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"Very well. I leave this in your capable hands."
—Zonda, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
"I feel your hatred, yet it and love are the same."
—Fake Zonda, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Zonda, also known as the "Priestess of Eden", is the priest, oracle, a co-founder and guiding figure of the multinational Adept supremacist group Eden, and bears the rank of King[2] due to her integral role to their long-term plan and being protected by "The Seven", the most powerful Adepts within the union after her. She is the main antagonist and final boss of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, seeking to reboot the Sumeragi Group's Diva Project with a very different aim: empowering Adepts across the world to wipe out humanity and establish an Adept-only utopia. During the game's pre-release period, she was advertised only as the Mysterious Girl.
Zonda was initially introduced in Azure Striker Gunvolt as the minor antagonist Zonda "The Lustful Mirage", a highly eccentric and enigmatic member of Sumeragi's Adept Hunter unit who was seemingly slain by Copen. In truth, that was merely a copy, and the "Lustful Mirage" persona was an illusion Zonda came up with to infiltrate Sumeragi and pilfer their secrets while seeking out "The Muse." This mission succeeded on almost every front, with valuable technology such as the Glaives and data on the Plasma Legion tank being seized for Eden by her. Once her spying concluded, she deactivated Sumeragi's national defense barrier "Kamishiro" from within to enable a full invasion by Eden in pursuit of The Muse.
Zonda is an immensely powerful Adept possessing the Septima Phantasm Mirror, which allows her to craft intricate and life-like illusions. Upon gaining the power of The Muse, it becomes the Septima Reverie Mirror, which allows her to make her illusions real.
Zonda as "The Lustful Mirage" also appears at the final boss of Mighty Gunvolt.
Website Description
Azure Striker Gunvolt
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English
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Japanese site
Zonda is a very formidable adept in Sumeragi’s Adept Hunter Unit who utilizes a septimal power known as "Mirror."
Not much is known about this septimal power at this point in time, only that it is thought to be some kind of illusion-based power.
Zonda’s age, gender, and background are all shrouded in mystery, and much about this individual remains unknown, even among Sumeragi’s top officials. Despite this, Zonda’s power as an adept is quite impressive, rivaling the likes of even Sumeragi’s top dog, Nova.
The Glaive which holds Zonda’s septimal power is known as the "Crow Child."
皇神の“能力者狩り（ハンター）”部隊に所属する
“夢幻鏡（ミラー）”の能力者。
年齢、性別、プロフィール、全てが謎に包まれており、
皇神内でも素性を知る者は少ない。
夢幻鏡という能力も幻惑系の能力だとは言われているが、
詳細は不明。皇神の中でも最強ランクの能力者で、
ガンヴォルトや紫電に匹敵するほどの第七波動を有しているといわれている。
所有する宝剣は「小烏丸（コガラスマル）」
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
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English site
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Japanese site
A young girl who appeared before Gunvolt and Copen, she expresses herself with a level of poise and order that does not befit her childish appearance.
She is an Adept, but her abilities are unknown. What could she be after……?
Appearance
Zonda is a young girl with long, cream white hair with pink highlights with curls and dark pink eyes. She wears a smart, sleeveless black and white double breasted dress with magenta tights and black shoes with gold buckles. She also has a black bow tied around her head.
Zonda's Sumeragi disguise is an older, somewhat androgynous version of her regular form. In this form, Zonda wears a unique Sumeragi Adept Hunter uniform consisting of a black jacket with gold highlights and the Sumeragi emblem on the left sleeve, a matching dress with a slit up the side, and a white bodysuit. Zonda also wears white shoes with gold soles.
Unlike any other Swordsmen, there are two different variations to Zonda's Armed Phenomenon: a male and a female version. Both have black eyes with pink irises, long pale pink hair, and black and white armor with pink highlights.
Zonda's male Armed form has spikier hair, a noticeably more muscular build, large pieces of armour on "his" shoulders, and a large, pink, crystal-like spike in "his" crotch.
Zonda's female Armed form has smoother hair, large armour around "her" hips, and a black armoured tail with a large spike at the end.
Gallery
Main article: Zonda/Gallery
.jpg "Zonda -The Lustful Mirage- Artwork (01).jpg (127 KB)")
.jpg "Zonda -The Lustful Mirage- Artwork (02).jpg (69 KB)")
Personality
The leader of the Adept union Eden, Zonda has been known to be a dark, cold and sinister person, unbefitting of her young age. She is always eerily calm, and rarely shows any true enthusiasm.
Zonda is also rather deceptive, changing her entire appearance and personality in order to infiltrate Sumeragi, and even took part in the hunting of Adepts to keep her cover. Despite this, she does show some compassion from time to time. Zonda genuinely cares about her underlings, in particular The Seven, calling them her "friends". She also is very close to her adoptive brother Tenjian, calling out to him in her moments of death, and has a strange fascination with the subject of "love".
However, in her heart, Zonda is a cruel person who is focused only on achieving her own goals and is willing to kill anyone who stands in her way. As a result of the treatment she and her fellow Adepts suffered, she has vowed to wipe out the entire population without a Septima, and build a utopia full of her own twisted version of love. She is also sadistic, mocking Copen over the fact that his sister Mytyl is an Adept, the very thing he despises.
In contrast to this, Zonda's fake form is much more eccentric and flamboyant. Representing the sin of Lust in this form, Zonda is shown to be an incredibly cheerful and loud person, yet still showing the same disturbing level of ruthlessness and eloquent, theatrical speech. Zonda's admiration for love is increased in this form to become more of an obsession, screaming the word in almost every sentence, and claiming that all things, even hatred and death, are the same as love. Both of Zonda's male and female variants can exist at the same time and act independently of each other, yet seem to speak and think as if they were a single person.
It's unknown as to why Zonda experiences this drastic change in personality after transforming, though given Sumeragi Zonda is nearly always seen post-Glaive, this may be linked to the psychological side effects of the Glaives.
Zonda seems to be somewhat fond of her perverted alter ego, much to the dismay of her brother Tenjian who calls it a "ridiculous disguise." She remained in this form for quite sometime after betraying Sumeragi even though it wasn't necessary at all, only dropping it when Tenjian quietly pushed her to.
Zonda's eccentrics made them a controversial figure in Sumeragi, however, mysteriously enough, those who joined the battle unit don’t seem to mind it; there even seem to be unit members who worshiped Zonda. There were rumors of a hidden faction fight between the men that Zonda commanded during the Sumeragi infiltration: it was said that this division is a result of differing preference of either Zonda's male or female form.
History
Background
Zonda's early background largely is shrouded in mystery. It is known that she was orphaned in China, and grew up in an orphanage alongside Tenjian, whom she came to see as her big brother.
Eventually, the orphanage closed due to the owner's passing, leaving the group of orphans on the streets. Tenjian's attempts to get them adopted failed, largely due to his Septimal powers, and one by one, the children slowly died until only Zonda and Tenjian were left. The two were then approached by a kindly man, who gave them apples to eat. They accepted, unaware that the man had secretly poisoned them.
Barely surviving the effects of the poison, an enraged Tenjian froze the entire area and its inhabitants, bar himself and Zonda. Their hatred for humanity now solidified, the two siblings founded Eden and, with Zonda as its "King", with the goal of destroying mankind and building a new world for Adepts, and Adepts alone.
Zonda traveled across the world seeking members for Eden, and personally recruited Gibril after defeating her in battle.[7]
Eden's Party
Sensing danger, Zonda sends Tenjian to an Adept settlement, only for him to find little but piles of bodies. When Tenjian discovers a survivor, an Adept named Olga who seemingly has the power to enhance the Septimas of other Adepts, Zonda orders him to bring her back to Eden.
