Gundam is to anime as bread is to a sandwich. And while the two often remind one of the other, that doesn’t mean that the video games are equally iconic. Often games based on anime properties like Gundamn struggle outside of the Japanese market, and that’s for good reason. For one, people aren’t familiar with the property. After all, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is itself based on a capsule toy collection that is perhaps one of the longest-running sub-series in the Gundam pantheon. Thus it is not only based on somewhat obscure source material but also that material is deep and has a history itself.
Nonetheless, from the opening CGI, you know you’re about to get something wild. With four campaigns on offer, Wing, SEED, 00, and Iron-Blooded Orphans, there’s more than enough content here to keep gamers entertained and the promise of future DLC keeps things even more enticing for people wondering whether or not to commit and how much.
How to Download SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays
To download the game, click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Game Review
Everything here should be familiar and recognizable to fans of the series, but not isolating for people who don’t know what the heck is going on because, at this point in the game, things start becoming much more familiar.
And by that, we mean that the game starts to look more like Advance Wars and other hex-based strategy games out there. This is both a good thing and one that is welcome because it immediately disarms any complaints about the IP putting off non-fans from trying it out.
Graphics are bright and the overall user interface is intuitive without being overly flashy or needlessly complex. You get a great balance of everything here and that makes the game much more conducive to giving it a few goes even if this isn’t your thing normally. When it comes to the story, that is pretty on point, but most gamers come here for the gameplay and nobody will really be disappointed in that regard.
Yet, don’t let this game fool you. It might rely upon familiar gameplay mechanics to lure you in but it rewards players who learn its quirks and how to best maximize everything. Spending time looking at systems and how everything interacts is typically a boring activity for most gamers and this game understands that. It offers quick action that is easy to understand, challenging enough, and really fun but the game becomes its own much more rewarding experience if you really delve into its systems. It will not only make victory easier to achieve but it will also prepare you to tackle other challenges should you decide to do that.
The Bottom Line
We can’t help but recommend SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays for fans of games like Advance Wars or even Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series. The gameplay is deep without being esoteric and unfriendly and the story will give fans a good time while not totally alienating people who don’t know what Gundam is about. A true love letter to fans of the long-running anime, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays meets all expectations and offers more than a few surprises along the way.
