It's actually been a damned long time since we covered a boss fight here. Sure, I did a ton of "Dark Souls" boss profiles, but none of these posts have been done in over a year....probably because there weren't any bosses that literally blew my mind these few years. I've got a few in mind now, so let's just get started on today's main topic at hand, the true final story boss of the first "Azure Striker Gunvolt": It's Asimov. It's actually been a damned long time since I've seen a boss fight THIS well done, the atmosphere, the buildup.....EVERYTHING that made the final fight against Asimov an epic and entertaining one just worked in the heat of the moment.
Needless to say it's troublesome to even make it to this boss, since you'd have to collect gems in every stage to even get the true ending to fight this guy. Asimov is no joke, armed with Copen's pistol, he is a dangerous force to be reckoned with, EVEN with Lumen's song that makes you feel so OP, he laughs it all off if he even manages to hit you just ONCE. A single shot from Asimov immediately puts you on overheat, making you nothing but a helpless little whelp to his upcoming attacks, which usually includes a damaging electric charge that CANNOT be avoided through normal means.
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| Oh man, that's some DBZ shit. |
Take note for the entire battle that a single hit from Asimov makes you overheat, leaving you vulnerable. The most reliable way to take on Asimov is simple, do not get hit, which is pretty hard at first. Also, it is completely impossible to damage Asimov through normal means, he simply phases through all bullets until you manage to beat him in a lightning clash. Like all bosses in the game, Asimov's battle is split into 3 phases. The first phase is fairly simple, with him simply firing straightforward triple shots at you. With Lumen's song, its impossible to get hit by these, making the first phase a pushover.
After Asimov has enough fun trying to tag you, he charges in with a lightning field attack that is mostly undodgable due to its massive AOE. Instead of trying to dodge the thing, you'll want to clash against his field with a field of your own. Don't worry, with unlimited energy, you'll easily phase through this. Once the clash ends with you beating his lightning field, Asimov lays motionless for awhile, letting you hit him for some damage. This is the ONLY time in a fight where you can damage him, so go crazy, use skills, pelt him and zap him, do anything you want. When Asimov recovers, he goes back on the offensive and you can't hit him again, take note of that. Rinse and repeat until you deplete his first HP bar.
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| I love videogames so f**king much. Scratch that, I love Inti-Creates! |
After the cakewalk of a first phase, its time to ramp things up. Phases 2 and 3 are exactly the same, but man, things get tough. Asimov gets a completely new plan of attack and shoots differently now. He can now attack in one of 2 ways, either a chaser styled attack with homing bullets, or the spread styled attack with him shooting a turret that fires bullets all around it. These are...pretty freaking hard to avoid, especially with how the Chaser is so annoying to dodge and that the spread attack can get so unpredictable in the heat of a battle. Remember, getting hit once overheats you and leaves you wide open, so this part will probably have you die more than just a few times.
Even with unlimited jumps and air dashes, it takes awhile to get used to Asimov's attacks. Chaser is tough to avoid because the bullets home in on you in such a convoluted manner, each and ever jump or air dash has to count here. The trick is not stay on the ground too much, where you are most open to the homing shots. The spread attack is arguable more troublesome, as you need to guess which side the turret fires from, and if you're standing on the wrong side, you're pretty much f**ked. If you have nice reaction timing, you should be able to dash and jump away, otherwise, its a cruel guessing game. Anyway, after a few attacks Asimov goes in for the lightning field again, repeat until its time for phase 3.
Phase 3 is almost the same as phase 2, except now he gets access to his finisher move: Voltic Chains. This is bloody ridiculous, not only is Voltic Chains EXTREMELY hard to avoid by most means, it does an insane amount of damage, one-shotting you most of the time if you aren't at full HP. The moment Asimov's cut-in appears, the chains start to appear, covering the entire screen. There is a small window where you are safe from Voltic Chains on the very top of the screen, use Lumen's infinite jump to get there and STAY there until the attack ends. Still, you have to get down the timing of Voltic Chains JUST RIGHT to avoid getting hit, which is utter BS. Good luck in the boss rush without Lumen's song...
Difficulty: 7/10
