Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Super Robot Taisen: W Review - Nintendo DS

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  

  • Super Robot Taisen: W Review - Nintendo DS

    Parts of this review could easily apply to many other Super Robot Taisen games. The many games released so far usually follow a similar formula – the story of each game contains parts of the plots of certain robot Anime which are intertwined together with a strand of original story. The motivation to buy a game in the series may come from a love of a particular Anime which is featured therein, or from simply liking the style of gameplay. Although called Super Robot Taisen in Japanese, the series is commonly known as Super Robot Wars or SRW for short. The "Taisen" literally means "great war". Atlus's translated versions of OG and OG2 kept "Taisen" so that people would not confuse them with "Robot Wars", where people build robots and pit them against each other. The SRW games are usually turn-based strategy games (sometimes called Simulation RPGs in Japan) similar to the Advance Wars and Fire Emblem games. They have more in common with the FE series as new missions can bring new units to the fold, and each unit is a unique character from a particular show. However, in FE games, once you lose a character in battle they are dead to you from then on. In SRW games, if a unit's HP drops to zero they are only out for the rest of the mission, and their repair bill is taken from the player's winnings received on successful completion of the mission. Next mission they are able to fight again.

    Like most S-RPGs, it's a test of planning and patience. The unwise rush out and try to take down as many bad buys as possible, but end up getting their armour-plated behind handed to them time and time again. Those who plan, who hang back and take a defensive position on terrain that decreases the damage they will take from any attacks that come their way, and who are in a better position to counter-attack, will be the ones who come out on top. For those who are unfamiliar with the combat system in this and similar games, each unit can move a certain distance each turn, attack, or some can heal or resupply another unit. Some attacks can be performed at any time, some can only be performed if the unit does not move prior to it. There are also single-unit and map attacks. All the attacks in the game are ones seen in that specific Anime.

    There are limits. Units only have a set amount of energy that they can use, and as would be expected, the stronger the attack, the larger the amount of energy used. There is also a different energy requirement: the "spirit" of the unit/pilot. The more attacks the unit performs, the higher its spirit soars. Some stronger attacks need the unit to have passed certain spirit levels. This "spirit" is not to be confused with the "spirit commands" each unit has. Spirit commands can do things like restore health and temporarily decrease damage taken. The effective use of all of these features together does take practice and experience. When this can be done there will be very few times when the player has trouble completing a mission.

    None of the missions are impossible. There is very little variety – missions are either "destroy this enemy" or "survive this many turns". The latter of which then turns into the former. There is a common formula to the missions: a big group of enemies appear, the player destroys them, another group appears, they go the way of the first, end of mission. When a player has come to realise this, they will tend to play more defensively, perhaps keeping their stronger attacks until they are truly needed. It adds an uncertain certainty, as there will be more baddies on their way, but how many and what strength are factors that remain unknown.

    In SRW:W there are some very popular franchises: Full Metal Panic, Martian Successor Nadesco, King of Braves GaoGaiGar, and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED to name but four. Entire animated sequences from these series have been faithfully included in the game, along with authentic dialogue and robots. One thing that should be mentioned is that, during fight sequences, it's not full-sized robots that appear but so-called "super-deformed", smaller representations. This is obviously not an issue for many who play the games, as this has always been the case. It does bring the violence down to comic book level.

    One unique feature that is only possible on the DS is the "double slot". This lets players copy enhancement parts from SRW games on the Game Boy Advance and use them in SRW:W. Obviously, that would involve owning and having played one of the other games. As far as selling points go, it's kind of weak.

    The target audience is university students and older, as there is an awful lot of text. Does it matter if the player doesn't read through it all? Without the text, the story would be incomprehensible; with the text, the player spends more than 20% of their play time reading, and some people might get bored.

    Why no localisation? Licensing is probably to blame. The rights to different Anime belonging to different companies in Japan seems to make no difference there. In the rest of the world it spells certain doom. How many people care about Superlative Robot Something Fighter X? Oh, it has a massive following on the internet. After each licensee takes their cut, that's not going to leave the publisher much money. The music and special effects in the game are the semi-perfect copies of the originals that should be expected. The DS's actual sound reproduction is sadly no comparison. The voice acting is also missing which is a real shame. It's a trade-off. Playstation-based SRW games all have better music and include the original voice actors, but have atrocious load times for battle sequences. The load times on SRW:W are non-existent and it feels very natural that way.

