Games - Super Robot Wars

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	Games - Super Robot Wars

Super Robot Wars (スーパーロボット大戦, Suupaa Robotto Taisen in rōmaji or Super Robot Taisen, abbreviated as SRW) is a series of turn-based strategy video games produced by the Japanese gaming company Banpresto, a division of Bandai, for various video game consoles.

The games' main feature is the use of mecha units from multiple Anime and Manga titles, mixing them together in a battle simulation and adding a complex plot involving some of their respective storylines, characters, and backgrounds. Another feature is a simple menu interface that can be understood by the gamer, even if he or she does not know how to read Japanese.

The very first SRW game was released for the Nintendo Game Boy system in 1991. The first anime mecha series featured on the game (and the ones usually present in all the series' games) are Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and the earliest incarnations of the Gundam series. The first two, both creations of famous Japanese manga artist Go Nagai and his production company Dynamic Productions, are representatives of the "Super Robot" type of units, while Gundam represents the "Real Robot" type of units.

As more games were released, more characters, units and storylines were added to these games, both from existing mecha series and/or original units designed by Banpresto exclusively for the games. As the number of series involved in the games increased, the stories have become increasingly complex.

Some series that have been featured, including Evangelion and Gundam, are well-known in the US market, whereas others, including L-Gaim and Raideen, are virtually unknown.

Because much of the appeal of any SRW game resides in the player's knowledge of and familiarity with the various series involved, the games are most successful and have their biggest fanbase in Japan. There is, however, a small but loyal fanbase for the games in other countries, including the USA. Prior to the announcement of the upcoming American release of the two Original Generation titles, it was widely believed that the series would never see release outside of Japan, largely due to potentially complicated rights and licensing issues. Because of this, fan translations of some of the games have been made. (see below)

On March 3, 2006, Atlus USA announced that they will be releasing the two Original Generation games in America, thus making them the first games in the series to see release outside of Asian markets.

Basics

The basic premise of the game consists in confrontations between the heroes (controlled by the player) and villains (controlled by the computer), shown through action sequences. The player advances through the game by performing a mission (the objective is usually to attack and destroy enemy units). After completing a mission, money earned by achieving objectives and destroying enemies may be used to buy upgrades for the units and their weapons.

During battle, the player chooses a unit and takes an action by the commands available (move, attack an enemy unit, use a unit's ability or power, etc.). Some units have unique characteristics. For example, a unit like the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam has the ability to transform from a humanoid mode to a "wave-rider" flying mode, thus making it unique among other units that cannot transform or fly.

Battles are carried out in different kinds of terrain scenarios (land, sea, space, etc.) which affect the development of the battles, since some units can move or fight better in one type of terrain, while having a lot of difficulty in others. The effects of terrain is also affected by the statistics of the pilots (for example, most Gundam characters are excellent in space combat, but suffer major handicaps underwater). In addition, terrain also affects certain attacks (for example, like in their series, the Gundams and mobile suits' beam weapons are weakened underwater. Another example is how attacks that need atmosphere, such as Mazinger Z's Rust Hurricane, are unusable in space).

Later games were enhanced to include more complex missions, and adding tactical features in combat, like support attacks and defense, and simultaneous attack by two or more units. Also, as games were developed for consoles like Nintendo, PlayStation, Dreamcast, etc., the games would include enhanced anime-style battle sequences, complete with detailed graphics (some of the games, like Super Robot Wars Alpha for the Dreamcast console, Super Robot Wars Scramble Commander for the PlayStation 2, and Super Robot Wars GC for the Nintendo GameCube feature 3-D graphics), character voice-acting provided by live actors (seiyuu)and the mecha series' own music theme. Some have CG mini-movies depicting a certain mecha's dramatic appearance and/or transformation during the battle.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Super Robot Wars ]

Games - Super Robot Wars

Basics

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