Gundam: Battle Assault | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Developer(s) | Natsume Co., Ltd. |
Publisher(s) | Bandai |
Director(s) | Mitsuo Matsumoto |
Producer(s) | Kosak Kawamoto Norihiko Ushimura |
Designer(s) | Kunio Suzuki Shunichi Taniguchi |
Programmer(s) | Hiromichi Komuro Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Toshiyasu Miyabe |
Artist(s) | Atsushi Shigeta Kunio Ōkawara |
Composer(s) | Nobuo Ito |
Series | Gundam Gundam: Battle Assault |
Platform(s) | PlayStation |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gundam: Battle Assault [lower-alpha 1] is a 1998 fighting video game developed by Natsume Co., Ltd. and published by Bandai for the PlayStation. Based on the Gundam franchise, it is a follow-up to Gundam: The Battle Master (1997), which was released only in Japan. The plot involves Heero Yuy, protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and pilot of the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, on a mission to destroy remaining enemy Mobile Suits under command of Treize Khushrenada to stop a war from starting. Its gameplay consists of one-on-one fights, with a main six-button configuration, featuring special moves and two playable modes, while players can select any available mech to battle against enemies in story mode.
Gundam: Battle Assault was developed by most of the same team at Natsume Co., Ltd. who previously worked on Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel (1996) for Super Famicom and The Battle Master (1997) for PlayStation. The game was first released in Japan as Gundam: The Battle Master 2 and featured original characters and plot, revolving around Mobile Suit bounty hunter Gloria stumbling upon an amnesiac child called Pixie, who is the subject of attacks from enemies. When Gundam Wing began airing on Cartoon Network in the United States, Bandai localized The Battle Master 2 as Battle Assault for English-speaking audiences, replacing the original cast with characters from other Gundam series while featuring modified dialogue and plot for its story mode, among other changes. The localized version was later released in Japan.
Gundam: Battle Assault was met with mixed reception from critics; common criticism were towards the presentation, slow-paced gameplay, story mode and lack of replay value, with most reviewers feeling mixed in regards to the audio, although it received praise for its visuals and character roster due to the large mech sprites and their animations. The game sold approximately 33,092 copies combined during its lifespan in Japan. A follow-up, Gundam: Battle Assault 2 , was released for the PlayStation in 2002.
Gundam: Battle Assault is a fighting game similar to Gundam: The Battle Master set in the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing storyline. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] It features two modes: Story and Versus. [1] [6] The plot involves Heero Yuy, protagonist of Gundam Wing and pilot of the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, on a mission to destroy remaining enemy Mobile Suits under command of Treize Khushrenada to stop a war from starting, with players being able to select from nine mechs to battle against enemies in story mode. [4] [6] The gameplay system from The Battle Master was changed to resemble a more traditional fighting title; [1] [3] [5] [6] the temperature and special gauges were replaced with a standard health bar (of which each mobile suit has three), a boost gauge and an ammo counter. The shoot and weapon functions are now special moves, being replaced with second strength punch and kick buttons. [2] The health bars works similarly to the temperature bar but when a health bar is empty, the mech will overheat and be knocked down, and overheats leads to a loss. [1] [6]
The boost gauge now limits how much a mobile suit mech can fly, whereas players could fly indefinitely in The Battle Master. Each press of the thrust button costs one boost bar and when the gauge is depleted, players must wait for it to recharge before boosting again. With the exception of Neue Ziel, each mobile suit can also activate a flight mode that allows it to fly in any direction and not get fazed by attacks as long as it doesn't overheat or the boost gauge depletes. [1] [5] [6] The main projectile attacks costs ammo, an amount proportional to the projectile's power. [5] If a mobile suit runs out of ammo, it cannot use that move for the rest of the match but alternate projectile special attacks do not need ammunition. [1] [6] Projectile attacks are no longer unblockable but melee weapons now are. Beam barriers can now block melee weapons (since those are now unblockable) but dodging or using beam barriers now drains health. Super moves are also re-introduced, with almost every mobile suit now possessing a super move that can be used up to three times. [6]
