Quick Import Reviews: Gundam Breaker

Gundam Breaker Review:

Developer: Namco Bandai

Publisher: Namco Bandai Games

Release: 27th June 2013 (JP/PS3) 31st October (JP/Vita)

Probably one of the most interesting Japanese releases in 2013 was Gundam Breaker. A half Gundam, half hunting game which brought different aspects from Monster Hunter, Ragnarok Odyssey and Soul Sacrifice wrapped up into one with a hint of Dynasty Warriors Gundam in the mix too. This is definitely an interesting take on the Gundam Franchise that quite a few people haven looking forward to which involve the ability to mix and match their Gundam preferences is something that has been talked about and this is the first game to make it happen.

The gameplay is very similar to the likes of Soul Sacrifice and Monster Hunter where it’s dependent on equipment, knowledge of the enemy and quick reflexes. All of these come into play when playing Gundam Breaker, especially when the game’s difficulty increases and become more dependent on resource management and reflexes, often throwing routine out of the window with its sense of random. The call for reflexes can be quite demanding, especially in end game where mistiming a dash can cause a failed mission. It becomes daunting when taking the task alone but when with friends it becomes a lot easier and very fun.

Multiplayer is a major aspect of the Gundam Breaker experience where it convinces you not only in game prompts but through gameplay to play with others. While gameplay doesn’t scale much when in multiplayer in terms of enemy health and damage, it becomes a lot more manageable to what the game throws at you at endgame when things get rough. Also with the way the game works with weapon classes’, none are demanded and all Gundam equipped with some healing modules will be self-sufficient. Another key point on this game is the connectivity of the PS3 and PS Vita version. They are easily interchange able with cross-save and can play with each other on the same server.

Being able to customise your Gundam introduces a lot of options in the game with different body parts weapons classes and EX attacks. Almost every part of a Gundam can be mixed and matched from arms, legs, chest and backpack to even optional equipment like missiles and extra blades. System mechanics can also be changed with Modules which can argument a play style or cover a Gundam’s weakness. These parts come from various iconic Gundam series like Mobile Suit Gundam, G Gundam, Gundam Unicorn, Gundam Wing, Turn A and more. However I do wish they had more mobile suits that were not used by main characters to give a wider variance of parts. I do find that not having the GP02 Physalis from 0080 was a bit of a shock for me.

Content wise this game has a lot of collectibles and parts needed at end game to make the perfect Gundam. They do not come easy and you will be expected to grind for them. This is the hunting aspect which is reliant on the game’s RNG of building a part to get its best version (You can get a blue print to drop and what you build from it can vary in stats depending on the blue print colour). For perfectionists there is a lot to be had here with finding all the parts at max star rating, speed runs and playing with different builds to keep the hunting fan playing. However for the casual, there is enough content here where you can feel satisfied by just completing endgame.

In the end, this game seems like a good entry into something can be pushed to be an ongoing franchise for Gundam games. It’s fun, flexible, challenging and frustrating all at the same time. The battles will leave you annoyed but will cause you to push on and press harder to find a way to complete it or motivate you to farm parts to improve your Gundam. The options make it so easy to be lost in customisation and the amount of English in the games it very easy to navigate regardless of it being a Japanese game. Probably one of my favourite games of 2013.

-Rayokarna