Gungrave, by second-party Sega development team Red Entertainment, slots itself into this gaming niche. Despite relatively low sales, it is a title that deserves a little recognition, as there is enough going on to put a smile on the face of any fan of arcade action games.

The story is set around an age-old revenge yarn: an employee at a powerful multinational is given the task of acting as a bodyguard by the Chief Executive. Whilst protecting her, Brandon Grave finds himself falling in love with her: a fact a rival - named Harry MacDowell - decides to exploit. MacDowell suggests killing the Boss of the corporation, and installing himself as head. MacDowell has learned of Brandon's love for the man's wife, and suggests he could have her as part of the bargain. Shocked and disgusted by this betrayal, Brandon refuses, earning him death at the hands of MacDowell.

Returning from the beyond, and bearing the suitably macabre (if rather predictable) moniker, ‘Grave’, our protagonist begins his mission to eradicate MacDowell's empire, which he gained by doing exactly what he had suggested to Grave - killing the boss and instaling himself as the head of the corporation. The plot suggests a greater number of layers to the story than those immediately apparent but, however, these are not explored in the game – odd considering the considerable expense and care that has evidently been lavished upon the title.

The story unfolds in cutscenes, which are animated in the Anime style. These comprise some of the high points of the game, as they are extremely well-produced and directed. Anime fans will be delighted to hear that animation luminaries Yashuhiro Nightow and Kosuke Fujishima designed many of the characters and other models used in the game. What is truly astonishing is that all the cutscenes (which play as FMV) are actually fully polygonal, not hand-drawn. This means there is an almost seamless blend between the anime sections and the controllable action. The plot is impossible to follow in the Japanese version without knowledge of the language, but this doesn’t hinder gameplay, as menus are all presented in English.

Beginning in a downtown bar, where your nemesis MacDowell is relaxing with his consorts, the game eases you into the combat with a simple level that acts as a tutorial. Controlling Grave is a very flexible experience, although it initially appears otherwise. Your character lugs around two huge hand-cannons (called ‘Cerberus’) which are adorned with a stylised white cross on one, red on the other. Chained to his back, Grave hefts a coffin, which can be used in combat. Whilst walking, Grave moves very slowly, and feels very cumbersome. There is a ‘run’ button, but this can only be used whilst not in engaged in battle but, even with this function in use, Grave is still a cumbersome character when not battling a target.

This all changes, however, when the gunplay begins. Firing the Cerberus guns is very similar in effect to Dante using his twin pistols, with a slow walk being employed in order to track the target. Once these weapons are blazing away, control opens-up for Grave in fresh ways: clicking-in on the left stick (which controls movement) enables a jog where, unlike the ‘run’ function, you can fire and increase speed of movement simultaneously.

Gungrave is predicated upon using all of Grave’s abilities during combat to remain in motion, and this is achieved by combining your rate of fire with jog, jump and the lock-on function. Pressing in any direction whilst firing will make Grave dive and roll. This is useful both to evade enemy fire and increase your firing rate. Once you are locked onto a target, your dive sees you pump twice as many rounds into the enemy as when standing still. Grave also has the ability to flip around and face the opposite direction with the touch of a button – a 180 degree turn. A quick stab of a button also sees you swing your coffin in a wide arc, severely damaging and often knocking down your opponents. Your energy bar acts in the same way as that seen in Bungie’s Halo: a shield absorbs hits until depleted. Grave takes physical damage when this is reduced to nothing, although the shield recharges over time.

All of these abilities need to be strung together for two purposes: to destroy the opposition, and to get a high Beat Combo. This combo is similar in concept to that of the one in Devil may Cry – you must keep up a perpetual number of hits by combining all of your shots. This is done through the aforementioned use of the controls, and by ensuring you shoot everything in sight. Hitting humans obviously perpetuates the chain, but they are not always on-screen once a section has been cleared. To continue the chain, you must move onward, blowing away inanimate objects such as boxes, barrels, chairs – anything you see collapse under gunfire.

Beat Combos serve two purposes: they increase your points score and give you more ammo for your Demolition weapon. You begin with the Death Blow, which sees you fire a rocket from your coffin, wiping-out everything in front of you. Further Demolition attacks are obtained by scoring well in the stages and having high Beat Combos, which are then selectable from the pause menu. These include the Bullet Dance - where Grave fires masses of bullets from his Coffin – and the Hellhound Roar, which fires three rockets simultaneously.

Style is the key to the game. As Gungrave is very simple, mastering the controls (which can be mapped to any button the gamer feels comfortable with), leaping around the screen and racking-up huge Beat Combos is where the fun lies. Combining a diving lock-on with a quick coffin-swing, then 180-twisting into a Bullet Dance is extremely satisfying, and you can even finish it all off with a taunt, by pressing the Select button.

Gungrave uses Cel Shading to emphasise its anime aesthetic, and this works very well. Grave himself is a brooding comic-book avenger, kitted out in black, white and red, and the goons you face are well modelled, ranging from leather-clad female villains to sharp-suited hoods, to bare-chested Kung Fu fighters. Animation of these characters (as you would expect, due to the game’s anime credentials) is very good, although the greatest variety is with Grave himself – the enemies’ attack patterns are reused quite a lot throughout, but Grave has many different patterns of movement.

Boss encounters are enjoyable, especially as they require the use of your full range of skills. Employment of your Demolition attack is key to their destruction, but all the tactics previously learned come into play. By-and-large, they are well designed, with many feeling similar to old-skool bosses: henchmen often join the fray, as the Boss attempts to draw your fire and pick you off from a distance.

Aurally, the game is a mixed bag. Tunes are very much in the style of Cowboy Bebop; a kind of Jazz-Funk with lots of Trumpet and Saxophone. In-game, though, the sound of constant gunfire and explosions masks whatever spare note of music appears. Thankfully, such effects are meaty and very satisfying.

Although the draw distance is quite limited, due to the limitations of the host’s hardware, the game is set mostly in sections of alleyways and in rooms, negating the problem somewhat. This does limit the scope of the game, though, being very clearly divided into small areas that load with great regularity. Larger arenas in which to wage war may well have broadened the appeal of the title.

Gungrave’s main failing is its size – even considering the arcade nature of the game, a mere six levels is extremely small for an arcade title; shorter than its spiritual rival P.N.03, and considerably shorter than Devil May Cry. What Gungrave does have, though, is replayability. Mastering the controls takes effort and practice, and the desire to replay the game with your enhanced skills is like a nagging itch, begging to be scratched.

If you are looking for a game that will test your reaction skills, and that rewards stylish play, Gungrave comes recommended. Despite being a short title with a handful of technical inadequacies, the core of the game is very replayable. Visually, it has a lot of appeal, thanks to the brooding atmosphere and anime cutscenes, and a unique atmosphere is generated throughout. Although considered too lightweight by some, if you are looking for an arcade-style gun ballet, Gungrave provides exciting – if rather simplistic – entertainment.