Has Gal Guardians Demon Purge Changed Gal Gun?

So as you guys all know by now, I'm a pretty big fan of 2D action games, Castlevania, and Metroidvania games. So it only makes sense that I'd take a look at Gal/Grim Guardians Demon Purge. A brand new Gal*Gun spin off featuring a co-op Castlevania syled experience! And through that, talk about where I think Gal*Gun as a franchise can go!
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[@NovaZoneTV]

Just a regular pinned comment for now. I figure this won't be the most agreed with video with Gal*Gun fans, but it's kinda where I'm at. I think I should add that there's a lot of sex comedy I like, Gal*Gun just doesn't do it for me. Always feel free to disagree. I always enjoy reading comments disagreeing as long as they're civil (y'all are usualy good on that). Anyways, next video is gonna take even longer than my usual. It's kinda THE thing I've been wanting to do for almost a year now, and anyone who's been following the past year or so might have an idea what it is.

[@RurouniZel]

Ironically, the Gal Gun franchise was originally pitched as a 2D side-scrolling action game which was rejected before we got the Gal Gun we all know and, er, acknowledge today. So in a way this is the most extreme form of going back to one's roots a franchise can get lol.

[@thefriendlydragon4811]

To be specific, in an in-house competition, Inti employees had to pitch ideas for a multiplayer 2D side-scrolling action game. Masanori Ito's team got their pitch shot down, and were told to think of something more silly. Ito then got the idea for Gal*Gun when seeing arcade shooters and thinking it would be funny if the mob enemies were girls instead. The staff liked it, but didn't seriously expect for it to actually be a project until Tsuda (yes, THAT Tsuda) gave the green light on it.

[@MrMeowMeowSaysPurr]

This game is worse than gunvolt, which is saying something

[@Aioba3846]

Is it a future of Gal*Gun itself? Nah, definitely not the main series. Its identity has always very much been a rail-shooter with sexual theming. So... yeah, that ain't ever gonna happen. When it comes to spin-offs though, it definitely is a good idea to reuse its parts to create something else, as this game has shown us.

[@thefriendlydragon4811]

Heyo, I’m the current admin of the Gal*Gun fan wiki (which is very much a work in progress). I did enjoy the review overall, but I just want to offer my own perspective on the series here. If someone told me I’d be a fan of Gal*Gun a few years ago, I… might believe them but wonder how the heck I got there. I was a fan of Inti’s other games, so when Double Peace was on sale for a very good price, I caved into curiosity and gave it a shot. I honestly was a little off-put by how sexual the game was at first, but I got pretty used to it and stuck around for the characters, setting, and even gameplay. Nowadays, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have a tough time explaining the appeal of the series in a way that hasn’t been explained better by others (namely Matt Papa, the former localization director at Inti), so I won’t try to at the moment. So when Gal Guardians was announced, I was pretty excited for it, but held the concern that it would take itself too seriously and be completely disconnected from prior entries (especially since iX2 and GV3’s fairly disconnected plots were still fresh in mind). While I do have my criticisms for the gameplay and actual plot (namely the true ending just being boring compared to the other ones), I’m glad to say that it’s a Gal*Gun game at heart. It acknowledges past events and characters, and in the second half and especially alternate ending, embraces its roots. I am fully aware that it’s not for everyone, but putting Curse of the Moon and Gal*Gun in a blender holds a lot of appeal to me and I hope they tap more into the deep well of potential that both elements hold. ...Next mainline Gal*Gun game when tho?

