Current-gen Japanese/Anime Mecha Games - which are worth importing?

[Asura]

After setting up my PS2 recently, for a bit of nostalgia I fired up some of the PS2 mecha import games I have - such as Another Century's Episode 2 and Gundam vs Zeta Gundam, as well as selling a copy of Xenosaga via the forum.

It made me think - what are the true standout mecha games of this gen, on Xbox 360/PS3?

I lived in Japan until 2008, and whilst there, as a mecha anime fan I played any and all mecha games I could get my hands on. I had a stack of PS2 titles about 3 feet high at one point, though naturally they varied massively in terms of quality. Some of the better ones I remember were the 3 ACE games, Gundam Battle Assault/Universe on PSP and Gundam Seed: Omni vs ZAFT 2 on PS2 and in the arcades. However, upon coming back to the UK I've been pretty lax in keeping up with the genre, as it can be difficult in the UK when all we get is ZOE and Armored Core (though I've really liked the Armored Core games released this gen).

I'd like to import some, but as I said, the quality was so variable that I'm cautious given the expense. I've known mecha games to be quite poor and propped up by their licence just as much as I've played ones where the licences make a good game into an awesome one (the ACE series), so I thought I'd ask here. I'm a particularly big fan of Gundam, so that can sway me.

The ones I chose to keep were...

ACE 1-3 on PS2
Gundam: The One Year War (by Namco) on PS2
Gundam OMNI vs ZAFT II on PS2
Gundam VS Gundam NEXT PLUS on PSP

... As these were the best among the ones I played. I've also got Front Mission for the DS recently, which I'll play through soon. Anything similar would be of great interest.

So, what are the best comparable titles, ideally for the PS3? Which are worth importing? I've noticed there has been another ACE title since 3 ("R") and Gundam Extreme Versus; what about others? Genre doesn't really matter, as mecha are more of a theme - so fighting games, strategy games, MMOs, 2D shooters... Anything is welcome.

[QualityChimp]

Re: Current-gen Japanese/Anime Mecha Games - which are worth importing?

360 suggestions:
Armored Core 4
Armored Core: For Answer
Armored Core V
Chromehounds
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 1 to 3
Front Mission Evolved
Lost Planet series
Mobile Ops: The One Year War
Steel Battalion Heavy Armor
Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force (Import)
WarTech: Senko no Ronde
Zegapain XOR (Import)
Zoids Infinity Ex Neo
Zone of the Enders: HD Collection

[Asura]

Thanks for the suggestions, but this is kinda the problem - I want to hear from people which they considered really good, rather than a list - as I'm thinking of doing some importing and I'll probably only get 2 or 3 titles.

The Armored Core titles and Chrome Hounds were fun.

I couldn't get along with the Dynasty Warriors ones; mainly because I played the first one and took an immediately dislike to it as it seemed a bit too much Dynasty Warriors and not enough Gundam.

Front Mission Evolved is a very poor game, IMO. I bought it and finished the campaign in two afternoons.

Mobile Ops: The One Year War had its western release scrapped, and it's region locked. Ditto for Zegapain (though I've not heard the best things about it). Isn't Steel Battalion often held up as the prime example of a bad Kinect game?

The Zone of the Enders: HD Collection is a travesty. I have it for PS3 and I'm still seething that I bought it. I saw it at the Eurogamer Expo and it was running silky smooth; it must have been on a devkit or something because the final game's framerate is nowhere near as good.

I forgot about Lost Planet though! I'll grab a copy next time I go into town. I played it in multiplayer when it was new, but never actually played the single player. Also, what can you play Virtual On Force on? PS2? PS3?

EDIT: Ah, I see VO: Force is on 360 too... Interesting. I know you said that but I was surprised to see such a Japan-focused game got a 360 release.

EDIT: Oh also, looks like Virtual On Marz is getting a PS3 release:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Troopers_Virtual-On_Marz

That might be worth a look.

[kryss]

Super Robot Taisen games pass you by? OG2nd has recently been released in Japan. The ACE games are technically a spinoff of this franchise.

Also you should probably check out the Scramble Commander games on the PS2.

[chopemon]

I really enjoyed what little I played of Zegapain on the 360. Very, very fast 3rd person mech shooter/melee game. You should be able to get that cheap now. It isn't brilliant but I remember it being nice and frantic.

Gundam: Operation Troy might look like a good idea (Battlefield + Mechs) but is terrible.

My favourite mech game this gen is definitely Chromehounds because of the multiplayer. The servers got shut down though which is a tragedy.

Armored Core 5 hasa similar multiplayer component and is a lot of fun, definitely recommend that.

[Soundwave]

Super Robot Taisen games pass you by? OG2nd has recently been released in Japan. The ACE games are technically a spinoff of this franchise.

Also you should probably check out the Scramble Commander games on the PS2.

Out of Curiosity how difficult are the Super Robot games to play?

I understand they are Text heavy but can you muddle through & still enjoy them?

Neil

[MisterBubbles]

Gundam Extreme Versus (PS3) , AC 5 (PS3 ), Gundam Unicorn (PS3) . Just check out Damashi http://www.mechadamashii.com/category/reviews/

[MisterBubbles]

I see you like Gundam and Zaft is a kept game of yours, my favourite is Gundam Extreme Versus, Zafts big brother on PS3 with online battles for 4 people.

[briareos_kerensky]

Gundam Unicorn is worth checking out. It's not problem-free and relies too much on DLCs (but that's Namco Bandai's modus operandi), but if you like Gundam and the MS is Unicorn, it's worth its price.

[kryss]

Out of Curiosity how difficult are the Super Robot games to play?

I understand they are Text heavy but can you muddle through & still enjoy them?

Neil

Skip the story and they are easy enough with a Spirit Command guide to hand. Before commiting to getting a recent one, try one of the ones on the J-PSN, I think they start at 500yen.

[Soundwave]

Skip the story and they are easy enough with a Spirit Command guide to hand. Before commiting to getting a recent one, try one of the ones on the J-PSN, I think they start at 500yen.

Thanks Kryss.

I was actually considering going even further back & grabbing one of the Saturn one's as they seem cheap enough these days.

Might look into them a bit more now.

Thanks again

Neil

[Asura]

Alternatively, there were some SRW games released for the GBA in America; may have got a UK release too. They're probably rare as rocking horse **** now, though.

These were "OG" ones so they feature no licenced animes, just the original generic mecha and anime assocated with SRW - but they were meant to be pretty good I recall despite this.