Gungrave

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Gungrave

Developer(s)	Red Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Yasuhiro Nightow
Release date(s)	July 17, 2002 September 16, 2002 November 29, 2002^[1]
Genre(s)	Third-person Shooter
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: M (Mature)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	DVD (1)
Input	Dual Shock Analog

For other uses, see Gungrave (disambiguation).

Gungrave is a PlayStation 2 video game produced in 2002 by Sega of Japan. A third-person shooter, Gungrave follows it's main character through a variety of stages on a path of revenge.

While the game play received moderate reviews, Gungrave's acclaim comes from the character designs provided by series creator Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun) ^[2] and mechanical designs provided by Kousuke Fujishima (Ah! My Goddess, You're Under Arrest) ^[3]. Both artist's respective styles helped give the game a distinct feel, which (along with fan support) helped Gungrave translate from a videogame to anime series.

1 Gameplay
- 1.1 Weapons
2 Plot and Setting
- 2.1 Story
3 Characters
4 Ratings
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

As a third-person shooter, Gungrave's look is fundamentally similar to that of its peers (ie. Max Payne, Devil May Cry, Tomb Raider), but focuses entirely on combat and forgoes the puzzle solving aspects of some of it's forebearers. The player advances through hallway-like stages, but has free range of motion in these areas. Gungrave sets the player in an environment reminiscent of games like Final Fight or Double Dragon, in that the player confronts wave after wave of fighters on route to an end level boss. Combat varies between gun play with enemies at a distance and simple melee combat at close range, and the game rates the amount of flair the player uses to destroy everyone and every thing in sight ^[4].

Grave in action.

Grave is equipped with a damage-absorbing energy shield in addition to his life bar, which can absorb a large amount of damage before Grave can be injured. This shield appears as a blue bar along side Grave's life bar in the game's heads up display. When the shield is fully depleted, the player is highly vulnerable and further damage reduces the character's health level rapidly. However, the shield will recharge fully if no damage is sustained for a brief period of time ^[5].

By performing well during stages the player can unlock special attacks such as machine guns or rockets launched from the coffin on Grave's back. These can be used by charging the beat meter which is represented by a skull on the top left corner of the game's heads up display. To build the beat meter Grave must perform combos, sometimes numbering in hundreds of hits (destroying enemies or practically anything in the game environment). Strategy is required in setting up combos that are as long and devistating as possible, which helps to carry on the over the top action of the game ^[6].

Stages and some important events within stages are separated by anime cut-scenes featuring art by Nightow. This is where the game's story takes place. Characters are expanded on and the player is given back story that is not obvious through game play alone.

[edit] Weapons

Grave's twin handguns

Cerberus - Grave's twin handguns, named for the three-headed hound of Hades. Grave has an unlimited amount of ammo with these, and never has to reload. If the player allows Grave to stand still during a fight, he will begin to target and shoot every available target on screen without looking.

Coffin - Grave carries a tremendous metal coffin on his back which contains a variety of weapons that can be only be used as special attacks. Grave can also use the coffin to strike nearby enemies, and if timed correctly deflect projectiles fired from a distance, destroying the enemy that fired them. The way Grave carries and uses the coffin bears a strong resemblance to the cross carried by the wandering priest Wolfwood in Nightow's anime series, Trigun.

Demolition Shots are special attacks performed using the coffin that consume levels from the Beat Meter. They can help the player get over sticky situations, and exemplify the over the top style that we have come to expect from the creators of the game. There are four offensive techniques in all, along with the option of regaining health using the beat meter. The first offensive technique is available at the start of the game, and the other three are unlockable through good performance during stages ^[7].

Death Blow - Grave fires a single rocket that explodes and kills every enemy immedately around it's point of impact.

Bullet Dance - Grave releases a machine gun from the coffin, and spins in a 360° circle, destroying everything immediately around him.

Hellhound Roar - Grave launches three rockets ahead of him, which has a greater explosive range than Death Blow, and causes greater damage.

Raging Inferno - Grave spins in a circle and fires his machine gun at 360°, and follows up by jumping into the air and doing it again.

Graveyard Special - Starting with Bob Poundmax in stage three,when a boss is near death the skull at the top of the screen begins to glow and the player is given the option to perform a special fatality demolition shot. These usually break away from the fight for a special animation of Grave launching an over the top attack. This does consume a demolition shot so make sure you have one ready, and note that you can only perform them against the boss's final form. Each time the player accomplishes one of these techniques Grave performs a different attack, building off of the one used in the stage before.

[edit] Plot and Setting

The first entry in this series follows the story of Brandon "Beyond the Grave" Heat (or just "Grave") as he exacts revenge against the criminal organization he once helped to lead. At the same time, he is charged with protecting the young girl Mika, who is being targeted by this group. Flashbacks appear at different points in the game to give insight into Brandon, and the events that lead him to becoming Grave.