Gundam: Battle Assault was developed by most of the same team at Natsume Co., Ltd. who previously worked on Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel (1996) for Super Famicom and The Battle Master (1997) for PlayStation. [5] Mitsuo Matsumoto lead its development as chief director alongside co-producers Kosak Kawamoto and Norihiko Ushimura. [7] Hiromichi Komuro, Hiroyuki Iwatsuki and Toshiyasu Miyabe served as co-programmers of the game, while Shunichi Taniguchi and Kunio Suzuki acted as co-designers. [7] Atsushi Shigeta was responsible for the character designs, with Kunio Ōkawara acting as designer of the Psycho Gundam MK-III. [7] The soundtrack was composed by Nobuo Ito. [7] Other people collaborated in its development as well. [7] The title makes use of multi-limbed sprites that are individually animated instead of hand-drawn animation, giving the mechs a marionette-like aspect. [4]
Gundam: Battle Assault was first released in Japan as Gundam: The Battle Master 2 on March 12, 1998, featuring an original cast of characters and a plot revolving around Mobile Suit bounty hunter Gloria stumbling upon an amnesiac child called Pixie, who is the subject of attacks from enemies. [1] [2] [5] [8] [9] When Mobile Suit Gundam Wing began airing on Cartoon Network in the United States via Toonami, Bandai localized The Battle Master 2 as Battle Assault for English-speaking audiences on November 6, 2000. [8] [10] The localization replaced the original cast with characters from other Gundam series and featured modified dialogue for its story mode, which was now tied to Gundam Wing. [4] [5] [8] The localization also removed the Hamma Hamma mobile suit from the roster and replaced it with the Wing Gundam, though this new mech is a Zeta Gundam with a different visual design. [5] [8] The localized version was later released in Japan on April 26, 2001. [5] [8] [11] The game was also released in the United Kingdom on December 7, 2001. [12]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 61/100 [10] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 3/10 [14] |
EP Daily | 2/10 [15] |
Famitsu | 24/40 [16] |
GameSpot | 5.6/10 [17] |
IGN | 7.4/10 [18] |
Jeuxvideo.com | 9/20 [19] |
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PlayStation: The Official Magazine | 4/10 [21] |
Push Square | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Gundam: Battle Assault received "mixed" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. [10] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 24 out of 40. [16]
According to the same magazine, Battle Assault sold over 24,735 units in its first week on the Japanese market.[ citation needed ] The title sold approximately 33,092 units during its lifetime in Japan.[ citation needed ]
IGN 's David Smith commended the character roster, gameplay, lack of slowdown, two-dimensional visuals and sound effects but noted that its pacing felt slow and criticized the inability to choose between characters in story mode and uninspiring music, stating that Gundam: Battle Assault "isn't a game for serious fighter fans, but it's definitely one for Gundam fans, Wing or otherwise." [18] GameSpot 's Jeff Gerstmann gave positive remarks to the large size of each mech, fluid movement and certain aspect of the audio design but criticized the game's uninteresting story mode. [17] The Electric Playground 's James Tapia criticized the slow-paced gameplay for its lack of advanced fighting game mechanics and disjointed controls but gave positive comments to the visuals. Nevertheless, Tapia stated that "the North American audience would have been better served with a retooling of the Super Famicom (Super NES) classic Gundam Wing - Endless Duel ". [15] AllGame 's Jon Thompson praised the varied character roster and animations but criticized the minimalist gameplay mechanics, audio design and lackluster presentation of Battle Assault. [13]
PSM commended the colorful graphics and sprite animations but criticized the game's poor execution, stating that "Since Gundam is one of the best anime series ever, it's unfortunate that this game isn't very good." [21] Jeuxvideo.com 's Valérie Précigout criticized the audiovisual presentation, slow gameplay, lack of replay value and story mode. [19] MAN!AC's David Mohr panned the title's pacing, limited and pixelated character animations, collision detection issues, story mode and two-player mode. [23] In contrast, José Ángel Ciudad of Spanish magazine GamesTech praised Gundam: Battle Assault for its large character sprites and near-lack of loading times. [24] MeriStation's Daniel Delgado García felt mixed in regards to audio and criticized Battle Assault's presentation, slow pacing, lack of replay value and inability to select another game mode without resetting the PlayStation console but praised the large mechs and character roster. [25] In a retrospective outlook, Push Square's Robert Ramsey criticized the combat system, small arena sizes and lack of content but commended the game's style and found its soundtrack to be enjoyable. [22]
The game was nominated for the "Biggest Disappointment" award at The Electric Playground's Blister Awards 2000, which went to Daikatana . [26]
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, also known in Japan as New Mobile Report Gundam Wing, is a 1995 Japanese mecha anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It is the sixth installment in the Gundam franchise, taking place in the "After Colony" timeline. As with the original series, the plot of Gundam Wing centers on a war in the future between Earth and its orbital colonies in the Earth-Moon system.
