Card-en-Ciel

Card-en-Ciel (カルドアンシェル) is a crossover roguelite card-battling RPG developed by Inti Creates featuring numerous characters and songs from both game worlds designed for Card-en-Ciel and existing Inti Creates properties, including all games in the main Azure Striker Gunvolt series and Luminous Avenger iX series. All these settings exist as in-universe video games whose characters have begun appearing with their own wills in an unrelated "full-dive" virtual reality game named Rust Tactics during its development by a company Helios Interactive, leading to the protagonist Neon being hired to investigate by the heroine Ancie. Each character featured appears as at least one card and in some cases an enemy or random event in dungeons.
Certain featured games have story dungeons named after them and include commentary about the game by Neon and Ancie, and conclude with the game's hero and heroine being fought as the final boss in the dungeon.Bitsummit DRIFT Day 2, Inti Creates presentation (2:38:07) Among Gunvolt / iX titles, only GV1 and iX1 appear as story dungeons.
Similar to the Gunvolt and iX series, certain (mostly) female characters from the majority of game worlds are designated as "Muses" (ディーヴァキャラクター, Diva Character) who each have a card that summons them to sing a song and activate special effects when conditions are met.
Not all characters from the featured games appear. Excluding alternate forms, Gunvolt / iX character rosters vary between 9 or 10 characters per game. Each game's version of a character is considered separate from their other appearances.
==Gunvolt/iX Character and Song List==
A recurring gimmick of many characters' cards is the [Convert] mechanic, which when activated transforms all copies of that card in the player's deck from the character's human form to Armed Phenomenon form with enhanced effects, and back again when [Convert] is activated a second time. Not every applicable character has both forms represented as cards.
Within the game, cards are organized according to real game and in-universe game release dates, so the order is GV1, GV2, iX1, iX2, and GV3.
===Azure Striker Gunvolt ===
Character 	Card 	Dungeon
Gunvolt 	Flashfield 	Enemy, dungeon boss
Joule 	Cyanotype 	Muse
Lumen 	Reincarnation 	Muse
Asimov 	Sheeps Leader 	Enemy, floor boss
Nova (Normal) 	The Mighty 	Enemy, floor boss; random event
Viper (Normal/Armed)	The Burning Wrath/Refulgence 	Enemy, paired with Jota
Elise 1 (Armed) 	Resurrection 	
Jota (Normal/Armed) 	The Prideful Silhouette/Phosphoratorium	Enemy, paired with Viper
Merak (Normal/Armed)	The Slothful Conjurer/Lazy Laser 	
Romeo 	Electromagnetic Whip 	
===Azure Striker Gunvolt 2===
Character 	Card 	Dungeon
Gunvolt 	Dart Leader 	Enemy
Joule 	Indigo Destiny 	Muse
Copen 	Bullit Dash 	Enemy
Lola 	Igniter 	Muse
Quinn 	Soul-cleansing Power of Love 	
Fake Male Zonda (Armed) 	Phantasmagoria 	Random event
True Zonda (Normal/Reverie)	Reverie Mirror/Paradise Lost 	Enemy
Tenjian (Normal/Armed) 	The Frozen Blade/Frigid Blossom 	Enemy, solo or paired with Teseo
Teseo (Normal/Armed) 	The Serial Experiment/Impregnable Fortress	Enemy, paired with Tenjian
Gibril (Normal/Armed) 	The Full Metal Jacket/Iron Maiden 	Enemy
*Copen and Lola use their original retired VAs rather than the new LAiX ones. When Copen's card was first shown in Inti Creates Information Bureau No.8, co-host IKKAN questioned if there would be no newly recorded lines, but co-host Kenta Tanaka, who is close friends with Copen's retired VA Kosuke Masuo, stated "I think you'd better see for yourself...?"