Stages in the game are presented as missions issued by Dr. T, and follow Grave as he hunts down the boss of that stage. Settings include a bar, a lab, the subway, and even a traditional Japanese dojo set atop a sky scraper. These environments are complemented or contrasted by the urban environment that surrounds them.

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The game opens with the young girl dragging an oversized attaché case toward a warehouse with difficulty. "Bloody" Harry Macdowell has just carried out a coup against Big Daddy, the leader of the Millennion organization, and his daughter Mika needs to find someone that can protect her and stop Harry's mad plans. The occupants of this warehouse include a kindly looking old doctor, and a man with a notable scar on his face. Mika arrives, and the man with the scar claims the contents of the case: two massive handguns. That man is revealed to be the game's title character Grave, and now that he is armed he can start his mission.

Grave begins the game carrying out missions for Dr. T to gather information on the current makeup of Millennion from low level street gang, and next destroying a research facility that creates Harry's undead soldiers. In the third stage, attempting to talk to an informant brings Grave into contact with the leadership of the Millenion organization, one time friends and allies who are now enemies. Each have used the research Harry supported to give themselves inhuman powers. From here on Grave is hounded by each member as he makes his way to Harry's tower at the heart of the city.

While all this is going on, the game uses cut scenes to reflect on the history of young Brandon and Harry. Close friends, the two had both become lieutenants in the Millennion organization, working directly under the group's leader, Big Daddy. Brandon shared a bond with Big Daddy, and some flashbacks show the two sharing more of a father/son relationship. Brandon even let Big Daddy marry the woman he loved, in order to provide a better life for her. Not content with the power he had been given, Harry asked Brandon to help him kill Big Daddy so that he could take over. When Brandon refused Harry shot his friend in the left eye, killing him.

Fifteen years later Harry carried out his coup, and his actions as leader inspired Dr. T to revive Brandon since he is the only person capable of stopping Harry. Dr. T's connection to all of this is not made clear, but comments he makes show that he had some connection to Brandon's former life.

Grave picks apart the leadership of Millennion, to make his way to Harry. At the top of the tower, Harry reveals that Big Daddy still lives, and forces Grave to fight the monster that Big Daddy has become as a result of Harry's treachery. After this final battle, Harry accepts his defeat graciously and allows his friend to kill him.

With Harry defeated, Mika's protection becomes Grave's only concern, and the two ride off into the sunset together.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Characters

Gungrave sports a colorful cast of characters, each designed by Nightow.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Beyond the Grave

Formerly Brandon Heat, Grave was once a high ranking and trusted member of the Millennion leadership. Gungrave opens shortly after his resurrection, fifteen years after his death. Throughout the game Grave's past is told through the use of flash backs in the form of anime cut scenes, as Grave recovers memories.

Brandon entered the organization with his friend Harry and both shared a strong bond from their childhood. While a member of Millennion, Brandon also shared a bond with Big Daddy, looking up to him as a father. Eventually Brandon was forced to choose between supporting Harry in a coup or protecting the group's leader, and is killed for deciding not to side with his friend.

[edit] Allies

Dr. T - Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa The kindly yet enigmatic Dr. T is Grave's Main support throughout the game. He both provides Grave with information that he acquires through his own channels and provides Grave with treatments that sustain his body. The doctor has a connection to Brandon from his time in Millennion and has his own reasons for wanting to see the group meet it's end. During the intermission sequences the player can choose to let Dr. T talk and provide some information about the upcoming stage and reflect on the past, until his death while Grave is in the middle of a blood transfusion.
Mika Asagi - Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami The thirteen year old daughter of Grave's former love, Big Daddy's wife Maria. Mika seeks out Grave for protection after her parent's deaths and provides Grave with his guns so that he can set out. During the intermission sequences of the game the player can choose to let Mika talk about current goings on, and things that her mother told her about Brandon and Millennion. After the death of Dr. T, Mika picks up where he left off and attempts to support Grave over a two way radio.

[edit] Millennion

Maria Asagi - Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue Maria was Brandon's sweetheart when they were young, and was also Mika's Mother. After his entrance into Millennion Brandon rejected her, so that she would go to Big Daddy and be provided for. The two still remained close, and she took care of the Cerberus after Brandon's murder. She told her daughter that if there was ever a grave situation where her life was in danger she should seek out the man that can use them for protection. The game opens after her death.

Bob Poundmax - Voiced by: Chafurin
This extremely heavy set an boorish man is the first member of the Millennion leadership to challenge Grave. His first reaction to seeing Grave is to berate him for the ingratitude he now shows towards the group he once dedicated his life to (ignoring that this is also how he met his demise). In his second form Bob resembles Baron Vladimir Harkonnen from the original Dune film.

