A super fighting mobile suit wrapped in a bizarre setting and fun gameplay.
For nearly 40 years, the Gundam video game has come in dozens of formats across dozens of platforms, including every console Nintendo has ever developed. Yes, virtual boy too. Of course, many of these titles have never left Japan, so getting a new entry in a franchise that also sees a more global release is always a breath of fresh air. It’s an action RPG with local and online multiplayer in addition to over 100 individual Gundam series. The gameplay can get a little stale over the course of the main story, but you’ll find a variety of unlockable mobile suits, the ability to change individual suits very easily, and two partner characters before each mission. The opportunity to change is sure to leave players feeling quite engaged right up to the end credits.
Taking place in an alternate reality of sorts, G: Universe, the player is tasked with fixing the broken history of past Gundam adventures. The division is the distorted past events and the true versions that replace them. Between and during missions, there are cutscenes full of dialogue between the main characters. One of them is a human-looking AI and the other is a small hovering robot. Eventually, I realized that I could skip most of these narrative sequences and return to the much more interesting action and mobile suit tinkering in the end. While you may find it worth spending some time on, casual fans or those without that background might be better off just holding down the fast-forward button.
That’s not to say there’s little reason to dive in without Gundam knowledge. The gameplay is actually pretty solid. The difficulty ramps up at a very slow pace as you control his mobile suit from a third-person perspective and take down enemies roughly your size. You can also toggle between normal and easy difficulty modes for each mission in case you get stuck on one of the missions. Occasionally, you’ll be tasked with taking on larger mobile suits and defending the skies and land from attacks. Each mission he lasts 3-6 minutes, none of which are welcome. The boss fight that ends every stage pits you against tough enemies with long health meters and the ability to quickly drop your health. If you dig into what’s in there, there’s quite a bit.
Mobile suits fall into three categories, prioritizing range, melee, or mixed. I spent a lot of time with the regular white Gundam, an all-rounder with a rocket launcher and a special dash attack. They are assigned to the B and A buttons respectively. Triggers activate standard ranged attacks and guards, while Bumpers are used for the aforementioned special moves. Overall, the controls work well and the combat feels pretty good, but the camera can be a bit annoying.
During missions, you collect Capital, the game’s currency. This can be used to upgrade any of his four parameters (Health, Boost, Melee, Ranged) on all mobile suits. When you use Capital to improve a particular mobile suit, you can actually withdraw and redesign that particular mobile suit. However, the capital returned in this way cannot be used on another mobile. Earn capital from defeated enemies and bosses. It’s also found in crates that are slightly hidden in nearly every mission. You can also get blueprints that automatically go into building new mobile suits, and parts that can upgrade your stats beyond the initial limit. There’s a satisfying loop of completing missions, improving a specific stat or two, and seeing your achievements in the next battle.
The sound effects and music do a decent job of setting the mood for the Gundam battles that make up most of Battle Alliance, but there are no English voice actors. After all, there’s a fair amount of dialogue, and while you can read on-screen subtitles outside of combat, this is much harder to ask for during missions. For a game, having a steady stream of dialogue play out in action sequences seems like an odd choice, especially given the brevity of each mission. For those who can understand spoken Japanese, it might be fine, but those who want to read English dialog boxes will have a hard time trying to reach their objectives while controlling MS. This attempt to incorporate a narrative into the .
Playing SD Gundam Battle Alliance, I was a little surprised at how much I had grown within myself. Experimenting with different mobile suits, replaying and building missions makes for a surprisingly fun game loop. And the way the missions are bite-sized and progressively harder gives you ample opportunity to try out new configurations for yourself and your partner when things don’t go your way at first. While likely to only appeal to a certain dedicated segment of the fan base, the gameplay is also independent for Gundam newcomers. Alliance offers a fun action experience that you can unlock and try.