===Azure Striker Gunvolt 3===
Character 	Card 	Dungeon
Kirin 	Radiant Fetters 	Enemy
Kirin XX 	88th Rite - Pale Mist Refined 	
Gunvolt 	Voltaic Chains 	
Gunvolt dog form 	Ruler of the Primal Dragons 	
Lumen 	Memoria of 'He' 	Muse
BB (Normal/Primal Dragon)	The Dancing Dead/Death Procession 	
Shiron (Normal) 	The Wizard Operator 	Random event
ZedΩ 	Legitima Futura 	Enemy, solo or paired with Grazie
Layla 	Priestess of ATEMS 	
Luxia 	Boundless Myth 	Muse
Grazie (Normal) 	The Sand Fortress 	Enemy, paired with ZedΩ
Prado (Normal/Armed) 	The Dual Knight/Waltz of Twin Elements	Enemy
*Although Grazie only has a card for her normal self, her Sandstorm Emperor form is who appears as an enemy alongside ZedΩ.
===Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX===
Character 	Card 	Dungeon
Copen 	Twin Shredder 	Enemy, dungeon boss
Lola Darkness Mode 	Beyond Probability 	Muse
Kohaku 	A Simple Minos Girl 	
Blade 	Thunderandal 	Enemy, elite enemy
Rebellio (Normal/Armed) 	The Craftsman's Dream/Crimson-Death-Thread 	Enemy
Stella (Normal/Armed) 	The Sudarshana Gravity Well/Graviton Pandemonium	Enemy, paired with Dystnine
Dystnine (Normal/Armed) 	Altair of Vengeance/Total Blackout 	Enemy, paired with Stella
Isola (Armed) 	All-Out Cheer Full Throttle 	Muse, random event
Demerzel (Named "???" on site character list)	Voltaic Chain Meteor 	Enemy
===Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2===
Character 	Card 	Dungeon
Copen 	Razor Wheel 	Enemy
Lola Awakening Mode	Purification 	Muse
Kohaku 	New World Adventure 	
Null 	Pure Saint 	
Ypsilon 	The Y That Surpassed the apeX	Enemy
Dacite 	Armageddon Ray 	Random event
Vespa 	Stinger Torrent 	
Autochrome 	Obliteration Blast 	
Mother Kohaku 	Attack Code: S.H.R.E.D. 	
==List of Real and Fake Games==
Organized according to the in-game card list. Real game titles include year of release for context.
Name 	Premise 	Notes
Divine Dynamo Flamefrit 	Swords and sorcery with robots 2D action game. Alternates between top-down dungeons and 1st person mecha combat. 	
*Conceived as a fake game and April Fools prank, but was made into a real game both sold separately and as a pre-order bonus on Steam.
*First fake game setting to be made for Card-en-Ciel.
*Homage to 1990s anime.
Divine Dynamo Flamefrit 2 	Swords and sorcery with robots 2D action game. Alternates between top-down dungeons and 1st person mecha combat. 	
*Fictional game.
Fable of Spirit 	Fantasy RPG set in a mysterious world depicted with picture book-like visuals. 	
*Fictional game.
Scholars of Elfilia 	Magic school simulation RPG. 	
*Fictional game.
*Homage to Harry Potter; official summary alludes to when the movies for it were coming out.
President Ex Machina 	High-speed robot action game. 	
*Fictional game.
*Homage to Metal Wolf Chaos (2004).
Love Above the Rooftops 	Adult dating sim visual novel with giant spacefaring robot girls. Received an all-ages console port with some scenes cut and others censored by mysterious beams of light.	
*Fictional game.
*Believed to be drawn by Gal*Gun director/artist Masanori Ito.
TACTICAL COMMUNICATION 	Tactical simulation game in which you control a duo consisting of a foul-mouthed girl and an older man. 	
*Fictional game.
*Homage to Gunslinger Girl.
President Ex Machina 2 	High-speed robot action game. 	
*Fictional game.
Planet Garden IV 	4x strategy game in which you give instructions to flower people and compete with other countries for dominance on an uncivilized planet. 	
*Fictional game.
*Its Muse, Flos, is for "certain reasons" the only character excluded from the CeC limited edition artbook.