[@NovaZoneTV]

I'm genuinely glad you enjoy it and I'll check out some of Matt Papa's stuff when I get time. There's a lot of his streams I sifted through when making the GV videos last year. I'm always happy to hear why people enjoy stuff I'm not into. The Geek Critique's Sonic and the Secret Rings video where he mostly defended it was one of my favorite videos of late. You've already watched the video so you know I agree on the characters. I adore them, and honestly, if Inti threw Kurona into every game I'd be more than okay with that. And the fact that Guardians kept the brand of humor from Gal*Gun but made it more palatable to newcomers is a huge plus to it. I mean, it at the very least got me to give the series a shot. It's why I think the series has so much spin-off potential. For now, I'll just stop in with Gal*Gun whenever there's a spin off to my interest. I'm now an official Inti shill that will try anything new they give me. I at least respect Inti for going the extra mile with the writing and heart they put into it. It could've been a generic $5 hentai game on steam, but they opted for something that's at least gotten the appeal of a wide enough audience. Also big thanks for working on the wiki, that was a lot of help for this.

[@sonicya]

Bro made every attempt to roast his brother, lol. Overall, quite enjoyed the video and its comparative short length. It was kinda jarring to me when i first found out that shinobu is copens mom, maya is copens aunt, and of course, kurona is nori. I really like the comparison between the storybook sonic games and this game as it shows the potential of the series moving forward.

[@NovaZoneTV]

If he wants to lean how to edit and make a video about Gal*Guardians with the footage of me dying (totally non existant) I'll give it to him.

[@deadstars2052]

God, I love the idea of making gal gun lean more on a VN, having an ending where you actually romance one of the girls would be nice! Just don't take the ecchi out (it would basically kill the franchise by taking it's soul out), instead I think they should make more enemy types or just other things to mix up the gameplay in general (I dunno throw the characters in a fantasy setting or just make every woman in the city horny, anything!). Also, we need a Gal Gun Musou. P.s: back in the day I used to play gal gun alot on the living room TV and my parents never batted an Eye, so everytime I see videos like this and talk with friends from other countries I get this weird culture shock.

[@NovaZoneTV]

I've been watching a lot of classic anime lately for my next video, and I can kinda see why jokes like this might not really phase your parents gen. Yatterman and other shows of that era have a lot of jokes like that, though obviously in smaller doses.

[@deadstars2052]

@@NovaZoneTV yeah, the shows I used to watch with them (especially at the time) were really insane in all possible ways... Maybe it's just nostalgia but those cartoons were just so much fun. I have all kinds of memories of watching weird cartoons they watched from the 70s-80s on DVDs and stuff... I guess it makes sense that tentacle monsters and other idiot plots are just nothing to them. Before the 2000s alot of media in america used sexuality to boost sales (at least from what I know, I'm from South America) so for people from that time it must be fairly normal seeing ecchi stuff.

[@Zakuzelo]

24:28 Granted.

[@Pen_Slinger]

Kurona's got some killer genes if she's in for a growth spurt that big.

[@harugisasama]

I really don't wanna say anything because I will feel guilty doing so but my opinion I guess. As a die hard fan of the gal gun series, I was happy to see someone i subscribed to talk about the gal gun. I understand and respect that you don't like the series aside from the spin off. Although I won't lie, I felt you more rubbing salty on the wound by constantly going back to complaining how lewd the original series is. Also yeahhhhh, I'm pretty sure this is nothing more then a spin off, that may get referenced in future. 🤔 Then Castlevania apart, I actually love that style of games too. actually the swapping sister part kinda scares me. Like imma get used to one sister then I gotta swap. But aside from that It's good I wanna try the game more because I'm technically constantly forgetting it. So I'll buy one day soon... I'm always happy to see people playing my fav games but It's sad to see it has more negative effects on people playing it. Last thing.... I can't help but appreciate the company sticking to their guns at the very end.

[@NovaZoneTV]

Thanks for the heart felt response. I'm always appreciative of people sharing their thoughts, even if it doesn't align with mine. I'm even glad you took the time to watch the whole video even though you knew we'd disagree. I had the idea while writing that I'd get this type of response since I know I have the Inti Creates crowd, but I did want to stick to my guns. I tried my best to say that it's fine for people to like it and that I'm just not into it, but maybe I should've watched my tone a little more. I know I used to get bummed when someone I watched would make a video about a game and totally missed the point of it so I get what you mean. Especially because I know there's not a whole lot of people online that really defend Gal*Gun. I tried my best to portray what I do like in the mainline games but like I said, I'm not into the main concept. However, if YOU'RE INTO IT, I will never take that away from you. If it's a series you're passionate about and you feel people are missing the point, I always encourage you to engage with them about it. This is part of the reason I try to refrain from using phrases like "this is a bad game" or using "objectively" when talking about the quality of art.

