Gunslinger Stratos

Gunslinger Stratos is a third-person hero shooter series developed by Byking and Taito and published by Square Enix. The first arcade game launched on July 12, 2012, with a story by Norimitsu Kaihō of Nitroplus, based on an idea from Gen Urobuchi. It runs on the Taito Type X³ arcade board using Silicon Studio's Orochi engine. Players use two gun controllers to aim and shoot, moving with analog sticks and buttons across large battlefields.

The goal is to reduce the opposing team's meter to zero within a time limit. Weapons can be switched by clipping the controllers together: Side Style (clipping sides together) for secondary weapons, and Tandem Style (clipping the right gun's tip onto the left gun's top) for powerful attacks. In multiplayer, NESiCAxLive card users earn Team Points from wins to buy Weapon Packs, which include upgraded versions of default weapons.

The sequel, Gunslinger Stratos 2, arrived on February 20, 2014, adding new characters, mechanics, and stages. Tetsuya Nomura and Akira Yasuda each designed two exclusive characters for it. A Windows PC version, Gunslinger Stratos: Reloaded, was announced for 2016 but its servers closed on March 29, 2016.

Gunslinger Stratos 3 launched on May 12, 2016, followed by an upgraded version, Gunslinger Stratos Σ, on April 24, 2017, which introduced four character types, six new weapon packs per character, and changes to respawn and awake systems. The arcade servers for the original game shut down on April 1, 2021. An anime adaptation, Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation, premiered on April 4, 2015.

Setting

The setting is 2115, where Japan has split into two parallel worlds: Frontier S, a lawless realm of freedom, and the 17th Far East Imperial City Management District, a totalitarian surveillance state. As the universes begin merging, each government launches Operation Stratos, sending chosen gunslingers, mercenaries, and special individuals back to 2015 to eliminate the other side and erase one universe. The story follows four childhood friends—Tohru Kazasumi, Kyōka Katagiri, Kyōma Katagiri, and Shizune Rindo—who must confront their flaws and differences while battling their alternate selves to survive.