Fans of Gundam—or Gunplay which is model building for said series—no doubt know about the SD versions of their beloved series. Standing for Super Deformed, SD Gundam titles have taken the super realism out of the series and made the mechs we know and love into smaller more caricature-like versions. Many American fans of the series might not know too much about the SD line of the series—as we’ve only ever seen one SD Gundam anime and had some toys released—but that doesn’t mean Japan has shied away from making the franchise bloom using this SD method. That’s where SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays comes in. Acting as another entry in the SD Gundam G Generation franchise, this newest entry has gotten a western release thanks to Steam and you know we had to review it for you readers out there. Is it a good thing SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays released finally outside Japan or was it never destined to be loved here? We find out in our full review of SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays for the PC!

Akin to series like Super Robot Wars, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is a tactics title where you take your favorite SD Gundam/Mobile Suits and slam them against various enemies. Play through several famous stories from the Gundam world and enjoy large scale battles in the typical turn-based affair. Use various pilots/suits from the Gundam series and some originals found only in SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays! Enjoy seeing your favorite suits in their super deformed form in SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays and see what teams you can create to make for the ultimate armadas!

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays sets players in the world of Gundam using the SD franchise/theme. Players can choose from a multitude of Gundam entries in the franchise such as Gundam: Seed, Gundam Wing and Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans. Engage these tales creating your own teams of mobile suits from various eras and unleash your skills as a pilot! Experience the world of Gundam in a new light by seeing different tales from side perspectives and fighting alongside new/old faces from the franchise lore. Time to become the new age NEWTYPE in SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays!

Fans of titles like Super Robot Wars—a series we hold dearly here at Honey’s Anime—will need no knowledge of how SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays plays. The main theme of this large Gundam title is to have players experience different eras and moments from the Gundam franchise from a summary-like perspective. There are a dozen stories you can choose from and each plays out with you donning famous Gundam/Mobile Suits and laying waste to your enemies. The big caveat though is that these robots have been miniaturized to the SD theme many fans are probably aware of—especially if you like Gunpla—making the various mechs ooze with originality. Now if you need a bit more of an indepth look at how SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays looks and plays like, we have you covered and you can continue on!

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is a turn based tactics title with players creating their own teams of Gundam/Mobile Suits to beat various story missions. At any time, players can choose from numerous stories like Gundam Wing, the various Gundam Seed tales, Gundam Iron Blooded Orphan and so on. You’ll be greeted to heavy dialogue sequences with some minor CGI—which looks quite nice—and then from there set your teams out and abide by each mission’s specific goals. Like most tactics titles, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is usually beat X number of enemies or defat specific target. Thankfully, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays doesn’t stick too hard to the usual tactics format and does have some cool elements thrown in for added measure.

Most battles have secret fulfillment moments that allow you to see a story from a different perspective and even fight on multiple grid planes versus just the one. Taking these challenges on is a must if you want to gain a Gundam/Mobile Suit in future battles elsewhere. SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays provides you with the story specific mechs but also gives you exclusive mechs/ships to use in any map. Why these characters are here might be a bit confusing but to fans of the titles not released in America—which there many—their inclusion isn’t strange at all.

Now once your team has been set the battle truly begins and here is where SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays shines brightest. While background environments look a bit stale—expect to see boring space maps a lot—the animations during each fight are a marvel to behold. No matter the Gundam or Mobile Suit you use, they attack in brilliant fashion that almost feels like watching an anime fight scene unfold. Mechs will spin and avoid fire and rush opponents to deal melee focused attacks in spectacular fashion. When you use Raid Attacks, the fights become even grander with multiple robots on screen unleashing hailstorms of lasers and missiles. You’ll need to mix and match when you unleash attacks, counter your enemies or defend to keep alive as fights can be tough in SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays. As you win though your pilots and suits get stronger and stronger even gaining access to abilities that help with precision attacks or make your battle attributes go up in other ways. At its core SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is a simple RPG with a lot to learn but equally an easy way to digest it for both veteran tactics players and newbies alike.

Where SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays falters a bit is the ad nauseam at which you do anything in this game. The battle animations might look gorgeous for the first few hours but after you’ve seen the same beam rifle attacks and funnel barrages you’ll notice your fingers hitting skip all too just see how much damage you took and dealt out on your foe. We mentioned earlier the environments are a bit bland and it doesn’t help they seem overused constantly. They might have small bits that show you’re in a particular Gundam world/tale but it’s never enough to shrug the feeling of repetition. Thankfully it takes at least several hours before this concept sinks in but be sure readers…it will hit you whether you’re a fan of the SD series or Gundam in general.

Lastly, let’s talk about the sounds found—and not found—in SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays. Most of SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays uses original music or remixes of the series tunes but that’s one of the few things you’ll hear while playing. Battles often are voiced fully—which is awesome—but story segments tend to be silent more often than not. Don’t be mistaken though readers. We do understand that voicing all the dialogue in SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays would be an extremely expensive venture—as again there is a lot of it—but we wished more iconic scenes were voiced here and there just to sell this series a bit stronger.

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays has obviously come out on Steam—PC—in America and a Nintendo Switch version is supposedly coming out as well. However, for those who want a console version, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays was released with English in China so you can import it to America. We ourselves did just that and we have to say both versions are almost identical. We did notice some changes with visuals here and there—the PC version can look stronger in some areas versus the PS4—but these comparisons are minor overall. Many forums have stated different RNGs being on the Steam version than the PS4 copy but we truly didn’t notice this as we played. In our minds, both versions are perfectly fine and neither has strength over the other.

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is truly a loving homage to all things Gundam but that is also what hurts the title in equal measure. While battling through the numerous stories of Gundam and being able to pilot your favorite mobile suits/Gundams is exciting, the battles can be a bit repetitive. Seeing the same environments and animations over and over again becomes a bit mind numbing where we began to skip past them as quickly as possible more often than not. Thankfully, with so many entries in the Gundam series to explore, we rarely grew bored of jumping into our favorite suits/pilots and seeing their stories in a new way. Yes, these aren’t full blown stories from the anime series but they do a good job of giving you just enough to stay invested in each tale. Overall, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is a solid tactics title that will most definitely appeal to fans of the franchise and even tactics gamers as well. Just don’t expect SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays to redefine the genre and you’ll come out enjoying the title at the end of the day!

The Gundam series has always turned out games with mixed results. SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is easily one of the prime examples of a solid title that does the series justice in many ways. While not perfect, SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays was an enjoyable game with the time we put into it and we can see ourselves returning to it for different mission results, playing on harder difficulty settings and trying to nab all the Gundam/Mobile Suits we can! Are you currently playing SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays or intend to after reading our review? Let us know in the comments below! For even more game reviews and all things anime keep stuck to our glorious hive here at Honey’s Anime!