    In summary, fans of the Anime series contained therein will enjoy it the most, provided they can read Japanese well enough. It's not a taxing game but can be a test of patience when it comes to how much text is forced on the player.
    Click image for larger version

Name:	03.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	30.5 KB
ID:	2743888Click image for larger version

Name:	02.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	34.5 KB
ID:	2743889Click image for larger version

Name:	03.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	43.9 KB
ID:	2743890Click image for larger version

Name:	01.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	37.2 KB
ID:	2743887

    • charlesr
      #4
      charlesr commented
      Editing a comment
      [MENTION=9333]kryss[/MENTION] I think it's right now but hopefully you can confirm

    • kryss
      #5
      kryss commented
      Editing a comment
      You have the wrong banner still charles.
      EXCEED is an action RPG, SRW:W is an SRPG.

    • charlesr
      #6
      charlesr commented
      Editing a comment
      Having issues finding anything for Taisen W, image-wise. Help!
    Posting comments is disabled.

Categories

Collapse

Latest Articles

Collapse

  • Motion Gravure Review - Sony PS2
    by Archives
    In this image-obsessed industry, it's critical that a game projects a strong sense of identity. With an identity comes a target audience. Sony have arguably captured the 'twenty-something male' flag and, to consolidate this position, Sony Music Entertainment releases this: a game featuring nothing but scantily clad females. Oh, and some very nice scenery.
    ...
    21-08-2023, 12:13
  • Devil May Cry 3 Review - Sony PS2
    by Archives
    Family reunions tend to follow one of two distinct protocols: everyone meets up, reminisces and has a good old chat and a laugh; or everyone meets up, reminisces and remembers why it’s been so long since they last saw each other, the evening ending in a ferocious argument. Why is this relevant to this Devil May Cry 3 review?
    The latest meeting of the divinely comedic twin siblings of Dante and Vergil falls rather violently into the second category. Something about their murdered mother’s amule...
    06-09-2022, 08:30
  • Silent Hill 3 Review - Sony PS2
    by Archives
    Fear. It’s something that collective consciousness values as a desirable commodity, especially in the pop culture spin of everyday modern life - An element that mainstream entertainment likes to use in distilled form when it comes to getting a rise out of our adrenaline glands. Whether it be watching the latest slasher flick, experimenting with the next extreme sport or avidly reading the current best-selling horror fiction… On the whole, we take pleasure out of being scared. Read this Silent...
    11-07-2022, 13:50
  • Viewtiful Joe Review - Nintendo Gamecube
    by Archives
    Pink Lycra. There just isn't enough of it in video games. So Capcom have bravely stepped-up to the plate and given us a game, starring a Hot Pink hero, clad in a spandex jumpsuit, that isn't afraid to be laid back and humorous in style, whilst containing some rock-solid gameplay at its core. Like a piece of candy with a stone centre, Viewtiful Joe is sweet and tempting to the eye, but underneath is solid rock. Our hero is introduced in the opening cut-scene as a bubble-headed, California-accented Sk8r Boi, o...
    15-05-2022, 11:48
  • Castlevania: White Night Concerto Review - Nintendo GBA
    by Archives
    Castlevania: White Night Concerto is the latest instalment in Konamis Castlevania series. It is the second title for the GBA, but the first Castlevania game appeared on the NES back in 1987. It is ostensibly a platform game, like its predecessors. Certain things have remained constant throughout the series- in all but a couple of Castlevania outings, the main protagonist (in this case Juste Belmont) brandishes a whip. Secondary weapons are also available. Again these weapons are the same as tho...
    03-04-2022, 15:57
  • Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Mugen no Frontier EXCEED Review - Nintendo DS
    by Steven Walker
    For the uninitiated, Super Robot Wars Original Generation Saga: Mugen no Frontier (Endless Frontier) is an action-RPG spin-off from the popular Super Robot Wars series. The player has to use attacks to keep enemies in the air in order to do maximum damage, and string together as many attacks as they can. Timing and knowledge of characters' moves is the key to success. SRW OG Saga: Mugen no Frontier EXCEED is the sequel, and goes to show that a follow-up can be better than the original.
    T...
    04-01-2022, 15:20
Working...
X