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MOBILE SUIT Z-GUNDAM
SLPS 01142-3
Copyright © 1997 Bandai Electronics / Sunrise
Sony
Playstation, 1 Player
Link capable, Analog Stick compatible
Genre: Action
Available in Japan
¥7,800
—by Dickinson Lo
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Bandai has certainly been no slouch when it comes to GUNDAM, especially when
it comes to video games. But while the quantity was never lacking, quality
is sometimes another story. Now that the 20th anniversary is fast
approaching, one would hope that Bandai would come out with more quality
games in the same vein as the 3-part GUNDAM GAIDEN series
for the Saturn. But the latest PSX effort, MOBILE SUIT Z-GUNDAM, falls
short of success.
This game is packed into 2 discs, with the same intent as RESIDENT EVIL 2's
hook: to allow one to play essentially the same game through the eyes of two
different characters, and thus derive from that a different
perspective and experience. On Disc 1, you play as Camiyu Vidan, hero of
the ZETA GUNDAM series, while on Disc 2 you will play the roll of Quattro
Vajna (Char Aznable), the enigmatic freedom fighter for all Spacenoids and
Newtypes—as well as a member of the AEUG, a group whose goal is to free
the Earth sphere from the evil grasp of the Titans, and to achieve equality
for Spacenoid colonists.
The game plays very similarly to GUNDAM 2.0, where sorties are interspersed
with animated scenes. And as with previous cases, the intermission FMV
sequences have all been reanimated, this time using a mix of CG for mecha
and background scenery, while using cel-like animation for the characters.
I say cel-like because while it looks like cel animation, the coloring and
animation are actually done on a computer. The result is nothing less than
spectacular. This is the game's biggest asset.
With the story now separated into two slightly skewed perspectives via the 2
discs, you can finally glimpse the thoughts and actions of Quattro (Char)
during the Grips War, especially at the end of the TV series where he
mysteriously disappears (Yes, GUNDAM fans, you will finally find out
definitively what happened to Char at the end of ZETA!).
Almost all the characters from the television series appear in the game,
although a few characters didn't make the transition from
TV to PSX.
Beltochika, Amuro's significant other is seen only briefly during one animated scene, and
absent entirely are GUNDAM notables Mirai (Bright Noa's wife) Frau Bau, the
traitorous AEUG member Recoa, who joined Jupitoris' Paptamis Scirocco. (This
of course also means her mecha, Pallas Athena, is also missing.) Other
deviations from the original TV series are minor, mostly consisting of
slight teleplay changes which do not conflict with the original.
Sadly, gameplay is where this title suffers the most. Each scenario is
basically a one-on-one fight between
your mecha (which varies depending on the scenario and whether you're
playing as Camiyu or Quattro), and the enemies. While the player's arsenal
differs little between the few mobile suits available, enemies fare better
in the variety department. The player's main equipment includes the beam
rifle, beam saber, and shield. Occasionally you will have to pick between
your beam rifle or the hyper bazooka before the mission starts, but since
there is no ammo limit on any of the weapons (simply a recharge time),
weapon choice has almost no bearing on success. A player can learn to use a
beam saber very effectively and win the game with only that.
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There are two difficulty settings: Normal and Newtype. Fancying myself a
Newtype, I of course chose the latter and had no trouble beating both discs
on this setting with very few continues. This was quite disappointing.
Unlike VIRTUAL ON, which seems to force players to use tactics as well as
their reflexes, ZETA GUNDAM doesn't seem to require either. Control is a
bit sluggish, and players may sometimes feel that just controlling the mecha
is a struggle, especially during scenarios where the unit is on a sled and
the ability to side step left and right. (The unit turns instead, which is
very annoying).
Enemies are neither particularly powerful nor smart. The only mecha I had
fun fighting against was the Psycho Gundam, because that suit is so unique,
and also because it is piloted by Four Murasame.
For those who feel nostalgic when it comes to GUNDAM, playing these pivotal
scenes is fun, but the game is just too easy.
The in-game polygon models are well done, with very little clipping and
deformation. Texture use is limited however, so the order of the day is
plenty of gourad shading. Some use of real time light
sourcing and other effects enhance the gameplay, but the backgrounds seem to
lack detail and richness.
At least you can blow up the annoyingly ugly buildings. The only really bad
flaw with the game engine is the loss of frame rate (and sometimes total
slow down) whenever a particularly large mecha, such as the Psycho Gundam,
is in play. This slowing occurs for the entire length of the fight, because
even when your enemy mecha is off screen the game is still computing its
positions and vectors. Such slow down only happens rarely, but with already
unbalanced gameplay, this does not help.
Overall MOBILE SUIT Z-GUNDAM could only be considered a suitable purchase
for pure GUNDAM fans. Knowing a fair amount of Japanese will help maximize
enjoyment of this game, because the main attraction is the reanimated
scenes... A good effort, but still not good enough for one of anime's most
enduring mecha
franchises. 
Rating: ** out of 4 |
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