Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes

"A rather enjoyable Gundam game. Only short lived."

Introduction - First off, I would like to mention that Gundam is a big robot francise that started in the form of anime in 1979 in Japan. Since then from the present, Gundam has had several spin-offs, toys, manga, and other things in Japan. Gundam made it's way to America, but not everybody got the chance to see it from it's home and beginning on Cartoon Network under the form of an Alternate Reality setting from the First Gundam Series: Gundam Wing. Me, myself, never saw more than 5 episodes of Gundam Wing, and my local retailer that sold Gundam, was too expensive, and I never got Cartoon Network. So I surfed the web. The first Gundam game I saw was Gundam: Side Story 0079. I didn't have enough money to go get it, and I went back to get it 2 months later. And this was a long time ago. And this game still flares in my mind as one of the most enjoyable games I have ever played. (Better than the PS2 Gundam game: Journey to Jaburo.)

Gameplay - The game play is rather intresting. It takes place from the cockpit perspective of your moblie suit. (Keep in mind, it's not a Gundam.) The controls are easy to learn, and you can adjust the difficulty levels. But one complaint of the game is the shortness. Only 9 levels... I was on the edge of my seat at Mission 9, and I beat it, expecting another 10 levels to satisfy me. But unfourtantly, it halts there. Well. To some who has played Bandai games in the past, it's actually expected since Bandai never actually tries to add onto their games. (The stragedy based game comming out for PS2, Zeonic Front, is rumored to only have - 6 - levels...) And the weapons, are basicly balanced out.. For a remander of the game, you will be using the machine gun. The Rocker Launcher is horrible, and seems to fase the Zakus and etc forces rather faintly. Not to mention how you will be using the Large Shield alot. You get to use the Beam Cannon that the First Gundam uses in the game. Then you have the basic choice between Machine Gun and Rocket Launcher for arm weapons. Then you get a new moblie suit with Dual Machine guns. I bet you'll be using that one alot from then. The Close Range system is rather easy to use. You slash, you ram, slash, ram, and repeat. And it's also interesting of how you, and the Zaku's Heat Hawks/Heat Sabers/Double Edged Beam Sabers, can clash together, which is just awsome. And for basic battle tactics, all you really have to do is strafe, and jump above them, since your booster system has alot better control than JtJ's does. And lastly, you can control 3 other units in your platoon to attack your targets! The third is a vehicle to scan where everything is on the battlefield.

8/10

Story - Well. If you have been reading up on the UC timeline on Gundam, it shouldn't be too much of a complication for you. Or if you've seen First Gundam all of the way through. But here's the story in a nutshell. Principality of Zeon declares war on the Earth Federation with advanced military material called Moblie Suits. Operation V is established for the Earth Federation and Gundam is made to defeat Zeon forces with it's massive power. But here's were the Side Story comes in. Midway in First Gundam, the Zeons did a colony drop on the Federation's home base in South America. It is mentioned that the drop failed, and it hit Sidney, Australia. And basicly, a counterattack begins in Australia and you take the role of the mute Liutenient commanding 2 other units in your group, and a scout unit that will scan for everything in the battlefield. The story is okay, and isn't too complicated.

8/10.

Audio/Video - The voices could have been alot better, but isn't all VA's in america lacking in some part? And the Music is good, and it really comes in the mood at some parts in the game. However I cannot say if it's in the First Gundam because I never seen an episode due to how don't have Cartoon Network.

9/10

Replayabity - Unfortantly, you won't be replaying the entire game again as often as you should if there were more missions and more options for when you do beat the game sucessfuly. If you beat the game, you only get the option of using the Beam Cannon Prototype, the Beam Spray Gun, and the Beam Cannon in your arsenal. Also low booster drainage and Luna Titanium armor. But that's really all too it.

6/10

Buy or Rent - I would rent it first, but if you really really like it, buy it. But the odds are you would have beaten the game already if you rented it, so it's more of a fun rental game than anything else.

But all in all, this game is one of Bandai's more enjoyable games.

And bare with any mispelled words.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/05/01, Updated 09/05/01