Deset Rings 	High fantasy open world RPG. 	
*Fictional game.
*Likely a homage to FromSoftware's action RPG games.
*Title and genre reference Elden Ring, but its in-universe release date places it closer to the releases of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.
Kingdom's Return(2011) 	Fantasy city-building social RPG. 	
*Real game.
*Mobile game that shut down.
*Never released in English. Original title is Bokura no Kingdom (ぼくらのキングダム).
Kingdom's Return: Again!(2012) 	Fantasy city-building social RPG, with fairy companions. 	
*Real game.
*Mobile game that shut down in 2013.
*Never released in English. Original name is Motto! Bokura no Kingdom (もっと！ぼくらのキングダム).
Azure Striker Gunvolt(2014) 	Light novel 2D action. 	
*Real game.
Triangle Meister 	Harem action RPG where the hero must choose the right weapon-girl for each situation. 	
*Fictional game.
*Xenoblade Chronicles 2 & 3 reference.
Gal*Gun: Double Peace(2015) 	Rail shooter. 	
*Real game.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2(2016) 	Light novel 2D action. 	
*Real game.
Yggdrasil Records IX 	Fantasy RPG series centered around the titular tree. 	
*Fictional game.
*Final Fantasy, and Mana series reference.
Shirochidori 	Horror adventure set in a mansion inhabited by demons (鬼 oni). 	
*Fictional game.
Gal*Gun 2(2018) 	Rail shooter. 	
*Real game.
Kizuna Connect 	Deck battle RPG where you collect and train over 100 types of monsters. 	
*Fictional game.
*Digimon reference.
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX(2019) 	2D Action. 	
*Real game.
Kizuna Connect 2 	Deck battle RPG where you collect and train over 200 types of monsters. 	
*Fictional game.
Code: Escape 	3rd person shooter set in a cyberpunk dystopia with psychic powers. 	
*Fictional game.
*Believed to be drawn by Card-en-Ciel main illustrator Yuusuke Ootsu.
Gal*Gun Returns(2021) 	Rail shooter. 	
*Real game.
*Remake of the original Gal*Gun.
GrimmNoir 	RTS where you compete with characters from Grimm's fairy tales. 	
*Fictional game.
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2(2022)	2D action. 	
*Real game.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3(2022) 	Light novel 2D action. 	
*Real game (official site does not state this).
Gal Guardians: Demon Purge(2023) 	2D action. 	
*Real game.
*Spinoff of Gal*Gun series.
*Emphasis on the above line.
Umbraclaw(2024) 	2D action. 	
*Real game (official site does not state this).
==Gallery==
CnC limited edition box.png|Limited edition cover
Card-en-Ciel 2024 05-20-24 012.jpg
Card-en-Ciel_2024_05-20-24_001.jpg
CnC Nova battle.jpg
CnC Ypsilon.jpg
CnC GV1 background.jpg|Azure Striker Gunvolt dungeon background
CnC iX1 background.jpg|Luminous Avenger iX dungeon background
CeC Amazon acryllic set.jpg|Amazon limited edition acryllic set
CeC Wondergoo promo.jpg|WonderGOO bonus illustration
CeC Amiami promo.jpg|AmiAmi bonus illustration
Card-en-Ciel countdown 1 GV Copen.png|Final day to release countdown artwork. Despite being GV3 GV and iX1 Copen, the tweet stated they're both from the Azure Striker Gunvolt series.
==Game Introduction Trailers==
==Trivia==
*This game marks the first time that characters limited to iX1 have received English voice actors, as well as the first time Demerzel has received a site and press release profile (albeit with his name still kept a "secret") with character quote and official art published online.
*Both Demerzel, Zonda, and certain iX2 character Card-en-Ciel profiles revealed story details never given before:
**That the Falcon holograms in iX1 are Demerzel's Image Pulses, and that he actually did merge with a Sumeragi supercomputer instead of the "supervisory AI" role purely being a ruse.
