Overview – developed by Inti Creates and published by PQube, Gal*Gun Double Peace is the latest entry in the fanservice rail shooter to hit the Nintendo Switch. Shoot the girls that chase you to declare their love with your Pheromone shot, giving them euphoria to stop them as you seek your true love. With almost all DLC content included this version of Gal*Gun Double Peace is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch, a link to the game will be at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PQube for providing the copy of Gal*Gun Double Peace that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Mature Content Warning: this title is rated mature, this is due to sexual themes, sexualized content and suggestive imagery. If you are under the recommended age limit for this release or if you find any of the content offensive, please proceed at your own discretion.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. I have also reviewed the other entries in this series, Gal*Gun Returns which can be found (HERE) and Gal*Gun 2 which can be found (HERE). Please check those out too if you haven’t already seen them.
Story – taking place a year after the events of Gal*Gun returns, a rumor known as the “Super Popular Legend” has spread where they say if you see an angel, you will find your true love. Now, a student cupid angel named Ekoro, has to hit a student of the Sakurazaki Academy with an arrow to help them find the love of their life. however, due to an unexpected chain of events, the angel hits her target Houdai Kudoki with 32x the power she was meant to.
The power of the arrows has caused Houdai to become super popular with almost every girl at the academy, to the point that they chase him down to show their love. The only ones who aren’t affected are his childhood friends, Shinobu and Maya, who have not spoken to him in three years. But all of this changes when Houdai is hit with the arrow and learns that he must find his true love by sunset, or else he faces the possibility of life alone if he fails in his mission.
Gameplay – Gal*Gun Double Peace is a rail shooter, where the player must defend himself as wave after wave of girls, using the Pheromone shot to defend themselves. At the start of story mode, the player will go through the prologue setting up the plot for the game, with the main game starting at the end of the first chapter. Before the second chapter can begin, the player must choose a path to take, which will influence the narrative that plays out.
After the player has chosen their path, preset stages will play out with some non-linear options where different general stages can be chosen, linking to the character specific paths. The stages will vary depending on the route, with some also having diverging paths where a direction can be chosen. There are also character specific boss battles and mini-games that can be played, with special mechanics that will be discussed further down.
While moving through each stage of the game, the player will be under constant attack from the girls of the academy. The girls will be persistent in their assault and will attack the player in a few ways, with the most common being to hit the player with a gift/slap or shouting their confessions of love. To prevent the girls from getting in the way of true love, the player must use the power of Pheromone shot to incapacitate the girls with euphoria.
The pheromone shot can be used in two ways, a regular shot that can directly hit the girls all over their bodies, with specific weak (Ecstasy) spots doing more “damage” to incapacitate them faster. The second way to deal with the pursuers is charge shots, where the pheromone shot is powered up and can be used to stun girls for a moment. These two shots can be combined to quickly stop any and all threats very quickly, but there is one last attack that can be used.
The Doki Doki Field is a special attack that can be used when a heart meter in the corner is filled, up to three hearts can built up and a girl can be targeted for each heart available. When a Doki Doki is activated, all girls on screen will be stunned for a time, with a touch marker to select the target. After selecting the target, a mini-game will begin where the girls can be interacted with, allowing the player to rub and poke the girls to fill a meter.
If the mini game succeeds some character attributes will change and a Doki Bomb goes off, defeating all girls on screen, which can be very useful as some girls can be tougher to defeat than others. Due to the interference of a mischievous demon, some girls will have little demons floating around them that reduce damage unless they are knocked out first. These little mischief makers only show up if the sight shows them, the sight also shows special fairies that can be shot for a bonus.
The sight for the pheromone shot also serves a secondary purpose as more than just a way to aim. When zooming in with the sight, the player can examine girls to gain information on them, like measurements, names and even the type of underwear they have. It is also able to see through certain obstacles, like locker doors, tables and pillars, uncovering the girls that hide and even hidden objects that can be shot to collect for side quests.
When the stage is cleared, the score for that stage is added to the total with bonuses provided for the performance of the player. The bonuses are for time taken to clear the stage, the amount of damage taken and the accuracy of shots, with a total of up to 5 stars for each bonus. As the score increases, the ranking will increase at set increments, starting at F and going up as each milestone is reached.
At specific points events will occur where the player will interact with the characters of that route, using dialogue choices, shooting and touch mechanics to complete tasks. These events can affect the outcome of the plot, with the potential to completely change the ending that will happen at the end. The events can be completed with either traditional controls alone, or a combination of button prompts and touch screen interactions (the same can be done in Doki Doki mode).
There are also boss battles, where the player must fight an opponent to deplete their health bar to progress the story. These battles can be really tough as there will be targets that need to be hit quickly, failure to do so will result in taking damage and possible failure. The events also have rankings that will depend on the performance of the player, so it is important to succeed in order to get the best result possible or risk getting a bad end.
Between stages the player is able to save, load and access the store where feathers earned for completing side quests can be spent. The items at the store can alter the character stats, give more health and attack power, boost the power of charge shots and even make changes to all the girls in the game. These purchases only apply to the current story run, as there is no new game plus, but the feathers can be earned easily.
Outside of the story mode, there is a score attack mode which is similar to an arcade mode, where the stages are straightforward without the need to worry about dialogue choices. alongside this is a collection and dress-up mode where character models can be interacted with/looked at, stats can be checked and outfits can be changed. These extra modes work well to keep the game experience fresh, while providing something for players who want to improve scores and unlock everything.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of the game, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls for this title are very simple, you aim with the left stick, shoot with the Y button, zoom with the R-shoulder and use the X button for Doki Doki mode. That is how you play for the majority of the game, however, there are features like Doki Doki where you can use the touch screen when handheld, or the controller when docked. In some instances the touch controls are preferable, they can be faster and put less wear on the controller, but in others the controller method is better.
Difficulty – there are two difficulty settings for this release, beginner and expert. The difference between the two is mostly how much damage is dealt by girls and how many shots it takes to subdue them. In general the difficulty is balanced, with the abundance of items that can be purchased to strengthen the health bar, the pheromone shot and charged power. The upgrades can ease the challenge but the game remains balanced, so the player doesn’t get too strong.
Presentation – the visual style for Double Peace has that distinct anime style to it, with the girls having very cutesy designs, big eyes and expressive faces. The art that appears for the cutscene images is beautiful, with vibrant colors and visually pleasing to see. The performance is perfect for all play styles, with zero frame rate issues or slowdown. The sound for this release is excellent, with a soundtrack that works perfectly with the action on screen and character voices that enhance the story experience.
Final Thoughts – I have been a fan of the Gal*Gun series for a while and I missed out on the chance to play Double Peace when it was on PlayStation, so I jumped at the chance to review this version. The gameplay is almost flawless, with the only minor hiccup I found being a few minor translation errors and the cursor being a little twitchy, but they don’t impact the experience. The volume of extra content to use, the multiple routes and over 70 different girls to encounter gives this a lot of replay value.
I can happily recommend this to fans of Gal*Gun Returns and Gal*Gun 2, as the core gameplay remains the same while having its own unique elements, which make it stand out by itself. Whether you are sat down playing the game at home or while out and about, there is plenty to enjoy with this release. Another great release for the Switch from Inti Creates and PQube, adding to their catalogue of great releases.
In the end, I give Gal*Gun Double Peace a final score of 5/5. This is an excellent rail shooter with a cute Bishoujo flair, with several different routes to explore, characters to interact with and multiple endings to unlock. If you are a fan of the other two Gal*Gun games on the Nintendo Switch, then this is an easy purchase. If you want to check the game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
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