Gundam: The Battle Master was the first Gundam fighting game to leap into the 32-bit world. Like most Gundam games, it focuses on the Universal Century franchises (Gundam, Zeta Gundam, ZZ Gundam, and the various movies.) The engine is partially based on Endless Duel, but Battle Master attempts to be a much more technical game. The complex command moves have been ditched for a greater emphasis on timing attacks, requiring you to look for openings in your enemy’s defense to land a successful strike.
The price of this more technical approach is speed – Battle Master is very sluggish compared to the lightning fast action of Endless Duel. In turn, this makes the mechs feel much more realistic. The weight distribution and the dramatically increased collision shock makes a lot more sense than in the previous fighting games, where the Gundams felt as light as air. There are also other elements to add to the realism, like armor parts that break and shatter when struck repeatedly. Also, instead of a traditional health bar, the mobile suits have a temperature gauge – when their temperature reaches a certain level (from taking damage), the mobile suit overheats.
One thing that can’t be stressed enough is how amazing this game looks. It’s by far one of the best-looking 2D fighting games on the PlayStation. In most 2D fighters, the fighters are animated with unique frames for every motion. In Battle Assault, each mech is comprised of multiple body parts which animate independently from one another, similar to many of the bosses in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This allows for some extremely smooth animation and circumvents the RAM problem that usually effects 2D fighters for the PlayStation. All of the fighters are huge, much larger than the characters from your average fighter. Some of the bosses, like the Big Zam, don’t even fit entirely on the screen. It’s hard to control these, naturally, but it does look pretty cool.
It should be noted that the characters for The Battle Master games are completely original, and do not factor into any of the anime or manga storylines.
Characters
Mercury
A government soldier, fighting for the safety of Earth. He is your typical hero, a noble and fearless knight. His mobile suit is a Gundam in the first game, and Z Gundam (pictured here) in the second.
Honey-B
This cutey is an orphan, who probably lost her family because of war. She lives with other orphan kids, who treat her like a mother (despite the fact that she’s only 14 years old.) Her mobile suit is Full Armor ZZ Gundam.
Lloyd Nichols
This guy is an ex-serviceman. He looks harmless, but he’s pretty devious. Perhaps he was hired by government or the opposition as an agent. Also he is a father of the main antagoist, Maria Nichols. His mobile suit is a Zaku II, pictured here. Also there is a secret MS, Red Zaku IIS, piloted by Nichols as well.
Rachel Aiphath
A blonde MS pilot. She is an heiress of Aiphath family. They own a mobile suit business, and Gloria, the protagonist in the sequel, works for their company. Her mobile suit is The-O.
Synapse
He is a government security android, built to protect government property from intruders. His mobile suit is Q-Mantha. Heavy, slow and furious.
Carol
This sexy girl is actually a mobile suit hunter, a band of pilots who fights with their mobile suits, and take their enemies’ mechs as a trophy. They work for no one, and fight solely for their own interests. Her mobile suit is agile Hygog. Small and fast.
Date
He is a noble fighter, who lives his life in order to hone his fighting skills. In other words, he’s like Street Fighter‘s Ryu, but in a more comical way. He is a parody of the Ryu-type heroes of many fighting games. He pilots a Nu-Gundam in the first game and Hamma-Hamma (pictured) in the second.
Smith
An Africian-American, he is, like Carol, a mobile suit hunter. He has an exuberant personality, not unlike SNK’s Duck King. He pilots Sazabi, an all-around good mobile suit.
Largo Ford
Largo is a farmer, who chose a mobie suit hunting as his hobby. His mobile suit, Gundam GP02A, is a real monster. That large shield and a similarly large bazooka might tell you something.
Noise
This guy is a real freak. He looks like mobile suit maniac, and works for the bad guys. He pilots Ziong / Zeong, a mech which has no legs, so it kicks with its thrusters.
Gallus
This bald cutthroat is the first boss in both games. He is a mercenary, and works for the antagonists. His mobile suit is Bygzam / Big Zam, a behemoth among the others. But don’t be confused with its size – Bygzam is rather slow and stupid.
Stein
Stein is a moonbase commander, a man behind the opposition. He looks like some nineteenth century general, and may have German blood in his veins. He pilots Neue Ziel, a really big floating fortress mobile suit, which is a real headache.
Maria Nichols
Maria is the main antagonist in the game. She escaped from jail right before neing executed in the first game, and fights alongside the opposition since then. She pilots Psycho Gundam Mk. III, a really insane war machine.
Overall, Battle Master is just a bit too sluggish to best its Super Famicom predecessor. This installment also suffers from a fairly small character roster, which has been fixed with its sequels.
