Yacht Club Games Bringing Azure Striker Gunvolt And Its Sequel To Retail In Australia

That was unexpected

by Damien McFerran Wed 22nd Jun 2016

Shovel Knight developer Yacht Club Games appears to be branching out into publishing, and its first title is Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack.

The pack - which has been listed on the Australian Classification site - contains the first Azure Striker Gunvolt and its sequel. Already confirmed for Japanese retail release in August, this is the first time we've seen the pack listed for release outside of that region. We're assuming that this Aussie listing refers to a physical release, but it could be a special eShop package.

No official announcement from either Yacht Club Games or developer Inti Creates has been forthcoming, but we imagine it's only a matter of time. Hopefully this double pack will be released in North America and Europe, too.

[source gematsu.com]

Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media's sites from an editorial perspective. He's also the editor of Time Extension, the network's newest site, which – paradoxically – is all about gaming's past glories.

1
Sisilly_G
Wed 22nd Jun 2016

If it were an eShop download, then they would have had the game classified via IARC, which is free and gives the title an automated classification for all of the major markets.

The fact that it has gone through the traditional paid classification procedure means that it is a physical retail release. Any game that is being released at retail is still subject to a paid human-assessed classification, even if the game in question is already available on internet marketplaces with an IARC issued classification.

2
PLATINUM7
Wed 22nd Jun 2016

But how much will it cost? The physical copy of Shovel Knight was so much more expensive compared to the eshop version.

3
Tuulenpoika
Wed 22nd Jun 2016

If this comes out in Europe, it will nbe a Day One buy. I absolutely adore Gunvolt.

That is, if they could finally manage to bring back the cut voice acting and dialogue scenes for the 3DS original. Still waiting for that one. At least it's plausible to think that the updated version is included in the Striker Pack, but it should come available for anyone who purchased the original from the eShop when it came out.

4
CrazedCavalier
Wed 22nd Jun 2016

@PLATINUM7 The 1st game was a $15 USD download, and the second game will probably be the same. The duual pack also has extra artwork and the like, meaning this will probably cost as much as a full retail 3DS game.

Anyways, some trivia about the above artwork: it's a zoomed-in part of a larger artwork that was sent to MN9 Backers as a New Year 2014 gift, before the game was even announced.

5
SaKo
Wed 22nd Jun 2016

@CrazedCavalier Do you have a link to the original artwork?

6
CrazedCavalier
Wed 22nd Jun 2016

@SaKo Sadly, no; only backers have the artwork, and I saw it years ago; Google hasn't been my friend in past efforts to find it. You're really not missing much; the original just showed more of the destroyed mech and skyline, with slightly less focus on GV.