[@noah_ignis]

Great video and I have to agree I always come back to this game when it involves multiplayer because me and my college friend can't get enough of the action. He is a gun enthusiast so of course he picked Shinobu and I would definitely play as Maya because I love melee based combat and I'm really hoping Inti Creates does more with this formula

[@Lazrael32]

I had no idea this was tied to gal-gun when i bought it (back when it was marketed as Grim guardians) i also assumed it was a metroidvania and was surprised it was more akin to their curse of the moon games. still it's fun and the art is great!

[@Phase02Innis]

Really solid video. You got me quite interested in the game.

[@mayborneflower]

18:36 - Aww, she dropped her orange juice

[@gamefreakDX]

If they just gave Shinobu the ability to strafe and jump while shooting, I think it'd make her way more fun because in my first loop through the castle, Maya was always at the front - I had little reason to play as Shinobu. Just giving her the ability to aim up however, was definitely a major boon to her.

[@capstalker5539]

10:08 You should play Bloodstained: CotM2 before Gal Guardians, because this game is basically CotM3.

[@WurmyBoi]

Comment for the algorithm, thanks for reviewing and discussing such a niche game.

[@fdevlin5932]

I love Grim Guardians and greatly enjoyed the review. Nice and long and substantive. I hope that this is the first in a series of guardian games. More of the same would be fine by me.

[@PowerPandaMods]

I'm a fan of anything IntiCreates puts out, but I've steered clear of the Gal*Gun series. I thought Ekoro was totally out of place in Might Gunvolt and its sequel. Despite the people that defend the series, I will never give my money to something that hyper-sexualizes high school girls, no matter how comedic it is. Heck, I won't even play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 due to its sexualization, and I've been a fan of that meta-franchise since the mid-90s.

[@heroicgangster9981]

As a fan of Gal Gun for the actual romance dynamics *more so from the first game* I really do want more of these games where we get to see the girl Galgun characters be used outside of their romance route purpose. I wanna see a Azure Gunvolt/Mega Man like game based off the Gal Gun 1 cast having the most variety when it comes to main Galgun casts. I love Galgun 1 the most because it has the least lewdness, but also it has an interesting use of its main character having a connection to all the girls. It presents different scenarios that expand on even the main character if you connect the dots of his character scraps.

[@HarvestMoonRuri]

Lately, all I watch are your videos, Keep it up Also question: Have you ever played any of Breath of Fire games? If you did, would you make a retrospective, please?

[@NovaZoneTV]

Thank you, glad you're enjoying the vids. I did play BoF1 a while back when they put it on Switch Online. I could tell that it had some first game jank that the sequels probably address, but I liked it overall. Videos would be a good excuse to play the rest so maybe some day but I hadn't actually considered it till now.

[@Spaceshotx7]

I like the looks and gameplay of Gal Guardians, as well as the 3 Gal Gun Games. I wish there would be English voice acting in the games, which I think they should add to the existing games via a DLC or Gold release, as well as have future Gal Gun/Guardians games have full English voice acting. I know Gal Guardians has some English voice acting, but its limited to battle/gameplay voices, while the Story dialogue is unvoiced in the English dub version. I thought whatever English voice acting they did add to Gal Guardians was nice, but I wish I can hear more of it, and more full English dialogue rather than just one liners.

[@Sadeyo1]

I have no friends into metroidvania's. Seems like I'm doing a solo run on this. Great review by the way.

[@NovaZoneTV]

Play with two controllers simultaneously. Believe in the me that believes in you!

[@GrumpySylveon]

twewy fan here inti fan here fuck yeah

[@HarbingerYT]

Are you planning on looking at other Inti games, like Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon 1+2 and the Blaster Master Zero Trilogy?

