Gal Guardians: Demon Purge

* Limited Edition
* Physical
* Digital

* Proofread/add details to story section

*"When a demon's castle darkens the land, two sisters challenge its halls."*

*"Together, they can break the curse!"*

***Gal Guardians: Demon Purge*** (*Grim Guardians: Demon Purge* outside of English territories) is a 2D Action Platformer video game developed and published by Inti Creates. It is a spinoff of *Gal\*Gun: Double Peace*, starring Shinobu and Maya Kamizono. A castle filled with demons appears at Sakurazaki Academy one day, and it's up to the demon hunter duo to solve the mystery of what happened to the school and its students.

The game was announced on August 4th, 2022, and released worldwide on February 23, 2023.

## Development History

A long time ago, Inti Creates CEO Takuya Aizu wanted *Gal\*Gun* series director Masanori Ito to make an action game with Kyo Kobayashi featuring the Kamizono sisters. During his time promoting *Gal\*Gun* in Taiwan, Aizu had gained the impression that Shinobu and Maya were a hit overseas, and believed that an action game featuring the two could prove to be popular. Several project proposals were submitted, but all were ultimately rejected. Some years later, the head of Inti's development department had held an internal competition in which members would write action game proposals. Kobayashi's proposal was chosen as the best one, but at the time it was a plan for a 2D action game completely different from what *Gal Guardians* ended up becoming. Aizu met with Kobayashi frequently and worked together to make the proposal into its current form.

It had been a while since he last talked about the idea, and because he was busy working on other titles at the time, Ito had forgotten about the proposition and was unaware that the project had started until Aizu later reported it to him.

When deciding a title for the game, the question of whether the title would be identical domestically and overseas had come up. Andrew Singleton, the current producer for overseas localization, had given some tentative international titles in the company's team chat. In the end, it was decided for the game to have a consistent naming. As of September 28th, 2022, the game is estimated to be 10-15% complete.

In regards to whether the Shinobu and Maya of *Gal Guardians* are the same characters as the ones in *Gal\*Gun*, Aizu answered that internally, they have a policy regarding characters from previous titles appearing in a different series, and that is to not clarify the nature of the character. As an example, he said if a character from "series A" makes an appearance in "series B", they don't specify whether the two are truly the same character. Shinobu and Maya in *Gal Guardians* share the same names, visuals, and settings as in *Gal\*Gun*, but beyond those, they will not clarify. To ensure that players who are familiar with the *Gal\*Gun* cast don't feel alienated, however, Ito was tasked as the scenario writer.

Shinobu and Maya -- as playable characters -- were designed with distinct strengths and weaknesses, so rather than using a preferred character, it's intended for the player to switch according to the situation. Shinobu is a long-range character who can defeat enemies from a safe distance and has higher physical durability, but since each individual shot is weak and she needs to reload frequently, she struggles in close-quarters combat. Maya is the close-range character with high attack power and has subweapons with strong utility, but in exchange has low durability. She is deliberately designed for skilled players to be able to take full advantage of her high-risk, high-return play.

"Sister Rescue" (the game's revival system) was an aspect that was planned from the beginning of the game's development. The *Curse of the Moon* series was designed to have many companions that the player can switch between to advance to new routes and mitigate character-specific weaknesses (up to 4 in *CotM1* and up to 7 in *CotM2*). The loss of one character was less of an impact when there are several more to fall back on. Thus, *Gal Guardians* only having two playable characters in comparison was a design issue that needed to be solved. *Azure Striker Gunvolt 3* was another Inti Creates game that had a character-switching system with two characters, but the team wanted to avoid too much overlap with a recently released title. Thus, "Sister Rescue" was made as a form of compromise: when one sister gets defeated, if the player can reach the fallen sister's location they can revive them.

### Promotion

On August 4th, 2022, the Project Kickoff trailer for *Grim Guardians: Demon Purge* was released. However, the trailer was leaked earlier than intended via a now-deleted post from Noisy Pixel.

