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.
Kidō Senshi Gundam Seed Destiny is a direct followup to Gundam SEED, taking place two 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. Unlike its predecessor, it was not released in North America.
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.
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.
