Platforms: PC (version reviewed), Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, Xbox One
Genre: Rhythm game using Inti Creates’ most prominent 2D platforming series’ J-pop

Inti Creates, known for making past 2D Mega Man platformers for Capcom, broke out on their own to make its successful line of original 2D platformers dubbed the Gunvolt series. They’re known for their lovely 2D pixel art, fast-paced gameplay, anime storyline, and even more anime J-Pop songs whenever the main character’s support units, the Muses, enter the fray. After three mothership games, Inti Creates seem confident enough to placate their fanbase with their next venture: using said J-Pop songs for a brand-new rhythm game using the Gunvolt brand, featuring three of the game’s muses -Lumen, Lola, and Luxia- and 15 songs from the game (with more as paid DLC).

Think the Persona 3, 4, and 5 music rhythm dance games, but with a fraction of the budget. And from what I’ve seen and played, it shows.

Everything’s Electric (?)

Let’s start with the good: Gunvolt Records Cychronicle’s rhythm mechanics are easy to get into: different notes that come down the music lane (to the beat of the song) require you to press the correct inputs. Left/right green rectangular notes? Tap the L1/R1 or face buttons/d-pad. Arrow notes? Hit the left/right analog stick flicks. Arc notes? Tilt the respective analog stick to where the arc starts then move it in accordance to the motion required (which is usually an arc). Lesser difficulty means less inputs, while the higher difficulty means doing multiple inputs at once, meaning a helluva workout for your thumbs and fingers.

Hitting glowing notes means more multipliers, while not missing a beat means your cumulative score gets higher. Hit the notes perfectly, and you get a better score than being late or early with your inputs. It’s simple to get into and intuitive once you’re done with the first song or two, and it also gets challenging if you attempt the highest difficulty.

Of course, these games all boils down to setlists and overall presentation during the gameplay. Hope you love saccharine J-pop because that’s all you’ll be getting the majority of the time. No slow songs or power ballads here; just high BPM music with some unique instrument insertions (like violins and Middle East percussions) that will cause niche fans of the Gunvolt games to break out dancing.

As someone who recognizes only a fraction of the tunes (Azure Striker Gunvolt being the only game I played in the series), I find most of the songs kinda catchy in the context of the rhythm game. I would only listen to one or two (“Purification” & “Virtue of the Dawn”) outside of this due to the rest of the soundtrack just being monotonous upon prolonged listening, but they’re inoffensive enough to endure through and play. Though I have to add that the starting verses of “Purification” sound like the verse of Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like A Wolf”.

I can’t really say good things about the overall presentation though. The game greets you with a pretty cool model of one of the muses (which you can change anytime, in case you want the well-endowed tanned one from the third Gunvolt game). However, the in-game concert video segments featuring the muses and their key songs (the ones with the ‘Play” button next to the name) look compressed and fuzzy. Some of them can get distracting, especially the songs with Luxia in the video where her yellow stage and light shines can make the oncoming notes in the lane blend in, possibly screwing up your perfect run.

The rest of the tracks use gameplay montages of the Gunvolt series’ key moments, as well as the 2017 anime series from the Nintendo eShop. Frankly, Inti Creates could have done a better job here because it feels pretty tacked-on, like they lifted old trailers of their games and just shoved it in as background filler. If the concert segments were rendered in-game -spliced in with key Gunvolt moments ala a dream sequence or effective transition- instead of looking like what it is, then maybe I’d sing a different tune. As of now, it feels like you have to put up with these half-hearted efforts at in-game music video work while you’re playing through the many pop tunes on tap.

Slight A(muse)ment

While Gunvolt Records Cychronicle a valiant attempt at making a rhythm game spin-off using the game’s eclectic pop songs during Gunvolt’s Septimal power-up moments, the final product does feel a little cheap from its coating and presentation. These are key things in rhythm games you need to nail, and unfortunately Gunvolt Records Cychronicles isn’t doing it for me.

The gameplay and note charts are serviceable enough, while its pop songs feel monotonous to listen to over time. At the very least, the game’s price tag and rough playtime of 3 hours seems appropriate from what I’ve played. And it made me want to play the other two mothership Gunvolt games out of curiosity. So mission accomplished with the cross-promotion idea, I guess.

Unless you’re a diehard Inti Creates fan or a rhythm game fan who tapped out of other games like Spin Rhythm XD and needs some of that indie anime flavour, it’s a little tough to recommend this niche entry to everyone else.

Final Score: 50/100

Review copy provided by publisher.