...

... the Luminous Avenger iX.

Main Characters

Copen - The main protagonist and the titular Luminous Avenger iX. Seen as a symbol of hope for many Minos, he continues down his weary, bloody path, having recently turned his attention to finding the mysterious "Butterfly Effect".

Lola - A combat support robot created by Copen to aid him in battle, capable of copying an Adept's Septima and using it for Copen's benefit, and can even use her "idol" mode to support Copen through song. She is known by Minos as the "Muse of Hope", whose online music videos serve as inspiration for the oppressed.

Kohaku - A young lady who as an affinity for tinkering with machinery. She acts as the leader of a small band of Mino children, and though times may be dark, her bright, cherry personality help everyone keep going.

Falcons - Very Powerful Adepts handpicked by Sumeragi to serve as their elite warriors and hunters.

Blade - A mysterious swordsman whose combat prowess is rivaled only by his unquestioning loyalty to Sumeragi. Wielding a powerful electric Septima and reporting directly to Sumeragi's supervisory AI, he is said to surpass all other Falcons in skill.
Libelio - One of the Falcons, his Septima can create some kind of red wool.
Crim - One of the Falcons, his Septima can make and throw explosive projectiles.

Development

Luminous Avenger iX began development at the beginning of 2018 with the intention of pleasing fans until the approval of Azure Striker Gunvolt 3, which series director Yoshihisa Tsuda was "having a difficult time with".^[1] It was announced on the 12th of May 2018 at Bitsummit (as is tradition for the series) alongside Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and the Armed Blue Gunvolt Official Complete Works artbook. A short trailer and the main artwork was published, and the game was playable at the event. It was said that at the time the game was 10% complete.^[1]

On the 26th of December later that year, during a live-stream, Inti Creates president and iX producer Takuya Aizu revealed the silhouettes of the seven main bosses, later revealed to be the "Falcons". That same live-stream, it was announced that development was preceding smoothly, that the game would be out by Christmas the next year in 2019, and that more news would be out after the release of Dragon: Marked For Death in January.

On June 1st 2019, more information was finally revealed at that year's Bitsummit in the form of a presentation, including a new poster, several characters and a trailer. The trailer detailed the game's premise and base game play elements, as well as the planned release date. It was also announced that the game would be released on PlayStation 4 and Steam as well. A demo was present at the event, which also revealed a few members of the Falcons, some new stages and further highlighted the game's new aesthetic compared to the main series. The presentation also revealed new voice actors for returning characters, having been recast to mark the start of a new series, and confirmed that a physical release would be present in Japan, and that Inti Creates were hoping to also have physical releases in other territories.^[2]

Soundtrack

The game's soundtrack is composed by series composer Ippo Yamada. All vocal tracks will be sung by Lola. The main theme, "Platinum Protocol", was first featured in the game's reveal trailer. Other tracks include:

Trivia

The "iX" in the title (a possible reference to the Mega Man X series) is pronounced as a single word, "icks". This holds true for the Japanese version, despite the lack of an "i" in the logo, most likely a result of the Japanese pronunciation of the letter "x".
- It could also be a reference to the Rockman X Mega Mission antagonist X, a copy of Mega Man X, also referred to as "iX" to differentiate the two.
It has been implied in interviews with Takuya Aizu that iX is the start of a new "Gunvolt Chronicles" series, seperate from the main Azure Striker Gunvolt series.^[1]^[2]
iX sets a number of milestones for the series, being:
- The first major game in the series to have a multi-platform release.
- The first major game to be released on PlayStation.
- The first major game to not be directed by Yoshihisa Tsuda.
- The first game to use full body character portraits in cutscenes as opposed to just head-shots.
- The first game to not launch as a Nintendo exclusive.
- The first game to not feature Gunvolt as a main protagonist/playable character.
- The first game to feature stages set in daytime as opposed to always nighttime.
- The first game to not feature mid-stage dialogue.