Super Robot Wars F

Lore & Background

Super Robot Wars F was created as a partial remake of 4th Super Robot Wars, which had been released for the Super Famicom in 1995. According to a 2021 interview with producer Takanobu Terada, the game was made partly to secure the lucrative Neon Genesis Evangelion license. Banpresto had been unable to acquire the license before, but Sega, a main sponsor for the show, helped ensure the rights were obtained for the Saturn version. The split of the Saturn version into F and F Final was reportedly decided early in development. Banpresto faced a hard ship date that could not be moved, and the team's inexperience programming for the Saturn led to the game being unfinished. To meet the deadline, the game was split into two, and a preview flash-forward mission of Final was added to F so that robots featured on the cover who did not appear in the first half could appear at least somewhere in F. Despite bugs from the time crunch, Terada said the president of Winkysoft told him the company would have closed without the split.

Reader's Guide

Super Robot Wars F and its sequel F Final are significant as the first Super Robot Wars titles to feature the Neon Genesis Evangelion series, a major licensing achievement that influenced future entries. The remake also introduced Mazinkaiser, which later became its own series in 2001. The storyline of 4/F/F Final was reused in the Original Generation games, most notably in 2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation. The game's reception was positive; F Final for the Saturn sold 498,009 units in Japan during the first half of 1998, making it the country's ninth-best-selling game for that period. The game became available on the PlayStation Network on November 19, 2011. Its legacy includes influencing future Super Robot Wars games and debuting several series that became staples of the franchise.

Did You Know?

• The split of Super Robot Wars F into two parts was reportedly decided early in development due to a hard ship date and the team's inexperience with Saturn programming.
• The Neon Genesis Evangelion license was obtained partly because Sega was a main sponsor for the show.
• Mazinkaiser, debuting in the remake, was a variant of Mazinger Z created by Go Nagai before becoming its own series in 2001.
• Super Robot Wars F Final sold an estimated 350,000–400,000 units in Japan, though exact figures are unverifiable.