I have never seen a single episode of a Gun dam show. I have never seen a GLASS code. And when I saw a game called Super Robot Wars 30, I worried about having to catch up with the previous 29 games. It turns out that this is not the case. Super Robot Wars 30 marks three decades of robotic action, mixing giant meats and drivers of more than twenty series. I am not convinced that this is the best strategy game ever realized, but I am convinced that I have to make up a lot of anime.
Super Robot Wars 30 is a tactical strategy game of Banzai NAMC. This means that you have units that you move on the map on a turn-fighting grid. Between the fighting, you will be entitled to very expensive Visual Novel sequences. Finally, you will gain equipment and improvements for your Meccas and drivers to strengthen their strength in a deep RPG system. That’s what you do. But what is less interesting than how.
This is because Super Robot Wars 30 makes every effort to represent the characters and shows in the best possible mind. When a Gun dam driver pulls a laser on an enemy robot, it’s not just a quick animation. No Sir, this is not the case. There are angles of plunging camera, glorious hand drawn movements and explosive music. Ah, music. The music alone is the price of the game. The theme songs have been extracted from all the source material and every time a character does something cool, he gets his own catchy theme song. The presentation of this game is exceptional, even if I’m not sure if I love the underlying mechanics.
I have some familiarity with this kind of tactic game. I played a lot at the forefront at the time of the PSX, and more recently, I enjoyed Battle tech. Unlike the games of sword and witchcraft tactics, there is a lot of minute granularity when you improve the robots. Sometimes you choose different members or different weapons, and you constantly juggle with many abstract statistics. The tactics of the robots seem much more oriented towards the types of players who like the spreadsheets.
It would incubate me! I love this kind of game. But unfortunately, Super Robot Wars 30 has failed to catch tactically. There are many small numbers that add up to make a difference but are very difficult to conceptualize on paper. What is the difference between a booster that gives +200 of a weapon etching and +1 within range of non-MAP weapons, non-litter-1 and a weapon that gives you +200 to the CAB weapon attack ? Perhaps someone who knows better the source material would find these more meaningful decisions, but the upgrade system has always been more like a duty than a fun game.
Tactical battles are also a bit slow. While the micro-moments of animation and its magnificent are quite breathtaking, the robots in motion through the grid do not have the weight you hope that these giant war machines possess. Sometimes the graphics of the tactical view seem so simple that they are abstractions, which makes it even more shocking when you zoom for an attack or a Visual Novel sequence. Overall, the fight seems complicated without necessarily being deep.
But then the music enters and blows all these thoughts out of my head. Fortunately, even if the fight can sometimes be a little opaque, it is never too difficult. And it’s because the true attraction of Super Robot Wars 30 is the story. I think. The truth is that it looked like many enthusiastic caveats and fan-service for things I do not know. And I think the fact that I had such a good time with that is the proof that something special happens.
I think it’s pure gonzo enthusiasm. This game was set up by (I suppose) a team with a deep affection and an understanding of the stories they mix. And the source material is long-standing and beloved. I found myself to crack for characters like USO Win, who, I believe, comes from a kind of Gun dam series? (Its mobile follows V Gun dam, which is a classic of the 90s). The story looked like the story mode of a Super Smash Bros game. I never really knew what was going on, but every second, someone has a great moment of heroes, and the aesthetic is of first order.
If you are a fan of Super Robot Wars for 30 years, the last entry in the saga is something special enough. No expenses were spared by providing crispy strategy rules and each IP Mecca under the sun in full-speed extravagance. And even if you are a complete noob like me, it looks like an excellent entry into the larger world of giant robot animals. I guess if you are looking for the most advanced strategy game and the style does not make sense for you, you will not find what you are looking for in super robot Wars 30. But give it a chance, it could, You catch with a mechanized fist of 10 feet long and not let go.