[@NovaZoneTV]

Eventually. I've got other stuff higher on my priority list but I definitely want to eventually. I wanna do a few more Castlevania videos (at least the rest of the classic series) before Curse of the Moon. I've played BMZ1 and CotM1 and loved both so definitely someday. Partially to get to the latter entries.

[@etrotm1226]

There's a new Gal Guardians game called Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark coming, whenever. So I feel like with that said, this definitely changed Gal*Gun and, this might be the future of the series as I haven't seen any mention of any future plans for Gal*Gun so far as I seen. Which, with the way things go on social media in the west, like on Twitter, and Reddit,, etc I'm not surprised they resorted to making a new Gal Guardians with no mention of any new ideas for the main series, Gal*Gun.

[@NovaZoneTV]

I'd imagine there's a few reasons beyond just that. I feel like I could've relayed this in the video better, but I think the issue with Gal*Gun is less "sex jokes bad" and more that it just doesn't stay original as long as it's run time would require of it. At 3 games, they might just feel they don't have any more ideas with it. Pair that with Inti's fanbase being mainly 2D action fans, Gal Guardians 1 feeling like it had more potential, and Gal*Gun 2 not selling too well, it's not a big shock that they'd do this next rather than another Gal*Gun next.

[@etrotm1226]

@@NovaZoneTV That is also true. At this point other than just "S3x bad", I can also see it that way too. I do agree that they might have ran out of ideas, since even I myself cant come up with anything that would sound like a good idea for a new Gal*Gun at this point. I could say "It can take place at college", but then what after? The only thing original is the college setting which is something in anime, let alone Japanese video games don't do enough of so, yeah. Gal*Gun might end at Gal*Gun 2 (Gal*Gun 3 actually)

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

So after I played GG Double Peace, I decided to look into Gal Guardian. Is GG Demon Purge really close to old school linear Castlevania? I like Bloodstained CotM 1 for it feeling arcade-ish, not sure if GG Demon Purge is arcade-ish. What made me like GG Double Peace is that it really felt like it had the good nature of arcade despite being a visual novel. Sorry for only watching your video on few minutes since I need to avoid big spoilers.

[@NovaZoneTV]

If you want straight up retro styled Castlevania like CV 1, 3, Bloodlines, then this is not it. If you want something in between classic Castlevania and the later Metroidvanias, then this is that. I still think this is a solid game and I'll for sure play the sequel (probably no video), but from the sounds of it maybe you should go to CotM 2 first.

[@pyro5159]

Zero jumps in and gives a thumbs up lol

[@lokii478]

Roman video!?!?? 🥶🥶

[@PowerPandaMods]

I've heard people use the term "Platform Adventure" game rather than Metroidvania, and I prefer that term. Metroidvania, as a term, carries a certain atmosphere with it, and as the Ori duology showed us, that atmosphere is NOT required for a good game in the genre.

[@mechashadow]

2:34 which castlevania is this?

[@NovaZoneTV]

Not a Cadtlevania. It's Momodora Reverie under the Moonlight. Tbh, i haven't finished it, but my brother really liked it.

[@ilucasz]

So, I'm halfway on the video and I must ask: Does it explain why Nori is Kurona and why does she work for Shinobu's son and daughter (Copen and Mythyl) as a maid?

[@NovaZoneTV]

No. I think Inti finds it funnier to leave it vague. Honestly I kinda do too

[@ilucasz]

@@NovaZoneTV Well, one thing for sure: Kurona has some serious problems with the Kamizono family.

[@thefriendlydragon4811]

Gunvolt and Grim/Gal Guardians diverge from each other in canon (or at least that's what the evidence seems to point to). The Gunvolt series takes place after the events of Maya's route in Double Peace, while Gal*Gun 2 and Grim/Gal take place either after the Shinobu or Sisters route. Thus if you want to, you could argue that Gunvolt is the iX of the Gal*Gun series, funny enough. However, it's worth noting that both Adult Kurona and Nori share the same nickname, which now has an official localization: the Eternal Seductress.