Recognizing the immense potential of such power for their cause, and seeking to heal Olga's heart, Zonda and Tenjian gather the available G7 members Gibril, Asroc, and Desna for the goal, and Zonda commences "Operation Love Strike Strategy." When she reveals she got the plan name and details from Teseo, Tenjian claims he'll have a talk with him later.
Zonda monitors the separate attempts of Desna, Asroc, and Gibril to emotionally help Olga, remotely knocking each of them out when things keep going wrong. After Gibril's attempt which involved cosplaying as the Sumeragi Group's virtual idol Lumen, Zonda personally gets involved and puts on an illustory concert with Lumen performing the song Tabula Rasa. In the end Zonda welcomes Olga into Eden as a new home for her.
Zonda and Tenjian conclude that the Septima enhancing power he felt wasn't truly Olga's, but that instead she can receive/copy the abilities of other Adepts, and that the source is Lumen, who is no mere virtual idol. Zonda becomes determined to go to Japan and infiltrate Sumeragi to find the real Adept with the power they seek, although Tenjian is very reluctant to let her undergo such a dangerous mission. Zonda insists that she's the perfect fit for it due her illusion power and that it's her duty, and Tenjian relents.
Armed Blue Gunvolt (Drama CD)
Seeking to create an opening for Zonda to enter Japan, Tenjian gathers Gibril and Teseo and creates a plan for a two-front assault on the National Defense Barrier Kamishiro which blocks entry into the country. Seeking to obfuscate their real objective, Tenjian makes a show of it by submitting a crime notice to Japan's Ministry of Defense and personally contacting Nova during the attack, claiming that their goal is to show Eden's power as an Adept-only organization. While Nova is suspicious and correctly deduces they have an ulterior goal based on the attack being unusual compared to Eden's normal behind-the-scenes activities, he's unable to figure out it is.
The attack succeeds in briefly bringing down the barrier, thanks in part to Asimov having wiretapped Nova's office and acting independently to exploit the situation for QUILL's gain, allowing Zonda to slip into the country. Afterwards and now in her "Lustful Mirage" guise, Zonda watches a press conference hosted by Nova, who uses the attack as propaganda to allow Sumeragi to assume command of the nation's defenses.
Zonda remarks the move is rather smart, before she is contacted by Tenjian, who is glad that she made it safely. Zonda replies that it was thanks to the love that they put in that attack. She also informs Tenjian that a strange couple also managed to infiltrate the barrier, telling him that she sensed no love from them. Tenjian realizes that they were not the only ones involved in this.
Infiltration of Sumeragi
Under the guise of an androgynous 17-year-old, Zonda joined the Sumeragi Group as planned, becoming part of its Adept Hunter Unit and gaining respect as one of its most powerful members. As is required for high rank Adepts, in order to restrain her Septima she was given a Glaive--Kogarasumaru, a tachi sword believed to have been crafted by the legendary smith Amakuni in the 8th century. Similar to other powerful Adepts like Nova and Merak, she remained able to use a significant portion of her power and her infiltration remained unhindered. During her time at Sumeragi, Zonda repeatedly tried to claim The Muse, but failed each time.
Zonda's mysterious character resulted in a type of infamy across the Sumeragi Group, some employees claiming that, before they knew it, someone had registered them into Sumeragi's databases as official employees (apparently by Zonda). Several accounts of his/her origins began to spread but if one tried to piece them together they would end up finding that they contradicted each other.
It's said that a hidden war of sorts emerged among the followers Zonda gained in Sumeragi, split between the Male Zonda Faction and Female Zonda Faction.[8]
Azure Striker Gunvolt
Kaleidoscape (Sinner's Row)
At some point after the protagonist Gunvolt has resigned from the resistance group QUILL, QUILL begins tracking Zonda. On the night after Gunvolt has defeated his third Sumeragi Adept opponent, QUILL member Zeno encounters Zonda. The two engage each other in combat, and Zeno is defeated and left in a critical condition as Zonda flees to the ghetto district, Sinner's Row.
Soon after, Gunvolt is sent in to take care of Zonda for good. With help from Moniqa, he is quickly able to track down and face Zonda, who is currently in "his" male Septimal form. Gunvolt correctly identifies Zonda, much to the latter's enthusiasm, calling it a display of love. Deciding to toy with Gunvolt, Zonda flees, leaving multiple mirrors in "his" wake as Gunvolt pursues. Zonda then watches Gunvolt's progress with amusement, giving "his" own commentary as "he" gleefully awaits Gunvolt's arrival.
However, unbeknownst to anyone, a third party is on the playing field - Copen, who, taking Zonda by surprise, successfully defeats "him" using the powers he obtained from the previously defeated three Swordsmen. Gunvolt arrives just in time to watch Copen kill Zonda, who is deriving immense pleasure from "his" own death, and absorb "his" Septima into his shield.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Prologue
With the death of Nova and the failure of the Diva Project, Sumeragi is thrown into chaos. Taking advantage of this, Zonda and The Seven enact their plan to seize the power of The Muse. She orders Tenjian and Teseo to hijack Sumeragi's airship, The Seraph, and have it crash into a Sumeragi skyscraper. She also orders Asroc to kidnap Mytyl, Copen's sister and bring her onboard The Seraph. All of this was a ruse to lure Gunvolt to them so they can steal the power of The Muse.
Zonda first appears in Copen's prologue, disguised in her female form. Copen at first doesn't recognize Zonda until "she" shifts into male form and reveals that the Zonda he fought in the past was a fragment of the Phantasm Mirror Septima and that they were the ones who kidnapped Mytyl. Copen demands Zonda return Mytyl, but The Lustful Mirage leaves with a taunt.
After Gunvolt and Copen rescue Mytyl and stop The Seraph from crashing, Tenjian freezes the two rivals in place. Zonda appears and takes advantage of Gunvolt's weakened link with Joule to trap her in mirror shards which are promptly shattered by Tenjian. Zonda then sheds her disguise, revealing her true form and that she is the leader of the Adept supremacist group Eden, whose goal is to create a paradise for all Adepts. Copen spitefully dismisses them as a pack of terrorists and radical extremists. Tenjian urges Zonda to leave out of fear for her safety and she reluctantly does so, leaving Tenjian to deal with Gunvolt while proclaiming that she does all for the sake of love.
Mourning The Dead
After three of The Seven are killed by Gunvolt and Copen, Zonda is seen holding a prayer vigil for them along with some Eden soldiers. The soldiers are visibly panicked at the loss of three of their best warriors, but Zonda urges them to remain calm, claiming that their sacrifices are necessary for the "Normalization" process to continue running smoothly and that soon her Adept utopia will be a reality. For now, she tells them to offer a prayer for the fallen.
The Garden (Eden)
After four of The Seven are defeated, Zonda orders all of her troops to return to The Garden in Tashkent, Asia and orders Ghauri to use his powers to destroy the highway and cover their retreat. She also orders Asroc (or Teseo and Gibril in Copen's story) to kidnap Mytyl once again to initiate the final stages of her plan.
After Ghauri and Gibril are defeated, Gunvolt and Copen arrive at Tashkent and began to fight their way through the Garden. Zonda and a mirror copy of the now deceased Tenjian observe the two heroes. Tenjian sends Desna and Milas respectfully to deal with them while Zonda prays that The Seven need not make any further sacrifices.
