Gundam SEED Battle Assault - Gameboy Advance (2003)

American Cover

Gundam SEED Battle Assault

Gundam SEED Battle Assault

After the ratings failure of Gundam X in 1996, which was cancelled after 39 episodes, there was a long hiatus for the Gundam franchise. The next true Gundam series (Turn A Gundam is largely excluded from the main sequence of Gundam sagas) was Gundam SEED in 2002. This new saga, which sorta functions as a remake of the original UC saga, is by far one of the best, and breathed new life into a somewhat dormant franchise. Gundam SEED chronicles the intertwining stories of Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala, two best friends who are separated by a great war sparked between the Earth Forces and ZAFT, an organization that resides in the colonies of outer space (called PLANTS) that consists of genetically altered and enhanced human beings called Coordinators. The Earth Forces have built a series of secret weapons called Gundams, which are being held in a colony owned by the neutral nation of ORB (please excuse the obnoxious anagrams), where Kira happens to live. A special team of ZAFT forces lead by Athrun invade the colony to steal the Gundams, but along the way he meets up with Kira, who captures one of the Gundams himself, and an all out, tragic, personal war between the two begins. With this new saga, of course, came a slew of new video games based on it. One of which was the continuation of the Gundam fighting franchise, this time in portable form. SEED Battle Assault borrows most of its elements from the previous battle assault games, but due to the constraints of its platform, it's a much more stripped down incarnation of those engines, but it still gets the job done. Like Endless Duel, it features almost the entire cast of its respective show; Characters Strike - Kira Yamato Kira is the main character of Gundam SEED and most of SEED Destiny. Much like his predecessor and prototype, Amuro Ray, he unwillingly gets wrapped up in combat, stumbles inside a Gundam, and is forced to use it again and again because of his innate abilities as a Coordinator (the SEED equivalent of a Newtype). Like most fighting game heroes, Kira is a pretty well-rounded character. His best attribute is his super, which leaves the enemy open for a juggle opportunity. Aegis - Athrun Zala Athrun was Kira's best friend during childhood, but the war eventually caused them to be separated. After not having seen each other for many years, they're reunited in battle, but find themselves on opposite sides. Throughout the series, Athrun and Kira fight each other several times in spite of their feelings for one another, providing a great source of drama. Aegis is fairly weak, but makes up for that with extremely long chain combos using its beam sabres. Duel - Yzak Joule Yzak serves under the Le Creuset team, which consists of himself, Athrun, Dearka and Nicol. Though a villain throughout most of the series, Yzak eventually sees the corruption of ZAFT and temporarily sides with the Three Ships Alliance, although, being the most stubborn, he's the last one to come to his senses about the war. Duel is probably the best initially available Gundam in the game. It has great speed, excellent combos, above average damage and one of the best supers in the game. Buster - Dearka Elsman Part of the Le Creuset team, Dearka gets captured by the Earth Forces. For this reason and because he was never really into the war in the first place, he eventually sides with the Three Ships Alliance to end the war. The Buster is a mostly long-range fighter. It's great at a distance, but once someone gets in close, it can't defend itself well. Blitz - Nicol Amalfi The youngest member of the Le Creuset team, the ill-fated Nicol is the least suited for war. Although Yzak and Dearka pick on him incessantly, calling him a coward, they consider him a dear friend deep down and are very protective of him when he's in trouble. The Blitz unfortunately matches its pilot in terms of fighting prowess; it's mostly a hit-and-run type Gundam that doesn't have any really hard-hitting attacks. Worst of all, his super is a stupid invisibility phase. Raider - Clotho Buer One of the three Earth Forces' Enhanced Naturals, earthlings who are genetically engineered and constantly given drugs to increase their fighting capabilities, putting them on an equal standing with the innately superior Coordinators. Clotho spends his spare time playing space shooter video games like Gradius. Despite the fact that it can transform into a dragon-like mobile armor, Raider is probably the worst Gundam in SEED. A few of its special attacks rely on a ball and chain that leaves it wide open if its blocked or doesn't hit its mark. Calamity - Orga Sabnak Another one of the three Enhanced Naturals. He's the leader of the three, and most "calm", although he flips out just as much as the other two when he's on his performance enhancing drugs. Orga apparently likes to read poetry. Calamity is the Heavyarms of the SEED series, even more so than Dearka's Buster. Much like the Buster, its effectiveness is limited at close range. Forbidden - Shani Andras Shani is the most insane of the three Enhanced Naturals. When he isn't out slaughtering people, he listens to music and acts emo. The Forbidden is the strongest of the three Earth Forces Gundams, acting much like the Deathscythe in Gundam Wing. It's one of the best mobile suits available at the start of the game, with the exception of the Duel and possibly the Aegis. CGUE - Rau Le Creuset Rau is the main villain of the SEED saga, though he doesn't really start hitting his villainous marks until about the last 5 or 6 episodes. He suffers from a major Sephiroth complex; a clone driven insane by the fact that he's a clone. In the tradition of the Gundam franchise, he wears a mask out of shame. The CGUE is the only mobile suit in the game that isn't a Gundam, and ironically, it's the most powerful and omnipotent suit in the game. This game doesn't really have an end boss, but this is as close to it as you can get. Astray - Lowe Guele Lowe never actually appears in the SEED anime. However, he's the star of Gundam SEED Astray; a Gundam SEED manga side story of sorts. The Astray is a Gundam developed by ORB, and as such it doesn't quite have the constitution of the other Gundams. However, it's extremely agile, by far the fastest mobile suit in the game. Freedom - Kira Yamato About halfway into SEED, Kira and Athrun get into a huge duel, and Athrun ends up bailing on his Aegis, which self destructs, destroying the Strike. After a short recovery period, Kira is given the Freedom by Athrun's ex-fiance, Lacus Clyne. The Freedom is one of two extremely powerful Gundams developed by ZAFT that have nuclear reactor cores. It plays the same role as the Wing Zero in Gundam Wing. Justice - Athrun Zala After Athrun sacrifices the Aegis in an attempt to kill Kira, he returns to outer space to seek answers from his father. Disappointed by the current actions of ZAFT, Athrun takes the Justice, the nuclear counterpart to the Freedom, and descents back to Earth, this time, to help his friend Kira end the war. The Justice is much stronger than the Aegis, but at the loss of some of the Aegis' great speed and combo ability. After choosing your mobile suit, you can customize its attribute ratios by trading points between three stats: Health, Phase Shift and Thrusters. In terms of combat, Gundam SEED Battle Assault plays pretty much like Endless Duel with several restrictions. The most major restriction comes in the form of the GBA's cumbersome 2-button layout. The attack options have been limited to a short range attack and a long range attack, with the trigger buttons functioning as your Berserker Mode activation and thrust. Because only one button is used for physical attacks, the combo system works much more like that of a beat'em up, but it still works fairly well. Each fighter has a Phase Shift gauge, which is essentially a super meter. It's always full at the start of the round, and decreases when using energy based attacks and getting hit by physical attacks (thus reducing damage to your life meter). There is no way to restore the gauge once it empties. The only exception is the nuclear Gundams' (Freedom, Justice & Providence) gauge recharges slowly. You can also activate your Berserker Mode, which increases your attributes and gives you access to your characters' only super move. While in Berserker Mode, your Phase Shift constantly decreases. This works sorta like Beast Mode in the Bloody Roar games. There are a bunch of different modes to choose from that will challenge you in SEED Battle Assault. The obligatory story mode with some decent still cutscenes and dialog sequences, vs mode for those who can link up with another GBA, Time Attack, Survival, and several others. For a GBA game, SEED Battle Assault looks and sounds above average. It uses rendered sprites, which most people find ugly, but they work for the robotic Gundams, probably better than standard, hand-drawn sprites would. The backgrounds range from bland to highly detailed, some of them with multi-layered parallaxing backgrounds. The music, though strained by the GBA's pathetic sound output, is still catchy and not the least bit annoying. All said, Gundam SEED Battle Assault amounts to a pretty darn good fighting game, if a little bit on the simple side, but you really can't expect all that much complexity on a handheld.

