Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo

Did You Know?

• Jim Preston of NextGen said, 'The mixture between television show and videogame is superb, but the actual gameplay is not.'
• David Smith of IGN said the game is not a recommended purchase for those who aren't fans of the series.

Plot

Journey to Jaburo takes place during the One Year War and follows the White Base crew from Side 7 to the Federation headquarters at Jaburo. The game starts at Amuro Ray's home colony, where three Zaku mobile suits attack the Federation's prototype mobile suit weapons. Amuro fights the Zaku units in the Gundam and is assigned to the White Base as its pilot. After leaving the colony, the White Base is pursued by Char Aznable, who attacks during re-entry, diverting them into Zeon-controlled North America. After battling Zeon defenses including Garma Zabi in Seattle, the White Base heads into Asia to fight Ramba Ral. Following Ramba Ral's suicide, the crew reaches Belfast for repairs, then proceeds to Jaburo. Char's Mad Angler squadron attacks the base but is beaten back, and the White Base, now the 13th Autonomous Mobile Squadron, heads into space.

Tactics Battle

Tactics Battle mode is an optional mode unlocked after completing story mode. The player controls a nameless, faceless pilot for either the Federation or Zeon, starting at a low rank with one mission per side. Completing missions raises the player's rank and unlocks more missions and mobile suits, with five missions total. The first three are standard attack or defense missions available to both factions, though the player's role varies by faction. The last two missions are Federation-only duels against the RX-79BD-1 GM Blue Destiny Unit 1 piloted by Yuu Kajima and the RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex piloted by Christina MacKenzie; Christina compliments the player during battle, while Yuu remains silent as Maureen Kitamura spurs him on. After each mission, a verbal assessment is given by Matilda Ajan, Kergerenko, or Char Aznable, followed by brief cutscenes where Matilda or Kergerenko compliment the player, or reprimand them if they failed without retrying. Unlocking certain circumstances reveals cutscenes with Char, M'Quve, and Bright Noa, as well as cutscenes with Christina, Shiro Amada, and a White Dingo pilot when their mobile suits are used. Reaching the rank of Colonel in either faction rewards a special video: on the Zeon route, major members of the Principality of Zeon thank the player; on the Federation side, major female Federation characters from MS Gundam, War in the Pocket, and Blue Destiny compete for attention while enthusiastically thanking the player.