Gundam: Battle Assault 2
A one-on-one fighting game spanning three Gundam timelines.
Gundam: Battle Assault 2 is a 2002 fighting game for the PlayStation, developed by Natsume Co., Ltd. and based on the Gundam franchise. It follows up Gundam: Battle Assault (1998) and features three storylines drawn from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, and Mobile Suit Gundam. The game was created primarily for North American audiences to build anticipation for the US television debut of Mobile Fighter G Gundam.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Natsume Co., Ltd.
- Publisher
- NA/PAL
- Bandai
- JP
- D3 Publisher
- Director
- Mitsuo Matsumoto
- Producer
- Hirofumi Inagaki; Takashi Aoyama
- Designer
- Hiroshi Inagaki
- Kunio Suzuki
- Noriyasu Nakade
- Programmer
- Hirohisa Ohta
- Kazuhito Yamada
- Seiji Noda
- Composer
- Hiroyuki Iwatsuki
- Series
- Gundam: Battle Assault
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Gundam: Battle Assault 2 is a fighting game in which players engage in one-on-one matches. The first competitor to deplete the opponent's health bar wins a bout, and the first to win two bouts wins the match. Five modes are available: Versus, Time Attack, Survival, and Street. Street Mode replaces a traditional story mode, letting the player choose from eight mobile suits and loosely follow events from the One Year War, the 13th Gundam Fight, and the Endless Waltz OVA. The roster includes 30 playable characters and their mobile suits. The boost gauge limits flight; each press of the thrust button consumes one bar, and the gauge must recharge before boosting again. Most mobile suits can activate a flight mode that allows unrestricted movement and attack resistance as long as the boost gauge does not deplete. Projectile attacks consume ammunition proportional to their power; if ammo runs out, that move cannot be used for the rest of the match, though alternate projectile specials do not require ammunition. Dodging and beam barriers use the boost gauge instead of health. Every mobile suit has a Mega Special Attack super move usable up to three times.
Development and release
Gundam: Battle Assault 2 was developed for the North American market by most of the same Natsume team that had worked on Gundam Wing: Endless Duel (1996) and Battle Assault (1998). The goal was to build anticipation for Mobile Fighter G Gundam, which began airing on Cartoon Network's Toonami after Mobile Suit Gundam Wing concluded. Mitsuo Matsumoto directed the project, with co-producers Hirofumi Inagaki and Takashi Aoyama. Co-programmers included Hirohisa Ohta, Kazuhito Yamada, Seiji Noda, and Toshiyasu Miyabe. Co-designers were Hiroshi Inagaki, Kunio Suzuki, Noriyasu Nakade, Shunichi Taniguchi, and Takashi Shinpo. Hiroyuki Iwatsuki composed the soundtrack. Bandai first released the game in North America on July 18, 2002. D3 Publisher issued it in Japan on October 10, 2002, as part of the Simple Characters 2000 Series under the title The Battle, split into two separate games: one focused on G Gundam and the other on Gundam Wing. The split versions restored the original names God Gundam and Devil Gundam for Burning Gundam and Dark Gundam, respectively, and gave the Psycho Gundam Mk. III its original pilot from Gundam: The Battle Master. Bandai released the game in Europe on November 29, 2002, with distribution by Infogrames. Early copies misspelled "Gundam" as "Gundum" on the spine.
Reception
Gundam: Battle Assault 2 received generally favorable reviews, according to Metacritic, and holds a 70.57% rating at GameRankings based on seven reviews. In Japan, Kidō Butōden G Gundam - The Battle sold over 38,851 copies in its first week and approximately 114,198 copies lifetime, while Shin Kidō Senki Gundam W - The Battle sold over 40,193 copies in its first week and about 127,078 copies lifetime. Critics noted the slow-paced gameplay, colorful hand-drawn graphics, sound design, and multiplayer, but some cited limited AI, longevity issues, and a lack of additional two-player modes. The game was praised for its large character sprites and near-absence of loading times, and later regarded as an overlooked fighting title on the PlayStation.
More in Gundam Games
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced