Imagine it: You are now in the Civil War. The USS Monitor, an ironclad battleship deployed by the Union Navy, is about to engage in combat with… a Nazi U-boat? This is the central conceit of SD Gundam Battle Alliance, but instead of dull real-world history, it uses the complex mythology of the whole Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, which spans dozens of TV episodes, films, video games, manga, novels, and stage productions.
Taking an SD Gundam Battle Alliance history class is enjoyable
To be honest, the premise may be too clever for the game to which it is linked, which is a relatively simple action game. But after a few hours of SD Gundam Battle Alliance, it’s that narrative hook that makes me want to play more. The game’s story is divided into chapters, with each chapter having a few levels based on a big Gundam moment, but with at least one major historical inaccuracy tied to a different level in that chapter.
When you finish these so-called “Break Missions,” any false information that was imprisoned there is released and sent to a so-called “True Mission.” You play through the same events as they should happen in them, which adds a new difficulty or gameplay peculiarity. In one Break Mission, an evacuating ship is destroyed by a bad guy who isn’t supposed to be there, resulting in a boss fight, whereas in the True Mission, you must protect the ship so that it can flee safely, as it did in the anime on which the level is based.
Particularly for a franchise with as many interwoven (and not interconnected!) characters and storylines as Gundam, it’s a tremendously cool premise to hang the game on. It resembles playing through a history book while fighting off any false information to ace the test, but in an interesting way because it has Gundams. I also like how, for a game about collecting robots and making them fight, it’s distinctly respectful of Gundam storylines and characters—a refreshing change from the annoyingly consumerist leanings of most Gundam tie-ins.
The issue here is that I’m not sure if there’d be any appeal for someone who isn’t at least vaguely familiar with the majority of the various Gundam properties involved in the game. Why would you care if Mikazuki Augus, Allelujah Haptism, or Milliardo Peacecraft suddenly appeared in a different place, doing a different thing if you don’t even know who they are in their regular stories and timelines?
I suppose the answer is that you should be motivated to go find Iron-Blooded Orphans, Gundam 00, and Gundam Wing so you can learn more about those characters, but if the fact that it has Gundams in it didn’t already convince you to watch Gundam Wing, I’m not sure if this will. But what if it does? Great! Gundam is awesome, more people should watch Gundam, and from what I’ve played, Battle Alliance is a fun way to relive Gundam history.
