Gal*Gun: Double Peace

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***Gal\*Gun: Double Peace*** (ぎゃる☆がん だぶるぴーす *Gyaru Gan Daburu Piisu*) is a rail shooter Bishōjo video game developed by Inti Creates. The game was released on August 6, 2015 in Japan, July 22, 2016 in Europe, and August 2, 2016 in North America. It is the sequel to the 2011 game *Gal\*Gun*.

## Development History

**Disclaimer:** *Some sources are from machine-translated Japanese interviews, so there may be inaccuracies*

In the PlayStation 3 version of *Gal\*Gun*, Ekoro's profile had a quote that hinted at the possibility of a sequel: *"One year from now, she will create a legend surpassing that of Patako."* Despite this, there was no solid plan for a follow-up scenario or gameplay changes at the time. Rather, it was expressing the team's wish to develop a sequel in the future. Director Masanori Ito only vaguely knew that he wanted the next game to focus on Ekoro.

Development for the game started around February 2013. Two months prior, Ito and "Erotaro" had spent time deciding ideas for a *Gal\*Gun* sequel, which had been pitched in Inti's second in-house competition. Once development began, the graphics team began experimenting with models. Around September, programmers joined the team and had begun working on "verifications". Due to having the PS Vita and Playstation 4 as the platform choice, the team was conscious of the touch pads of the systems and wanted to incorporate it.

Several one-letter subtitles were suggested while coming up with a title (*Gal\*Gun X*, *Y, W*), and "W" was settled upon for the image of "Double Peace" as well as sounding cool and sexy. From there, the Doki Doki Mode's "Double Peace Ascension" was decided to match with the image of the title. The title also aligned with the "Double" theming decided for the game: two sisters, angels and demons, and the normal/possessed girls in gameplay.  One criticism that the team had taken note of from the previous game was the approach to the story. In particular, *Gal\*Gun's* story pattern was following the heroine, finding out what the conflict was, and resolving it. Thus, adding some contrasts to the story would freshen up the narrative. Demons were previously mentioned in Doki Doki Carnival, so Kurona was a natural inclusion to act as Ekoro's contrast.

Not wanting to compromise on the point of being a fun shooting game, the team wanted to take certain aspects of the shooting genre, such as enemies attacking from hiding places and zooming in for shots, and add them in a way that matches the absurdity of the previous game. In particular, the transparent zoom was one of the aspects decided to exceed the impact of the previous game. The idea was born from noticing that other titles had their female opponents clothes forcefully torn in battle, and wondered if there was an alternative approach. After all, *Gal\*Gun* was not a game where the player is not meant to inflict damage or harm to the girls, but rather defeating them with euphoria.

On February 28th, 2015, Inti Creates officially announced *Gal\*Gun: Double Peace* at Inti Creates Fan Festa 2015, although the title, platforms, price, and release date were yet to be confirmed.

As of May 11th, 2015, the game had almost reached completion, with development at this point being focused on game balance and planning DLC.

### Voice Acting

Emi Uema had voiced students in the previous *Gal\*Gun*, but *Double Peace* was the first time she took on the role of a main character. She initially auditioned for Kurona, but it was decided her voice fit more for Shinobu. She had recorded her lines over the course of three days.

### Scrapped Ideas and Concepts

Several ideas were proposed but were ultimately scrapped either due to constraints or having an alternative option chosen in its place.

Among them was a proposed replacement for the Doki Doki Mode's screen bomb, the "Kamikaze" (divine wind). This wind would flip up the skirts of all girls on screen, and they are rendered immobile due to their attempts keep to their skirt pushed down. Ultimately, it was decided that Doki Doki Mode would still retain the screen bomb function (although Ito notes that he still likes the idea).

Another concept was a demon girl version of Doki Doki Mode, but it was scrapped due to a combination of the already high amount of voice lines and the need for expediency.

### Localization

During the game's development, Matt Papa, a localizer for Inti Creates and having recently joined the company, suggested releasing the game overseas. This idea was met with some skepticism, as it was believed that *Gal\*Gun* would not perform well among a Western audience.

As the manager of Inti's English Twitter account, Matt used the account on the game's Japanese release date to gauge interest in a possible western release. By the next day, that tweet had far surpassed all previous Like/Retweet records for the account at the time. This served as indication of a possible audience, and thus a western release for the game was approved.

Around that time, Geraint Evans, Head of Marketing at PQube, saw the Tweet and proposed to PQube to be involved with *Gal\*Gun's* localization and publishing. Geraint met Matt during Tokyo Game Show of that year, and this set the stage for the partnership of the two companies.

