I imported Gundam Breaker 3 and I couldn’t be happier – well, except for one minor niggle which we’ll get to in a bit.
It’s an incredibly simple game. You control a Gundam during battle, fight a swarm of other mechs, and collect parts to customize your machine.
It’s almost like the developers took a Diablo-style loot game (action RPG) and tossed it into a blender with a high-octane Dynasty Warrior title. In fact, Gundam Breaker 3 looks a hell of a lot like Dynasty Warrior Gundam in art and style.
Bottom line: I absolutely love it, and I cannot get enough.
Gundam Breaker 3 Vulgamification
The story is shallow, and the multiplayer is decent. But what really stands out is the incredible amount of customization you have to play with. You can mix and match hundreds – if not thousands – of different parts from a variety of Gundam series. You can paint them with a nearly endless amount of styles and themes.
You can also upgrade your parts via a system reminiscent of one found in mobile RPGs. To power up your gear, you combine unwanted parts with those you’d like to keep. There’s a skill inheritance system in place too, so if you find a badass looking piece of gear you can take a more powerful piece and carry over the skills and abilities.
The gameplay is a ton of fun too. You can dodge, jump, and launch into low-level flight quickly and efficiently. On top of the standard attack types, you can switch to “option” parts which give you access to whole new weapons and abilities. For example, on my current mech I have access to a beam sword and a group of missile pods. I can switch between them on the fly. I’ve racked up some pretty amazing combos just fucking around with all the systems.
It’s easy to flow from standard attacks to gunplay, or to option skills and back in order to pull off awesome looking combos.
And when you get used to all the chaos on the screen, you begin to move with skill and grace from flimsy enemy to enemy, dispatching them fluidly. It’s beyond rewarding. Even my wife – who is not a fan of these games – enjoys the eye candy on display.
There are varying difficulty levels from casual to hardcore, but the game is pretty easy no matter what you choose, especially after you gear up.
Right off the bat, I started playing on hardcore because it has the best loot drops. I have yet to run into an enemy I can’t defeat with a bit of ingenuity and smart healing during battle.
Jeesh dude, you are really hyping this game up! What’s the deal?
Well, it’s not perfect. Like I said the story is shallow, and multiplayer consists of arena-style battles and cooperative play. It’s decent. The player population is much better than expected considering this is an import title we’re talking about.
To download the free DLC that’s available I had to create a new PSN account based out of Singapore and purchase it on a foreign version of the store. It wasn’t difficult to do, and I have access to the content on my main account now too. It’s just an unnecessary step and would have been nice to see at least English-region support as far as the DLC is concerned.
The voiceovers are in Japanese, but there are English subtitles.
You Said There’s a Niggle
Indeed! This issue won’t affect everyone, but it certainly affects me. I own both a PS Vita and a PS4 and I use remote play on a regular basis. I love playing games in bite-sized chunks during breaks. I have a great system setup because I work from home.
Basically, I take breaks from writing every so often and fire up my Vita. I remote play because my PS4 is hooked to my living room TV and surround system, and I work in a personal office on the other side of the house.
But Gundam Breaker 3 does not support remote play, at all… like, not even a little bit. If you try to remote play while GB3 is fired up, you get a black screen that basically says “sorry, fuck off.”
Several folks have speculated Bandai Namco did this to boost sales of the Vita version of the game. I have no idea if this is true or not and I really don’t care.
For starters, it’s frustrating because God Eater Resurrection (a remastered PSP game) works great with remote play. And did I mention it’s from the same company? What’s the deal Bandai Namco? Why would you go out of your way to disable this feature in GB3? The only thing I can think of is greed, which is likely what happened.
Finally, this move has discouraged me from purchasing the Vita version definitely. I love to support the Vita, it’s one of my favorite platforms (obviously since I use it every day). I have purchased games on both PS4 and Vita many times before – one of the most recent is Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment. And if I get the urge to play GE:R outside of the house, I’ll grab that for Vita too.
But since Bandai Namco disabled the remote play feature in GB3 they can fuck off. I’m not spending extra to support that bullshit.
Am I calling for a ban from everyone? Absolutely not.
Am I trying to encourage you to stay away from the game? Nope, it’s awesome, so get it on your platform of choice if you can. I’m just sharing my experience.
I would fucking love the game wayyy more if remote play were available.
So What’s the Verdict?
If you love Gundam, loot games, or just want to customize a mech then grab this game. I picked up my copy from PlayAsia.
Shipping took a while because I live in the US and it’s an international trip, but it made the journey safe and sound!
Oh, and they sent me a $5 off coupon with the game too (you have to spend at least $60 to use it). It’s for US buyers only, but if you’re interested, leave a comment and I’ll send it over.
Comment below if you want the $5 off coupon.
The code expires Oct 17, 2016. I will update this post if someone claims it!