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Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny - Gameboy Advance (2004)

Japanese Cover

Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny

Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny

The war between the Earth Forces and ZAFT has ended in a ceasefire, but is the war truly over? On both sides, a new war is brewing. In a situation reverse from the beginning of Gundam SEED, ZAFT has begun building new, highly advanced Gundam models. A trio of heavily trained Earth Forces Enhanced Naturals, the successors to Orga, Clotho and Shani, have stolen the 3 Gundams. Meanwhile, remnants of the ZAFT forces still loyal to the cause of destroying the Earth Forces have directed a partially destroyed PLANT colony toward Earth with the intent of wiping out all life on it. And behind all of this, a mysterious man named Neo is manipulating ORB's weakened leaders. With all this chaos tearing the world and space apart, the heroes who survived the first war, as well as a few new ones, will need to take up arms once again to prevent the same disasters from recurring. Gundam SEED Destiny is a direct followup to Gundam SEED, taking place 2 years later. As such, the game is basically the exact same game as the first, but with a much extended cast to reflect the new characters from the show, including the new protagonists. Characters Impulse - Shinn Asuka Shinn is partially the new hero in SEED Destiny, but he's a much darker, more angst-ridden character. 2 years ago, during the last war, he watched in horror as his entire family was killed. He blamed the war, and the Gundams, particularly Kira Yamato, for what happened. Rather than trying to end the war, Shinn merely seeks vengeance for the loss of his family. The Impulse is much like the Strike, but the differences between its modes are much more distinct. Sword Impulse An alternate version of the Impulse with a huge double-sword. This is Shinn's best Gundam, as it packs quite a punch. Its super move is similar to Kira's in the Strike, which leaves the opponent open for more juggle opportunities. Blast Impulse A variation of the Impulse implemented with a huge canon, focusing on more of a ranged game. A bit on the slow side, it's not nearly as effective as the Sword Impulse. ZAKU Warrior - Lunamaria Hawke Lunamaria is one of the members of the Minerva, the new ship that replaces the Archangel, which was the star of the first SEED. A young member of ZAFT, Lunamaria is a pretty outgoing and fiery girl, but very professional on the battlefield. Despite not being a Gundam, her Zaku Warrior is one of the better mobile suits in the game, with devastating close range attacks and the ability to keep enemies at range by throwing mines. ZAKU Phantom - Rey Za Burrel Rey is also one of the crew on board the Minerva. An elite pilot with extremely high skill for his age, he has similar precognitive powers to Mwu La Flaga. He has some kind of mysterious link between the deceased Rau Le Creuset and the new masked villain replacing him, Neo Roanoke. The Zaku Phantom is quite possibly the best of the new initially playable suits, with mounds of offensive, great defense, and an incredible super move. Savior - Athrun Zala Athrun, two years older and much wiser than before. He now travels as Cagalli's guardian, but he's beginning to develop quite intense feelings for her. He still keeps in touch with Kira, who now lives at an orphanage with Lacus. Unsure where to place his faith, Athrun rejoins ZAFT, and risks once again confronting his friend. The Savior is a decent balance between the quick, combo-crazy, but weak Aegis and the strong but less agile Justice. GOUF Ignited - Yzak Joule Yzak returns triumphantly. His scar is healed, and he has a new mobile suit. Yzak has matured a bit since Gundam SEED. His temper has cooled significantly, and although he can still snap from time to time, these moments of anger no longer cloud his judgment. As with the other classic Zeon style mobile suits in the SEED fighting games, it's significantly stronger than most of the Gundams. Gunner ZAKU Warrior - Dearka Elsman Still at his friend Yzak's side, Dearka continues his life as a soldier struggling to find the right answers amidst all the chaos. His relationship with Miriallia doesn't seem to have taken off, as they're no longer speaking. Dearka now pilots a ZAKU Warrior similar to Lunamaria's, but modified to feel more like his old Buster. Abyss - Auel Nieder Auel is one of the three new Enhanced Naturals selected to steal the three new Gundams being built by ZAFT. He occasionally picks on his team mate, Stella. The Abyss is somewhat like the Forbidden, only heavily modified for underwater combat. Also, like the Forbidden in SEED Battle Assault, it's one of the better Gundams in the game. Gaia - Stella Loussier Stella is an innocent young girl with severe bipolar disorder and an extreme fear of death. Although she is one of the three Enhanced Naturals working for the Earth Forces, she is saved from drowning by Shinn Asuka. The two fall in love with each other, but their love is doomed to fail by their differing allegiances. The Gaia can be an extremely annoying Gundam. It transforms, like the Raider, into a wolf-like mobile armor, and in this form it's very fast and covers a wide portion of screen with its side-mounted beam sabers. Chaos - Sting Oakley The leader of the new Enhanced Naturals. Sting is very protective of Stella, and deep down, wants the war to end so that they can live in peace. The Chaos is much like the Calamity, focusing specifically on ranged attacks with very little direct physical offense. It can detatch its shoulder-mounted canons and use them as remote options. Chaos is the best of the long-range specialty Gundams. Strike - Mwu La Flaga Mwu was a favorite character in the first Gundam SEED series, and while he's not exactly in Gundam SEED Destiny, it's cool to see him make an appearance in the game. Mwu, cocky ladies' man of the bunch on the Archangel, but also a mentor and an amazing pilot, eventually trades his mobile armor for Kira's Strike after he acquires the Freedom. Mwu La Flaga's Strike has a different super move than Kira's. Strike Rouge - Cagalli Yula Athha Cagalli was one of the main characters of the first Gundam SEED, but didn't make an appearance in the first SEED fighter. This time, she makes the cut. Cagalli is the leader of the ORB Union, a neutral nation who became wrapped up in the war after it was discovered that the Earth Forces were building secret weapons on ORB territory. Her Gundam is a modified, "girly" version of the Strike. It's slightly faster and has a much cooler-looking super. Providence - Rau Le Creuset Well, this doesn't really belong here, but oh well. The Providence was a third nuclear mobile suit developed alongside the Freedom and the Justice. It uses a very complex remote option system, giving it many points to attack from at once and creating a nearly impenetrable defense. Astray Gold Frame - Mina Sahaku The big boss Gundam of SEED Destiny, though it never actually appears in the show. Like the Astray, it's from the Gundam SEED Astray side-story. It has the ability to suck the health out of enemy mobile suits, leaving them powerless, and therefore increases the power of the Gold Frame. The only true gameplay element that's been added is the addition of a fighting game standard; the guard cancel. One cool aspect of this game is that it's essentially two games in one. If you unlock everything, you in turn unlock the first Gundam SEED Battle Assault game. Other than that, there's not much else to say about SEED Destiny. It's one of the best fighters on GameBoy Advance, if not the best. It has a huge roster to pick from, lots of things to unlock in a partially randomized shop, and many modes of play to satisfy you. You really couldn't ask for more on the GBA.

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The Battle Assault series ended with Battle Assault 3 starring Gundam Seed, which is an unfortunate 3D fighter that's substantially different (and far worse) than the rest of the series. Even though fans of "serious" fighting games might scoff at the Gundam fighting games, they're still remarkably fun to bash up people as spectacularly huge, spectacularly well animated robots. It also helps that they're generally some of the best Gundam games released, as, like most licensed games, there's a ton of garbage associated with license. Thanks to Ace Whatever for proofreading and everyone who contributed to this article.

Gundam: Battle Assault 2

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