Azure Striker GUNVOLT 3

[› Furin]

Spoilers below:

Despite this game being called “Azure Striker GUNVOLT 3”, the titular character is not the protagonist but has instead been replaced by a female protagonist named Kirin. You play as her for about 10 minutes before you even encounter Gunvolt. When you do, it is revealed she can control his powers better than he can.

During her introductory moments, she comments how her organization, Shadow Yakumo, “has already done everything they could to deal with the situation through *legitimate* means.” Furthermore, as you play through the tutorial area and defeat enemies, she comments, “Sorry. But don’t worry. I won’t kill you.” As you traverse the level, she comments, “A wall like this won’t slow a Battle Priestess like me down, even for a second.”

After about 10 minutes, you arrive at the Primal Dragon. A man is standing in front of it and asks who Kirin is, to which she replies, “I am Kirin from Shadow Yakumo. I’m here to clean up the mess you made.” She then explains to him how the glaives they’ve amassed are incapable of containing the Primal Dragon’s power before engaging it in battle, commenting, “Oh well…Hey you, Lord of Dragons! I’ll take that power and bind it properly with my ‘Radiant Fetters’!”

Kirin uses her power and seals the Primal Dragon’s power. It is at this moment the Primal Dragon is revealed to be Gunvolt. They then have the following conversation:

Gunvolt: “What happened?... I’m not berserk anymore…The Glaives were only barely keeping me in check.”
Kirin: “Azure Striker Gunvolt, former Primal Dragon and wielder of the world’s most powerful Septima…You must take responsibility for what is about to occur, Gunvolt.”
Gunvolt: “Responsibility…? About to occur…? Who are you?”
Kirin: “I’m Kirin of Shadow Yakumo. And I’m here to borrow your power.”

The game then transitions to a recap of prior events, from Gunvolt’s perspective:

Gunvolt: “The battle was long and grueling. When it was over, I found myself awakened to a new power that was a step above Septimas. The Primal Dragon – its power is both dangerous and uncontrollable. I surrendered to Sumeragi – my enemy. By using me as a research subject, they were able to seal away the out-of-control power, but…”

At this point, Kirin interjects:

Kirin: “It was only a matter of time before such a shoddily constructed seal would break. Our soothsayer at Shadow Yakumo gave a single prediction just the other day, actually…They said the Primal Dragons and the ‘Ruler’ who creates them would appear.”
Gunvolt: “You think I’m…the ruler of the Primal Dragons?”
Kirin: “Yup. But it’s gonna be okay…Because my ‘Radiant Fetters’ Septima was able to completely seal away your Primal Dragon.”

After, it is revealed Gunvolt has transformed into a small, dog-like creature as a result of having his power sealed.

So, to recap the first 15 minutes of the game:

-the established protagonist from the prior 2 games has been replaced by a female protagonist who is extremely arrogant and condescending toward all male characters she interacts with.
-the new female protagonist can somehow completely seal and control the male, former-protagonist’s powers even when he himself could not
-the former protagonist had to give himself up to his sworn enemy because he was incapable of controlling his own power
-it is made clear Sumeragi could not control his power either – even when they’ve succeeded in keeping the entire world under their control. Only the new female protagonist can.
-the new female protagonist’s organization has a soothsayer who is referred to using they/them pronouns.

As if that wasn’t enough, later, when you switch to Gunvolt for the first time, the following conversation happens:

Gunvolt: “This is unbelievable! My power was so unstable before, but now I can control it so precisely!”
Kirin: “That’s all thanks to my Radiant Fetters! I can use my seal to adjust the output of your Azure Striker and stabilize it! You better be grateful. I had to train like crazy to pull off something like this.”
Gunvolt: “So this is all thanks to your grueling training? Thanks, it’s a huge help! I should be able to output plenty of power now! My body feels so light! I have perfect air control as well!”
Kirin: “You should be able to jump anywhere you want now. Gotta make sure I’m nearby, though.”
Gunvolt: “I used to need special equipment to do this, but I guess I don’t now thanks to your Fetters!”
Kirin: “Heh heh heh … It’s not [a] big deal or anything.”

Gunvolt can only be used for brief periods of time. You spend the vast majority of time playing as Kirin.