New Authentic Metroidvania "Grim Guardians Demon Purge" Game Review! The characters from "Gyaru☆Gan" take part in action and exploration in the Demon Castle!

Have you heard of "Metroidvania", one of the classic popular game genres?

Metroid"? Vania? Isn't that the title of some kind of game? You may have guessed it! You have a good intuition. This genre, which is not so familiar in Japan, refers to games with side-view action elements and map exploration elements, like "Metroid" and "Castle Vania" (the Western version of the Castlevania series), and is a genre name that has come to be used mainly in Western countries.

In Japan as well, this type of game is a staple of the genre, and even though times change and platforms change, there are many titles that have been released consistently and are still masterpieces.

A new masterpiece has been born in this domestic Metroidvania. The title is "Grim Guardians: Demon Purge. It is a ho-hum new title from Inti Creates, with a downloadable version scheduled to be released on February 23, 2023, and a packaged version on March 23, 2023.

Let's get started with the game review!

Full-fledged action and exploration with "Gyarugan" characters!

In this title, you control two demon hunter sisters, Shinobu Kamizono and Mayo Kamizono, who are also characters in Inti Creates' popular "Gyaru☆Gan" series, and your objective is to explore and restore a school that has become a demon castle.

The girls in the game are all characters from "Gyaru☆Gan," so in a sense, it could be called a spin-out, but don't worry, you can enjoy it even if you have not played "Gyaru☆Gan" before!

On the way to school, the familiar cityscape suddenly changes to an eerie landscape. The school has been turned into a castle of horrors. Only the demon hunter Kamizono sisters can solve this unusual situation!

So, the search for the castle begins immediately.

What an easy-to-understand introduction! There is no need for a lengthy preamble. Once the start button is pressed, the story is explained in as short an opening as possible, and the rest is left to the player's control! This is the basic of action games!

The atmosphere of the place the sisters explore is full of gothic horror, almost like "Castlevania". If I had to venture a guess, I would say that it is as if a beautiful girl character has intruded into the world of "Dracula".

So, let me introduce the game system!

Use the sisters' actions to conquer the game!

The interesting thing about this game is that you can switch between Shinobu and Mayo at will. This system is similar to that of "Castlevania X: Nocturne under the Moon," which is said to be the originator of this genre.

Each character has a main weapon that can be used an unlimited number of times and a sub-weapon that can be used by spending Weapon Points.

Shinobu's main weapon is the "Retreating Submachine Gun," which can be used to attack from a distance. Her initial subweapon is a throwing knife that can be used diagonally upward.

Mayo, the younger sister, is a melee fighter who fights with origami paper, capable of three-round combos, with the reach and range of her attacks increasing as she progresses. Although she deals more damage than Shinobu, she has less physical strength than Shinobu, and is easily pinned down when surrounded by enemies, which is a problem.

The subweapon is a human-shaped origami that swirls around the ship to form a barrier.

In addition, he can move crouching in tight spaces, making him an indispensable technical character for exploration.

When the pride gauge at the top of the screen accumulates, the sisters join forces to activate the "Bullet of Destruction Demon," a profound technique that they unleash together.

If it hits an enemy, it can inflict heavy damage on the entire screen, but if it does not hit anyone, it will not activate and the bullets will be shot in vain. Be careful of the target and the timing of the activation when firing the bullets.

Incidentally, when the "Bullet of Destruction" hits, the scenery of the real world school building will appear for a moment. You may be amused and say, "Wow, this is a classroom!

If one of the characters is killed during the attack, the other character will restart from the previous checkpoint. In this case, we must not forget the "Sister Rescue" action to rescue the fallen partner.

When you find a fallen character like this, quickly press the button repeatedly to revive her! Revive them. The nice thing is that even if one character is killed, the game is not over as long as the other character survives.

The fun of this game is that the sisters work together and sometimes help each other to conquer the game.

Castlevania Experience Report!

Here is a replay of the early stages of the game!

After finishing their work, the sisters go to school together. However, ......

Suddenly, the school has been transformed into a devil's castle!

So, the search begins! In between the exploration, the sisters' conversation is inserted, and it's nice that it's light-hearted and doesn't get too serious.

In the first stage, "In front of the castle gate," a very detailed tutorial is provided. This is a good place to master the controls.

While fighting off the oncoming enemies, be sure to collect items. Destroying suspicious walls may reveal hidden items!

If you advance to the back of the room while fending off large enemies, you will be able to find ......

The bats that broke the window and entered the house gathered together to form a giant bat!

Shinobu was captured and bit by the bats, but managed to defeat them!