The Garden 3 (Savior)
When Gunvolt and Copen reach the heart of the Garden, Zonda uses her Septima to create Mirror copies of The Seven to slow them down, each of them having the powers and memories of the original. After they are defeated, Zonda bids them welcome. The encounters with both characters differ slightly.
Final Battle with Copen
Copen demands that Zonda return Mytyl to him, but she refuses, saying that Mytyl is the key to obtaining the power of The Muse. Copen asks what Mytyl has to do with The Muse and Zonda reveals that Mytyl is actually an Adept who was the original bearer of the power of The Muse. She reveals that during her tenure at Sumeragi, she came across interesting data about Mytyl, how her father performed an operation to save Mytyl's life by cutting her Septima out as her Septima was too powerful to be contained in Mytyl's body. When Sumeragi discovered this, they transplanted her Septima into another young girl, Joule, who would eventually lose her physical body and merge with Gunvolt.
Copen is appalled by the revelation and denies every word, believing it all to be lies. Zonda transforms into her Sumeragi disguise and engages Copen in battle to retake the other mirror shards, taunting him about his sister being an Adept throughout the fight. Copen defeats Zonda, but it's revealed to be another illusion and the real Zonda awaits in the heart of the Garden.
Copen races inside and finds Mytyl levitating in a green barrier. Zonda uses Mytyl to steal the mirror shards from Lola and absorb them into herself, transforming into a dark and twisted version of The Muse and amplifying her Septima into the Reverie Mirror, granting her the power to control reality itself. Copen asks if she plans to become a god, and Zonda replies that she's "strongly considering it", saying she plans to be a guide for all Adepts and relishes the chance to battle Copen again. Copen proclaims that humanity always finds a way to defeat the monster and faces off against Zonda for the final time. After an arduous battle, Zonda is defeated once and for all. Shocked and horrified at the demise of her paradise, Zonda desperately calls out for Tenjian as she dies.
Final Battle With Gunvolt
Gunvolt demands to know what Zonda plans to do with the Mirror Shards. Zonda reveals that her ultimate goal is to reboot Sumeragi's Diva Project and use the power of The Muse to amplify the Septimas of Adepts worldwide, creating an army of powerful Adepts to subjugate humanity. She then transforms into her Sumeragi disguise and fights Gunvolt to retake the other mirror shards. During the fight, she also explains that she used the power of The Muse to create Grimoires to allow The Seven to transform and use their full power. Gunvolt defeats Zonda, but it's revealed to be another copy created by her Septima. The true Zonda awaited in the heart of the Garden.
Gunvolt races inside and finds both Zonda and Mytyl levitating in a green barrier. Zonda uses Mytyl to steal the mirror shards from Gunvolt and absorb them into herself, transforming into a dark and twisted version of The Muse and amplifying her Septima into the Reverie Mirror and granting her the power to control reality itself. Gunvolt desperately calls out to Joule, but Zonda claims it won't work, saying that unlike Nova, who used Sumeragi technology to merely control Joule's power, Zonda used the data obtained from Gunvolt's battles with The Seven to normalize the shards and perform a perfect fusion with The Muse, absorbing her power completely and erasing Joule's consciousness.
She then engages Gunvolt in a grand final battle, with Gunvolt trying his best to survive without Joule's powers. Having had enough of Gunvolt's persistence, Zonda unleashes her Paradise Lost Special Skill, singing a song of despair that begins to tear at Gunvolt's mind and body. Gunvolt is slowly dying under the assault, but soon remembers Joule's final words to him that her song is always inside her. He begins to sing Reincarnation, cancelling out Zonda's Paradise Lost and giving him the strength to fight back against Zonda. After a brutal fight, Zonda is finally defeated and is in complete shock that she could've been defeated with the power of The Muse. Gunvolt bluntly tells her that Joule is a person and not a tool and that she would never help her. Zonda tearfully calls out to her brother Tenjian before dying.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3
Decades after her defeat in Gunvolt 2, Zonda makes an appearance in GV3 as an illusion crafted by Serpentine based on Gunvolt's memories, being the second dual boss encountered in Sunrise Palace 2, appearing in her Fake Male disguise alongside Tenjian.
Other appearances
Mighty Gunvolt
Zonda appears as the "main antagonist" and final boss in the 8-bit spin-off game Mighty Gunvolt, replacing Copen in a reversal of their roles in Azure Striker Gunvolt.
Mighty Gunvolt Burst
Zonda has four pixel stickers.
Zonda appears as a collectible pixel sticker that can be obtained by completing the Paradox challenge by clearing a stage without using any Bursts. This is for the male version that is a pixel sticker.
The Female version appears as a random drop from an enemy.
True Zonda's pixel sticker can be picked up in the Cyberspace Coliseum stage.
Her Reverie form is a pixel sticker and is a random drop from an enemy.
Azure Striker Gunvolt: The Anime
Zonda makes a cameo at the end of the OVA with the other Sumeragi Adepts, minus Merak and Nova.
Powers and Abilities
As a human whom is attuned to the Septimal stage of the Lifewave, and the leader of Eden, Zonda is known to possess a level of power considered to be almost otherworldly in nature, her Septima being Phantasm Mirror known in Japan as Mirror (夢幻鏡（ミラー), Mirā lit. Phantom Mirror), and while it involves the utilization of mirrors, it is a mysterious power with not much documented about its functions; even amongst the top brass of the Sumeragi Group, a powerful conglomerate whom focus around detaining and controlling Adepts, very little information about Zonda is known, which enabled her to infiltrate the group and become one of their Seven Swordsmen.
Around the time of the illusionary form's induction into Sumeragi and under Nova's payroll, nothing was certain about them, other than the fact that they were as powerful as both Nova and Gunvolt, with the power Zonda wields displaying a level of creativity and power equivalent to the former's Psychokinesis and the latter's Azure Striker.
Even then, the true might of Zonda can be perhaps be displayed by the fact that even though the form known as "Zonda, the Lustful Mirage" was slain, said form was naught but a mere fragment of the actual Zonda's power.
In the first game of the series, other than opening up portals to another area and flipping the world around so that the sky becomes where the floor would normally be, overall distorting the area known as Sinner's Row in accordance to their whims, not much is displayed of Zonda's abilities, as the Sumeragi Zonda is slain by Copen before a proper fight with them could occur.
Even so, the fact that Copen himself could develop a very powerful Skill using the illusionary Zonda's sepitomosome which has also been utilized as his signature attack as a boss in both games could help exemplify how strong even a mere fragment of Zonda's Septima is.
Zonda went on changing their personality and outward appearance at will: and it’d seem that they changed their sex every day, even when there was no real need to do so.
That was surprising since Zonda supposedly couldn't use their Septima without transforming with the "Glaive". But Zonda could pull it off nevertheless.
However, it should be noted that the "true" Zonda has never really been shown doing battle until the final battle of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, but instead, the Sumeragi Zonda seems to display the most uses with Phantasm Mirror. Additionally, considering all three forms that she does battle in, Zonda has the most offensive skills displayed by a boss-only character in the series, with three at her disposal.
Phantasm Mirror seems to mainly revolve around "mirroring" things so to speak, with Zonda, once again, mirroring the world so that the enemy is forced to tread across an area where everything is upside down – the Phantasm Mirror copies seem to be high-quality illusions that can properly interact with all forms of matter, as displayed in the prologue of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, where Zonda manages to trap Joule's projection in a mirror, supposedly mirroring ensnaring Joule herself.
