In just the past 15 years, there have been 11 entries in Bandai Namco's Gundam Versus series, 3D fighting games based on Sunrise's long-running and beloved sci-fi franchise Mobile Suit Gundam. The titles have featured representatives from nearly every major Gundam series to date, from Turn A Gundam to G Gundam and everything in between. Last night, at Sony's pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference, a new entry in the series was announced - a Playstation 4 exclusive simply titled Gundam Versus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5QaPe6YDFo
The announcement trailer, coupled with the launch of a teaser site, showed off a few segments of the game in action, confirming it will have a similar 3D fighting structure to its predecessors. We also got to see a bit of the game's destruction system, with mobile suits bursting through buildings, and even ending on a shot of the iconic RX-78-2 Gundam attacking without an arm or head.
The trailer also showcased a handful of Gundam mobile suits, each hailing from a different series - including old Universal Century standbys such as the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn) and the classic RX-78-2 Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam) to newcomers such as the FA-78 Full Armor Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt), GN-00 Gundam Exia (Mobile Suit Gundam 00), or the ASW G-08 Gundam Barbatos (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans). This is just a sampler, and there are undoubtedly many more to come in future announcements.
Gundam Versus will be releasing exclusively for the PlayStation 4 at a currently unannounced date. While it may not receive an official release in the west, previous Gundam titles have recieved English editions in Asia that can be easily imported.
Quick Take
While my experience with Gundam Versus is limited to the original Playstation 2 games, I must confess that as an up and coming Gundam fan I'm extremely excited for this title. The suit selection, while not entirely unexpected, was very nice to see in action - especially the Full Armor Gundam. Personally, all I need is the XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam or the Gundam F91 to be satisfied. Oh, and also Ball. Ball is a necessary part of this equation.