On December 20th, 2022, the *Grim Guardians: Demon Purge* Release Trailer was released in both Japanese and English, which set the game's release date to February 23rd, 2023. In game news articles and the game's official site, a partial English dub was confirmed to be among the game's features.

On January 6th, 2023, Inti Creates' YouTube channel released a video for the game's opening, Never x Never x Never.

On February 6th, 2023, the English Gameplay Showcase trailer was released, revealing the voices for the partial English dub. In addition, during the week of February 6th to February 13th, a demo of the game was made available for Steam Next Fest.

During the game's pre and post-release period, Inti Creates hosted several *Grim Guideians: Demon Channel* Japanese streams. In addition to demonstrating gameplay, these streams had introductions from the game's voice actors.

In the game's overseas promotion, very little was mentioned by Inti Creates themselves about the game's relation to the *Gal\*Gun* series other than the main characters and antagonist. Once PQube began promotion for the game, this connection was made more upfront.

Promotional wallpapers for the game were released to celebrate New Year's for 2023, the game's digital release, and the game's physical release in Japan.

### Post-release

On March 8th, 2023, it was announced that the game's international name would be changed from *Grim Guardians: Demon Purge* to *Gal Guardians: Demon Purge* due to a trademark complaint regarding the use of the term "GRIMGUARD" from Grimguard Tactics. As a result, the game had to be removed from certain English digital storefronts until the name change was complete. The game was officially announced to be rereleased on the Nintendo eShop on April 12th, 2023.

## Story

*Heads up, human!
**This section spoils the HELL out of games in the*** **Gal\*Gun *series.*** *Don't say I didn't warn ya!*

### First Loop

    While wandering in a castle in Hell, Kurona is cursing the Kamizono sisters, having to be held back a year in the Demon Academy due to her repeated failures. However, a door nearby suddenly opens by itself, which prompts her to look inside. She happens to find a mysterious large mirror. Gazing on her reflection, she remarks having never seen a mirror of this size within the castle before. Suddenly, to her shock, the mirror gives off a blinding flash of light...

Shinobu and Maya Kamizono are walking to Sakurazaki Academy in their school uniforms, having not attended classes for some time. A dark sphere suddenly envelops the area, and in place of the Academy, a hellish castle stands before them. The duo change into their demon hunting gear, and investigate the castle to search for answers.

After defeating Amalgabat, Kurona appears before the sisters. She reveals that the dimensions between the human and demon world have merged at Sakurazaki Academy, thanks to the "absolute power" she had obtained. This was part of Kurona's "miracle comeback of the century" in hopes of not being held back a year. She invites the sisters to face her at the top of castle before vanishing. Maya remarks that Kurona by herself shouldn't possess the power to do such a feat, let alone any demon.

As the sisters traverse the castle, they discover that some of the students have merged with powerful demons, resulting in Fiends. By defeating each Fiend, they free these students and grow one step closer to discovering the truth. Once they reach the Castle's Peak, they face off against Kurona herself. After Kurona's defeat, a quake occurs, and a mysterious, giant woman appears before Shinobu and Maya. This woman is none other than Adult Kurona, a version of Kurona from an incredibly distant future and the true culprit behind the school's transformation. Several centuries in the future, Adult Kurona, out of boredom, looked back at the albums of her younger days and decided to exact revenge on the Kamizono sisters, who had always thwarted her pranks way back then. Instead of finishing off Shinobu and Maya right then and there, she forces them to start their journey all over again, sending them right back to the Castle Entrance.