One of the biggest challenges faced in the localization process were Japanese jokes or pop culture references that did not translate well into English. Thus, part of the process involved trying to write those references in way that would evoke the same reaction in an English-speaking audience. One specific example was Kurona replacing "desu" with "DEATH" in the Japanese dialogue, a verbal wordplay which would not translate well in English. Rather than force "DEATH" in dialogue or drop the quirk entirely, the decision was made for Kurona to use the word "HELL" in the localization.

#### Minor changes from the Japanese version

##### Buruma

Some references to buruma were localized as underwear instead.

* For example, for Extra Mission 6.2.d ("Topics for today's broadcast"), in the English localization, Saori Fujiwara suggests to Suzume Asano that there is a group of girls trying to ban ugly underwear. In the Japanese version, Saori Fujiwara instead references a group trying to ban buruma.
* Similarly, for Saori Fujiwara's Extra Mission 4,2.b ("Someone stole my panties!"), buruma was localized as "panties."

##### Mikasa Ruriko

When Houdai first encounters the effects of the demon spear, one line spoken by Mikasa Ruriko was localized/translated somewhat differently:

* Original Japanese: はあ・・・はあ・・・自分・・・むしろいじめてほし~~ッス!
* Official localization/translation: "Oooh, I wanna torture you too!!!"
* Alternative translation: "Haa... haa... I... would rather you bully me!"

### Promotion

To promote the English localization of *Gal\*Gun: Double Peace*, the @IntiCreatesEN Twitter account started a #BaeOfTheDay social media campaign, in which they did daily posts dedicated to the game's cast in the days leading to release.

## Story

Taking place one year after *Gal\*Gun*, you play as Houdai, a stereotypically indecisive lame guy, who has never been in a relationship. Like Patako before her, Ekoro is tasked with shooting her assigned target with an angel arrow. After confirming her target with the Goddess, she notices a Demon Academy student lying in wait as well. In a panic, Ekoro neglects to check her charged shot setting, and as a result, Houdai gets hit with 32x the normal power required. This makes a large amount of the girls in Sakurazaki Academy attracted to Houdai. To top it all off, if he doesn't tell his true feelings to the one he loves by the end of the day, he'll be forever alone. Now armed with the power of the Popul-aura and the Pheromone Shot, he must "shoot" the girls of the Academy to ward them off long enough to find his true love.

In front of Sakurazaki Academy, Houdai collides into Shinobu Kamizono, who was in pursuit of the demon girl from earlier. Followed by her sister Maya, this fateful re-encounter reveals that the Kamizono sisters are demon hunters. Upon realizing that Houdai is able to see demons, Shinobu attempts to enlist his aid in their demon hunting. However, Houdai hesitates due to his current predicament. At this point, the story diverges depending on which route is chosen.

## Characters

### Main Characters

*Voiced by:* N/A

*Voiced by:* Emi Uema

*Voiced by:* Chinami Hashimoto

*Voiced by:* Aya Fujita
A 3rd Year student at the Demon Academy who loves to play tricks on others. She's spreading mischief for her makeup exams.

### Returning Characters

*Voiced by:* Yui Horie

*Voiced by:* Yukari Tamura

*Voiced by:* Nozomi Yamamoto
Formerly a 1st Year student in the original *Gal\*Gun.* Now a 2nd Year student, the leader of the school band LOVEHEARTS works at the Academy Store.

### Students

#### 1st Year Students

* Sayaka Nitta
* Mina Kokorozaki
* Maoko Nira
* Megumi Tendou
* Kazusa Kuchiki
* Aki Nikaidou
* Koko Satsuki
* Tsukasa Nishiguchi
* Rion Harusame
* Riina Terumoto
* Otome Kurosawa
* Mai Aoshima
* Sayoko Kojika
* Kusumi Shinonome
* Shiho Hoshizora
* Maki Sudou
* Anita Bellman
* Mihono Matsubara
* Kazumi Nanbara
* Yukina Jinbo
* Kanko Shishido

#### 2nd Year Students

* Tsubomi Haruno
* Kasumi Sakaguchi
* Kumi Kibayashi
* Neneko Kosugi
* Saki Takada
* Fumi Tsukada
* Riko Kuroda
* Maria Natsuki
* Tsuzumi Murasame
* Tsugumi Tachibana
* Midori Hanba
* Junko Hitotsubashi
* Mikoto Kumano
* Hayari Kuse
* Ruriko Mikasa
* Ran Himeno
* Uraraka Nishibina
* Nanami Ise
* Karen Sazanami
* Kaho Akagi
* Rikiko Tanaka

