REVIEW: Gun Gun Pixies


Title	Gun Gun Pixies
Developer	Idea Factory, SHADE
Publisher	PQube Limited
Release Date	September 10th, 2019
Genre	Third Person Shooter
Platform	PC, Switch
Age Rating	M for Mature
Official Website

I have always wanted to play Gun Gun Pixies. I remember when it launched on the Vita years ago. I was hoping it would get localized, though I will admit Neptune being part of the game played a large role in this. When PQube announced they would bringing the game West for the Nintendo Switch and Steam, I was very eager to get my hands on it. Now it’s time to share my thoughts on this Ecchi romp, and while it is quite lewd, there is more than meets the eye here!

The story follows two tiny heroines named Kameriel (Kame-Pon) and Usamael (Bee-Tan) as they land on Earth to observe our behavior for the benefit of their planet. The pair soon infiltrate a girls only dorm and a university known as the Lilypad and their mission begins. While the girls seem to be just your average students there is more going on here than meet the eye. You will need to investigate what’s going here, while avoiding detection and gathering information to save your home planet!

You’d think with a crazy premise like this Gun Gun Pixies would be light on story, but that’s not the case at all. Each of the girls in the dorm are dealing with some personal issues. These range from one girl fat shaming herself to another feeling abandoned by a close friend. Each girl’s personality is kind of a normal anime trope but they are well done, so this didn’t bother me. Amayo is the big sister personality always trying to help everyone in the group, Minami is the resident Chunibyo born in the flames of hell itself! Well probably not, but she’s certainly plays the part well. Last but least we have the three sisters Kira, Misa and Eri. The sister that really stands out here is Misa, since she makes games and visual novels. Eroge visual novels to be exact. The other two try to keep her in line from being too much of pervert!

Our heroines not only observe the girls, but help them out by shooting them with happy bullets! This gives them some positive energy while they resolve their issues. I honestly thought this was a great setup since there is a good lesson at the end of each girl’s story and I felt like I knew them a bit better at the end of each tale.

Graphically Gun Gun Pixies look decent. Nothing here will blow you away but it has been upscaled a bit from the Vita release. Most of the textures look pretty clean and the girl’s outfits are nicely detailed. The game takes place in three rooms so there isn’t much variety in the environments, but its interesting to look for Easter Eggs hidden in all the random games and posters in each room. There are some clipping issues with hair and clothing at times, but that is nothing major. The framerate is solid docked or undocked on the Switch, so no matter how you play this one runs great.

In the audio department this is a mixed bag. The soundtrack is nothing special, but it gets the job done. There are a few notable tracks that are very upbeat and really give that superhero vibe as you work towards justice, but these are few and far between. As a Hyperdimension Neptunia fan I did enjoy the remixed tracks from that found here. The voice acting in the game is all in Japanese and the cast does a fantastic job. Their performances give these characters life and make you really care about how things turn out for them. This game contains no English dub.

Gameplay here is divided up into chapters. Each one contains a story bit in the beginning, an investigation section, maiden suppression and finally bath time! The investigation sections have the player searching each room looking for points of interest. These show up in your scope as shining points in the room. This was my least favorite part of this game as it felt very tedious in the end stages. Investigation levels can also have you clear the room of all enemies. These are mostly fine, though they do hide some enemies in strange places. The free camera when you pause the game helps you track them down pretty easily.

Gun play is done in a third person perceptive. When you are not blasting the girls with happy bullets to improve their mood you are fighting octopus-like invaders. Most of these will go down with just a few shots, but some do have shells that they can hide in for a short time. Kameriel and Usamael each have a few different types of guns to choose from. Some of these fire powerful bullets slowly, weak bullets that fire rapidly or a nice spread. You will have to choose the weapon that best fits your play style.

Maiden suppression is where you have to shoot the girls in all areas of their bodies with happy bullets. This sounds easy but there are enemies present and the girls will fire back at you with stars and hearts in their emotional states. Each hit you take will cost you a layer of clothing (Senran Kagura says hi!). After four hits you will fail the stage, but there are some restoration points in each room. These will not only restore your clothing but give you double damage if you can hit your targets from there.

After all this action the girls need a good bath! During these sections you can shoot the girls and tons of coins will fly out. You can use these coins to purchase upgraded guns, ammo extensions, costumes, upgraded scopes and of course pantsu! Coins can be found in each room during the other sections as well but bath time will net you coins way faster than collecting them in those. You can also hop onto the girls as they move around the tub if you’re standing in the right spot for huge coin bonuses!

Gun Gun Pixies isn’t a bad game, but it’s certainly not for everyone or without its share of issues. The biggest issue here is the camera. It’s by far the hardest boss you fight in the game. It gets stuck on corners and wonks out every once in a while. It’s much harder to fight what you cannot see. The enemy collision detection is very much in their favor, you can be way back from a spinning tentacle and still take a hit. I think the over the top fan service is balanced out by the great story, but if you’re not a fan of these types of games or Idea Factory’s wares then this isn’t going to change your mind. I spent about 12 hours completing the story and there are tons of post game options to play round with, so the $49.99 pricetag for a physical edition with that awesome artbook is totally worth it. In the end if these games are your thing you should pick this up. You’re going to have a great time with it despite its flaws.