The details and mechanics of this incredible Septima aren't known very well other than showing virtual images to anything Zonda deems to be suitable, but the potential it possesses is supposedly infinite. As displayed in both the second game and the spin-off game, Mighty Gunvolt, Zonda mainly does battle by creating mirror panes to flip between their male and female forms on the fly using a skill known as "Over Gender", and duplicate themselves to the point that Zonda was able to fool everyone into thinking she was dead.
In some ways, Phantasm Mirror can be seen as an opposite to Psychokinesis, Nova's Septima. Whereas Psychokinesis is openly offensive and destructive, Phantasm Mirror is more subtle and less confrontational. Psychokinesis is ironically simplistic, almost primitive in a sense, but Mirror is so complex and creative, it's hard to wrap one's head around the full extent of its power.
The Glaive that Sumeragi Zonda uses to transform is referred to as Crow Child, which itself is known as Kogarasumaru (小烏丸（コガラスマル), Kogarasumaru lit. Little Crow).
The Kogarasumaru is named after, well, the Kogarasu Maru, a legendary tachi that was rumoured to have been forged by the fabled swordsmith known as Amakuni in the eighth century CE. The Kogarasumaru is what enables Sumeragi Zonda's power to terraform the vicinity by exerting their Septima upon the environment.
Several potential skills Sumeragi Zonda displays is dropping triangular projectiles from above, hiding while firing energy shots, firing energy balls and mirror shards, and creating mirror versions of anyone she wants, whether it be the other members of The Seven or perhaps even the Swordsmen in the Sumeragi Group, including potentially the strongest Adept in Sumeragi, Nova.
In the climax of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, after Zonda steals the fragments of the Muse from both Joule and Lola before integrating them into Mytyl Kamizono and from there absorbing the complete version of the Muse through her mirror shards, her Septima combines with the Muse, thus amplifying her power a hundredfold and causing her body to trigger a monstrous physiological change, transforming into a monstrous-looking fairy with black sclera along with burning crimson pupils, her hair lengthening dramatically to the point that it seems to float upwards as it becomes stark-white with pink tips, her head adorned with a black crown as befitting her status as the Oracle of Eden.
Clad in something that vaguely resembles a small amount of armour and exposes her stomach along with constructs that appear to be jet engines draping her sides, Zonda now possesses a pair of enormous, demonic wings that resemble a suit of cards – these wings switch between the suit of hearts, the suit of clubs, the suit of spades, and the suit of diamonds in accordance to the power displayed by her in this form; in this form, Zonda's body is altered to resemble a distorted version of the Muse.
Now, the tone she speaks with has a noticeable electronic echoing effect to it – this form is known as Wonderland Pantera (夢想境（ワンダーランド, パンテーラ, Wandārando Pantēra; Wonderland literally meaning "Reverie Mirror"), in Japan, and her Septima, Phantasma Mirror evolves into Reverie Mirror, also known as Wonderland in Japan, an "almighty" Septima with which she compares herself to a god, evolving the illusions crafted by her ordinary Septima to the point that those fantasies become reality, achieving a high level of reality warping and enabling Zonda to alter the very fabric of reality itself.
Watching her comrades use the Muse-imbued mirror shards to achieve Septimal output beyond what they could ordinarily achieve, Zonda used all the intelligence she had gathered from the Seven's usage of the Muse shards to "normalize" (普遍化（ノーマライズ), nōmaraizu lit. Universalization) them as to trigger this monstrous transformation.
According to Zonda, her assimilation of Joule is on a completely different level from when Nova performed such a feat as the final boss of the original game, with Joule's consciousness becoming consumed by Zonda's own, resulting in not even Gunvolt being able to call to her in spite of their souls merging prior to the sequel.
With Reverie Mirror, Zonda has displayed that she was capable of creating an entire dimension from scratch through thought alone, craft cards that all transform into different forms and fire said cards at her opponent, warp around the battlefield, encase herself in a barrier that nullifies all attacks, and drop a multitude of azurite blades down from the skies on her opponents. Going up against the dreaded Adept Hunter, she summons copies of the Seven to perform a combination attack.
The Anthem, Joule/Lumen's song of revival vanishing from Gunvolt's grasp, all that remained was the dirge of despair that resounded from Zonda's heart which was known to tear apart the body and soul of her enemies, draining the life and Septimal energy from her opponent while placing her own existence in a state of temporary invincibility. Even so, somehow, both Copen and Gunvolt were still able to prevail over this demonic form. With Zonda's macrocosm vanishing before her eyes, Eden collapsing with her death.
Boss Battle Skills
Note: All skill names except Over Gender, Doppler Desire, and the SP skills are conjecture.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Fake Zonda
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
オーバー ジェンダー |
Zonda leaps into the air and into a mirror overlapping the inactive gender's phantom, causing them to switch places and change attack patterns. This cancels tags. |
フォーリンラブ |
Male Zonda tosses several cards in the air, creating a stream of breakable mirrors flying across the ceiling. Intermixed with the normal mirrors are flashing ones, which rain down a crystal spike when passing above the player. Zonda finishes the move off with a pelvic thrust dash across the floor and off-screen.
In EX Downtown, female Zonda joins in on the attack. Both genders of Zonda stand at opposite sides of the screen and spin across twice at the same time before the attack ends, making the spikes that drop down more difficult to dodge and requiring more management. |
ラストドップラー Lust Doppler |
Male Zonda summons four mirrors, two on each side of the screen. "He" then drops down one side, performs a pelvic lunge to the other, jumps to the upper center of the arena, leaving reflections of "himself" on each mirror performing different poses. The reflections then leap out of their mirrors one by one and thrust themselves at the player.
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Female Zonda jumps into an oval shaped mirror and flies around the area, shooting energy balls as "she" goes. Avoid using well timed jumps.
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| Female Zonda jumps from one side of the screen to the other, leaving several pink and purple balls in "her" wake, which then bounce around the screen. The pink balls disappear after the first bounce, but the purple ones bounce around the screen several times before disappearing. As the balls fly around, she will launch a spinning attack along the floor.
| |
ファンタスマゴリア |
Zonda's special attack and the only one both male and female forms perform together in the normal battle. First, they use Phantasm Mirror to flip the screen upside down. Then, Zonda's male form will dash out of a mirror twice in a row while Zonda's female form performs Orb Valley. After that, the male form, alongside a copy, dash at the player twice, whilst the female form shoots pink energy. Finally, the female form will shoot bubble-like balls at the player (which can be blocked with the Flashfield). At the same time, the male form will shoot out beams of light that can't be blocked and forced the player to the other side of the screen. When this happens, the screen is reversed, and this phase happens again before the screen returns to normal and the fight resumes.
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Reverie Zonda
| Skill | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Zonda creates five playing cards and sends them flying away from her in five different directions.
A variant of the attack has the cards home in on the player. This attack ends only after all five cards attempt to home in on you, whether they hit or miss. | |||
| Second phase onward, Zonda can create a yellow, diamond-shaped barrier made of light around herself that shields her from attacks. It will last indefinitely if it is not destroyed. The barrier is immune to Copen's untagged laser shots.
There are two attacks that have been observed to be able to instantly break the barrier:
| |||
| Zonda drops two sets of swords from the sky in alternating patterns. Once the swords land they will revert into cards (also contact hazards) which then fade away. | |||
| Zonda drops down a card on the floor below her to create a cup and orb with cards floating around it, which generates a large column of energy around her and slowly pulls the player towards it. Contact with the column ignores Prevasion and damages the player. Zonda's HP is slowly regenerated while the cup is active.