Then "Kurona," the culprit of the incident, appeared! The Kamizono sisters decide to catch Kurona and restore the school to its original state!

This is the content of the first stage.

Use sub-weapons to attack the Devil's Castle, which is full of tricks!

The search continues after this stage.

The underground cave seems to have originally been a swimming pool.

The Safe Zone, where recovery items and checkpoints are located, was originally the Purchasing Department (......), and there are remnants of the original school facilities scattered throughout the castle.

Within the castle, voices calling for help echoed out of nowhere.

Following the voices, we found ordinary students who had been caught up in the dimensional fusion. As you can see, there are students lurking here and there in the castle, asking for help.

Helping them will restore the sisters' strength, so it is a good idea to explore the map and help them frequently.

Some of the enemies are also ......

There are also boss monsters whose classmates have been transformed.

By defeating such boss monsters, you may obtain new sub-weapons.

Shinobu now has a new subweapon, the "Retreating Demon Grenade," a projectile-type bomb that she hurls at enemies in a parabolic pattern, expanding her range of tactics.

Mayo got the "Origami Crane," which serves as a foothold. This will allow her to go to places she cannot reach with a normal jump. Once you have cleared a map, you can attack it as many times as you like, so it is fun to try again after acquiring a new subweapon and search for an unknown route in this title.

There are many more subweapons. The key to success in this game will be how well you can use your newly acquired subweapons.

There are also sealed passages in the castle.

In such places, you can open the way by using the subweapon corresponding to the icon on the door like this! This will allow you to explore new routes.

In this way, the more stages you conquer, the more variety of subweapons you will have, and the wider your range of action will become.

Style" can be changed at any time according to the player's skill level.

Another attractive feature of this title is the fully voiced character dialogue and beautiful visuals.

Even if you are not a player who enjoys anime or bishojo games, you will be drawn into the lively conversations and event scenes, which will surely motivate you to play the game.

This title, in which Inti Creates' pop characters play an active role, also has a hardcore aspect that carries on the tradition of Metroidvania, and has a challenging game balance that action game enthusiasts will love.

If you proceed without thinking for a moment, well, you will die soon. The choice of character and subweapon is quite important, and it is almost impossible to attack by gorging yourself.

This is fun, but for those who say, "I want to enjoy this game more casually! For those who want to enjoy the game more casually, this title offers multiple difficulty (style) settings.

Casual" is an action game that is easy for beginners to play, with no continue count, no knockback when taking damage, etc. If you are used to playing action games, you will find that "casual" is the most fun.

Veteran" is for those who are used to playing action games. And those who want to play harder can choose "Legendary Hunter" (this style seems to be unlocked only once you clear the game).

It may be possible to start with the casual style to get a feel for the map, enemy placement, and behavior patterns, and then try the Veteran or higher style.

You can change styles at any time during gameplay, so feel free to open the menu screen and choose the style that is just right for you.

Personally, I found the veteran style to be just the right level of difficulty, and I found myself thinking, "I'm dead again! But, if I do this, I can get through this part. "I did it! I got it right! Once you know the pleasure of this game, you will be able to enjoy the game. Once you get to know the pleasure of this feeling, you lose sight of where the game is going to end, and you tend to stay absorbed in the game for a long time.

More than once, I forgot that I was playing the game for the purpose of writing this article and realized that several hours had passed ....... This is a swamp game.

The downloadable version of this game has already been released, but the long-awaited packaged version will be released on March 23.

There are two types of packaged editions: the "Normal Edition" and the "Limited Edition," which comes with a lot of extras. The limited edition will include a full-color setting materials collection, a soundtrack CD, and an acrylic keychain of the sisters, making it a must-have for fans.

A demo version of the Nintendo Switch version is currently available, so if you are interested, why not play that first and enjoy this title? If you are interested in the future development of the game, or if you want to enjoy the world of this game more, please get the downloadable version, or the limited package version with luxurious perks!

Game Info.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge

Genre: Action

Compatibility: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 (packaged version) / Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam (PC)

Release date: Downloadable version on sale / Packaged version on March 23, 2023 (Thursday)

Players: 1-2 players

Price: 5,280 yen (including tax) for regular package version, 9,980 yen (including tax) for limited edition / 3,480 yen (including tax) for download version

CERO D (for ages 17 and up)

＜Package "Limited Edition" includes the following items

1. "Grim Guardians: Demon Purge" full-color setting materials

2. "Grim Guardians: Demon Purge" soundtrack CD (1 disc)

3. "Sisters Change! acrylic key chain

＜Pre-order bonus for the packaged version

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