Azure Striker Gunvolt's Japanese version is now on Steam

Remember Azure Striker Gunvolt? The brand new game by Inti that follows in the footsteps of their previous Mega Man Zero and ZX games? Well, if not, it's a game that was released on the Nintendo 3DS quite some time ago, and it has already formed a cult following of sorts. Sure it isn't as big as Mega Man was, but it does have a fanbase that loves it, and the game did do well enough for a sequel to go into the works. It's a pretty fun game (assuming you like action platforming games), but it did have one issue with it's release here in the West -- it has quite a bit of cut content.

In the US version, Gunvolt was redesigned slightly, the Japanese vocals were removed, and above all, the in game dialogue was completely ripped from the game. So, what does this mean you might ask? Well it's simple -- we were missing most of the game's story. Originally characters would talk to or about Gunvolt when they see him, you'd here enemies and soldiers make announcements, and Gunvolt's team would call him and talk to him over his radio as he did different things and progressed through the stage. He would also make comments to himself, and explain different situations during the earlier stages. This not only helped new players when they first started, but the dialogue greatly expanded the story, and actually explained to you what was happening in this world. Rather than just fighting a giant enemy that showed up, and killing everything else you see, the game gives you a reason for it. Basically it's what you would expect to see in most action games now days, where the game's story actually unfolds as you play rather than by sitting in cutscene after cutscene. So, in short, most of the game's story was in fact removed.

While it's sad that the original release of the game was cut back, I am now happy to announce that that problem has been fixed! Now on Steam is the original Japanese version of the game translated into English. Of course when you first start it up it'll be defaulting to the 3DS version we all may know and love, but if you go into the configurations before starting you will see the "Japanese (English)" option. By selecting this, you'll be turning on stage dialogue, you'll revert Gunvolt to his Japanese sprite, and you'll see and hear all of the in stage dialogue. Of course if the text popping up bothers you, you can just turn it off with a press of a button, but for those of you who want to see the story -- the option is finally there.

Sadly the Steam version of the game isn't perfect, but it is still something many fans may have waited a long time to see. It is a bit odd to see a touch screen box below the main game, but it's not too much of an issue to use. Either way, it's still a fun game, and well worth checking out.