''Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2'', originally released in Japan as , is a tactical
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person
* Action principles the heart of fundamental physics
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video gam ...
video game based on the ''
Gundam
is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ...
'' anime series, and the sequel to 2007's ''
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam''. It is developed by
Omega Force
(stylised as ''ω-Force'') is a Japanese video game developer and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1996 by Akihiro Suzuki and Kenichi Ogasawara, and is best known for the ''Dynasty Warriors'' video games.
History
Omega Force was founded ...
and is published by
Namco Bandai Games
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...
in Japan and North America, and
Koei
Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its historical simulation games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based o ...
in PAL regions. The game was released in Japan on December 18, 2008, with a North American release on April 21, 2009, and a European release April 24, 2009.
The game was then rereleased on December 17, 2009 in Japan as part of both the Gundam 30th Anniversary Collection and
The Best range
The Best is a Sony PlayStation budget range in Japan and parts of Asia. Similar budget ranges include Greatest Hits (PlayStation) in North America, Essentials in PAL regions and BigHit Series in Korea.
For the PlayStation, The Best was followe ...
edition.
Differences from prior games
From previous ''Dynasty Warriors'' titles
''Dynasty Warriors: Gundam'' follows in the style of previous ''
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...
'' and ''
Samurai Warriors
is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based closely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history and is a sister series of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, releas ...
'' games as an action-oriented
hack and slash
Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...
with some tactical elements. The greatest difference between Koei's ''Gundam'' titles (there are currently three) and Koei's ''Dynasty Warriors'' series is the core content: rather than using characters and story from the novel ''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...
'', the games draw their material from across the various ''
Mobile Suit Gundam
, also retrospectively known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Na ...
''
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series.
However, all of Koei's ''Gundam'' titles also have unique gameplay mechanics that help set them apart from Koei's core ''Dynasty Warriors'' series. For example: players are given more ranged combat options than in other ''Dynasty Warriors'' games, although melee combat is still the focus of the game. Units in ''Dynasty Warriors: Gundam'' are much more mobile, using their thrusters to dash, jump in mid-air, and (for some) even fly.
From ''Dynasty Warriors: Gundam''
One of many additions to the game are Quick Time Events. Colossal
mobile armors have also been added to the game and serve as some of the game's
bosses. In addition, improvements have been made to enemy
AI, in the hopes of keeping even the best players on their toes. Also, the ability to perform aerial maneuvers and attacks simultaneously is added. Intermission and briefing scenes now feature complete 2-D illustrations with various outfits for the game's characters. Official Mode, which chronicles the events depicted in the
Universal Century
is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ' ...
calendar of the ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' franchise, expands to include the story in ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack''. Mobile suits making an appearance in the previous game, but were non-playable (such as the Guncannon and Hambrabi), are included in the playable roster for ''Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2'', along with an enhanced Versus Mode for North American and PAL regions only. Lastly, the option for Japanese Audio on the North American version, found previously in the first game, was taken out.
Game Modes
There are two Modes with the game: Official and Mission Mode. The returning Official Mode features 4 playable pilots and the events set within the
continuity of the
Universal Century
is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ' ...
timeline, covering the series of ''
Mobile Suit Gundam
, also retrospectively known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Na ...
'', ''
Zeta Gundam'', ''
Gundam ZZ
is the third installment in Sunrise's long running ''Gundam'' franchise and the last TV series in the franchise released in Japan's Shōwa period. A direct follow up to ''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam'', it is directed and written by Yoshiyuki Tomi ...
'' and the movie, ''
Char's Counterattack
is a 1988 Japanese anime science fiction film directed and written by Yoshiyuki Tomino. It is set in the Universal Century timeline of the ''Gundam'' franchise. Featuring the talents of Shūichi Ikeda, Toru Furuya, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Maria K ...
.'' However, like the previous game, an original story is still the main focus of the game. The original story is featured within an all-new Mission Mode, where characters are given specific missions to accomplish, such as acquiring parts for various mobile suits (Collection Mission) and reinforcing or defeating other characters to increase friendship status or develop rivalries (Friendship Mission). In order for characters to use other mobile suits they would not use in their timeline or outside their continuity, players must complete License Missions to receive licenses to use other units. Finally, Gallery mode is renamed gallery and library mode in the Japanese version, detailing character biographies, mobile suit and battleship information, movie clips and musical tracks from the various Gundam series themes (Japanese version only) .
Featured mobile suits and series
An early developer interview asserted that "the number of mobile suits playable is something like three times that of the first game". The total playable unit count for ''Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2'' is 66 suits, a massive upgrade from the previous game's 19. Much like the first game, player's choose pilots and
mecha
In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...
independent of each other, allowing the ability to use any combination of man and machine.
Reception
The game was met with very mixed to negative reception upon release.
GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
gave it a score of 55.52% and 54 out of 100 for the PlayStation 3 version;
55.37% and 52 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;
and 54.67% and 49 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version.
Sequel
''
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3'' is a tactical action video game based on the ''Gundam'' anime series and the sequel to 2008's ''Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2''. It is developed by Koei/Omega Force and is published by Namco Bandai. The game was released on December 16, 2010 in Japan, June 28, 2011 in North America, July 1, 2011 in Europe, and July 12, 2011 in Australia.
Notes
References
External links
''Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2'' Official Website (Europe)
''Gundam Musou 2'' Official Website
*
{{Video Games of Gundam
2008 video games
Action games
Bandai Namco games
Crowd-combat fighting games
Dynasty Warriors
Gundam video games
Koei games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
PlayStation 2 games
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Video games about mecha
Video games developed in Japan
Xbox 360 games