The skill can be ended early by breaking the cup. | |||
| Zonda throws two green cards to the sides of the screen. Half a second later, a pair of giant green pillars composed of cards start grinding along the upper and lower portions of the screen, leaving only a small space at each end safe. Near the attack's end, the pillars briefly edge forwards, hitting in the "safe" spot. | |||
Paradise's Phantom Song |
Zonda's story mode exclusive Special Skill when fighting Gunvolt in the 3DS version, and Steam version if an active microphone is detected. Zonda invokes the power of The Muse and begins singing, becoming completely invulnerable and emitting unblockable energy waves described as slowly tearing apart Gunvolt's body (these do not ignore Prevasion and do not cause the player to lose Kudos).
When Gunvolt remembers Joule's last words about her song being inside him, a microphone icon and the lyrics of Reincarnation appear on the screen. Repeatedly stimulating the microphone, either by actually singing or simply blowing into it, will stun Zonda and cause an instrumental version of Reincarnation to play, ending her Paradise Lost skill. It is possible to bypass the entire sequence by leveling up Gunvolt until Septimal Surge is acquired. Combining that with Luxcalibur can instantly kill Zonda while she's still in phase 2. Zonda does not use this skill in Score Attack or Secret Mission 5 (Boss Rush), and it is completely omitted from the Switch and PS4 Striker Pack releases. | ||
レジデントオブエデン Resident of Eden
 |
Zonda's general Special Skill. She throws seven cards outwards before disappearing. Then, a projection of each of Grimwald 7 appears to perform an attack. The pattern goes;
|
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 (Fighting alongside Tenjian)
Note: Zonda spends most of the fight in her male form, with the female form only making an appearance in the special skill Wonder-Ice Prison.
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Doppler Desire + Shadow Ice Cut | Zonda appears on the side of the room opposite Tenjian and summons four vertical mirrors surrounding him. Reflections of Zonda them leap out of the mirrors and pelvic thrust themselves across the room. While this is happening, Tenjian leaps in Zonda's direction and slashes, leaving behind an ice wall before dashing in the same direction. He then does another slash and dash towards the other side of the room. The ice walls Tenjian creates can be destroyed by the player's attacks; if not, Tenjian will destroy it himself with his dash.
In Hard Mode, two of the reflections launched from the mirrors go in diagonal directions. |
| Orb Valley + Ice Chakram | Zonda appears at the side of the room opposite Tenjian as Tenjian flies diagonally up and offscreen. Zonda then tosses four mirrors to the upper part of the room, which then drop to the floor before Zonda pelvic thrusts through them then spins at the other side of the room for a short while. Tenjian then performs a downwards slash on the player's position. He then jumps to the side of the room opposite Zonda and throws two spinning ice disks while Zonda jumps up and, while hovering, throws two volleys of two orbs; one which bounces near him, and one which bounces off the ceiling to the other side of the room.
In Hard Mode, Zonda throws six mirrors instead. Phase two onwards, he also throws another group of six mirrors which drop down in between the initial six after they've dropped. Tenjian also creates two ice walls on his sides when slashing, and Zonda launches three orbs in each volley instead. |
| Carnal Downpour + Freezing Splitting Slash | Zonda appears at the top center of the room and throws two groups of three horizontal mirrors to his sides while Tenjian dashes across the room. Zonda then launches spikes downward from the mirrors; first from the group farthest from Tenjian, then from the group closest, while Tenjian throws a spinning sword that travels across the floor before flying up and across the room back to him.
In Hard Mode, Tenjian leaves a trail of ice crystals behind him when he dashes, which can be destroyed by the player's or Zonda and Tenjian's attacks. Phase two onwards, Zonda throws five mirrors in each group instead. |
| Wonder-Ice Prison | Zonda and Tenjian's combined Special Skill. Tenjian jumps to the top center of the room and hovers there gathering cold air while Zonda spins beside him and launches two volleys of two orbs each. Tenjian then flies up while Zonda teleports away. Both genders of Zonda then appear on each side of the room, partly transparent and intangible. Tenjian then marks a small column of the room at the player's position before freezing it, leaving behind an ice pillar; and then he does it again. Both genders of Zonda then reveal themselves, and the male emits rotating lasers while the female launches a barrage of orbs which can be destroyed by Kirin's slashes or GV's Flashfield; or blocked by an ice pillar if it's between the player and Female Zonda. The Zondas then disappear, and Tenjian then marks and freezes one more column before descending in a downwards slash, destroying the ice pillars in the process.
Getting caught in Tenjian's freezes will trap the player in a snowflake, which Zonda and Tenjian will attack with slashes and Doppler Desire clones, before finishing with a spin through from both Zondas and a downwards slash from Tenjian. While this deals massive damage, it's not a one-hit kill. In Hard Mode, Zonda launches three orbs in each opening orb volley instead. The attacks of both Zondas in the middle part last longer, and Tenjian performs an additional freeze before the downwards slash. |
Mighty Gunvolt
Fake Zonda appears as the surprise final boss of Mighty Gunvolt, two years before their first main-series boss fight in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. Many of Zonda's attacks in the former game were thus based on their Mighty Gunvolt appearance and patterns rather than the other way around.
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
オーバー ジェンダー |
Invoking the power of "Over Gender", Zonda jumps into a mirror to change their form from male to female or vice versa. The form Zonda takes dictates what selection of attacks they'll use next. |
フォーリンラブ Falling Love |
Male Zonda tosses several mirrors in the air, and crystal spikes rain down from them in a seemingly random pattern. Less spikes rain down here compared to the fight in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. |
ラストドップラー Lust Doppler |
Male Zonda summons four mirrors, two on each side of the screen, and proceeds to bounce off each mirror, leaving a reflection of "him" on it. The reflections then leap out of their mirrors one by one and thrust themselves at the player. |
| Female Zonda jumps into an oval shaped mirror and flies around the arena, shooting energy orbs in sets of 3. The orbs fly in a fixed spread, stop, then all home in on the player's current location. | |
Zonda summons four mirrors similar to Mirrored Assault before leaping into one of them. The mirrors then one by one, shot three way energy balls at the player. If any miss, the remaining balls then hover for a second, before flying towards the player.
