Review: SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE [PS4, PS5]

Even though the Gundam universe has been around for more than 50 years, I’ve never explored it much further. After all, Gundam is one of many franchises that revolve around huge robots fighting each other, all of which except Neon Genesis Evangelion have passed me by.

But with SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE , that will change. Here I am thrown into a virtual version of the Gundam world where reality has become distorted and where time spaces are mixed in a jumble. It’s up to me and my friends to set everything right!

In addition to mixing up the eras so that characters and mechs from different adventures in the TV series appear at the same time, it also turns out that the developer has converted the big, badass robots into a cuter variant in the game. For me, who doesn’t recognize any of these mechanical giants, it doesn’t matter though.

The adventure is divided into a number of small tasks, which in terms of time range from a few minutes up to half an hour. Between missions, the story is advanced via cutscenes and text-based dialogue scenes. Since I’m not familiar with the Gundam series at all, there are times where I don’t really follow along, but since the story seems to be of the more light-hearted variety, I suspect I’m not missing anything important.

The missions themselves often involve investigating a place where something strange has occurred. It could be a historic Gundam that has crashed and needs help, to take down a powerful enemy or save a city from being trampled to pieces.

What is really interesting is that I have the opportunity to return to the same mission, but with a different focus. In the game, the variants matter because I can correct the story and gradually correct the era.

The gameplay is a simpler version of hack ‘n’ slash where my robots have a light attack, a hard attack and the ability to throw opponents into the air and deal out combos. The further I get into the story, the more important it is that I’ve learned to pull off long attack streaks.

I also have the option of performing a special attack, which is replenished by dealing blows in combat. To help me, I have two companions who also drive a robot each, and during the missions I have the opportunity to also trigger their special attacks, which is a must to survive the boss battles.

There is a strong reason to replay the missions as the game also relies heavily on upgrading your robots and your character in true JRPG spirit. All around the map are pieces and blueprints to upgrade existing ones, or build new robots. As a true JRPG fan, of course I find this grinding of levels absolutely wonderful.

While I can’t comment on how this game relates to the Gundam world, I feel satisfied and amused after each mission. And thanks to each mission being delivered in reasonably long segments, the title fits me like a glove as I rarely have time for long gaming sessions.

If you are a big Gundam fan or if you just like big robots trying to make tin mash of each other, I think you will enjoy SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE. And if you, like me, have limited time, I know you’ll appreciate the short mission setup.