After watching John Vincent “Vinesauce” Pizzapasta play Gal Gun 2 as part of a charity incentive, I decided to try the game myself (on Nintendo Switch, mostly for the laughs). And after enjoying the game, I went ahead and purchased Gal Gun: Double Peace and repurchased Gal Gun 2, both on Steam. At this point I haven’t completed every ending route in either game, but I have played through both games about 3 times each and as such have a pretty good feel for all the levels in the games.

Looking at the Steam reviews for Gal Gun 2 I noticed the same comment being made many times – “Double Peace was better”. My purpose in this writeup is not to definitively say that one or the other is better. Rather, it is to analyze what I feel like each game did correctly and what each game could have done better, as well as to share what I think a “Gal Gun 3” should be like.

Core Gameplay

The barebones of the gameplay has remained the same throughout the series. I think the beauty of the weak point system is that it’s never random. The same girls will always spawn in the same levels, and a girl’s weak point never changes. I noticed myself occasionally recognizing some of the girls and knowing their weak points without having to scan my reticle over their whole bodies.

That being said, I think one of biggest disparities is with the change from on-rails in Double Peace to the vantage point system in 2. Personally, I feel like the vantage point system is better. Firstly, the on-rails system is very jerky and annoying. A problem I frequently run into is trying to aim at something and then having the game drag my aim away by moving. These scenarios only get worse when using the zoom function, almost to a point that it’s nauseating. The vantage point system does not have this problem at all. Actually, the vantage point system allows you to duck and peek on command, which is great for aiming (and also works wonderfully for the new item finding game type in 2). I do admit that I wish that you were able to dodge attacks using this, but it still feels very nice to use. One of the bigger complaints about vantage point is that it allows players to just stand around after clearing the area to look for secrets, which defeats the purpose of having them (which is likely why Gal Gun 2 drastically reduced them in the first place). While I do agree to an extent, I will also say that adding back the time score bonus from Double Peace would completely negate this.

Another difference between the two games is how possessed girls are handled. A common complaint is that the demon sweeper is slow and breaks up the pace of the game. I am inclined to agree, with the exception that hyper suction allows you to clear several possessed girls in one sweep. Despite this, I feel that the new defense game type in 2 handles the sweeper very well. This is mostly because it forces you to manage your energy on the sweeper (making excellent use of Mr. Happiness’ new ability to restore it) as well as having the mini-Kuronas by themselves. I think the best of both worlds would just be to make it so that mini-Kuronas that are possessing girls will die when shot off. In that way you can still have defense levels as well as having the option to use hyper suction for extra points.

To quickly go over the other game specific features, I will say that there was no reason to remove charge shots in 2, but there was also little reason for them to exist outside of boss fights in Double Peace since ecstasy shots will always kill in one hit anyways. Doki Doki field was well-deserved to be removed as a technique it broke up the pacing way too much, and works much better in 2 as it’s own level type. Lovestrike is a much more suitable replacement being much quicker and more tactical to use, especially since meter is now devoted to the sweeper.

Other Gameplay

To be more specific, this section is for the aspects of gameplay outside of the standard hunting missions. As I have stated previously above, the two new mission types in 2 – item finding and defense – make excellent use of 2’s new gameplay mechanics, being the sweeper, the vantage point system and the ability to peek and duck. I think these are a welcome change and spice up the gameplay.

Boss fights are present in both 2 and Double Peace. While 2 only has one boss with 3 different “power levels”, Double Peace has several different bosses. That’s what I would like to say, but the truth is that Double Peace’s bosses are all about the same. None of them have any specific techniques, they each just run around, shoot projectiles and occasionally use a special move that can be deflected by shooting at it. The only different boss is Kurona’s familiar, who is the exact same except you have to use the x-ray function of your zoom to shoot him in a specific place instead of just shooting wherever. There is potential to use the sweeper, charge shots, ducking and peeking, and lovestrike to create some bosses with more interesting fights, but this remains untapped. As is, bosses are probably one of the weaker points of the game with the gameplay being dissolved to spam shooting and the occasional aiming at prompts.

The reward system in Double Peace is much better than in 2. Double Peace makes score seem to matter a lot more, despite 2’s plot revolving around it. There are letter rankings as well as score bonuses for time, accuracy and damage (damage being damage taken). In addition, Double Peace has a currency in the form of angel feathers which can be used to buy upgrades, as opposed to 2 which just hands them out after boss fights. In fact it’s not even possible to get fully upgraded in 2 without NG+ which is rather silly.

Storytelling

I feel that both games succeed in telling charming and humorous love stories. While Double Peace revolves more around Houdai’s struggles, Gal Gun 2 delves into the world of the angels and demons in more detail. The characters, while nothing extraordinary, are all likable and feel mostly natural. I wouldn’t call one game’s story better than the other’s, but I will say Double Peace’s plot had a lot more urgency to it. All in all I think the games succeed in what they wanted to do.

Double Peace’s stat system, however, I could do without. It’s bad enough that good endings are locked behind specific dialogue choices, but to lock those dialogue choices behind a stat barrier is just further nuisance. Gal Gun 2 handled it better with dialogue not affecting story routes at all, but I feel the best compromise would be to have dialogue actually affect your story route. The only time this really happens is in Double Peace where you choose between the angel and demon routes. On that topic, I feel that 2’s lack of demon route is a bit disappointing, since the game shows us so much of how angels, humans and demons interact.

Conclusion

All in all I will say that I think there’s a lot of potential for improvement. This is not an insult, rather to say that the groundwork is solid and all the concepts are already there – it’s just a matter of piecing them together nicely. Even though I’ve only been playing for around a month I can already say that I am a fan of this series and feel a certain attachment to it’s hilarious premise and characters. I am sincerely hoping for another entry in the series to see what concepts will be introduced next and to meet the next cast of characters.

An Aside

This section is just a quick point form laydown of the features I feel like would be nice in the next theoretical Gal Gun game.

Vantage Point system

Ducking and peeking

Peeking is now a dodge as well

Charge shot

Lovestrike

Demon Sweeper

Shooting mini-Kuronas off of possessed girls will kill them

Time, damage and accuracy bonuses

Currency and an item shop

Letter rankings

(More) hidden items

Hunting, Item finding and defense missions (as well as hopefully new types)

Several and more varied boss fights

Dialogue choice affecting story route