Mobile Fighter G Gundam, also known in Japan as Mobile Fighting Legend G Gundam, is a 1994 Japanese animated television series produced by Sunrise and the fifth installment in the long-running Gundam franchise. The series is set in the "Future Century", where space colonies representing countries have agreed to hold an organized fighting tournament known as the "Gundam Fight" every four years to settle their political differences in place of war. Each colony sends a representative fighter piloting a giant, humanoid mecha called a Gundam to battle on Earth until only one is left, and the winning nation earns the right to govern over all the colonies until the next tournament. The events of G Gundam follow Domon Kasshu, the pilot of Neo Japan's Shining Gundam during the 13th Gundam Fight. Domon's mission is to both win the tournament and to track down his older brother, who is believed to have stolen the mysterious Devil Gundam from the Neo Japan government.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The ninth installment in the Gundam franchise, Gundam SEED takes place in a future calendar era, in this case the Cosmic Era. In this era, mankind has developed into two subspecies: Naturals, who reside on Earth, and Coordinators, genetically enhanced humans capable of amazing feats of intellect who emigrate to man-made orbital colonies to escape persecution by natural humans. The story revolves around a young Coordinator Kira Yamato who becomes involved in the war between the two races after a third, neutral faction's space colony is invaded by the Coordinators.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny is an anime television series, a direct sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED by Sunrise and the overall tenth installment in the Gundam franchise. It retains most of the staff from Gundam SEED, including Director Mitsuo Fukuda. Set two years after the original Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, the plot follows the new character Shinn Asuka, a soldier from the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, or ZAFT, composed of humans born genetically enhanced labelled as Coordinators. As ZAFT is about to enter into another war against the regular human race, the Naturals, the series focuses on Shinn's as well as various returning characters' involvement in the war. The series spanned 50 episodes, aired in Japan from October 2004 to October 2005, on the Japan News Network television stations Tokyo Broadcasting System and Mainichi Broadcasting System.
The RX-78-2 Gundam is a fictional manned robot (mecha), introduced in 1979 in Yoshiyuki Tomino's and Sunrise's anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. In the series, it is a prototype weapon for the Earth Federation when it falls into the hands of Amuro Ray, the son of its designer in story, who goes on to pilot it in the Earth Federation's war against the Principality of Zeon.
Athrun Zala is a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and its sequel Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, part of the Gundam franchise. In the former, Athrun Zala is introduced as a member from the military organization ZAFT, composed of genetically enhanced humans known as Coordinators. Participating in the war between Coordinators and regular humans, referred to as Naturals, Athrun discovered that his childhood friend Kira Yamato was a member of the Naturals' military organization, the Earth Alliance, despite being a Coordinator. Across the series, Athrun encounters Kira and, after almost killing him, Athrun starts questioning his own motives to participate in the war. Athrun returns in Gundam SEED Destiny participating in another war and is the protagonist of its compilation films. He is voiced in Japanese by Akira Ishida and in English by Sam Vincent in the Ocean dub and by Chris Hackney in the NYAV dub.
