Gundam: Battle Assault is a 1998 fighting video game developed by Natsume Co., Ltd. and published by Bandai for the PlayStation. The plot involves Heero Yuy, protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and pilot of the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, on a mission to destroy remaining enemy Mobile Suits under command of Treize Khushrenada to stop a war from starting.

The Story Behind Gundam Battle Assault

The localization also removed the Hamma Hamma mobile suit from the roster and replaced it with the Wing Gundam, though this new mech is a Zeta Gundam with a different visual design. The localization replaced the original cast with characters from other Gundam series and featured modified dialogue for its story mode, which was now tied to Gundam Wing. Hiromichi Komuro, Hiroyuki Iwatsuki and Toshiyasu Miyabe served as co-programmers of the game, while Shunichi Taniguchi and Kunio Suzuki acted as co-designers.

Gundam: Battle Assault was developed by most of the same team at Natsume Co., Ltd. who previously worked on Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel (1996) for Super Famicom and The Battle Master (1997) for PlayStation. Gundam: Battle Assault was first released in Japan as Gundam: The Battle Master 2 on March 12, 1998, featuring an original cast of characters and a plot revolving around Mobile Suit bounty hunter Gloria stumbling upon an amnesiac child called Pixie, who is the subject of attacks from enemies. Mitsuo Matsumoto lead its development as chief director alongside co-producers Kosak Kawamoto and Norihiko Ushimura.

How Gundam Battle Assault Plays

If a mobile suit runs out of ammo, it cannot use that move for the rest of the match but alternate projectile special attacks do not need ammunition. Each press of the thrust button costs one boost bar and when the gauge is depleted, players must wait for it to recharge before boosting again. The health bars works similarly to the temperature bar but when a health bar is empty, the mech will overheat and be knocked down, and overheats leads to a loss.

With the exception of Neue Ziel, each mobile suit can also activate a flight mode that allows it to fly in any direction and not get fazed by attacks as long as it doesn't overheat or the boost gauge depletes. Beam barriers can now block melee weapons (since those are now unblockable) but dodging or using beam barriers now drains health. Gundam: Battle Assault is a fighting game similar to Gundam: The Battle Master set in the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing storyline.

Why Players Still Load It Up

In a retrospective outlook, Push Squares Robert Ramsey criticized the combat system, small arena sizes and lack of content but commended the game's style and found its soundtrack to be enjoyable. MeriStations Daniel Delgado García felt mixed in regards to audio and criticized Battle Assaults presentation, slow pacing, lack of replay value and inability to select another game mode without resetting the PlayStation console but praised the large mechs and character roster. AllGames Jon Thompson praised the varied character roster and animations but criticized the minimalist gameplay mechanics, audio design and lackluster presentation of Battle Assault.

The title sold approximately 33,092 units during its lifetime in Japan. IGNs David Smith commended the character roster, gameplay, lack of slowdown, two-dimensional visuals and sound effects but noted that its pacing felt slow and criticized the inability to choose between characters in story mode and uninspiring music, stating that Gundam: Battle Assault "isn't a game for serious fighter fans, but it's definitely one for Gundam fans, Wing or otherwise." GameSpots Jeff Gerstmann gave positive remarks to the large size of each mech, fluid movement and certain aspect of the audio design but criticized the game's uninteresting story mode. The Electric Playgrounds James Tapia criticized the slow-paced gameplay for its lack of advanced fighting game mechanics and disjointed controls but gave positive comments to the visuals.

Gundam Battle Assault — Frequently Asked Questions