#### 3rd Year Students

* Mei Suzuno
* Kazami Saijou
* Madoka Tsukimiya
* Suzume Asano
* Yuki Shirogane
* Mako Kuroda
* Saori Fujiwara
* Mirai Wakaba
* Miho Kusunoki
* Sango Namiki
* Sayu Suguri
* Yuyu Suguri
* Ringo Kotobuki
* Yurina Gozu
* Mafuyu Yanagida
* Yuka Saitou
* Konomi Kujirai
* Yuri Tsurugi
* Akiko Masami
* Ren Yoshikawa
* Shizuka Ninomiya

### Others

* Saori Fujino
* Michiyo Azuma
* Rena Kuribayashi
* Asuka Hattori
* Kirara Kurashiki
* Yuko Yureino

## Possible Routes

*Gal\*Gun: Double Peace* features different routes that the player can choose at the end of episode 1-2 that will lead the player to different endings. The possible routes and endings are as listed below.

### Shinobu Route

This route is started by choosing 'I love Shinobu' when given the choice at the end of episode 1-2. This is unlocked at the start.

### Maya Route

This route is started by choosing 'I love Maya' when given the choice at the end of episode 1-2. This is unlocked at the start.

### Sister's Route

This route is started by choosing 'I love both' when given the choice at the end of episode 1-2. Note that this Route is available only when the player has completed both Shinobu and Maya's Route on Good End or better.

### Angel & Demon Route

This route is started by choosing 'I have no idea' when given the choice at the end of episode 1-2. Note that this route is available only when the player had cleared either Shinobu or Maya's route on Good End or better. From here on, the route diverge again to either Ekoro or Kurona's Route. An additional route is unlocked when the player has acquired two halves of an angel halo by completing all available routes except for Unseen Destiny with a True End. This will lead to another divergence from Kurona Route to Patako Route.

#### Ekoro Route

This route is started by choosing 'Ekoro is right, let's help Kurona' at the end of episode 4-2.

#### Kurona Route

This route is started by choosing 'Poke me with the demon spear first' at the end of episode 4-2.

#### Patako Route

This route is started by choosing 'Help me, Ekoro!' at the end of episode 6-2, assuming the player had acquired both halves of an angel halo. One half is obtained from getting True Ends for Shinobu and Maya's routes, and the other half is gained from the Ekoro and Kurona route True Ends.

### Unseen Destiny/True Love Route

This route is started by choosing 'Unseen Destiny' when given the choice at the end of episode 1-2. This requires getting at least a Good Ending on all other routes.

### Aoi Route

This sub-route is achieved when the player has donated to the L0VEHEARTS five (5) times to the Academy Store.

## Gameplay

### Story Mode

#### Rail Shooter

*Double Peace* retains many of the rail shooter elements and unique mechanics from the original *Gal\*Gun*, such as the weak point and Ecstasy Shot system. However, some gameplay additions and quality of life changes were introduced. One of the biggest changes is that hitting a target outside of their weakspot no longer breaks an Ecstasy Shot combo by itself: it only breaks if the target isn't defeated via an Ecstasy Shot. Teachers were nerfed by no longer being immune to Ecstasy Shots for a certain amount of hits, but still do not flinch if hit outside of their weak spot. *Double Peace* also introduces girls possessed by Mini Kuronas, which enhance the durability of the targets significantly and negate weakspots, thus requiring the player to target the Mini Kuronas latched on to the girls before going for Ecstasy Shots. Both of these new mechanics are carried over to future titles.

Unique to *Double Peace* specifically is the charge shot, which, when fired, can stun targets it hits, as well as clearing Mini Kuronas and Mr. Happinesses in one shot. The Doki Doki Bomb from the previous title has been changed to the Doki Doki Field, which can be used to specifically target up to three girls depending on the amount of Doki Doki meter saved up. The camera automatically moves around, which only requires the player to try to fill up each girl's gauge before time runs out. If successful, the resulting screen clear adds to your Ecstasy streak, and Houdai's social stats will be modified based on which girls were in the Field. Otherwise, the screen clear will still result but the combo will be broken and stats will remain unchanged. Unlike the previous game, a successful Doki Doki Mode will hit all targets in the area, rather than just the ones visible to the player.

Similar to the previous game, usage of Doki Doki Mode is required to unlock further info for an NPC character's profile. However, it is no longer necessary to use DDM three times in a single route to fully unlock a profile. Instead, unlocking all profile info only requires using DDM on the character at least once, finding their respective student handbook, and scanning their three sizes using the zoom. Doing so provides all the basic info for the girl, granting a bronze medal for that profile. The profile can be further completed by using DDM on all three variations of a girl (Uniform, Gym, and Swimsuit) and getting their ending in the game's Unseen Destiny route. Completion of either condition grants a silver medal, and completion of both grants a gold metal.

