Gungrave

Grave is equipped with a damage-absorbing energy shield that can absorb a large amount of damage in addition to his life bar. This shield appears as a blue bar alongside 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.

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 devastating as possible, which helps to carry on the over-the-top action of the game.

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 gameplay alone.

Weapons

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 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 manner in which Grave carries and uses the coffin bears a strong resemblance to the cross carried by the wandering priest Wolfwood in Nightow's manga series, Trigun. It is also directly inspired by the 1966 movie Django in which the main character carries a coffin with a Gatling gun inside.

Demolition Shots — Special attacks performed using the coffin that consume levels from the Beat Meter. They can help the player get through sticky situations. These attacks exemplify the over-the-top style for which the creators are known. 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.

• Death Blow — Grave fires a single rocket that explodes and kills every enemy within the immediate vicinity of the point of impact.

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

• Hellhound Roar — Grave launches three rockets ahead of him. The attack has a greater explosive range than Death Blow and causes greater damage.

• Raging Inferno — Grave spins in a circle and fires his machine gun, 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 extravagant attack. This consumes a demolition shot and can be performed only against a boss's final form. Each successive use of these techniques performs a different attack which build off the previous one.

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. He is also charged with protecting a 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.

Story

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.

Gungrave first approaches its stages as a series of missions issued by Dr. T, first to gather information on the current makeup of Millennion from a low-level street gang, and next destroying a research facility that creates Harry's undead soldiers. In the third stage, while attempting to pump information from an informant, Grave comes into contact with the leadership of the Millenion organization -- once friends and allies that he now faces as enemies. Each have used the research Harry supported to give themselves inhumane 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.

As the player progresses the game uses anime cutscenes to reflect on the history of young Brandon and Harry, gradually bringing the pair's back story into focus. Close friends, the two had both become lieutenants in the Millennion organization, working directly under Big Daddy, the group's leader. 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 so that she could find a better life, but the two remained close. 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. His actions as leader inspired Dr. T to revive Brandon who was the only person capable of stopping Harry. Dr. T's connection to all of this is not made clear, but he often makes comments that indicate 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 that Harry uses as a headquarters, it is revealed that Big Daddy still lives in the form of a twisted monster. Harry forces Grave to fight his creation, and following the 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.

Characters

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

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 flashbacks in the form of anime cutscenes as Grave recovers his memories. Grave is a silent protagonist, receiving his mission and carrying it out without a word.

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; he is killed for deciding not to side with his friend.

Allies

Dr. T - Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa

The kindly yet enigmatic Dr. T is Grave's main source of support throughout the game. He both provides Grave with information that he acquires through his own channels and provides Grave with treatments that sustains 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 see its 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 and Big Daddy's wife, Maria. Mika seeks out Grave for protection after her parents' 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 events 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.

Millennion

Maria Asagi - Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue

Maria was Brandon's sweetheart when they were young. She is 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 and 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 1984 Dune film.

Balladbird Lee Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka

Grave's second opponent, Lee is responsible for killing Dr. T and kidnapping Mika in order 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 are Chinese in style. His overkill mode resembles the Violator from Todd McFarlane's Spawn.

Bear Walken - Voiced by: Ryūzaburō Ōtomo

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

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. He wants nothing more than to dual with his rival. Physically, he bears a passing resemblance to Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Bunji does not transform into Overkill Mode like the three bosses before him, but does not need to.

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 cutscene, he says that he has achieved all that he had ever wanted to, and now wants to enjoy his success with his wife and unborn daughter.

Reception

While Gungrave was given moderate ratings due in most part to its short gameplay and minimal replay value, 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 game critics and anime fans.

While the game was not a big hit, its source material was considered deep enough to warrant an anime followup. The anime version has received a lot of praise. In particular it focuses heavily on Brandon and Harry's developing relationship. Strong influence from the famous mafia film The Godfather is evident throughout the show.

See also

• Gungrave Overdose
• Gungrave (anime)
• Gungrave Terminology

References

External links

Game Information

• Gungrave.com, Official Japanese website
• Gungrave at GameFAQs
• Gungrave at MobyGames
• Gungrave at IGN
• Gungrave at Gamestats

Music Information

• GUNGRAVE OST UNO "RIGHTHEAD" at MusicBrainz
• GUNGRAVE OST 2 "LEFTHEAD" at MusicBrainz