|
Boss Battle Voices
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Fake Zonda
| Event | Translated | Romaji | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over Gender | ♂/♀ Over! ♀/♂ Gender! |
♂/♀ Oubaa! ♀/♂ Jendaa! |
♂/♀ オーバー！ ♀/♂ ジェンダー！ |
| Warp | ♂ Hahaha! I'm over here, you know? ♀ Nfufufufu... over here! |
♂ Hahhahha! Koko da yo? ♀ Nffufufufu… Koko yo! |
♂ ハッハッハ！ ここだよ？ ♀ ンッフフフフ… ここよ！ |
| Falling Love | ♂ Fall in love! Here I come! | ♂ Fooru in rabu! Yukuzo! | ♂ フォール・イン・ラブ！ 行くぞ！ |
| Doppler Desire | ♂ Love's impulses! Are beautiful! Hah! And heartwarming! Behold! The mirror images! Of our love! |
♂ Ai no shouchou! Utsukushii! Hhaa! Urawashii! Waga! Ai no! Kyouzou! |
♂ 愛の衝動！美しい！ッハァ！ 麗しき！ 我が！愛の！鏡像！ |
| Orb Valley | ♀ I can't take it~! | ♀ Tamaranaa~i! | ♀ たまらなぁ〜い！ |
| Leap of Faith | ♀ Hah! Now, scatter! Catch me in your arms~! |
♀ Haa! Madoinasaai! Dakitomete! |
♀ はっ！惑いなさ〜い！ 抱きとめて！ |
| Phantasmagoria | ♂ Behold, this is our dazzling... ♀ ... banquet of love! ♂ Phantasmagoria! ♀ ♂ Come, to the garden of love! "♂ Here I come!" "♀ Now, scatter!" (x2) ♀ Nfufufufu... Hahaha!! ♂ ♀ Feel our everlasting love! ♂ And be entranced by it! |
♂ Mekurumeku! ♀ Ai no utage! ♂ Fantasumagoria! ♀ ♂ Iza… Ai no niwa he! "♂ Ikuzo!" "♀ Madoinasai! "(x2) ♀ Nffufufufu… Hahhahha! ♂ ♀ Kanjinasai! Owarinaki ai yo! ♂Midaretamae! Waga ai yo! |
♂ めくるめく！ ♀ 愛の宴！ ♂ ファンタズマゴリア！ ♀ ♂ いざ…愛の庭へ！ ｢♂ 行くぞ！♀ 惑いなさい！｣x2 ♀ ｢ンッフフフフ…｣ ｢ハッハッハ！｣ ♂ ♀ 感じなさい！ 終わりなき愛よ！ ♂ 乱れたまえ！ 我が愛よ！ |
| 1st Phase Down | ♂ I'm... feeling the love! ♀ So this is... your love...! |
♂ Ai wo… kanjiru yo… ♀ Kore ga… anata no ai…! |
♂ 愛を…感じるよ… ♀ これが…貴方の愛…！ |
| 2nd Phase Down | ♂ Anguish too... is love! ♀ Pain... is still a form of love..! |
♂ Kurushimi wa… ai da! ♀ Itami mo mata… Ai no katachi…! |
♂ 苦しみは…愛だ！ ♀ 痛みもまた…愛の形…！ |
| Defeated | ♂ Ouch--! My... love...! ♀ Aah! The petals of love... are scattering... |
♂ Daaa! Watashi no… ai ga! ♀ Aaa! Ai wa… chiri yuku… |
♂ だぁっ！ ワタシの……愛が！ ♀ あぁっ！ 愛は…散りゆく…… |
Reverie Zonda
| Event | Translated | Romaji | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card Throw | Now, scatter! | Chirinasai! | 散りなさい！ |
| Homing Cards | Take this! | Uketorinasai! | 受け取りなさい！ |
| Diamond Barrier | Light, be my protector... | Hikari no shuugo yo... | 光の守護よ… |
| Spade Swords | Rise up, fallen blades! | Tsurugi yo, mai agarinasai! | 剣よ、舞い上がりなさい！ |
| Club Pillars | Lay waste to him, with this iron fist...! | Tsubuenasai, Kono tettsui de…! | 潰えなさい、この鉄槌で…！ |
| Heart Holy Grail | Guided by the Holy Grail... | Seihai no michibiki yo… | 聖杯の導きを… |
| Eden's Presence | Everyone, grant me your power... Eden's Presence! | Mina-san… Watashi ni chikara wo… Rejidento obu Eden |
皆さん、わたしに力を… レジデントオブエデン！ |
| Paradise Lost | This is checkmate! Paradise Lost! | Chekkumeito desu… Rakuen Gensou! | チェックメイトです… |
| 1st Phase Down | I ... will be their leader...! | Watashi wa... shirube ni! | わたしが…導に…！ |
| 2nd Phase Down | The time has come... for me to lead us to paradise! |
Ima koko... Rakuen he itaru toki! | 今こそ…楽園へ至る時…！ |
| Defeated | Our utopia... it's... falling apart... Brother...! | Kieru… watashi tachi no… rakuen ga… oniisama…! |
消える…わたし達の… 楽園が… お兄様っ…！ |
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 (Fighting alongside Tenjian)
Japanese
| Event | English | Romaji | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Ice Cut | Zonda: My mirror images!
Tenjian: First slash! Ha! Zonda: Un! Deux! Troi! Quatre! Tenjian: Second slash! Eat this! |
Waga kyouzou!
Ittou! Haa! An! Du! Torowa! Kyatoru! Nitou! Kurae! |
我が鏡像！
一刀！はっ！ アン！ ドゥ！ トロワ！キャトル！ 二刀！喰らえ！ |
| Ice Chakram | Zonda: I'm over here!
Tenjian: Ha! Zonda: Fall in love! Let's go! Tenjian: Flash! Here I come! Ha! Zonda: Accept this! |
Koko dayo!
Haa! Fooru in rabu! Iku zo! Issen! Mairu! Haa! Uketori tamae! |
ここだよ！
はっ！ フォール・イン・ラブ！いくぞ！ 一閃！参る！はっ！ 受け取りたまえ！ |
| Freeze Splitting Slash | Zonda: Ideal of love!
Tenjian: Gotcha! Zonda: Beautiful! Hah! |
Ai no risou!
Soko daa! Utsukushii! Haa! |
愛の理想！
そこだっ！ 美しい！ハァ！ |
| Wonder-Ice Prison | Tenjian: Zonda!
Zonda: Let's go! Brother! Both: Wonder-Ice Prison! Tenjian: The true coolheadedness... Zonda: ♀ Nfufufufu... Hahaha!! ♂ Zonda: ♀ Feel it! Be entranced! ♂ Tenjian: Flash! (Caught) Tenjian: The end... Zonda: A storm of sibling love! Zonda: ♂ Accept this! Hug me! ♀ Tenjian: Flash! |
Panteera!
Iku yo! Aniue! Wandaa Aisu Purizun! Shin no reitetsu... ♀ Nffufufufu… Hahhahha! ♂ ♀ Kanji nasai! Midare tamae! ♂ Issen! (Caught) Owari da... Kyoudaiai no arashi! ♂ Uketori tamae! Dakitomete! ♀ Issen! |
パンテーラ！
いくよ！兄上！ 楽園氷獄（ワンダーアイスプリズン）！ 真の冷徹… ♀ ンッフフフフ… ハッハッハ！ ♂ ♀ 感じなさい！ 乱れたまえ！ ♂ 一閃！ (Caught) 終わりだ… 兄弟愛の嵐！ ♂ 受け取りたまえ！ 抱きとめて！ ♀ 一閃！ |
| 1st Phase Down | Tenjian: What is this power...?
Zonda: I can feel the love! |
Kono chikara wa...?
Ai wo kanjiru yo! |
この力は…？
愛を感じるよ！ |
| 2nd Phase Down | Tenjian: Eden is... imperishable!
Zonda: Anguish too... is love! |
Eden wa... horobinai!
Kurushimi wa... ai da! |
エデンは…滅びない！
苦しみは…愛だ！ |
English
| Event | Voice |
|---|---|
| Doppler Desire + Shadow Ice Cut | Zonda: In my image!
Tenjian: One! Hah! Zonda: Un! Deux! Troi! Quatre! Tenjian: Two! Take this! |
| Orb Valley + Ice Chakram | Zonda: Here I am!
Tenjian: Hyah! Zonda: Carnal Downpour! Here I come! Tenjian: Hyah! Be ready! Hah! Zonda: Get ready to catch! |
| Carnal Downpour + Freezing Splitting Slash | Zonda: The rhythm of love!
Tenjian: You're open! Zonda: Exquisite! Hu! Tenjian: Go! |
| Wonder-Ice Prison | Tenjian: Zonda!
Zonda: Together, my brother! Both: Wonder-Ice Prison! Tenjian: Freeze down to your soul... Zonda♀: Nfufufufu... Feel this! ♂: Haha! Fall to chaos! Tenjian: Hyah! (Caught) Tenjian: This is it! Zonda: Feel the storm of our love! Zonda♀: Catch me! ♂: Get ready to catch! Tenjian: Hi-yah! |
| 1st Phase Down | Tenjian: This power...!