Another change from the original is the introduction of a stage select for most chapters. In addition to giving players more choice for their playthrough of the game, this ties into the new request system. The request system involves receiving minor side objectives for specific stages from the other students. Often, these require finding a certain object in a stage or on a girl, but sometimes there are other objectives, such as finding certain measurements or finding a ghost girl. Completion of these requests rewards Angel Feathers, a currency that can be used to purchase items from the game's shop in between stages.

The Academy Store allows the player to purchase upgrades that can improve gameplay-related stats (such as health or shot power), adjust the player's social stats, and other items. These items are purchased with Angel Feathers, which are earned from completing stages, minigames, and requests. Some items are only available with a high enough rank.

One expansion to the game's scoring is the results screen, in which the player gains additional score and Angel Feathers based on three categories: Time, Accuracy, and Damage. Time is tied to the stage/boss clear time, accuracy is tied to how many shots you missed and the Ecstasy shot streak maintained, and damage is tied to the amount of damage inflicted to the player. These are each ranked up to a maximum of five stars.

Rank thresholds are as follows:

 SS
 S
 A
 B
 C
 D
 E
 F
 G

Score is awarded as follows:

Shooting Score
 Disciplinary Committee Member
 Teacher

Shooting Bonuses (Added to Shooting Score)
 Quick Bonus
 Doki Doki Mode (Pink Heart)
 Doki Doki Mode (Yellow Heart)

Miscellaneous Shooting Bonuses
Mini Kurona (Hit # depends on tier)
 Panties (*Dressing Room 2 only*)

Results Screen Bonuses

Minigame Bonuses
 Excellent Job
 You Can Do Better Than That
 You're Pretty Bad At This...

Final Results Bonuses
 Expert
 Good
 Bad

#### Dating Sim

Like the previous entry, social stats massively influence the dialogue choices available to the player. However, *Double Peace* has all five dialogue choices displayed per instance, unlike *Gal\*Gun's* displayed three out of a pool of eight. Certain choices can only be selected by meeting specific stat thresholds and are greyed out if that threshold isn't met. Another change is the introduction of neutral choices, which do not raise or lower affection.

However, several changes were made to make managing social stat values significantly easier. When a new game file is created, the player is given options for starting stat builds, more of which can be unlocked by fulfilling certain conditions. Additionally, there are items in the Academy Store which can increase or decrease specific stats by increments of 10.

The following are the conditions regarding endings for most routes:

* True Ending: Requires 100% affection by the end of the route. Additionally, final rank must an S or higher.
* Good Ending: Requires final affection to be 50-99%.
* Bad Ending: Requires final affection to be 50% or lower.

#### Unseen Destiny/True Love Route

True Love route uses different mechanics compared to the usual Dating Sim element of the game. In this mode, every one of the mob girls and teachers are a viable romance option, each with their own slightly unique ending. There are no dialogue options that can influence the outcome of this route; instead, the Rail Shooter element of the game determines the ending.

In the stage select, the player now has access to a compatibility chart, which shows the current affection rating among the entire cast, as well as their preferred social stats. If Houdai's social stats fit within the range of one or more their preferences, the base affection and rate of affection gain increases.

There are three ways the player can increase the affection stat of a specific girl:

* Hitting Ecstasy Shots (+)
* Letting the girl hit you with their love confession (++)
* Doki Doki Mode (+++)

Once a girl's affection reaches the max, the player can choose to skip to the battle against Mr. Demon Balloon and get the girl's respective ending. The bad ending can only be achieved if the final level is beaten with zero girls at maximum affection, and is thus one of the most difficult endings to obtain.

### Score Attack Mode

Score Attack mode, as the name implies, is a mode where the objective is to aim for high scores on either dedicated "routes" or individual stages. The gameplay remains the same compared to its story mode counterpart, but additional conditions are applied:

* Shot power is set to the default
* Health is set to the maximum
* Doki Doki Mode camera upgrades are usable
* Difficulty is locked to Seasoned Lover
* Other upgrades are inaccessible

For individual stages, the highest score obtained is saved and displayed. Measurements and profile progress obtained from Score Attack stages are saved, but not indicated in the stages themselves. This means it is up to the player to remember which students they have already made progress for.