### Second Loop

Once again at the Castle Gates, Shinobu and Maya rescue Risu from a horde of demons, and after receiving her blessing, begin their journey anew. They fight through the halls and defeat Amalgabat once again, and decide to turn the area and the Gymnasium into a safehouse, in which they gather all the students they had rescued up until this point. While there, they are called by Houdai's voice, and here it is where they discover what had become of him. Adult Kurona had transformed the young man into a part of the castle itself, and thus he had been aware of their journey every step of the way. Because of this, he is aware that Adult Kurona was no longer in the castle, and thus must have travelled back to the future somehow. However, because his Pheromone Power is weak at the moment, he is unable to discern her means of travel. Thus, he requests Shinobu and Maya to retrieve five items that would "get any healthy teenage boy fired up" in order to boost his Pheromone Power. The sisters reluctantly accept this request, and after some asking around, begin the search for these items within the castle.

After locating all five items, Houdai's Pheromone Power is able to skyrocket, and thus he is able to see how Adult Kurona traverses time: the Dimensional Mirror. This mirror is located in a secret room behind where Kurona was previously fought. The sisters reach the castle's summit once again, breaking into the secret passage. Also within the secret passage is Kurona's bedroom, where the demon girl is sleeping soundly. The two are surprised by this, but sneak past her to the mirror's location. The two find the mirror, but are interrupted by Kurona, who had awoken and realized their presence. Kurona tells them that their efforts are in vain, for the Dimensional Mirror is rather picky about "looks" and will only allow the Eternal Seductress — Adult Kurona — use its power.

After being beaten by the sisters once again, Shinobu forcefully demands Kurona to give information for another way to enter the mirror, which the demon girl sheepishly provides. The Dimensional Mirror, it turns out, also has a fetish for bunny girls, and will allow anyone wearing a bunny girl outfit to use its power. What occurs next depends on Shinobu's decision.

**Believe in the bunny**

Risu arrives with a package from Angel Ring. Due to their excellent work as demon hunters, the higher ups have rewarded them with bunny girl outfits. Shinobu is awed by the foresight of the angels, when in reality Risu was clueless about the current situation. Regardless, the two sisters change into the outfits, which allows them to enter the Mirror and into the rift between the present and future. Afterwards, they change back into their demon hunter gear to head to the final battle

**Look for another way**

Chiru runs into the room, having realized that the final component required for the Dimensional Transporter Device was the Dimensional Mirror. She attaches the device to the mirror, allowing the two to by-pass the mirror's restriction and enter the dimensional rift.

**Force your way through**

Shinobu, frustrated at the absurd situation they're in, fires at and damages the Dimensional Mirror. She threatens the Mirror itself, and the Mirror complies out of fear.

Regardless of choice, Shinobu and Maya traverse the Dimensional Rift to confront Adult Kurona. When they arrive, she is sitting bored on a couch, with what seems to be Houdai licking her feet. Maya quickly realizes that this Houdai is a doppelganger, and the duo fight the lecherous imposter. Once they defeat it, Adult Kurona decides to fight them herself, transforming her couch into her signature Demon Spear.

Eventually, Adult Kurona unleashes the full extent of her power, which had such an overwhelming amount of pressure that Shinobu and Maya can barely stand. The subsequent events are determined by Shinobu's choice of words, that demon hunters...

#### Normal End

"Fight until the end!"

Suddenly, Adult Kurona is enveloped by the Doki Doki Field through Houdai's Pheromone Power. While Adult Kurona is able to disperse the field's effects with ease, she is weakened enough for the Kamizono sisters to stand a chance. After a difficult battle, Adult Kurona is defeated, which forces her back to the future she had come from. As the dimensions unfuse, the Kamizonos and the other students watch as the castle transforms back into Sakurazaki Academy... but something is off. The Academy may have been returned to normalcy, but it and the students were transported to the demon realm. Kurona happily realizes that her big prank had succeeded in a way after all, but her celebration is cut off by Shinobu's wrath.

#### True End

"Never leave anyone behind!"

Like the normal ending, Houdai uses the Doki Doki Field to weaken Adult Kurona. However, Aoi, Akira, Kaname, Chiru, and Nanako join the fight using the dimensional transportation device, with Risu cheering the girls on. After Adult Kurona is defeated, she is forced back to her future, the dimensions unfuse, and the Academy is returned to the human world. Several weeks later, Shinobu and Maya are on their way to school when they hear Risu cry out for help. Kurona has begun stirring trouble once again, and the demon hunter duo change into their gear to put a stop to her.

#### Alt End

"Believe in the power of love!"

Strengthened by the feelings of the students rescued by the siblings, Houdai successfully activates the Doki Doki Field, and lends Shinobu and Maya the Pheromone Power to use it. This results in an utterly humiliating defeat for Adult Kurona, and like the normal ending, she is forced back into the future and the dimensions return to normal. However, Shinobu and Maya's use of the Doki Doki Field has an unintended consequence: the girls rescued by the duo have all fallen head over heels for them for the day. Houdai is distraught, believing that the sisters wouldn't be interested in him but rather the girls who were attempting to court them. The story ends with Shinobu and Maya trying to clear the misunderstanding while fighting off the affections of everyone else.

## Characters

### Main Characters

*Voiced by:* Emi Uema (JP), Brittany Lauda (EN)
*Voiced by:* Chinami Hashimoto (JP), Ryan Bartley (EN)
The younger Kamizono sister, and a demon hunter who wields papercraft weaponry and is a close-range specialist. She acts reserved, but she is very reliable and possesses great spiritual knowledge.

### Antagonists

*Voiced by:* Aya Fujifa (JP), Michelle Marie (EN)
*Voiced by:* Yumi Hara (JP), Sarah Kennedy (EN)
Kurona from several centuries in the future. Out of boredom and a desire for revenge, she decides to collaborate with her younger self and merges the dimensions between Sakurazaki Academy and the demon realm.

### Supporting Characters

*Voiced by:* Nozomi Yamamoto (JP), Kayli Mills (EN)
*Voiced by:* Fumiko Uchimura (JP), Karen Calanni (EN)
*Voiced by:* Haruka Miyake (JP), Bryn Apprill (EN)
*Voiced by:* Yuna Taniguchi (JP), Cat Protano (EN)
*Voiced by:* Risae Matsuda (JP), Corey Petit (EN)
*Voiced by:* Chisa Kimura (JP), Maddie Matsumoto (EN)
*Voiced by:* Yuuki Terui (JP), Andy Cowley (EN)
The protagonist of *Gal\*Gun: Double Peace*. The childhood friend (or perhaps more...) of the Kamizono siblings who has been merged with the demonic castle. He still possesses the Pheromone Power granted by the incident several months ago.

## Gameplay

The player can switch between two playable characters: the gun specialist Shinobu and melee-oriented Maya. Using the two demon hunters, the player progresses through the demon infested castle, progressing through stages and defeating boss demons.

Features include:

* 2-player local co-op
* Difficulty options from a "Style System".
	+ **Casual**: No knockback, more health drops, infinite lives. Weapon points start at 40.
	+ **Veteran**: Considered the standard difficulty, has lives and knockback. Weapon points start at 20.
	+ **Legend Hunter/Legend**: Increased damage taken and additional enemy placement. One sister being defeated results in both being defeated, and thus a life will be lost. Can only be selected after seeing at least one ending.
* Two voice modes:
	+ **Pure Mode**: Japanese voices for both story and gameplay.
	+ **Refined Mode**: English voices for the gameplay only, with no voice acting for dialogue. Enabled by default in international releases.
* **Boss Rush Mode**: Unlocked after clearing the game. Fight each of the game's bosses one after another.
	+ **Challenge Mode** unlocks after clearing Boss Rush; enabling adds new conditions to Boss Rush:
		- Boss health is increased significantly.
		- Shinobu and Maya's initial health is set to 4, initial WP set to 10, and Shinobu's initial ammo max set to 50.
		- Before each boss, the player is given the choice between two random upgrades.
		- Initially, only the Throwing Knife and Shikigami Barrier subweapons are available. Other subweapons must be obtained by defeating specific bosses.
		- Boss order is randomized, except for the last two.

Some similarities the game shares with "Classicvanias" is the presence of a lives system and subweapons that consume ammo. However, *GGDP* allows access to multiple subweapons, which can be switched between in a wheel-like menu. After defeating a boss and rescuing the student within it, subweapons are rewarded to each sister by the student. It is possible to revisit previous stages, and the player is encouraged to do so after obtaining new subweapons. Additionally, there is a purple meter called the *Purge Gauge*, which can fill over time as well as by Pride item drops. It is the resource used for a screen clear (name unknown) in multiplayer, or a devastating single shot of combined power called the *Devil's Bullet* in singleplayer. Scattered throughout the castle are Sakurazaki Academy's missing students. Finding these students restores health, and these students can be talked to in the Gymnasium during the game's second loop.

In single player, the player freely switches between Shinobu and Maya. If one character is defeated, the player is returned to a checkpoint and takes control of the other character. If the player reaches the location of the other sister's body, the downed sister can be revived with health restored to half. If both sisters are downed, a life is lost.

In co-op, Shinobu and Maya can use each other as platforms, revive each other via CPR, and tag out of the action by using "Mascot Mode" (transforming into uzi or mask respectively). Additionally, they have access to a combination attack that consumes Purge Meter.

##### **General controls (Switch)**

* **X**: (while both sisters are alive) Devil's Bullet (uses up Purge Gauge)
	+ (Repeatedly press while near downed character): Sister Rescue
* **Y**: Main attack
* **B**: Jump
* **A**: Use subweapon
* **L**: Switch subweapon
* **R**: Switch subweapon
* **Hold L/R**: Subweapon menu
* **ZL/ZR**: Character swap

##### **Co-op controls (Switch)**

* **-** or **+ and down**: Transform into Mascot
* **Both players press X**: Screen clearing team attack

At the start of the game's second loop, Shinobu gains the ability to aim upwards, as well as occasional rocket shots from her normal attack. Maya gains a multi-hit charge slash that can also serve as a pseudo double-jump. Defeating bosses at this point the game grants candy from Angel Ring, which can be given to Chiru to upgrade subweapons.

#### Stages

Castle Entrance

Ceremony Hall

Mysterious Cave

Courtyard

Library

Clock Tower

Castle's Peak

Dimensional Rift

## Collaborations & Promotions

### Tsun Scoops

On June 9th, 2023, Tsun Scoops announced a collaboration with Inti Creates to promote *Gal Guardians*. From June 10th to June 18th, the Shinoblue Raspberry and Mayaschino Cherry flavors were available to customers, as well as free postcards and stickers promoting the game.

Tsun Scoops ice cream
## Reception

*Gal Guardians: Demon Purge* has had an overall positive reception, with common praises being the graphics, sister switching dynamic, and co-op. Common criticisms included the frequency of combat voicelines and the lack of a map for the second loop of the game.

## Videos

* English Dub Trailer
* Opening Movie (JP)
* Release Date Trailer
* Kickoff Trailer

## Trivia

* Since Masanori Ito came up with *Gal\*Gun's* concept after his pitch for a "Multiplayer 2D Sidescrolling ACT" game got rejected, one could say that *Gal Guardians* is a homage to the series' origins.
* *Gal\*Gun: Double Peace* and *Gal Guardians: Demon Purge* share the same acronym: **GG:DP**.
	+ The achievement for the game's Alternate Ending acknowledges this.
	+ One of the pitched names to keep the "DP" acronym was "Demon Punisher."
* This is the first game in the *Gal\*Gun* universe where Masanori Ito is not the main director, but is instead one of the scenario writers.
* This is also the first game in the *Gal\*Gun* franchise with an English dub, albeit limited to only gameplay voicelines.
* This game marks the first direct appearance of Kaname Nonomiya and Akira Hibuki after the events of the original *Gal\*Gun*.
* Due to the appearance of the *Gal\*Gun 2* heroines and the acknowledgement of events from that entry, the story of this game appears to take place after *Gal\*Gun 2*.
* In the *Grim Guardians: Demon Channel #1* stream, all the green parts of Maya's sprite were black, including her hair. This was likely due to a recording bug, however.

### Canonicity with Prior Games

* While the game keeps which *Double Peace* route it follows ambiguous, there are enough clues to narrow it down.
	+ The game does not follow the Ekoro, Kurona, Patako, or Maya Routes due to Kurona's antagonistic relationship towards Houdai.
	+ Additionally, Maya Route is not followed due to the grudge Kurona and Adult Kurona holds towards the Kamizono siblings.
	+ In concept art, Houdai is wearing the Kamizono family's enchanted bells on his wrists, which are also faintly visible on his sprites. This implies that he has become close enough to the Kamizono family to obtain them and has become a demon hunter himself.
	+ This leaves the Shinobu or Sisters Route, at the end of which Shinobu's spiritual power increases greatly due to a miracle of love. This aligns with Shinobu's ability to see angels in *Gal Guardians*. However, it is worth noting that here, Shinobu needs to maintain focus in order to see them. In both routes, Kurona is also banished back to hell by Shinobu (rather than befriended or assisted), and thus could begin the grudge she forms against the siblings. There is room to argue for either route:
		- **In favor of Shinobu route**: In *Gal Guardians*, Shinobu in particular is frequently distracted by her thoughts and worries about Houdai, to the point of being clumsy in her demon hunting prior to the game's events and neglecting maintenance on her gear. Additionally, after encountering Verdant Despot the second time, Shinobu recalls Kurona stealing panties as one of her pranks. This is explicitly brought up in *Double Peace's* Shinobu and Ekoro Routes.
		- **In favor of Sisters route**: Within Houdai's *Gal Guardians* profile, it comments that "One could say they [the Kamizono siblings and Houdai] have a special relationship." Depending on interpretation, this could be alluding to the relationship formed at the end of the Sisters route. Additionally, in the final battle, the siblings mention that the three of them together (including Houdai) are unstoppable. Perhaps not coincidentally, in *Double Peace's* Sisters Route true ending, Houdai asserts that if anyone objects to their relationship, their strength together makes those objections meaningless. It is also in this route where Kurona explicitly mentions potentially being held back a year for failing her assignments, a consequence which comes to pass in *Gal Guardians*.
* *Gal Guardians* acknowledges the following events from previous games as canon, or at least canon to the game itself:
	+ Kaname Nonomiya summoning a monster after a botched love spell. This in turn means her route is indeed the canon route from *Gal\*Gun*.
	+ Shinobu and Maya have previously met Risu before, indicating that the Kamizono sister sidequests in *Gal\*Gun 2* are canon.
	+ Nanako's hair clips and Demon form indicates that at least some events from her quests in *Gal\*Gun 2* are canon. Her hair clips being silver instead of gold may mean that not all were completed, but it is currently uncertain if this was intentional.
	+ Chiru wearing a first year school uniform, and the mention of her truancy ending recently in her profile, indicates that at minimum her route was completed. This is further proven by her use of her completed Anti-Goddess weapon, Neo Heart Blazer, in the final battle.
		- Due to the events of both Chiru and Nanako's routes clearly happening to a certain extent, there is room to argue that *Gal Guardians* follow's *GG2's* Harem Ending.
* The *Gal\*Gun 2 Special Drama CD* is not canon to the events of *Gal Guardians* due to the Kamizono siblings having never met Chiru or Nanako.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://dengekionline.com/articles/151417/
2. ↑ http://grimguardians.com/en/special/wallpaper.html
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/tsunscoops/status/1667243333394268160?s=20
4. ↑ https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/339/339138/
5. ↑ https://youtu.be/Jl5JYqo05vA?t=1837

## External Links

Official Site (EN)

Official Site (JP)