SD Gundam G Generation Wars

Platform: PS2, Wii
Language: Japanese
Those who are familiar with the world of gaming and Gundam would already know that the latest SD Gundam G Generation game just came out earlier this week. With that in mind, I manage to "get" the Wii version first as it came before the PS2 version which I should be playing with instead. Lucky for me...

EDIT(18/08/09): Few corrections since I finished the game. =)

...the one and only Wii emulator, Dolphin, works! Oh yes! So lucky for me though I did have to find an older release of the emulator to run any games without doing a NAND dump from a real Wii(maybe I should give my friend another visit next time...). If you have a real Wii, you can dump your NAND files and put em' in the folder of the emulator.

The emulator is pretty dandy - working with my near ancient computer which only has a 1.4GHz AMD Sempron and a yesterday budget graphics card known as ATI Radeon 9550SE. =P Its a bit laggy on this computer, but then again I'm not using my main computer. The lag isn't so bad for this game while emulated on old computer hardware, so it doesn't really matter in the end. =/

At any rate, this game is fun. Strategy RPG elements plus Gundam? Pure epic win especially with the huge amount of units in-game(though the numbers are largely contributed by lesser units).

The first thing you have to do for this game is pick your "Master Unit Character" or "Scout Link", the main character you'll be controlling you can use until you finish a story section series. The master units "Scout Links" ranges from the very first Gundam series to the latest series - 00. I picked Setsuna as I wanted to use Exia before any other Gundam. XD

You can buy "units" such as warships(the place where your deployed units will come out), mobile suits(MS), mobile armors(MA) and air crafts. Luckily, you can get a certain battleship for free.

Since this is a strategy game, you can control a variety of characters in one stage, though limited to the amount of Capital you can spend. You start with 50000 Capital, 1 warship, 4 Gundams and 10 pilots(1 being the master unit). I spent 20000 each for 2 Exia Basic(the best MS you can get when I picked Setsuna as the main unit) before I started my 2nd game. My 1st try came out bad, real bad.

Any pilot you put in the "Master" area will become a "Master Unit" which will, of course, be the master of the warship. The master of a warship must live through the stages. So, make sure they get a decent mobile suit/armor.

I kick start the game and played the original Gundam storyline first which is also known as UC0079. If you play this game simply without thinking of a simple strategy, be prepared for some pain as negligence can cost you. FYI, those are all my Exias. =D

There are quite a number of storylines series you can follow but each of them has plus minus 5 stages. Short as it may sound to you, the difficulty level can be annoying if you do not level your units equally and have a balanced group.From my personal experience in playing, you'll need a good half hour of gaming per stage by the least.

If your MS is defeated, you'll lose the MS forever, stats and everything(except Option Parts - add ons for your units). However, the pilot will always escape the explosion. =D Then again, if a "Master" of your warship dies, its game over.

When you're playing a certain pilot's story, that pilot will not level up. For example; if you pick Setsuna as your "Master Unit" "Scout Link", he will not his MS will not level up if you play the 00 stages but he will still level up himself. Playing other pilots' story like the original Gundam you'll fight alongside them(but they will not level up at all, unless you have them as your own characters, and can become a huge burden in the later stages). Personally, make sure you use your own units more than the given story units as you'll want to make sure yours level up during the game.

To be specific, if you have a main character pilot in one of your warships, like Amuro for example who is at level 50, you'll need to summon his warship(that he is in) if you want to use him at that level for his series. Otherwise, he will default at level 1 on his stages and cannot level up.

Every stage has 2 "War Triggers" for "War Break" where enemy reinforcements comes in when you meet the given requirements. However, the later "Ex" stages have 4 War Triggers! This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good if you're farming for EXP and Capital but bad if your units are already meeting their end... It is also important if you want to see the whole story and unlock certain cutscenes.

Also, in every stage there is a "score" on the top left of the screen which is actually the bonus Capital you'll get when you clear the stage. You'll also unlock a random option part(OP) every time you complete a stage. Certain option parts will only be unlocked after a fixed number of stages.

Every time you initiate your attacks or get attack, you'll be prompt to either play the battle scene out or just skip it. Skip the scene and all you'll see are the units slashing each other on the map or a "Miss" sign appearing above their heads.

Giving the killing blow to an enemy unit will let your unit get another turn - called "chance step". This can only happen at most three times per turn. When your pilot is level 1-9, they can only continuously attack for a maximum of three times per turn. For every ten levels you achieve, you gain another chance step. Once your pilot hits level 91, they will have infinite chance steps. Furthermore MP(Morale Points) are gained through battles. When the unit's MP bar maxes out, your unit will go "Super Saiyan" and land crazy **** amount of damage. If your unit is strong enough, it can practically mow the area as long as the energy bar(each attack you do uses up energy) is not depleted yet.

If you want to do more damage, make sure you line up your units so that their attacking range can intersect the same enemy. Make sure they are not grayed out as only "active" units can combo.

As this is a SRPG, your units can level up - except warships. Mobile suits and mobile armor can be upgraded into another unit when their level is right, exchange into different units or you can combine blueprints to enable new units to be buy-able.

Warships can only be improved with option parts and the overall levels of the crew's levels and charisma. The higher the level of the crew, the better your warship can live through the stages.

Characters can level up and collect "Ace Points" depending on their battlefield performance. Ace Points lets them upgrade certain stats higher than default.

I haven't finished the game yet as I am currently level grinding and money is not so plentiful when you get your units accidentally destroyed. ^^;
At any rate, I'm still having fun with the game and its causing me to not be able to sleep properly for the time being. XP

Okay, so I finished the game last weekend while playing it on the PS2 instead. The game was very long and you'll definitely need to grind some levels and collect a good amount of capital in the beginning(which is very tedious) before you can even begin to play the stages smoothly(especially the Ex stages). Of course, once your units are at a good enough level, you can breeze through most of the game without much trouble. So, grind first or else you'll have a hell of a time. I can't deny that I used a bit a of "help" to play the game since I was cut short of time as I won't be filled with so much free time very soon...

Now, time for some random in-game shots.
That's gotta hurt.

Doesn't this scene make you feel nostalgic?

Gotta give Kira credit for his "knife skillz".

Hopefully, my **** collection s--"

I pity the battleship that fell before my powered up Exia.

So, that's it for this random WIIFULL post.

PS: Yes, I posted this on WordPress as well.