#### Stages

* Sakura Road
* Entrance
* 2F Stairway
* 1st Year Class
* 2F Hallway
* Cafeteria
* Gym Entrance
* Behind Gym
* Stairway
* Gym
* Library
* Shoe Lockers
* 2nd Year Class
* Dressing Room
* Courtyard
* Forbidden Room
* Entrance 2
* Track
* Infirmary
* 3rd Year Class
* Cave
* Stairway 2
* Pool
* Dressing Room 2
* Pool 2
* Courtyard 2
* 3F Hallway
* New Building
* Front Entrance
* Tennis Court
* Cave 2
* Gym 2
* Sakura Road (PM)
* Hallway (PM)
* Park (PM)
* Roof (PM)

## Sales & Reception

During a presentation at Tokyo Sandbox 2017, Inti Creates CEO Takuya Aizu revealed that as of December 31st, 2016, the global sales on Playstation Network had reached 42,000 downloads and had reached 160,000 physical copies sold.

On a blog post from Matt Papa on Inti Creates' English website, the game had reached 100,000 copies worldwide as of January 28th, 2017. On March 25th, Aizu expressed surprise about the reception of the game, explaining that it had sold four times what Inti Creates originally projected. On September 19th, on the English blog post featuring *Gal\*Gun 2's* announcement, Matt Papa revealed that the combined sales of the series up until that point had reached 200,000 worldwide (*Gal\*Gun VR* had released just a month prior).

Although exact numbers afterwards are unclear, the marketing for the *Gal\*Gun: Double Peace* Nintendo Switch port indicates that it is the highest selling *Gal\*Gun* game in the series. In an interview regarding *Gal Guardians: Demon Purge*, it was mentioned that *Double Peace* was Inti's best-selling game for their overseas audience.

## Gallery

*Main article: Gal\*Gun: Double Peace/Gallery*

## Videos

* Opening Movie (JP)
* Switch Opening Movie

## Trivia

* Early copies of the game released in the US had a misprint on the back of the cover with an ESRB rating of "Everyone" instead of its official "Mature" rating. This was corrected in later releases.
* *Double Peace* is the first *Gal\*Gun* game to be localized and released outside of Japan.
* Within the game's files, DP referred to as "GG2." Despite this, the next game in the series is simply referred to as "Gal\*Gun 2".
* *Double Peace* is the only game in the series (or at least, in the ones with a plot) without a drama CD tied to it.
* During *Double Peace's* development, about one third of the development team were women, many of whom were graphic designers responsible for outfit designs and game animations.

### Canonicity with *Gal\*Gun*

* *Double Peace* explicitly takes place one year after the previous game, and thus Kaoruko Sakurazaki along with almost every 3rd year have graduated. Additionally, returning students have advanced one year.
* Aoi's route in *Gal\*Gun* is the only route that explicitly cannot be canon to *Double Peace*.
* Patako's transformation to a human is explicitly mentioned to be due to failing her subsequent assignments after the Doki Doki Carnival.
* Kaname's route is the route that *Double Peace* and subsequent games follow, evidenced by the following:
	+ The Occult Club room is replaced by the Forbidden Room, which has talismans and roots spread throughout it. This indicates that the monster in Kaname's route was summoned.
	+ This is further supported by Houdai's comment regarding the room in the Sisters route, which regards the rumor of a girl summoning a monster while attempting a love spell.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/107/1107677/
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2015/05/11/87498.html
3. ↑ Is there a glimpse of DLC development? Interview with the developer about the many details that went into PS4/PS Vita “Gal☆Gun Double Peace”!
4. ↑ https://www.gamer.ne.jp/news/201505010004/
5. ↑ 4Gamer summary of Inti Fan Festa 2015https://www.4gamer.net/games/140/G014004/20150228004/
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/IntiCreatesEN/status/629106786465742848
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://ricedigital.co.uk/galgun-10th-birthday-matt-papa-interview/
8. ↑ https://www.siliconera.com/gal-gun-left-japan-came-west/
9. ↑ Original @IntiCreatesEN Bae of the Day post
10. ↑ https://www.4gamer.net/games/314/G031464/20170512116/
11. ↑ http://inticreates.com/galgun-double-peace-sells-100000-copies/
12. ↑ https://www.destructoid.com/looks-like-gal-gun-was-pretty-successful-for-inti-creates/
13. ↑ http://inticreates.com/galgun-2-ps4-switch/
14. ↑ https://dengekionline.com/articles/151417/
15. ↑ https://www.destructoid.com/gal-gun-double-peace-rated-e-for-sexual-content--377927.phtml

## External Links

Official Site (English)

Official Site (Japanese)

Official Site (Steam)(Japanese)

Official Site (Bilingual)