Gal*Gun: Double Peace

Synopsis

Ekoro, a student cupid angel in the process of an exam, must strike a student with a love arrow, which will help the student find the love of their life. The target is protagonist Houdai Kudoki, an unpopular male student at the academy. However, Ekoro notices that Kurona, a demon angel who is also doing a practical exam, has the same intended target of Houdai. In an effort to strike the target first, Ekoro accidentally increases the dose of the arrow by thirty-two times the original intended amount. This makes every girl at the school grow madly in love with Houdai, frantically running after him in an effort to claim him as their partner. At the same time, the aforementioned demon angel is striking girls with her staff, which makes the girls love Houdai in a more physical fashion, which includes injuring him in a fashion similar to bondage. However, the increased dose has an unintended side effect; if Houdai does not find his true love by sundown, he will be destined for a life alone, with no one having any affection for him, not even his relatives.

Sisters Shinobu and Maya, two students at the academy and childhood friends of Houdai are also relevant to the plot. Not affected by Houdai's curse due to a hidden profession as demon hunters, the sisters spend the game hunting Kurona, whilst also rekindling a bond with Houdai, whom they have not spoken to in three years.

The game itself features branching paths and multiple endings.

Gameplay

Throughout the game, the player fends off waves of female classmates using the pheromone shot, a power granted to the protagonist, Houdai via the cupid, Ekoro. If the player shoots the girl, the pheromone shot will give them euphoria, subduing them in process, thus preventing them from confessing their love feelings to the player that will damage player's HP if they succeed. The player may use the analog stick to shoot the classmates. Unlike the original, the PlayStation Move is not supported for the home console version.

Specific sections will also require the use of touch or swipes. This is done via the PlayStation 4's touchpad on the controller, or the screen on the Vita. "Doki-Doki Mode" makes a return, effectively breaking up the gameplay and preventing tedium. Kurona's cursed girls are more difficult to subdue, requiring the player to first shoot an mini demon angel that hovers around the infected girl before the female student may be shot with a pheromone shot. Holding the right shoulder button allows the players reticule to be zoomed in, with the left shoulder button serving as a method of slowing the sights down. Both of these serve as a mean of gaining the player a more accurate shot. Zooming in also allows the player to see through invisible walls. Items such as character profiles, cosmetics or other school girls to subdue can be found behind certain hidden walls, as well as decreased cover for female students to hide behind.

The academy shop is open to the player, which is run by Aoi, a female musician at the school whom isn't affected by Houdai's cupid condition. Items here can be purchased, including increased player stats, more powerful shots and new camera angels for Doki-Doki mode. Donations can also be made to Aoi, which will unlocking her secret ending if enough are made. All currency is gained by completing levels or specific requests from other students. These requests can be viewed in between levels, and are usually completed by collecting a certain hidden item within a stage.

The title features branching paths and dialogue trees. The differing routes allows the player to select what stage they'd like to play from an ordered list (in order to play stages the player passed on, a new game must be started) whilst the dialogue ranges from statements of love to perverted remarks, and these all allow the player to either straighten a girl's affection for Houdai or dwindle it, depending on her tastes and what is said.

There are over seventy girls in the game, all of which contain specific endings. If shot, they can be interacted with, and the player may experiment to see if they are his destined lover. Like the first, Double Peace features a “Mom’s Arrived Screen”. Activating this will make the game have the layout and aesthetics of an RPG. This is reserved for when someone walks into the room, and the player feels the need to hide the subject matter of the game. This is exclusive to the PC and PlayStation 4 version of the game.

Release

Gal*Gun: Double Peace was released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Japan on August 6, 2015, by publisher Alchemist. An international release of these versions was announced on January 21, 2016, by the publisher, PQube. The company promised the game would be uncensored from the original Japanese product, remaining completely intact, a rarity for a game of this subject matter. The game was widely available in various chains throughout Europe, but North America saw a limited release, exclusive to VGP.ca for Canada and Amazon.com for the United States. Rice Digital primarily handled the British sale, offering both a standard edition and a collectors edition, titled the Mr Happiness edition. This set includes a wall scroll, artbook, soundtrack, bonus downloadable content, and a screen cleaner in the shape of female undergarments. Rice also offered the North American version of the game. Conversely, the Canadian distribution was handled by Video Games Plus. VGP offered standard copies as well as an exclusive edition of their own, dubbed the 'launch edition'. This included a copy of the game alongside an artbook. Rice charged $50 for the Vita edition, while asking $65 for the PlayStation 4 version. The Mr Happiness limited edition cost either $95 or $100, dependent on platform. VGP asked similar prices for the standard set, while asking an additional $10 for the launch edition. Amazon only sold the standard editions.

The English version of the game was originally to be released on July 15, 2016 in Europe and July 19, 2016 in North America, however, on July 11, 2016, PQube officially announced via Twitter that the game will be released on July 29, 2016 and August 2, 2016 respectively, due to "manufacturing delays". However, on July 19, 2016, PQube moved the European release date to July 22, 2016. The game was released in Europe on July 22, 2016.

On July 27, 2016, EB Games, who have exclusive rights to distribute the game in Australia, started pulling copies from stores, as well Senran Kagura: Estival Versus, leaving Australians with only the options of importing or downloading it via PlayStation Store.

The North American Vita version garnered some attention around release due to a humorous misprint on the game box. The game, rated 'M' for Mature (17+) by the ESRB is incorrectly labeled on the back as 'E' for Everyone (6+), under the description of "sexual content". Due to the game's exclusivity to online retailers in the region, the title was not recalled.

A Microsoft Windows port was released via Steam on September 27, 2016. The game was deemed objectionable and banned in New Zealand by the OFLC, due to its "sexualization of underage schoolgirls and low difficulty, making the game purely for titilation."

Reception

Gal*Gun: Double Peace received mixed reception from critics, currently holding a 64 on review aggregator Metacritic for the PlayStation 4 version. The Vita version does not have enough critical reviews to assign a score. The title fared far better in Japan, with Famitsu reviewers awarding both versions of the game a 31/40, recording scores of 8/8/8/7 from the four respective critics.

Game Revolution's Jed Whitaker gave the game a positive review, applauding the branching paths and magnitude of content to unlock, while also praising the replay value and ability of seeing through objects, saying it added depth. Despite this, he complained of the faulty touch controls and sexualization of underage girls. Ultimately though, Whitaker gave the game an 8/10, saying "I kind of love Gal-Gun: Double Peace not only for daring to be as stupid and perverse as it is with no excuses, but also for being one of the most content-rich and replayable games in its genre. If you can overlook (or enjoy) the cringeworthy perverseness found here, you'll find an enjoyable little shooter."

CJ Andriessen of Destructoid awarded both the PlayStation 4 and Vita versions a 7.5/10. Andriessen enjoyed the replay value within in game of multiple endings, collectibles and differing scenarios depending on which path the player selected, as well as the variety within the different archs. However, he took issue with the short length of the game, as well as other minor faults throughout the title. Overall though, Andriessen cited the experience of playing it as enjoyable.

Sammy Barker of Push Square gave the game a negative review. Barker cited the sluggish reticule and faulty touch controls as frustrating. He also complained of the performance on the Vita, while also criticizing the game's graphics, saying it looks over a decade old. Barker did however like the multitude of different girls in the game, and the fact they each have a unique voice. He would go on to give the game a 3/10, closing out his review with "Shameless like a boob tube but about a billion times less interesting, Gal*Gun: Double Peace is a bad rails-shooter that tries tirelessly to get a raise, only to leave you feeling limp and agitated."