REVIEW

Gal Gun Double Peace Review

by Rob Pritchard, August 23rd, 2016

Cultural differences make media from certain countries unique. Whether it is the quirky antics that originate in British cinema, or the brutal yet gripping serial dramas from HBO in America, variety truly is the spice of life. This is certainly the case with Gal Gun Double Peace, the latest game to be given a Western translation by PQube. Although a previous game in the series was released back in 2012, it was never translated outside of Japan. While the central themes of the game may not be to everyone’s taste, the game play that is on offer is definitely deserving of your time and energy.

Gal Gun Double Peace is a hybrid video game that primarily focuses on being an on-rail shooter like Namco’s Time Crisis, but has several visual novel sections comparable with offerings such as Hatoful Boyfriend. The story focuses on a young man named Houdai Kudoki, who is accidentally struck with a love arrow by an in-training cupid named Ekoro, whilst she is competing against a demon named Kurona. Unfortunately for Houdai, he has been given thirty two times the recommended dose, so now every girl in his high school has become completely infatuated with him. In true dramatic fashion, if he does not find true love before the sun sets, Houdai will spend the remainder of his life alone.

Right at the beginning of the game, you are given the choice of pursuing the affections of one of two classmates from your school. Gal Gun Double Peace’s story mode is divided into seven episodes for both characters, each with a varying amount of chapters dependant on the significance of the current story arc. Each chapter can consist of a Stage, Event or Battle segment, and will become available to replay using the Score Attack Mode. A Stage is exactly like you would expect a typical rail shooter to be like, with several romantically obsessed students coming at you from all directions.

In order to defeat Houdai’s hypnotised classmates, you will need to use the pheromone gun given to you by Ekoro. In order to get the girls to leave you alone, you need to fire pheromone shots to make them enter a state of Euphoria. The Battle segments consist of usually a single enemy encounter of demonic origin, and will require more than a single shot to defeat. The Event segments are a refreshing change from constantly firing pheromones, as you will need to take part in a series of button mashing and touchpad stroking mini-games in order to complete them. Although the Event and Stage sections offer a unique challenge because of their alternate paths and exclusive School Reports to be collected en route, the Battle stages suffer from being very similar despite the variance in enemy design. The process of zooming in on the enemy to view their insides and shooting their weak spot, then shooting their tentacles can become very tedious, especially you are needed to complete this a minimum of three times.

Whether you choose the older yet emotionally insecure Shinobu, or her younger and more forgiving sister Maya, the game play structure remains relatively the same, but certain segments can only be found by choosing a specific sister. After replaying the game a few times, I found that Shinobu’s stages tended to be slightly easier than Maya’s to complete, but due to their age gap, the exclusive content was more suggestive during the Event stages. It is at this point that the possible reason for the original game’s non translation becomes apparent. In order to do fire shots effectively, you will need to examine the enemy girls carefully from a distance, and then fire the pheromones at the part of the body that is most sensitive to their influence. The same issues are also relevant in the event segments and the Doki-Doki Mode, a mechanic which you unlock during Stage sections. Instead of firing shots, where you will need to touch sensitive areas through their underwear to make them reach Euphoria.

Although some of the segments in the game were definitely suggestive, in particular the boss battles with tentacle wielding demonic creatures, the content has been given an extensive adjustment by PQube, and nothing of major concern is present throughout. So while the content may definitely not be to everyone’s taste, the game’s content is entirely legal. If you are worried about playing the game around others, a feature named the Mom’s Arrived Screen disguises the game as a harmless Japanese RPG and can be activated by pressing L3+R3 at any time.

One of the best features of Gal Gun Double Peace is the upgrade system located at the Academy Store. While simple in concept, it allows you to spend the Angel Feathers you accumulate during each chapter in a variety of different ways. As well as increasing your health meter’s capacity with specialist energy drinks, Houdai can buy specialist items such as Swirly Glasses and Iron Dumbells which affect your Intelligence, Style, Lewdness and Athleticism. It is definitely wise to invest in these items, as certain dialogue options can only be triggered by having one of these stats beyond a certain threshold.

Like many games of this genre, Gal Gun Double Peace uses manga styled 3D models, with slightly higher textures in place for the characters. The frame rate stays constant throughout and there are no signs of graphical tearing or lack of anti aliasing in sight. Although the text in Gal*Gun Double Peace has been completely translated, there is no English dub track in game, which is understandable as the target audience in Western countries would likely opt for the original dialogue track. The music is typically bouncy and vibrant as you would expect in a Japanese visual novel, but the lack of stage music for each area is slightly disappointing.

Overall, Gal Gun Double Peace is an enjoyable rail shooter with some interesting ideas. It will not appeal to everyone because of western cultural differences, but the niche subject matter does not detriment the experience. As long as the player keeps an open mind, the colourful anime graphics and addictive game play will keep you entertained every time you return.

Although Gal Gun Double Peace has some quirks that will only be truly appreciated by a specific audience, it's addictive gameplay and bright graphics will keep you coming back to play time and again.