Shinn Asuka is a fictional character in the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny by Sunrise, part of the Gundam franchise. Appearing as the series' lead character, Shinn is a member from the military organization ZAFT composed of genetically advanced humans known as Coordinators. Shinn joined ZAFT after his family had been killed during the previous war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, and bears an enormous hatred towards his home country Orb for not protecting them. Across the series, Shinn starts questioning his motives to fight for ZAFT. He is voiced in the Japanese series by Kenichi Suzumura. In English, he is voiced by Matthew Erickson in the Ocean dub and by Aaron Phillips in the NYAV Post dub.
Gihren's Greed, is a series of turn-based strategy video games produced by Bandai, based on the Gundam franchise. It takes its gameplay style from the SD Gundam series and adds political and military management to the One Year War. The Japanese title, Giren no Yabō, is derived from that of Nobunaga's Ambition, although the English title uses a different translation for the word yabō.
Gundam: The Battle Master, later known as Battle Assault, is a series of fighting games released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The series features mobile suits from several eras of the Gundam metaverse and some non-traditional fighting game elements. Every entry was developed by Bandai in co-operation with Japanese developer Natsume, who also made the 1996 Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. It is a retelling of the story from the 1979 anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam, of which Yasuhiko was the original character designer.
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn is a novel by popular Japanese author Harutoshi Fukui. The novel takes place in Gundam's Universal Century timeline. Character and mechanical designs are provided by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Hajime Katoki, respectively.
Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna, is a Japanese arcade game set in the original Gundam universe. The game was created by Bandai Namco and Banpresto and was released late 2006. Play involves stepping into a P.O.D. and doing battle with other players across Japan.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam is a third-person shooter published in 2004 for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It takes place seven years after the One Year War Gundam storyline. The game includes 31 mobile suits which can be played in five different modes: Arcade, Versus, Universal Century, Survival, and Training.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00, is a 3D action video game for the Nintendo DS based on the anime, Mobile Suit Gundam 00. The game involves four main characters who control their mobile suits, performing interventions against various conflicts around the world. It was developed by BEC, and published by Namco Bandai Games.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon is a 2001 arcade video game based on the anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam. An upgraded compilation of the game, called Kidō Senshi Gundam: Renpō vs. Zeon & DX, includes 360-degree, zero-G space battlefields. Both versions were later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 game consoles.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space is a third-person shooter action video game for the PlayStation 2 released in 2003. The game is centered on space based mobile suit combat. The game is based on the Universal Century timeline of the popular Gundam franchise.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. is a 3D arcade fighting game and the second latest in the series of Gundam VS video game series developed and published by Namco Bandai Games prior to Gundam Versus which is on PS4. Extreme Vs. is the sequel to Capcom's Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam NEXT. The game was first unveiled at the AOU 2010 and released on September 28, 2010. The game was later released on the PlayStation 3 on December 1, 2011, featuring balance tweaks.
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3, known in Japan as Gundam Musou 3, is a tactical action video game based on the Gundam anime series and the sequel to 2008's Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2. It was developed by Omega Force and published by Bandai Namco. The game was revealed in the September issue of Famitsu and was released on December 16, 2010 in Japan, June 28, 2011 in North America, July 1, 2011 in Europe, and July 12, 2011 in Australia.
Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel is a 1996 fighting video game developed by Natsume Co., Ltd. and published in Japan by Bandai for the Super Famicom. It is the first game to be based on the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing anime series. Set in the year After Colony 195, players take control of a pilot from the Colony Liberation Organization or the Organization of the Zodiac. Its gameplay consists of one-on-one fights, with a main four-button configuration, featuring special moves, as well as three playable modes.
Gundam: Battle Assault 2 is a 2002 fighting video game developed by Natsume Co., Ltd. for the PlayStation. Based on the Gundam franchise, it is a follow-up to Gundam: Battle Assault (1998). The story is divided into three storylines following a pilot from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and Mobile Suit Gundam. Its gameplay consists of one-on-one fights, with a main six-button configuration, featuring special moves and two playable modes, while players can select any available mech to battle against enemies in story mode.