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30 years of mecha goodness has culminated into the most recent iteration of Super Robot Wars, appropriately titled Super Robot Wars 30. For those who are unaware, Super Robot Wars is a franchise about mechs duking it out against various evil forces to save the world, universe, etc. While the O.G, or Original Generation games have unique creations, a staple component of the Super Robot Wars appeal is the inclusion of mecha from a vast number of franchises spanning manga, anime and video games.

Due to this, licensing has been problematic as far as evolving the series outside of the Asia/Japan regions, but Super Robot Wars 30 has finally broken the barrier and had a release internationally (on Steam), hopefully paving the way for future releases to follow suit. Now, the Southeast Asian releases have had English subtitles in the recent modern releases like O.G Moondwellers, V, X, and T, making them still enjoyable and very playable. In fact, Super Robot Wars X was my first entry in the series and I instantly fell in love with the over-the-top tropes that you’d expect from all of the franchises included, as well as being introduced to so many new and unfamiliar IP’s. In the past I’ve been essentially forced to import them from reputable sites like PlayAsia, but importing certainly adds to the cost, so hopefully this release broadens interest and success for these games.

You begin with your choice of protagonist, which I gotta say, makes little difference in the grand scheme of things. Not only that, they are very cliche designs, nothing about them really stands out to me as unique or intruiging. I could say the same thing about the previous titles I’ve played, but it just felt like they missed a great opportunity to have a more customizable protagonist. You then can change your name, birthday and blood type. Odd selection of things on its surface, I know, but fans of the series know very well that birthday and blood type can result in a subtle difference for someone who isn’t paying attention. Those two options are linked to your main characters’ pool of Spirit Commands that they will acquire as they level up…and yes some are WAY more valuable than others. This change can be subtle, or it can make the difference of having a skill like Drive available 10-15 levels sooner, or even having a skill like Daunt that you wouldn’t normally have access to for that character.

Your bread and butter are your mechs and pilots, with each having their own upgrades. The true goal here is to upgrade both, as that will boost your overall CP, or Combat Points. Higher CP will yield stronger enemies, which give you more EXP, Pilot Points, and Mxp. Pilots can be equipped with various passive abilities and can also be given permanent stat boosts. Understanding the way the numerous mechanics work will help you understand the boons each ability provides, as things that sound basic enough like Morale can easily be the reason your unit gets one-shotted. Another crucial element to upgrade is your flagship itself, the Dreisstrager. Yes, you can upgrade the ship itself and the captain/co-pilots, but the real benefit is the AOS upgrades that the ship provides. These bonuses are HUGE, and many of them apply to all mechs. A fully upgraded AOS can have you starting off fights with 3+ ExC Points, boosting move and range of your fighters, as well as permanent attack bonuses. Even increases to your rewards are available, which come in handy with the disturbing amount of money that will be spent upgrade those ships and pilots.

I’ve noticed that the game has some quality of life improvements that set it apart from its most recent predecessors, and I’m in full agreement that they make the game much more accessible for newcomers, as well as those who like to min/max and grind a bit before they tackle story objectives. There are various different missions that can be tackled, and as long as you aren’t being forced to an emergency scenario, you can feel free to do them in however order you please. Missions that are have a star on them will progress the story, while yellow are recommended usually due to them leading into further story missions or they are within your CP range. DLC missions and special scenarios are awesome because they may provide you with new units, massive improvements to your current units, or just a bunch of resources for your disposal. Because of the way that the missions are offered, you can really play the way you want. If you are the type to clear the entire board before you progress the story, you are perfectly able to. For those who want just the story, that is perfectly viable too.

Now I haven’t spoken much upon the story because I personally feel it’s the weakest part of the game. As your wolfpack increases with progression, you uncover multiple plots of enemies, whether they be foreign, domestic, and alien, that it just feels like EVERYBODY is out to destroy the world. It just feels all so convenient that multiple groups of bad guys are going ahead with their evil schemes and oh wait, of course they are cooperating with this other group of bad guys. Didn’t see that one coming at all! And as you pulverize these groups you find out that, of course, there’s another group that’s behind them but just capitalizing off the chaos. Very predictable. Aside from the predictable story lines, my biggest gripe as a player of the recent games was the lineup they had for this one. There were some awesome units included, but I feel like once I got my squad of 10 favorites, I solely used them and was still able to steamroll the entire game. It might really just be personal bias, but I was a bit upset favorites like the Villkiss, Great Might Gaine, Dunbine/Sirbine to name a few, weren’t included. That being said, this was a first for inclusion of a few series’ so I suppose there had to be a tradeoff somewhere. Also, I feel the protagonist mech, the Huckebein 30, just felt so unimpressive compared to the Xelguard (SRW X), Tyranado (SRW T), and VangRay (SRW V). To top it off, there was screen capture blocks after about the 4th mission or so, which was upsetting because there are just so many awesome moves and moments that I couldn’t capture, but this is most likely due to licensing restrictions.

Overall, Super Robot Wars 30 is an excellent choice for fans of mecha and SRPGs. I came into the series only knowing Gundam, and now I’m so excited to learn about the multitude of others that I’ve been presented with (and hoping they have been localized). So if you are thinking that you need to know every series included to enjoy the game, don’t let that be a deterrent, as this game is more than enjoyable just learning them as you go. I stumbled upon it only knowing some Gundam that I watched on TV as a kid, and not even really being a big SRPG player, and ended up loving loving series. It has a unique charm that goes beyond its dated graphics and presentation, so here’s to hoping Super Robot Wars 30 is the success they need to truly elevate the series to the next level.

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-Game Info-
Super Robot Wars 30
Genre: SRPG
Developer: Banpresto, B.B Studio
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Release Date: 10/27/2021
Platforms: PS4, NSW, PC

-GamerDad Info-
Completed On: 11/13/2021
Played On: PS5
Time Played: 110 Hours
Rating: 7/10