Zonda: I can feel your love! |
| 2nd Phase Down | Tenjian: Eden will never die...!
Zonda: To suffer... is to love! |
Special Skill Chants
Phantasmagoria:
Love's kaleidoscope
Shows flickers of what is dear
Mirrors without end
PHANTASMAGORIA
愛の姿は万華鏡
惑い見えるは走馬灯
ここはそう、境界なき鏡界
Loves take on the shape of a kaleidoscope
You see a bewitched illusion
This is a boundless mirror world…
PHANTASMAGORIA
사랑의 모습은 만화경.
현혹된 모습의 주마등.
이곳은 바로 경계 없는 거울의 세계.
Love, takes the form of Kaleidoscope.
It is a bewitched form of illusion.
Here you stand, in a boundless world of Mirror!
PHANTASMAGORIA
Eden's Presence:
-
English
-
Japanese
-
English fan translation
-
Korean (with Eng tl)
Heed me, O fallen
Heed this love deep, pure, and true
And return to us
EDEN'S PRESENCE
心からの愛を込めて
仲間たちよ、家族たちよ
今再びこの地へと戻れ
I pour love from the depths of my heart
Comrades, Family
Return to this world once again
RESIDENT OF EDEN
진심 어린 사랑을 담아,
동료들이여, 가족들이여,
다시 이 땅으로 돌아오라.
With the most sincere love of my heart,
Comrades, Families,
return to this land once more!
RESIDENT OF EDEN
Paradise Lost:
-
English
-
Japanese
-
English fan translation
-
Korean (with Eng tl)
May this song do right
And grant the lonely soldier
Death's most sweet release
PARADISE LOST
謡精の歌を奏でよう
寄る辺なき孤独の戦士に
せめて死という安らぎを
I shall play the Singing Fairy’s song
Let us at least give the helpless aloof warrior
The serenity named “death”
PARADISE'S PHANTOM SONG
디바의 노래를 연주하라.
기댈 곳 없는 고독한 전사에게
적어도 죽음이라는 평안을.
낙원환주
Let the Song of Diva ring,
and may it offer this lonesome warrior
at least the sweet release in death…
MELODIES OF THE WONDERLAND
Wonder-Ice Prison:
-
English
-
Japanese
-
English fan translation
As white night flickers in and out of love
A sinner gazes up to the northern lights
Passions frozen in a crystal cell
WONDER-ICE PRISON
白夜に揺蕩う愛情模様
咎人は極光を仰ぎ
氷愛の檻に囚われん
A love conjecture flickering in the midnight sun
The sinners revere the aurora borealis
Be trapped in a cage of frozen love
WONDER ICE PRISON
Quotes
Azure Striker Gunvolt
"Hehehe, that makes me happy... the fact that you know my beautiful name... I really feel the love! So, shall we begin this lovely adventure? Let's show some love till our hearts' content, OK?!"
—Zonda
, meeting Gunvolt
"Mwahahahaha!!! That's the power of love!"
—Zonda
, showing off the "Mirror" Septima
"Ooh, looks like you chose the correct route! It's a victory of Love!! Now, our lovely adventure continues... let's feel the love!"
—Zonda
, observing Gunvolt
"It must be the string of Love! That way, you can just wrap me in that wire there, right?! Therefore, it's Love!"
—Zonda
, reacting to Gunvolt's discovery of wires
"My Love can overturn Heaven and Earth itself! Infinite Love, baby! It's my secret Love technique!"
—Zonda
, turning the world upside down
"What's that, you feel dizzy? From all of my Love? Love is like the finest wine... how~e~ver... you'll be in an eternal stupor from MY Love! Lovedrunk forever!"
—Zonda
, talking to Moniqa
"It can't be... my Love... in a place like this... aah... but... this pain... it's... yes... death too is... love... -ly..."
—Zonda
, being "killed" by Copen
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
"Brother..."
—Zonda
, True Zonda being killed by Gunvolt
Designer Comments
Source: Armed Blue: Gunvolt Complete Works
Gunvolt 1:
-
English fan translation
-
Japanese
When developing the 1st installment of “Gunvolt”... We’d progressed until the stage where Pantera’s post-transformation design and specifications were done and we were only pending making it (into the game) yet we didn’t have enough time and we had to give it a send-off. As a result, the pre-transformation design wasn’t drawn and it ended up being shelved off in that state. However, we reached the stage of press releases and marketing: we now hurriedly needed a pre-transformation design. I remember that I made the design in a rush (and finished) some days before the deadline. My goal while designing was “someone whose gender you can’t tell at a first glance”.
-- Yoshitake Hatakeyama
The first draft by Hatakeyama-san, which had that “drill” in the crotch, was liked by a lot of the development staff so that factor remained unchanged all the way until the final version. The motif is the animal corresponding “lust”, the scorpion, but… On the other hand, he couldn’t find any other factors apart from a scorpion, the design was stuck and he was troubled… So I thought of trying to add something (to the design) and I thought “if they use mirrors then it’s gotta be (Trump) cards! (seen too many live-action films)”... I submitted a draft of a “dealer” inside of the mirror with the cards and it fit perfectly. And thus I was very glad of it. I didn’t expect the fact that you don’t actually get to battle them, though...
-- Munehiro Araki
「ガンヴォルト」の１作目の開発当時、パンテーラは変身後のデザインも仕様書もでき上がっていてあとは作るだけという状態まで進んでいたのですが、時間が足りずに止むなく見送りになってしまいした。そんなこともあり，変身前のデザインは描かれずお終いで放置されていました。
しかしながら、パブ展開をしていく段階になって急遽変身前のデザインも必要になり、締め切り数日前に慌ててデザインしたのを覚えています。デザインするに当たって目指したところは、「一見、男か女かわからない奴」です。
-- 畠山義崇
畠山さんが初期に出した、股間にドリルがついている案は開発スタッフ内でも大ウケだったので、要素としては完成版まで変わってません。
モチーフは「色欲」に対応した生物の蠍ですが、逆に蠍以外の要素が見つからずにデザインが難航していて大変そうだったので、何か足しになればと思い、「鏡の能力からカードだろ！（特撮脳）」と思ってカードが鏡にあるデイーラーの案を出してうまくはまってくれて、よかったよかったと思いました。
まさか戦わないとは思いませんでしたが...
-- 荒木宗弘
Gunvolt 2:
-
English fan translation
-
Japanese
This installment has fairy tales as motifs and Pantera’s ability is mirrors so it has to be the “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There”! I remember that that was the overall mood when we decided that. But Pantera originally came from the image of a “dealer” throwing cards. She perfectly fit with “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” factors and the way they miraculously linked together made me shiver, even. As a result, the boss draft of her using attacks based on a suit of Trump (cards) was settled pretty quickly. Unlike in the prequel, she by herself is a girl so, to add fanciness to her and make it easier to understand in-game I had her carry giant wings imitating a suit (of cards). The “joker form” imitating a clown were added posteriorly, though.
