"Short and easy but impressive for a Gameboy title"

2nd SRW G is a retelling of 2nd SRW for NES with new characters and scenarios. While some map layouts are reused from the NES version, there are so many other changes and new maps that it feels like a new game. Despite being released after 4th SRW and being based on the NES 2nd SRW, almost everything about 2nd G's mechanics are identical to 3rd SRW. Three major features from 4th SRW are weapon upgrades, and being able to select attack/dodge/defend when attacked on enemy phase, confirmation of hit/dodge rate before committing to an attack. Even the sprites are mostly downgraded versions of 3rd SRW sprites. Basically you're getting another serving of 3rd SRW with the addition of weapon upgrade and full upgrade bonuses.

New to SRW are full upgrade bonuses which reward a fully upgraded unit (7 points in HP, EN, Armor, and Limit) with extra stats or abilities. There are a few minor bits that made it from 4th SRW such as being able to quickload by resetting and holding A. One annoying limitation of the hardware is that you can't see whether a unit is flying or not on the map. On a related note, air/ground capable units can't land, probably a limitation of the game engine or hardware.

2nd SRW G's campaign is fairly short, taking 24-25 out of 33 scenarios per playthrough. Most scenarios can be completed in 4 turns. Difficulty is fairly easy overall - don't expect any harrowing challenges. Most of the bosses are lightweights except for the final boss, who has some fairly intimidating stats. Any experienced player will have no problem destroying the campaign in 2-3 days. The pilot and unit roster is tiny compared to 3rd and 4th SRW, and there are no equippable parts, so you'll be doing little party management throughout the game. Unlike 4th SRW with its 80+ pilots and robots with equippable parts, you can figure out which pilots and robots are worth using in 2nd SRW G in a couple minutes as opposed to hours.

With that said, it's still easily one of the best single player tactics games for the Gameboy, if not the best. Cramming a miniature but fully functioning SRW game into the Gameboy is no small feat. It looks good and animates well for a Gameboy title. The user interface is good and they manage to cram an impressive amount of features, including using the select and start buttons to sort units by HP/level. Give it a try if you love retro gaming and tactical strategy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/11

Game Release: Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Taisen G (JP, 06/30/95)