Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo

"I've been looking for a good gundam game for a long time"

At last, a gundam game for the ps2. And what's better, it takes us to the root of Gundam. The game is based on the original Gundam series. This is it folks, this is what started it all!

Story: (Straight from the manual):
It is the year 0079 of the Universal Century. A half-century has passed since Earth began moving its burgeoning population into gigantic orbiting space colonies. Above the planet float hundreds of enormous cylinders with artificial living environments so that people can live as though they were on Earth.

Nine months ago, the cluster of colonies furthest from the Earth, called Side Three, proclaimed itself the Principality of Zeon and launched a war of independence against the Earth Federation.

Initial fighting lasted over one month and saw both sides lose half their respective populations. People were horrified by the indescribable atrocities that had been committed in the name of independence.

Eight months had passed since the rebellion began. They were at a stalemate...

Introduction/Presentation: 8/10
The intro is superb. The really nice looking cg in the intro looks extremely detailed and realistic, like watching a live-action Gundam movie. The menu system is nothing fancy, but it is easy to use. You are Armuro Ray, the main hero of the game's story mode. You must complete story mode in order to unlock extra modes in the game.

Graphics: 6/10
The graphics in this game is pretty good, but nothing flashy. Other than the intro cg, there's really nothing else too flashy. The in-game graphics are decent, but not without their flaws. The environments need serious work though. It looks like you're playing a ps1 game. Well the environments aren't that bad, but compared to other games, it's not that great. ZOE's environments are much prettier looking. The explosions and special effects are nothing flashy, but Bandai tried to make the game look as much as the series as possible. The in-game cutscenes are straight from the anime. It has anime cutscenes, well sorta. But anyway, graphics don't make a game right?

Sound: 10/10
This game features the original soundtrack of the series. From the music to the sound effects, everything is perfect. If you have seen the dubbed version on Toonami, then you'd recognize all of the voices as they return to do the voice overs in this game. The voice overs aren't bad, but it could be a little better.

Gameplay: 7/10
This game is often hard to play. It's hard to move the gundam and it's a pain to turn around while the enemy runs the other way, while you're being shot at and dying. The controls take some getting used to, so you have to be patient. This game is supposed to be realistic, so it takes time to turn and stuff like that. Fighting with the beam saber is a lot of fun. Swing your blade while pressing the d-pad in different directions to have your blade swinging in different directions. Pull out your bazooka, or beam rifle, and shoot the other guys gundam style! All the while, your team will provide backup (even though it's useless most of the time).

And after you beat story mode, you can unlock Tactics mode, choosing your side: Federation or Zeon with different mobile suits.

Rent or Buy?: Rent
Rent it first! If you find it for a decent price, buy it. It's a fairly short game, but it has pretty good replay value.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/02, Updated 09/07/02