Mighty Gunvolt Burst is a new release from Inti Creates that definitely pays homage to its inspirations. Read our Mighty Gunvolt Burst review to learn why!

 

Mighty Gunvolt Burst from Inti Creates is a sequel to Mighty Gunvolt, a short but fun 8-Bit release that was first available as sort of a pre-order bonus for Azure Striker Gunvolt on Nintendo 3DS, but which has now evolved into a larger and even more fun 2D action platformer series. If you’re a big fan of the Mega Man games of ages past, of Azure Striker Gunvolt, and of Mighty No. 9, then this is a must-have game you gotta play!

The story depends on which character you choose to play – for this review I played as Beck (but you can also play as Gunvolt). Beck finds himself trapped inside of a Virtual Reality Simulation Chamber where he is forced to face off against the Robot Masters. You are free to take on the Robot Masters in any order you wish, but do keep in mind that some of them will have elemental weaknesses you can exploit.

Gameplay is nice and simple. You can run, jump and shoot your way through each 2D stage, and you can also access a menu that will come in handy. As in Mega Man, the platforming is a bit tough, but you’ll get to learn from some trial and error as you go. You have unlimited lives, so if you end up dying, you’ll be taken to the last checkpoint you reached. At the end of each stage you will be graded on your performance, and if you want a high grade, you should keep your deaths per stage as close to zero as possible. There are many opportunities to increase your score for each stage, particularly thanks to the Burst ability. With Burst, you can start a special combo by defeating consecutive enemies while being dangerously close to them. If you want to reach the best grade for each stage, you’ll need to get long Burst combos for the whole game to maximize your potential.

As you progress through the campaign, you will gain CP which allows you to increase your equipment loadout. There are modules that you can find during your journey, and by equipping them, you’ll get to customize some of the available abilities and gameplay mechanics. The customization options are very fun and rewarding, so be sure to experiment to maximize the potential of your loadout. The more mods you have, the more options you’ll get to play with, as long as you have enough CP for what you’ve selected.

There are a ton of collectibles to find in the game. Along with the mods, you can also find and collect the over 100 stickers in the game. You can get these for completing some of the in-game Challenges, as items on a stage, or as loot from defeated enemies. There are also some awarded after completing a stage, since each stage has three rewards for you to chose from – if you want all three you’ll need to complete each stage three times!

As for the boss battles, they’re certainly hard, but they’re not unfair. Each boss has specific attack and movement patterns you’ll need to decipher so that you can use your weapons to make short work o them. As long as you’re patient and pay attention, and make good use of the food you pick on your way to the boss so that you can heal your wounds, you’ll be able to defeat every single one of them. And if you want an even harder time, there is a challenge for completing all stages using only your starting weapon, available in customization slot 1 – a slot that can’t be customized!

The music has a nice ring to it thanks to some very good chiptunes that will take you back to games of ages past, making the nostalgia rain in spades! The songs are very good and will probably be stuck in your head for a few days after playing the game either in short bursts or longer sessions.

Mighty Gunvolt Burst is an excellent action platformer on the Nintendo Switch and one of the best games on Nintendo’s hybrid console. If you’re a fan of the Mega Man series, of the Azure Striker Gunvolt games or of Mighty No. 9, then you have to play Mighty Gunvolt Burst today!

Disclaimer
This Mighty Gunvolt Burst review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Inti Creates.