If you’ve spent any time in the 2D action scene, you know Inti Creates. They basically own the "Mega Man Zero" style of high-speed, punishing, yet incredibly fluid gameplay. But when the Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced Switch version hit the eShop, it sparked a weirdly specific debate among the hardcore fans. Is this just a lazy port job, or is it the definitive way to play through the saga of Gunvolt, Copen, and GV’s weirdly catchy pop-idol partner, Lumen?
Let's be real. Most people think "enhanced" is just corporate speak for "we bumped the resolution and added some DLC." For Gunvolt, it’s a bit more complicated than that.
What "Enhanced" Actually Means for Gunvolt
The original Azure Striker Gunvolt games were built for the Nintendo 3DS. That’s a tiny screen. Low resolution. Dual-screen gimmicks. Porting that to a 1080p television or the Switch’s OLED screen isn't just about stretching pixels. It’s about retooling the entire visual language of the game.
The Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced Switch collection brings together Azure Striker Gunvolt, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, and Azure Striker Gunvolt 3. But the first two games are where the real work happened. Inti Creates didn't just slap a filter on it. They rebuilt the UI. In the 3DS versions, your health, energy (EP), and song lyrics were split between two screens. On the Switch, they had to cram all that data into a single frame without making it look like a cluttered mess.
Honestly, they nailed the layout. It feels natural.
Then there’s the framerate. On the 3DS, you were locked at 30 FPS for most of the high-octane action. On the Switch, everything runs at a buttery smooth 60 FPS. If you’ve never played a Gunvolt game, that might not sound like a big deal. But when you’re dashing through a hail of purple lasers as Copen, every millisecond counts. The input lag is practically non-existent compared to the original hardware. It changes the game.
The DLC Factor
You get everything. Every bit of extra content that was previously sold as piecemeal DLC on the eShop is baked into the cartridge here. This includes extra boss fights against characters like Shovel Knight—yes, that really happened—and additional "Musa" (Muse) songs that trigger when you’re performing well.
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The Evolution of the Gameplay Loop
Gunvolt isn't Mega Man. Stop trying to play it like Mega Man.
In Mega Man, you shoot things until they die. In the Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced Switch experience, shooting is just the "tag." You hit an enemy with a dart to lock on, and then you hold down the "flash" button to incinerate them with electricity. It’s a rhythmic, flow-state kind of game.
By the time you get to the third game in this trilogy, the mechanics have shifted significantly. You’re playing as Kirin, a sword-wielding priestess who uses "talismans" to weaken enemies before warping to them for a killing blow. It’s faster. It’s more vertical. It’s also way more forgiving than the first game, which had some truly mean-spirited platforming sections.
Is the Story Actually Good?
Look, it’s anime. It’s very anime.
There are "Adepts" (people with superpowers) being oppressed by a giant corporation called Sumeragi. There’s a lot of talk about "Septimal powers" and the destiny of the world. But what keeps people coming back isn't necessarily the grand political plot; it’s the relationship between Gunvolt and Joule.
The first game has a notoriously dark ending. It’s gut-wrenching. The Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced Switch version lets you see that emotional arc play out across three full games without having to hunt down obscure handheld consoles. It’s a tragedy that turns into a legacy story. It’s surprisingly deep if you actually read the "Story Mode+" dialogue that pops up during the levels.
Why Some Fans Prefer the Originals (And Why They’re Wrong)
There is a small, vocal group of purists who claim the 3DS is the only "true" way to play. Their argument? The dual-screen setup allowed for quicker access to certain skills via the touchscreen.
They have a point, kinda.
On the Switch, some of those touchscreen shortcuts have been mapped to the R2/L2 triggers or a quick-select menu. It takes a few minutes to get used to it. But the trade-off—playing on a screen that doesn't make you squint and having high-fidelity audio for the J-pop soundtrack—is a no-brainer. The "Muse" system, where a pop idol sings to you as you rack up a high score, sounds incredible on the Switch's speakers.
Specific Improvements in the Switch Trilogy
- Resolution: The sprites are crisp. No more blurry jagged edges from the 240p era.
- Translation Updates: The localization in the first game was a bit rocky back in 2014. The trilogy version features more consistent terminology and better-flowing dialogue.
- Load Times: They are gone. You select a stage, and you’re in.
- HD Rumble: It’s subtle, but the vibration when you use Gunvolt’s "Voltic Chain" screen-clearing move adds a weirdly satisfying weight to the action.
Common Misconceptions About the Trilogy
A lot of people think Luminous Avenger iX is part of this trilogy. It isn't. iX is a spin-off series focusing on Copen in an alternate timeline. While iX is great, the Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced Switch package is strictly the "mainline" story.
Another misconception is that the games are too easy because of the "Prevasion" mechanic. Prevasion basically makes you invincible as long as you have energy. If you’re just trying to finish the level, yeah, it’s easy. But the real game is the Ranking System. If you get hit once, your "Kudos" (combo points) reset to zero. To get an S+ rank, you have to play perfectly. You have to be a god.
The "enhanced" version makes chasing those S+ ranks much more viable because the screen real estate is larger, allowing you to see incoming threats from much further away.
Actionable Steps for New Players
If you're picking this up for the first time, don't just mash buttons. You'll get frustrated.
- Turn off "Auto-Prevasion" if you want to learn. Relying on it too much prevents you from learning the dash-jump timing that is essential for the later bosses in Gunvolt 3.
- Listen to the music. The "Muse" songs aren't just background noise. When the music kicks in, your "Kudos" are locked, and you get various buffs. It’s a gameplay mechanic disguised as a soundtrack.
- Play them in order. Even though Gunvolt 3 looks the flashiest, the emotional payoff of the final chapters relies heavily on knowing what happened in the first two games.
- Check the "Image Pulse" system in the third game. It’s a gacha-style mechanic (using in-game currency, not real money) that lets you summon characters from previous games to help you. It’s a massive nostalgia trip and adds a layer of strategy to your loadout.
The Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced Switch is essentially the "Criterion Collection" of 2D action games. It preserves a very specific era of handheld gaming while modernizing it just enough to feel fresh in 2026. Whether you're a veteran looking to retire your 3DS or a newcomer wondering what all the fuss is about, this is the definitive version of the franchise. It’s fast, it’s loud, and it’s unapologetically stylish.