The Basics: Ever since Gigantor showed off his shiny can, the Japanese have had an obsession with towering agents of mechanized destruction. It seemed too much to hope that one game would bring all of their favorite mecha together, from Macross to Neon Genesis Evangelion, but that's exactly what the Super Robot Taisen series has been doing since the 8-bit era. Never to be seen in the US...until now.
"The Super Robot Taisen franchise has been entertaining Japanese gamers for more than 15 years," said Yu Namba, Project Lead of Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation. "We're very happy to bring this incredible strategy RPG series to the United States for the first time."
Humanity has reached out into space, only to be yanked back again when two massive meteors struck the earth in the early 21st century. Then in the 179th year of the Space Era, a third "meteor" landed near Marquesas Islands, which turned out to be an artifact of alien science, containing what would become known as Extra-Over Technology. Dr. Bian Zoldark, knew that the creators would return to Earth in order to reclaim this prize, so with his guidance humanity frantically worked to develop massive mechanized defense units known as Personal Troopers. Now they look up to the stars, waiting and wondering when the invasion will begin...
After a decade and a half of experience, SRT: OG features a complex tactical style combat system that contains dozens of customizable mecha to command, allowing you to switch heavy weapons between units and boost their fighting abilities with support commands. That won't keep their armor from being dinged or paint scraped by a right jab a hundred yards wide, but the experience of battle will increase the skills of your pilots from raw recruits to battle-hardened veterans over the course of this 40+ hour saga.
What do we think? I started playing the Super Robot series because I was a fan of the giant mecha that filled up their ranks, but amazed me the most is how the developers managed to bring together the varied worlds all these crazy shows into one storyline that wasn't only coherent, but captivating. And at the center of it all wasn't Roy Fokker or Shinji Ikari, but an entirely new character with his or her own unique mecha, which ended up being just as interesting as their famous allies and infamous enemies.
The mainline SRT games are a licensing nightmare in the US and unlikely to ever leave Japan, but Original Generation is backed by the same quality that made the series more than a cheap cash grab. The characters, story, and robot designs are just as detailed and compelling as the super robot anime they draw their inspiration from, wrapped in a strategy RPG with stylish attack animations and plenty of customization. All on the go.
Time to dust off my GBA, and obliterate my free time with some giant mecha action.