**Zonda's Reverie Mirror may have transcended from Septima to Octima, and during her boss battle she hadn't yet realized the full extent of her newfound power.
**Hyper Guard is a standard feature of machines in the iX2 world, the Razor Wheel cancels it by intermittently changing the energy wavelength of the beam blade, Mother's barrier counters the Razor Wheel because her advanced computing power can match the wavelength changes.
**Ypsilon's name is derived from the German alphabet specifically (this info is omitted from the English profile). This is similar to certain other things like Copen's White Tiger armor (Weiss Tiger) and Bullits (Blitz) having German names in the Japanese version, which were also changed in the English versions.
*Some cards have changed compared to what was shown in the trailers and early demos. For example, the cards of Gunvolt (GV1) and Copen (iX2) were originally called "Lightning Sphere" and "Colossal Maelstrom" respectively.
**Lightning Sphere is a direct translation of the Japanese name of Astrasphere, so it seems the original plan was for their cards to be named after their Special Skills like the boss cards are. Presumably Gunvolt and Copen's GV2 cards would have been named after Luxcalibur and Shred Storm to complete the set, but those cards weren't shown until the names "Dart Leader" and "Bullit Dash" were already settled.
*Unlike the GV3 story summary on its own site (which is relatively vague about it, presumably due to the game's intense no-spoilers policy before its release), the story summary for GV3 on the Card-en-Ciel site states up front that it takes place in a distant future past the previous two titles, and also discusses the existence of Primal Dragons.
*All GV2 character quotes appear to be exclusively from the intro segment or Gunvolt's story route.
*The song cut-ins for GV2 Joule and Lola start in 3D cityscapes before switching to background art from the game, which is unlike the other Gunvolt/iX Muse cut-ins which only use background art.
*Curiously enough, the Muse sprites for GV2 Joule and Lola depict them with a lack of glint in their eyes, which is unlike how they appear in the Azure Striker Gunvolt series itself, or the Muse sprites for the GV1 and iX2 versions of them.
*Although iX Lola in her Idol Mode is depicted with Ancie in a store bonus image, that form of her isn't featured in the game (instead, GV2 Lola takes the position of "default form Muse" Lola).
*While Luminous Avenger iX 2 is tied with iX1 in having only nine characters represented, when taking into account Convert cards iX2 has the fewest cards overall. It is also the only game of the five to have only one Muse/song representing it.
*Helios Interactive is most likely a reference to Inti Creates, since Inti's full name is Interactive Image Creates, and while Helios is the Greek sun god, Inti also happens to be the name of the Incan sun god.
*The in-universe game Code: Escape song "Embrace the Sky" is written and sung by Desna's VA Jenya.
*The in-universe game Kizuna Connect song "Change the World" is sung by Kaoru Akiyama (alias: Hakofactory), the lyrics writer for almost every Gunvolt and iX song.
*The in-universe game Yggdrasil Records IX song "Viridian Virtue" is sung by Akiho Suzumoto, the voice actress of Olga, who is briefly mistaken as a wielder of The Muse in the drama CD Eden's Party due to her Septima mimicking Lumen.
*In the story dungeons, Ancie appears to be more familiar with Azure Striker Gunvolt due to her interest in Joule's relationship with GV, while Neon appears to be more familiar with Luminous Avenger iX.
*This game is technically the first time any male characters have officially been referred to as "Muses", with some caveats. Edgar Barron from the fictional game President Ex Machina has the body and voice of a high school girl, but he is actually a man in his 70s who was mistakenly given that type of cyborg body during a full body transplant by a mad scientist. Connecle from the fictional game Kizuna Connect is male, but is an androgynous digimon-like creature whose gender wasn't disclosed until the voice actress (Kaoru Akiyama) commented on the role.
*The very last fictional game to have setting details revealed, Code: Escape, is a reverse of the story of Azure Striker Gunvolt--the protagonist Letty is a mercenary who takes missions from a city government to fight supernatural rebels wielding psychic powers in a dystopian cyberpunk world.
==References==
==Series Navigation==