-- Munehiro Araki
今回は童話モチーフでパンテーラの能力は鏡だから「鏡の国のアリアス」ですよ！みたいなノリで決まったように記憶していますが、もともとパンテーラはカードを投げるデイーラーのイメージだったこともあり、「不思議の国」の要素との相性も抜群で、その奇跡的な繋がり方に震えました。なので、トランプのスートにちなんだ攻撃をするボス案はわりとさくっと決まりました。
前作とは違い本体は少女なので、派手さを確保する目的とボスの状態がゲーム的にわかりやすいように、スートを模した巨大な羽根を背負わせています。道化師を模したジョーカーフォームの羽根だけあとで追加しました。
-- 荒木宗弘
Musical Themes
Zonda has several associated music tracks, although it's uncertain how exactly the Gunvolt 2 ones were composed with her in mind due to there being no track-specific notes, unlike other soundtrack releases.
| Title | Context | Composer | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bewitching City (惑いし不夜街, The Bewitching Nightless City) |
Fake Zonda's theme, and the Sinner's Row stage BGM. | Mina Hatazoe | |
| Utopia ~Extending Mirrors~ (理想郷～延鏡～) |
Savior (The Garden 3) background music. | Ippo Yamada | |
| The Holy Girl’s Territory (聖少女領域) |
True Zonda encounter. | Ryo Kawakami | |
| Crazy Mirrors' Mad Melody (鏡乱狂奏) |
VS Fake Zonda. Remix of The Bewitching City. | Ryo Kawakami, Mina Hatazoe | |
| The Torrent of Power (力の奔流) |
Zonda takes Mytyl's power and transforms. | Aoi Takeda | |
| The Burning Garden's Chorus (烙苑唱和) |
VS Reverie Zonda. | Ryo Kawakami, Aoi Takeda | |
| Paradise's Phantom Melody (楽園幻奏) |
Zonda (Kaori Nazuka)'s voice during the SP Skill Paradise Lost. | Aoi Takeda | |
| The Bewitching City (惑いし不夜街, The Bewitching Nightless City) |
8-bit remix included as a bonus track in the Mighty Gunvolt Original Soundtrack. | Mina Hatazoe | |
| The Bewitching City ~ Committed to Annihilation | Remixed medley with Copen's theme featured in Lazy Kingdom. | Mina Hatazoe, Ryo Kawakami |
Track notes by sound designer Ryo Kawakami:[9]
- The Bewitching City
The theme track of Zonda "The Lustful Mirage", that plays in the Sinner's Row. The intro portion is filled with a feeling of illusion. Then a part goes on being developed as the two genders shimmer and combine. The highpoint of the song reminiscing of the beauty of a supreme love. The buzz of a nighttime city lit by neon and the world of Zonda, seeking the ultimate love, are subtly branded. Hatazoe-san did a great work here. By the way, when work on this track began, the key of it was the same as Track 14; that’s because I forgot to tell him about “each of the 7 bosses stages has a different key to it, let’s bring out the colors of each of them”; so I had to ask for the key to be changed afterwards. Sorry for that.
Trivia
- According to an official height chart, Zonda is 130cm (4'3") tall, making her the shortest character in the series, tied with Joule, Mytyl, and Layla.
- Ironically, her fake form stands at 185cm (6'0") tall, making her the tallest female character in the series, tied with Desna.
- The members of Eden are based off classical fairy tales and represent the pieces on a chessboard. Zonda is based off Alice in Wonderland and represents the king.
- Zonda's special move against Gunvolt is named "Paradise Lost", after the epic poem by John Milton telling of Adam and Eve's exposure to Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
- The move also shares the same name with the one used by the second form of Lumine, the main antagonist of Mega Man X8 when he's reduced to about 20-25% of his health. However, both attacks function differently.
- Just as Nova is notably similar to Copy X, the main antagonist of the first Mega Man Zero game, Zonda in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is notably similar to Elpizo, the main antagonist of Mega Man Zero 2 (the Mega Man Zero series also having been developed by Inti Creates). Besides some visual design similarities between Zonda and Elpizo, namely pink/purple clothing and long blond hair, both antagonists' plans both involve using the power of a fairy-esque being – the Muse for Zonda, and the Dark Elf for Elpizo – to exterminate humanity and create a paradise for their race who constantly face discrimination. They also both personally absorb the fairy's power for their final boss fights, and their resulting transformations are similar (four wings, floating, stationary except for teleporting around the arena).
- Fake Zonda has some similarities to the Mega Man ZX character Rospark. Both are pink in color scheme, have campy and flamboyant personalities, and switch between two forms. In addition, both the male form of Fake Zonda and Rospark's humanoid form have phallic spikes on their crotches.
- Before the release of GV2, Zonda was widely speculated to be the true identity of the "Mysterious Girl".
- Zonda's Eden's Presence is a homage of Mega Man Zero 4's Dr. Weil's Enemy Inferno Neo, as both skills are made to temporarily summon bosses for following-up attacks.
- In Azure Striker Gunvolt, Zonda's gender is never confirmed. While the first 8-4 localization describes Zonda as bigender and uses the pronouns xe/xem, the most recent localization was tweaked to fit the ambiguous gendering of the Japanese script. In the Matt Papa localization, the characters avoid using pronouns for Zonda, more often using her name in place of them.
- It was later confirmed that Zonda is indeed female, her true form being a little girl.
- Zonda and Copen have been paired twice as bait-and-switch bosses. In Azure Striker Gunvolt, Zonda is the bait at Sinner's Row (Kaleidoscape) and Copen is the switch; their roles are reversed in Mighty Gunvolt's Mirror stage.
- Zonda's Azure Striker Gunvolt concept art depicts several attack illustrations.
- Zonda appears in the least amount of stages out of all the Sumeragi Adepts, appearing in only one.
- The seven Sumeragi Swordsmen are based on the seven deadly sins and an animal that represents them. Zonda represents lust and is based on the scorpion.
- Zonda is the only one of the Sumeragi Seven who never faces Gunvolt in Azure Striker Gunvolt, due to being dispatched by Copen before such a confrontation could happen.
- The names of most GV1 characters are taken from luxury cars. Zonda's English and Japanese names are from the Pagani Zonda and the De Tomaso Pantera.
- Reverie Zonda is one of the three bosses in the second game to whom Gunvolt does not say his battle cry "Oversurge! Azure Striker! ____!" when fighting against, the others are Gibril and Copen. Likewise, Fake Zonda is one of the two bosses to whom Copen doesn't use his own phrase "Time to ____" when fighting, the other is Gunvolt.
- Reverie Zonda's use of Paradise Lost and Eden's Presence against Gunvolt and Copen respectively is symbolic:
- Paradise Lost is Zonda using the Muse's power against Gunvolt, which is fitting for someone who had a deep bond with Joule, its main host.
- Eden's Presence is Zonda relying on her fallen comrades to attack Copen, a retribution to how Copen used The Seven's powers against Eden throughout the game.
- Zonda is one of three antagonists who call Gunvolt by his moniker "GV," the others being Teseo and Asimov. Coincidentally, all three are final bosses.
- Although in the English localization Zonda refers to Gunvolt as GV in the final battle, this is not present in the original Japanese version.
- Zonda is the only antagonist who has a prominent story role in all three main series games.
- Gunvolt and Zonda are the only characters to be final bosses in more than one game - Gunvolt in GV2 and GV3, and Zonda in GV2 and Mighty Gunvolt.
References
- ↑ Gunvolt 3 Image Pulse DLC Pack 5
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Armed Blue Gunvolt Official Complete Works, True Zonda profile
- ↑ Fake Zonda profile
- ↑ 3DS Striker Pack limited edition height chart
- ↑ GV1 English website profile
- ↑ GV1 Japanese website profile
- ↑ Dengeki_Nintendo_Character_Profiles#Gibril
- ↑ Dengeki_Nintendo_Character_Profiles#Over_Gender
- ↑ Armed Blue Official Soundtrack
- Official Japanese Twitter regarding Zonda (GV1)
- GV2 English website profile
- GV2 Japanese website profile