is a series of third-person hero shooter video games, developed by Byking and

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

, and published by

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

. It debuted in arcades on July 12, 2012, with the scenario provided by

Norimitsu Kaihō is a Japanese light novel writer and translator. Born in Kanagawa prefecture. He is from Keio University Fantasy Study Group. When he was a college student, he posted a coterie translation of an English tabletop RPG "TORG" supplement to Shinkig ...

(from

Nitroplus Nitroplus Co., Ltd., currently styled as NITRO PLUS, formerly stylized as nitro+, and formerly known as "OKStyle", is a Japanese visual novel video game developer that has developed a number of visual novels, including eroge. They have also coll ...

) based on a concept by

Gen Urobuchi is a Japanese novelist, visual novel writer and anime screenwriter. He is known for being the co-creator of the highly acclaimed and commercially successful anime series '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', which earned him the Tokyo Anime Award for ...

. It uses Silicon Studio's Orochi

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games which generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term " software engine" u ...

, and runs on the Taito Type X³

arcade system board An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-opera ...

. Its sequel, , was released on February 20, 2014, featuring new characters, new battle mechanics, and new stages.

Tetsuya Nomura is a Japanese video game artist, designer, producer, and director working for Square Enix. He was hired by Square initially as a monster designer for ''Final Fantasy V'' (1992), before being shifted towards secondary Character design of Final F ...

and Akira Yasuda each created two characters exclusively for the game. A sequel, titled , was announced to be released in 2016 for Windows PC. The servers were closed on March 29, 2016. A fourth game, , was released on May 12, 2016. An upgraded version, , with four character types and six new weapon packs for each character and several changes to the respawn and awake systems, was released on April 24, 2017. The servers for the arcade version of ''Gunslinger Stratos'' were shut down on April 1, 2021. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

adaptation of the series, '' Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation'', made its premiere on April 4, 2015.

Gameplay

All of the games are played from a third-person perspective, and the player must move around the massive battleground (using the

analog stick An analog stick (analogue stick in British English), also known as a control stick, thumbstick or joystick, is an input method designed for video games that translates thumb movement into directional control. It consists of a protruding stick mo ...

s and buttons on the two gun controllers), while using the Gun Controllers to aim and shoot at enemies. The goal is to survive and shoot down the rival

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

s to decrease the opposing team's team meter within a given time limit. The round ends when either teams' team meter drops to zero and/or if the timer reaches zero. Players can switch weapons in-battle, utilizing various strategies and tactics, by melding the two gun controllers together into different positions, such as: *Side Style: by clipping the side of the gun controllers together, the players can use their character's secondary arsenal. *Tandem Style: by clipping the tip of right gun controller onto the top of the left gun controller, the players can use their character's powerful arsenal. As the players progressed to the game's multiplayer mode, those who using the NESiCAxLive card can accumulate "Team Points" by winning battles, and using it to purchase and equip "Weapon Packs". Weapons Packs are a set of weapons that can be purchased and use in battle. Some of the packs has upgraded versions of the character's default weapons with boosted stats.

Plot

Setting

In 2115, the country known formerly as

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

has been split into two parallel worlds: the and the . Frontier S is an outlaw universe in which freedom runs rampant, while the 17th Far East Imperial City Management District is a totalitarian universe completely bereft of freedom and is under constant surveillance. When the two universes are starting to fuse into one, the government of each worlds initiates the , a world-scale protocol wherein a handpicked group of

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

s, mercenaries, and special individuals, each from the two universes, will be sent to the year 2015 to alter the past by eliminating the other side until only one group survives, erasing a parallel universe in the process.

Story

The story revolves on a group of

s, each from the two universes who participate in Operation Stratos, particularly on a group of four childhood friends: Tohru Kazasumi, Kyōka Katagiri, Kyōma Katagiri, and Shizune Rindo, who all must confront their own flaws and differences when they battle their alternate selves in order to survive.

Notes

References

External links

''Gunslinger Stratos'' official franchise website

''Gunslinger Stratos'' official English website
* Game websites: *
''Gunslinger Stratos'' official Japanese website
*
''Gunslinger Stratos 2'' official Japanese website
*
''Gunslinger Stratos 3/Σ'' official Japanese website
*
''Gunslinger Stratos Reloaded'' official Japanese website
{{Visual Works Action role-playing video games Action-adventure games Arcade video games Esports games Fiction about robots Hero shooters Japan-exclusive video games Light gun games Mass media franchises Multiplayer video games NESiCAxLive games Parkour video games Products and services discontinued in 2016 Products and services discontinued in 2021 Science fantasy video games Spy video games Square Enix franchises Square Enix games Superhero video games Taito arcade games Third-person shooters Ubisoft franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2012 Video game franchises Video games about mecha Video games about parallel universes Video games about robots Video games adapted into television shows Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in Asia Video games set in Europe Video games set in Japan Video games set in London Video games set in the 22nd century Video games set in the United Kingdom Video games set in Tokyo Windows games