Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II

Important takeaways

• Fast-paced action with clever strategies keep the game exciting.
• Bold and unexpected moves by the LPFM team make for an exciting episode.
• Proper pacing and cliffhangers maintain viewer engagement in GGO II.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online (GGO) was created to provide audiences with a fun viewing experience. From the simplicity of the story to the relatability of the characters, everything is designed with the words “fun” and “exciting” in mind. That's the case for the first season, and based on what we've seen in the first episode, it's the case for this second season as well.

Episode 1 started with a bang. In one episode, it managed to reintroduce the characters, set up the main conflict, and hook viewers to watch the next episode, and it still managed to remind viewers of some of the big events that happened in Season 1. It was a great first episode. Can the second episode maintain the same fun and exciting energy as the first? The answer is absolutely yes.

The Brain and the Brawn

As gamers, it's fun to watch our favorite players run, jump and slide as they try to avoid the countless bullets raining down on them. What's even more exciting than that is when the players come up with a smart strategy in addition to their remarkable gunplay. We need both brains and brawn to make the game exciting. Episode 2 is the perfect showcase of both in action.

The method behind the madness

One of the things that makes Llenn and her teammates so popular is their daring and unexpected actions during the previous Squad Jam tournament. And once again we get to see LPFM pull off another surprise move that no other team would ever pull off. Not only is it extremely daring, but it's also a smart game that allows each member to make full use of their strengths. As a result, they massacre six teams in minutes.

As mentioned in the previous section, we gamers love to see high-level games that combine daring attacks backed by a sound strategy. What we see on screen may seem insane, but there must be a method behind the madness. And that's exactly what happens in this episode.

“The island where Third Squad Jam takes place will begin to sink automatically. It will only accelerate over time, until eventually even the mountain peaks in the middle will disappear into the sea.”

— Squad Jam 3 episode 2 host

Level Design

In the world of video games, level design is the art of creating a playground that is interesting, engaging, and challenging for players. Good level design encourages players to explore and create a strategy that takes advantage of their surroundings.

For this episode, the playground is a small island that has everything from a dense forest area to an abandoned apartment complex to a deserted train station and even rocky beaches. As if that is not interesting enough, players must also race against time as the tide continues to rise until there is no ground left to stand on. It is interesting, engaging and challenging. It is the hallmark of a high-level design. If it's a Call of Duty map, we'd happily spend hours playing it.

Move quickly and then let them hang

From a narrative perspective, two things stand out immediately after finishing watching this episode, the pacing and the cliffhanger. Both are crucial storytelling elements, especially for action-oriented series like Gun Gale Online. Thankfully, GGO managed to do both things properly.

Correct pacing

For the most part, the action is dictated by the pace. Generally speaking, a fast pace equals action, while a slow pace equals drama. Of course, you can always find outliers who defy this basic rule of thumb – the slow gunslinger duels in Lupine III: Jigen's Tombstone come to mind — but this principle applies to most narrative media.

Episode 2 spent most of its running time moving at top speed. From dodging a hail of bullets to unleashing constant barrages, they keep viewers on their toes from start to finish. These high-intensity action sequences make the time spent stopping and strategizing that much more impactful. Showrunners know when to speed up and slow down to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. That's why this episode is akin to a high-speed roller coaster.

Proper cliffhanger

While pacing is important to keep viewers engaged throughout the episode, it's what gets them excited for the next cliffhanger. Any anime that has more than one episode needs a cliffhanger to entice viewers to watch the new episode next week. In a way, the cliffhanger is the art of finding the right moment to stop the story so that it resolves the current conflict while teasing viewers about the larger challenge that has yet to be completed.

In this episode, team LPFM has largely solved the problem regarding the many enemies working together to take them down. That said, there's still the issue of the rising tide that has covered quite a bit of the playing field. By ending the episode after our heroes solve the first problem but before they can find a solution to the next problem, it creates a sense of closure and a cliffhanger at the same time. This is a great way to keep viewers satisfied but still hungry for more.

The need for a challenge

Episode 2 is undoubtedly a good episode. It perfectly embodies what GGO is trying to convey to viewers: a fun viewing experience with plenty of action and a dash of comedy sprinkled on top. That said, there is one minor issue that needs to be mentioned, which is the fact that our heroes need a tough challenge.

Avoids formula

It's fun to watch our favorite characters destroy their enemies and dominate the competition. However, the most interesting part of a story is watching the characters overcome difficult obstacles. Seeing them grow to overcome that seemingly insurmountable obstacle is pretty much the crux of character development.

It's cool to see team LPFM win against all enemies without breaking a sweat, but after a while it can feel formulaic, or worse, it can feel boring to watch. So let's hope the showrunners have some tough challenges ahead for Pink Devil and the rest of the LPFM team.

Keeping things fun is hard

As mentioned before, the core of GGO is fun action with some comedy thrown in here and there. However, keeping things fun can be quite tricky. After all, if you repeat the same thing over and over, what started out as fun will turn into something predictable and boring.

So the biggest challenge for the showrunners from now on is how to make GGO feel fresh and exciting while keeping the fun parts intact. It's no easy task to do, but if anyone knows how to create a fun series that will keep viewers entertained throughout the season, it's the people working on Gun Gale Online. Looking forward to the next episode.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II is available to stream on Crunchyroll.