Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Review

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, known as Gundam Musou in Japan, is the first Gundam game to come to the States as a cross over with another popular game, Dynasty Warriors: aka "The Romance of Three Kingdoms". Gundam is also based on countless Anime series and Spin-offs in the form of OVA (Original Video Animation) and Manga. It's a simple Beat-'em-Up game involving Gundams and their respective pilots, saving a planet from falling onto another one thanks to the pilotless "villain" of the game, Musha Gundam.

The game features well known characters from several series, such as Mobile Suit Gundam (the very first Gundam series from the late 70s), G Gundam, Gundam Wing, and Turn-a-Gundam. In addition, the game also features the original voice actors of the characters in both Japanese and English. From the name alone, it's a game catered to only Gundam and Anime fans in general, but for hardcore DW fans, this should be taken into consideration.

Story

In Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, there are two different game modes: Official and Original. In Official Mode, you can play through the original Gundam storyline from the anime series. The characters available are from the older (and better) Gundam series such as Amuro Ray (Mobile Suit Gundam), Kamillie Bidan (Z Gundam), and Judau Ashta (ZZ Gundam--a series not yet released in North America). The levels for each character is 4 levels long and can be played through very easily. The levels are an abridged version of the series storyline, which is a great way for those not familiar with the series to understand what is happening; and perhaps get the player interested in the Anime as well.

In Original Mode, the playable characters are Heero Yuy (Gundam Wing), Domon Kasshu (Mobile Fighter G Gundam), and Loran Cehack (Turn-A-Gundam--another Gundam series M.I.A. outside of Japan). Original Mode follows the story of the falling planet featuring the pilotless Musha Gundam. It also serves as a fanfic "come to life" as Gundam characters spanning several series team up to fight each other from stopping the falling planet.

Gameplay

As previously mentioned, it is a Beat-'em-Up game featuring characters and a odd storyline to those not familiar to the Gundam Universe. Regardless of whether the story makes any sense, the controls are pretty easy and could be played through by a Dynasty Warriors vertran without prior knowledge of another series. Combos can be pulled off in the fashion of a fighting game, but with only a few buttons.

To clear a level, the player must clear certain conditions like keeping the enemy from conquering a Field, or conquer a certain field to progress to the next boss. Thrusters can also be used to get around the map. Some Gundams can glide through the air (like Wing Zero, Zeta and Double Zeta Gundam), while others take some time to move around (RX-78 Gundam, Burning Gundam and Master Gundam).

Audio

The game also features voice talent from the original cast of the Gundam anime from the English and Japanese dubs. The Japanese dub is the most preferred by hardcore fans, but personally I choose the English dub as I'm more familiar with the characters after watching the anime on TV. Unfortunately, the English dub actors for Heero and Domon are not the same ones from the anime. Heero doesn't have the same cold emotion he has in Gundam Wing, and Domon sounds like a lazy pilot/fighter than someone calm and collection and determined to find his brother (as in G Gundam). The soundtrack is instrumental, but it's definitely bearable and fits the environment and situations. You can even listen to the tracks in Gallery mode, as well as listen to voice clips of each character.

Graphics

Playing the Playstation 3 version, there's not much to complain about when it comes to the graphics. Let's just say the graphics are a huge improvement from the Playstation 2 Gundam games, such as Journey to Jaburo and Encounters in Space. On the other hand, the textures are very smooth and lifelike.

Replay Value

Once you finish the initial Official and Original Modes, there no reason to play them over again. However, once you finish Official Mode, you can unlock characters for Original Mode to see each character's perspective of the story. Also, for example: if you clear Official Mode with Amuro (the hero), you will unlock Char (the bad guy) to play in Official Mode. The game seems short at first, but can be very long if you play with every single character.

Conclusion

The game is very, very fun, especially for Gundam fans. For non-fans, this game is worth renting if you do not have the patience for Gundam storylines. Released only 2 years ago, the game is a bit difficult to track down, especially the Playstation 3 version. Even if you are a Gundam fan, the game could be better off being rented from Gamefly or your local video store.


Reviewed by,

-Sanjo-chan
http://centakume.info/