Game Review #3

 

Title screen

Title: SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays
Genre: Tactical RPG
Developer(s): Tom Create, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4
Release Date: November 22, 2019

About the game:

Play through the stories of your favorite Mobile Suit Gundam series which includes Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans.

Menu screen

Group Screen

MS/MA Data screen

Character Data screen

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays or simply Cross Rays is the latest installment from the SD Gundam G Generation games. Form a group with your favorite characters from the Mobile Suit Gundam series, match them with the Mobile Suit (MS) or Mobile Armor (MA) or any vehicle of your choosing and play through the stories of each series (including the movies) in any order that you wish.

Gameplay:

Battle screen

Battle Animation screen

Like most of the SD Gundam G Generation games, Cross Rays also falls under the Strategy/Tactical RPG genre. You are allowed to assemble 4 groups which can be set to a Raid Group or a Warship Group but you can only use up to 2 groups per battle. Raid groups have a maximum capacity of 8 characters and their respective MS/MA while Warship groups have 9. Both groups have their own pros, the raid groups are more versatile when it comes to group and support attacks since all enemy units that are inside the command area of each character can be selected for a group attack while the warship's group attack targets are only limited to the warship's command area. In terms of numbers, warship group has the advantage since you can deploy 9 characters from the warship and the warship itself can also execute actions like your ordinary MS/MA units, the warship's capabilities depends on the crew assigned to it. Health (HP) and Energy (ENG) regeneration also depends on the group that you've deployed, characters on the raid group heal a certain percentage of HP / ENG (depending on your unit's position) while the units under a warship can be healed by returning to the warship. A character's, MS/MA stats can be increased after leveling up, you can also increase a character's stats through the use of capital (in-game currency). Cross Rays also features a dispatch mission system where you can send a group to complete missions for experience, capital and other good rewards. An update also allows the player to exceed the previous level cap (99) and stats cap (999) by doing a limit break through the use of capital. A character can also use skills with effects ranging from boosting basic stats to restoring HP and ENG. A character can be unlocked by completing quests and scouting the character afterwards while MS/MA and vehicles can be unlocked through the story, or by leveling a MS/MA and developing it once it reaches a certain level, the player can also combine designs of MS/MA to unlock certain MS/MA units. Characters have a couple of slots where abilities can be equipped, abilities can be gained by defeating an enemy or as a dispatch mission reward. MS/MA on the other hand can be equipped with modifications which can be gained by finishing quests or doing dispatch missions.

Verdict:

Gameplay: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Aesthetics: 5/5
Audio: 4/5

Cross Rays doesn't feature a unique story line but it does allow the player to relive the stories of the Mobile Suit Gundam series and play as if he/she is a part of the said universe. The game allows the player to create a custom character through a limited set of male & female sprites, a wide range of voice and BGM selection and manual entry of the character's background and birth date which affects the skill set that a character learns. Raid and Warship group attacks can be done once a turn to strike 8 or 9 enemies respectively. Once a MS/MA defeats an enemy unit, a chance step will be used which gives the player's unit another opportunity to move, attack or use a skill. A MS/MA unit can activate a chance step as long as it defeats an enemy for a maximum of 3 times per turn. Performance wise, the game is best played on a PC (with great specs) or the PS4. I've played the game using a Nintendo Switch and there are times that a short lag happens when i try to launch a raid or warship group attack on a battle with a high number of enemies. Some of the battle animations and cut scenes are annoyingly long but they can be skipped. Characters and MS/MA are well designed, they are very well done especially the ones from Wing and Iron Blooded Orphans Gekko. I admire them for their work on those two due to Wing being an old series and Gekko, a manga that hasn't been adapted as an anime. The characters and units are brought to life well, voice acting are superb. The animations and music themes are very well rendered and done. A thing that i personally dislike about the game is the use of capital for everything. Character abilities are gained by defeating an enemy and the ones who defeats the enemy holding the said ability can equip it for free, you can opt to stash the said ability and equip it on someone else but it requires a certain amount of capital per ability. Scouting characters that you've unlocked through quest also requires capital. They've added features that are missing from previous titles as well like the dispatch system which is a great way to utilize the other groups that you don't bring to battle. The game also boasts a massive replay value. Each stage has 3 difficulties that the player can do right away, another 2 can be unlocked after completing the game and purchasing the DLC. Updates to the game are also done every couple of months which adds some dispatch missions, units, stages, etc. All-in-all, Cross Rays is a great addition to your game library if you're a fan of Gundams and the SRPG genre. Almost every thing you want out of a SRPG can be found on Cross Rays and the game is still pumping out additional contents (some of it are for free) which would add to the player's gaming experience.