Azure Striker Gunvolt - 1st Sumeragi S+ Rank Without Tagging Enemies

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DZ3

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Published on March 21, 2025 10:00:30 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P62o-Jiy3-g

Game:

Azure Striker Gunvolt (2014)

Duration: 0:00

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Here’s a unique S+ Rank run of Azure Striker Gunvolt’s intro stage, 1st Sumeragi. In this run, I clear the stage without ever using one of Gunvolt’s standard Bolts to tag enemies. Instead, I opt to use an unorthodox weapon, Dullahan, to get the job done. Here are the details.

Dullahan is a highly specialized Bolt obtained by clearing the post-game Special Missions. It lacks the ability to tag enemies whatsoever, which it compensates for by packing extra punch in the shots themselves. On its own, it deals 40 damage per shot, rather than 10 like the other Bolts, and when paired with the Broken Necklace, it gets further juiced up to 60 damage. The apparent intent behind Dullahan’s existence is to morph the game into a Mega Man X type of experience, dashing past and blasting through enemies with complete disregard to their presence. However, there’s nothing stopping players from precisely managing their shot timing and placement to create combos, even in the absence of standard Flashfield attacking.

Dullahan’s shots lack terrain or enemy-piercing capabilities, and the weapon adheres to a limit of 3 bullets on screen at a given time. When using Dullahan exclusively, Gunvolt is also deprived of the ability to cluster enemies together via rapid shocks. These restrictions mean that optimizing combos on groups of enemies that are spaced far apart demands careful marksmanship rather than firing a deluge of shots to overcome the issue. Regarding range, there’s no difference between Dullahan and the others, so you can still exploit the fact that enemies remain vulnerable to being shot even when slightly off camera.

That fact is plainly demonstrated at the onset of the stage, where two Roll Cannons meet their end without either being visible. The column of black rectangular wall tiles acts as a visual cue for Gunvolt’s placement. Past that, a pair of Flying Drones are used to illustrate an important concept: enemies don’t need to be destroyed simultaneously for combos to count. This is what makes getting Triples and 4-Strikes possible with a limited arsenal. The internal timer that tracks the time between enemy deaths can be quite gracious, so don’t be afraid to experiment with pushing your combo sequences, regardless of your loadout.

The only mandatory usage of regular weapons is to power the tutorial elevator. Certain other stages, like Carrera’s and Elise’s, also contain puzzles that call for Flashfield usage. In my opinion, these aspects are divorced from combat, and so, don’t interfere with the premise of the challenge. In theory, you could use the Flashfield in tandem with Dullahan for defensive utility, platforming, whittling down enemy health, and extra damage on bosses; doing so wouldn’t violate the “no tagging enemies” rule. However, I feel that if you’re going to go through the effort of comboing with Bolts only, then keeping EP usage to a minimum is befitting.

Dashing through the offices following the elevator is fairly straightforward. I don’t blindly run past the shutters as I would in a standard run, electing to engage with them and get extra Kudos to compensate for the lack of Air Strikes and no Skill Finish on the Mantis Tanks. To jump forward a bit, Dullahan can rapid-fire by holding down the attack button, which is useful to deal quick damage against the Tanks and intercept their missiles. Mashing is still faster at close range, though.

The train section opens with an absolute stumper of a combo. There are a total of 7 enemies before the first Tank, and they’re spaced in a fashion that makes a 4/3 split the ideal approach. Getting a 4-Strike on the first group is a real pain, chiefly because the leftmost Sumeragi soldier likes to run around like a headless chicken. Keeping him in range while his HP runs out, quickly turning to fire 3 rounds to the right, then sniping the remaining Flying Drone is the only method I could find. Calling it a delicate procedure would be underselling it; most of my practice time was spent on this single combo. Luckily, the Triple afterward is far more consistent.

Gunvolt’s mad sprint across the cargo containers is mostly uneventful, save for the Bomber Soldiers accompanied by Sentry Units. Mowing down the first pair with some quick turn-around shots is fine, but the second set also has a Homing Missile Soldier lurking nearby. Landing between the Bomber and Sentry without drawing the attention of the Missile Soldier is the way to safely navigate the mini-maze, but it requires a solid amount of training to do reliably.

With no crates to keep Gunvolt level with the second Mantis Tank’s face, the battle takes a lot longer to complete than the first. Using the Flashfield to delay your descent while firing can hasten the fight if you so wish. I do err on the side of caution, taking the time to dispose of the rainstorm of missiles rather than dancing around.

Thanks for watching! Questions and comments are welcome as usual.

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