‘Gal Gun Returns’ – PC Review
6 min read
What’s going on Gameologists! Welcome to the Gameology News review of Gal Gun Returns, developed by INTI CREATES CO.,LTD. and published by PQube Limited. Gal Gun Returns isn’t exactly the newest entry in the series of games, but instead a return to the original. If you’re a fan of the series and never got a chance to play the game where it all started, this is your chance. So sit right back Gameologists and we will tell you all about Gal Gun Returns and our opinion of it.
Starting out, we are introduced to the cast in the opening video. There are three different modes as well as a gallery and options to customize your Gal Gun experience. We will start off with a look at the first of the three modes: Story Mode. The story begins in what we have come to know as the true Gal Gun formula. An angel, Patako, must complete her graduation task to graduate from Cupid Academy. This task is to give a human “a day in the sun”. Somehow, even after all of her training, something went wrong when Patako shot, slinging sixteen arrows into our main character, Tenzou. Patako has to tell Tenzou about the problem, which is really great. One arrow was supposed to make him irresistible to the opposite sex but with sixteen its amplified the effect so much that once this day is over no girl will love him, not even female animals. Meaning, after today, he won’t be able to get a girlfriend ever again.
Before your one day in the sun starts, Patako will ask you a series of questions. This survey gives you a stat loadout of attributes such as how active and intelligent you are. After the questions, you are given the option of who you would like to pursue and romance. Your choices being Kaname, Akira, Kaoruko, and Aoi. Each Gal has preferred stats to show what she likes and dislikes so answering these questions is important to getting a True Ending. With my stats revealed, I decided that out of the four choices given Kaoruko Sakurazaki was the best fit.
This is where the game starts. Armed with Pheromone Shot and Patako to guide you, we are sent out on an on-rails style shooter. You’re not able to control where you’re going through the map but instead you must shoot hordes of Gals trying to profess their love to you. Each girl has different hotspots on them that will make your Pheromone Shot do more. These zones, like other Gal Gun games, are head, chest, crotch, and thighs. Hitting the Gal in the hotspot will cause an Ecstasy Shot to happen, which is the equivalent of a headshot in other games. This is where the challenge and fun of Gal Gun Returns picks up.
Going through the course of the story you will pass through a lot of different zones leading you to almost every room in the school as the Gals are into different hobbies and sports. There are five chapters to each story mission that will culminate into a final battle against the Gal you picked. After making your way through a few areas you meet up with your Gal and either have a boss battle with her and her guardians, or a mini game to finish the chapter. The Guardian Fights are when you try to bring your girl into Doki Doki Mode, causing a boss battle. Guardians are an internal defense mechanism created by the girl’s heart. During these fights, you will have to stop the incoming barrage from the two or more guardian orbs floating around your Gal before you can finally give them your Pheromone Shot to win the battle. The mini game chapter endings are various and unique to each of the Gals. For example, in one ending Kaoruko wanted me to pose for her. This mini game had me shooting sheep trying to make it across the screen so I did not fall asleep. In one of Kaname’s endings you have to hold her up on a stool in the library while you locate books for her to grab. Each Gal culminates in a final fight where you can get multiple endings depending how you played and your stats. After a true ending, Patako comes back to inform you that her school found out about her mistake and her punishment is that she must stay with Tenzou forever. A fitting end. Or is it just the beginning?
This brings us to our second mode. Score Attack mode allows you to replay through the four different routes from the main campaign without having to play the story, making it for a quick and easy way to keep playing once you have completed all four of the Gal’s story lines. There is also an All Route option which takes you through them all at once. As well as a Course Select, letting you go directly to any scene that you want. This mode is also where you’re going to start collecting the full profile of all of the random Gals in the game. These are unlocked under the Collection feature, where you can also see all the titles you picked up over the course of playing and from all the different rankings.
Our third actual play mode is Doki Doki Carnival (DDC). This mode takes place after completing a true ending for one of the four Gals you are trying to woo. In this mode, you are informed that your love for your current girlfriend is not eternal and something that you made up yourself. And that if she falls out of love with you, every woman and even female animals will hate you for the rest of your life. This new mode introduces Ekoro, another angel and underclass mate of Patako. She informs you of all the things Patako didn’t remember or wouldn’t tell you. DDC is meant to help turn Tenzuo back to normal after what Patako had done to him. This mode adds a wide branching pathway where you can choose your path and the way you would like to run around Tenzou’s academy. You will view glimpses of activity not seen in the normal story mode, such as interaction between other characters that are in your collection. This mode takes you into Doki Doki Mode (DDM) from the story mode, and is where you can hone your skills. DDM puts you up against multiple Gals, making it a lot harder as they will continue to change between the ones who are in the battlefield until you finally give them the Ecstasy Shot, making your Euphoria Shot more powerful on the other girls. This mode also lets you woo our two angels by letting you give Patako and Ekoro both Euphoria shots.
To finish rounding out the menu, there is a Dressing Room feature which allows you to customize the gal’s in game appearances. Outfits include their basic school uniforms, bikinis, and other specialty items like Semon outfit, Aprons, and Bunny girl just to name a few. This helps let you play however you would like as well as see what is pleasing to you. We also have The Gallery, where you can go to view memories from the story as well as spend your angel feathers you have collected from playing the game. There are a total of 196 collectibles, with most of them being pictures but some being random effects like the one that cost 100 feathers itself which gives a new variation of underwear.
Overall, Gal Gun Returns is an excellent experience. The music is very upbeat, easy to get lost in, and accompanied by graphics that are crisp, clean and makes me feel as though I’m watching an anime. The learning curve is short and simple. I found myself playing Score Attack the most after finishing the main stories, and going into this mode just to have some fun and click around. If you are looking for a nice on rails shooter for PC this is Gal Gun Returns is for you. Hopefully other games of this type will finally make a full move from consoles to PC. If you would like to talk about this game and so much more please join us on our Discord. Until next time. Later, Gameologists.