Initially Bob attacks Grave with a sub-machine gun, and four dark suited enemies that attack alongside him. He proves more agile than his size would indicate, jumping and using his size as a weapon. 'Killing him' causes him to transform into Overkill mode.
After his first encounter with Bob, Grave runs outside to see a helicopter take off with Harry inside. However, the transformed Bob Poundmax blocks his path, offended that Grave would forget about him. Bob now uses a special suit to help him float and again uses his girth to try and crush Grave. He is easily dispatched, and finished off with a variation on the Hellhound Roar.

Balladbird Lee Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
Grave's second opponent, Lee is responsible for killing Dr. T and kidnaps Mika to lure Grave into a trap. His primary concern seems to be avenging Bob Poundmax. Initially Lee appears to be an asian male wearing clothes that seem to be Chinese in design. His overkill mode resembles the Violator from Todd McFarlane's Spawn.

While pursuing Mika's kidnappers Grave finds and boards a train. The train immedately starts to move, and Grave fights from car to car, eventually fighting a helicopter that attacks from outside. After Grave 'kills' the helicoptor Lee opens the door and states that he doesn't believe that Grave could have killed Bob, but he will now avenge his friend. He then throws Mika out the door, and the train crashes.
In the wreckage of the train the transformed Lee assaults Grave in the debris of the crash. While the fight is going on Bunji Kugashira watches from the sidelines, having saved Mika from her fall. Grave finishes Lee with a modified Bullet Dance. After this fight Mika passes on the ominous message that his next opponent will meet Grave at "the tower".

Bear Walken - Voiced by: Ryûzaburô Ôtomo
Grave's third opponent, Bear Walken resides in a dojo built on the roof of an office building. After Grave reaches the top, the serene atmosphere belies the fight that is to come. Bear is an older man and solidly built, but he transforms into his first attack form and levels everything on the rooftop immediately after greeting Grave.

In contrast to the noble kimono he wore a few moments before Walken now has several arms, each fitted with a different weapon (machine guns, rocket launchers, and flame throwers). The dojo has been completely destroyed and the fight takes place on the now flat roof of the office building where the stage took place.
When you disarms Walken (literally) he transforms again. In his new form Walken has one massive and one small arm, and tires rather than legs. He now throws debris, smashes the ground, and lunges at Grave. When he is close to death, Grave defeats him with a modified Deathblow. Immediately following Walken's defeat, the top portion of the tower is destroyed and Bunji Kugashira appears, telling Grave to recover his memory more quickly. Grave falls to the ground and finds himself standing before a long forgotten cathedral.

Bunji Kugashira - Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki
Once Grave's student and trusted friend, Bunji became Harry's second-in-command in Grave's absence. Bunji is extremely similar to Grave, right down to fighting style and wants nothing more than to dual with his rival. Physically he bears a passing resembelance to Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Bunji does not transform into Overkill Mode like the three bosses before him, but apparently doesn't need to.

Bunji has several attacks, including his own powerful handguns, a kick to stop close combat, and his own Graveyard Special. He can also regenerate health if he is given a chance to rest. Grave finishes the fight with an improvised Raging Inferno. Bunji is left against a wall of the cathedral with a cigarette in his mouth. He thanks Grave for defeating him, wishes him luck, and comments that he wishes things could go back to the way they used to be. As his cigarette dies his body begins to dissolve until there is no trace left.

Big Daddy - Voiced by: Iemasa Kayumi
Once the leader of Millennion, Gungrave starts shortly after the coup that ended his reign. Big Daddy is shown scarcely through cut scenes, but it is apparent that he was close to Brandon. He helped to raise Maria, and the two were eventually wed. In a cut scene he indicates that he has achieved all that he ever wanted to, and now wants to enjoy his success with his wife and daughter on the way.

While the player is lead to believe that Big Daddy had been killed before the start of the game, Harry had more sinister plans for him. Using the technology that created his undead soldiers, Harry turned Big Daddy into a mutant kept at the top of his tower. When Grave confronts Harry, he is captured by this creature, which pursues him through an endless tunnel. Grave shoots it while keeping out of it's reach, and eventually peforms a Hellhound Roar/Deathblow combo to finish him.
After his defeat, a larger creature devours Big Daddy's body and attempts to do the same to Grave. After the fight, Grave pulls out all the stops and uses each of his four special attack in his final Graveyard Special.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Ratings

The game itself was given moderate ratings due mostly to its short gameplay and minimal replay value. However, the anime stylings of creators Yasuhiro Nightow (of Trigun fame) and Kousuke Fujishima (of Oh My Goddess! and You're Under Arrest fame) gave the game a very distinct and unique look and feel that impressed many people.