Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX is a spin-off of the Gunvolt series. The story is set in its own timeline in which the Sumeragi group hunts down the Minos who are people without Septima powers.
A mysterious person is fighting to save the Minos known as "Luminous Avenger iX." His name is Copen who fights along with his Robot muse Lola. The game starts when they meet a group of young Minos led by a girl named Kohaku. Copen makes their place his new base and continues fighting the Sumiragi group.
For my review of the game, you can read my first impression article here. You can also check my article on the first game's True Ending here.
As I played through the game, I was thinking "when in the timeline does this game fit?" It's not a sequel to the first game since the Sumeragi group is supposed to be destroyed, yet it's still active in this timeline. Copen doesn't seem to be older than his appearance in the first game. Gunvolt is nowhere to be found. Lola is a completely different character than her Gunvolt 2 counterpart. Everything is different in an intriguing way.
The original Gunvolt world is a bit dystopian, but in Luminous Avenger iX, the world is even more so. The humans, Septima-less people are called Minos and are hunted down by the Sumeragi group. Something their original leader wouldn't approve of, despite his skewed-utopian viewpoint. I knew from the start that this isn't the same Sumeragi we fought in Azure Striker Gunvolt!
There are many hints spread through the stages and the dialogue, but the truth itself is only revealed in the final stage of the game.
When Copen reaches the Butterfly Effect, a device that's used to control Adepts. It's revealed that it was made from Mytyl's ** brain, Copen**'s younger sister. After he killed her to save her from suffering, Copen went to destroy Demerzel, the AI that controls the Sumiragi group. He's shocked to see: Asimov!
Yes! Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX is set after the bad ending of the original Azure Striker Gunvolt game! Also, more than 100 years have passed since that ending.
Asimov has turned into "Demerzel." An electric being but lost most of his sanity since then. Demerzel being the current leader of Sumeragi group now is hinted via the Quill symbol in the game.
Copen looks the same as he was 100 years ago, but that's because he's a cyborg now. He turned himself into a machine to save the Minos. The reason he's famous as the Luminous Avenger is because he has been doing that for many years.
Blade, the recurring boss in this game, turned out to be older Kohaku's sister. Blade has been brainwashed and given the "Azure Striker" electricity Septima despite being one of the Minos, so she could play her role in Asimov's plan. (Copen and Lola were more shocked that Blade is a girl, but I expected as much from the beginning.)
The ending explains a lot, and after seeing it, I'm excited to play the games that are left for me to play in this series.
Gunvolt series is gameplay-focused, the story isn't delivered with many lines, but every spoken line hints at a new lore or character information. Games like that offer a lot of replayability, if only for the sake of seeing the scattered hints.
