MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED BATTLE DESTINY REMASTERED Review

The universe of Gundam is massive. The franchise started in 1979 with the TV series Mobile Suit Gundam, and the popularity of that show has led to 50 TV cartoons, films, OVAs (Original Video Animations), and that’s not including all the novels, manga, plastic model kits, and videogames! With all this, it can be daunting trying to figure out where to start. Before I had ever watched the show, I had played some of the SD (Super Deformed) Gundam games on the Famicom and Super Famicom, so I knew these characters in their adorable little chibi forms.

Once I started watching the shows, I saw how big and impressive all these mechs look, making me excited to try out MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED BATTLE DESTINY REMASTERED. This title originally appeared on the PlayStation Vita, so I was curious to see how it plays on newer consoles, and I couldn’t wait to pilot one of these Gundams myself.
When you load the game, you are greeted with epic orchestral music in the main menu. The first task you need to tackle is to create a pilot who will be your avatar in the Gundam SEED world. There are multiple faces to select from, with each having unique stats, so pick the person who you feel will be the strongest in battle. You can also listen to what their voice sounds like, so if you find any extremely annoying, you will be able to avoid selecting that character.

The other important choice you need to make is selecting their type. There are two options here: Natural or Coordinator. "Natural" is where the character is a human who doesn't have genetic modifications. Initially, their stats are low, and they will be limited when using certain Mobile Suits. "Coordinator" refers to a whole new race of genetically modified humans. They have high initial stats, but their growth afterwards is quite slow, and their abilities will increase based on fixed skills.

Once you enter your pilot’s name, it cannot be changed, so choose carefully. You will also need to select which faction you are fighting for and what kind of passive and additional abilities your pilot has. When you have that all finalised, you will need to create your partner, the mech who will be fighting alongside you on your missions.

The game has you play through a tutorial to learn how to control your mech. It is challenging to remember all the different things, as you have a primary and secondary weapon, along with a separate melee ones. Each pilot and Suit has their own special move that uses SP to perform. Don’t forget about the jump, dashing, and the button to target the enemy; there is a lot going on here! The controls aren’t the most intuitive to learn as there are so many different weapons and things to do, it can feel overwhelming at times.

Once you complete the tutorial, you can play Story Missions or Free Missions. The Story Missions follow the storylines in the Gundam SEED series, along with a few original tasks. The next challenge will be unlocked when you complete the current one and meet the required conditions. I did find that some of the operations were quite challenging; there were a few where I needed to retry them multiple times before I was successful. It felt like you had to hit the enemy a lot to destroy them, but in turn, they could hit you with one shot, and you were down.

In the missions, you can be fighting on land or flying through space. There are a lot of enemies and other allies flying around at the same time, making it tricky to keep track of who you are targeting. A lot of the mechs look similar, so make sure you are aiming at the right target before wasting your ammo and time. Once you run out of ammo, you will need to find replacement bullets placed around the stage to replenish your stash, or rely on your melee attack.

As you complete missions, you will unlock new pilots and new Suits to use. Your character will also level up their stats like health, defence, and melee strength. Your pilot is always getting stronger, even if you happen to fail the mission, which is nice so you don’t feel like you are wasting your time.

You can also customise and tune your mech by spending points from completing missions to improve stats like HP, Radar, and Turn Speed. The Suits can be redeployed a certain number of times when they are destroyed. Some have extra features and stats you may be able to upgrade on their own, while others share weaponry and stats saved across all their forms. One mech has three forms that you can select from — one even has a grenade launcher!

I did find that the missions I had to complete felt a bit repetitive after a while, primarily because the enemies I defeated in one battle were back and ready to destroy again in the next. I understand that is probably how the story goes, but it would be nice to have it switched up a bit. Though either way, destroying and smashing the enemy with your Gundam is always a fun time.

The original Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny had the option to play multiplayer co-op, but this remastered version does not have that option anymore, unfortunately. It would be nice to have a real-life person as your partner instead of having an AI character with me. Being able to coordinate attacks with someone would surely make the missions easier to complete.

If you are a fan of Gundam, then you will love this game. I don’t know a lot of the history of the series, but I still had a lot of fun playing MOBILE Suit GUNDAM SEED BATTLE DESTINY REMASTERED. The backgrounds and mechs all look great. I was always excited to try out all the new Suits that I had unlocked. Pair that with the orchestral, epic soundtrack, and every battle felt important. Even with the confusing controls and the unbalanced missions, I had a good time, but I’m not sure if gamers who aren’t fans of the Gundam series would enjoy it as much.