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

​@@thefriendlydragon4811does that mean Shinobu didnt marry Houdai?

[@thefriendlydragon4811]

@@soratheorangejuicemascot5809 That's correct (at least for the Gunvolt timeline). She marries Dr. Kamizono in a "marriage of convenience" (Dr. Kamizono got his last name from his wife as a result of the marriage, so his prior name is not known). Dr. Kamizono is described to have platinum blonde hair, which also does not match Houdai. Finally, it's mentioned on a couple occasions that the Kamizono family head is Copen's aunt (heavily implied to be Maya Kamizono).

[@Jonathanisheregaming]

7:32 this is just a

[@ghettyz9238]

Does this game have a PS4 to PS5 upgrade for free?

[@NovaZoneTV]

I played it on Steam so I don't know, nor do I see any answers from a quick search. If you don't own either right now, then the PS4 and PS5 version are on sale at the same price digitally. I still haven't run into any games on PS5 that don't upgrade, though I admit I don't own a lot where that's possible. Since it's a pixel art game developed with lower end specs in mind (I played it on a medium quality laptop hooked up to a 1080p slightly older TV), I wouldn't stress too much over which version you play.

[@ghettyz9238]

@@NovaZoneTV I want to platinum both versions i just want to figure out if i need to pay twice. I believe I will need to.

[@georgelongcoal1117]

Your brother likes TWEEY? CULTURED. Also I might check the game out. Maybe.

[@NovaZoneTV]

I might finally play it now that I hacked my 3DS (it was surprisingly easy). I never wanted to borrow his DS copy because he has a 100% save and I didn't wanna overwrite it.

[@georgelongcoal1117]

@@NovaZoneTV hope you have fun then! Meanwhile imma finish inscryption... Just finished act 1 and dayum that game is kinda cool

[@greek1237]

Not sure the series would be as "popular" if the fan service was remove. It sold the first 3 games.

[@CrimsonMoonM]

I always felt distaste for Inti's occasional proclivity for fanservice-y female designs. I got introduced to the devs through the Mega Man Zero series as a kid, so I've been raised to appreciate Inti's cool and stylish design enthos above anything else. It's just not for me, I suppose. Still, this does seem to scratch that Inti-flavored action platformer itch. so I'll probably get around to checking it out after I'm done with Umbralclaw.

[@NovaZoneTV]

I'd still say Gal Guardians is worth trying. Especially if you can pull a friend along. Not a whole lotta co-op metroidvania type games. I think my current stance on Gal Gun as a whole is "I like the characters, but not when they're doing sexual things." I'm not a mega prude or anything, I've seen my fair share of fan servicey anime... I just think the characters are able to shine more if the sex stuff is downplayed more than it is now. If they do another spin-off like guardians, I'll probz buy it. At the very least, I gave a main game a fair, open-minded chance and decided it wasn't for me.

[@shadowhunter9976]

What's the game at 12:20 ?

[@NovaZoneTV]

Vernal Edge. it released as I was working on the video. I had never heard of it until the release trailer but I bought it day 1 because it looked cool. Though funnily enough I haven't had time to play it yet 😅

[@shadowhunter9976]

@NovaZoneTV thanks for the recommendation! Also I knew I wasn't crazy when I thought the game was called Grim Guardians!

[@NovaZoneTV]

I want to get to it soon. After my current very big video project I think I'm gonna commit to regular streams and I think it'd be good for that. Thankfully, the name change was done like right before I did the voice over, so I didn't have to redo anything...

[@MrMeowMeowSaysPurr]

This game is sus as hell

[@DecisiveRebel22]

Hello, I am not into Sexual content in my video games and I was wondering how bad is the sexual content in this? Like how horrified would the elderly be if they saw their grandkid play this?

[@NovaZoneTV]

Not bad until you you fight the true final boss. There's some small dialogue bits that you can mostly ignore as well but nothing further than "wow, that sure is a porno magazine"

[@DecisiveRebel22]

@@NovaZoneTV ok cool thanks!