Great Tactics type game that came out of nowhere

User Rating: 8.9 | Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation GBA
Okay, I had never heard of the series of SRW(T) and this is the first i have every picked up. Since I didnt even know before that the series was famous for lisenced mechs (Gundams, Nadesico, etc...), I wasnt disappointed when there were totally original mechs in this game. Heck, they look close enough to any mech I know anyways. So this review is coming from someone who had never played the game before.

Gameplay:
If you loved either Advance Wars or Fire Emblem, you'll love this game. It seems to put everything great about those games, and then some that makes this game better. There are many different mechs, pilots, weapons, and parts to customize you mechs so that they are prepared to defeat whatever the game throws at you. There are many different skills for a pilot, called "Spirit" or "Sheisun" ( I think) that will increase, accuracy, evade, dmg, or other various options. And the game constantly introduces new mechs before you can get bored with the older mechs. And the game requires you to use all those mechs. Unlike Fire Emblem, where you can take most enemies (bosses inclueded) with one shot, you will need to concentrate fire on mechs to destroy them. You will need to get into positions that give you the best attk acc, and best evade to win. And the bosses are really hard since they have around 3 times the HP of your highest mech and can kill some of your weaker units in one shot.
As for the gamers who want more objectives and a bit more challenge, you can go for "Mission Mastery." They are extra objectives that tell you "Kill all enemies in 6 turns" or "Beat this boss unit before something happens." Getting battle mastery will give you a few secret mechs and weapons, so they are great to go for.
Also, as a side note, when a character's HP goes to 0 in this game, they are not dead forever and you just have to pay a small fee to repair their mechs after the mission. Its a lot less stressful than Fire Emblem (if you're going for a game with no deaths).

Graphics:
The graphics are somewhat dated, but then again, what do you expect for a 4 or so year old game? If you look past the somewhat old graphics and use a bit of imagination, the battle animations look great and look pretty much like a mech anime, with pilots yelling comments back and forth at each other. The interface could've been better, with some type of bar that could show current health and SP iif you scroll over them. But its a minor complaint and isnt much of a problem later on.
On the field, mechs are represented by a small icons of their heads. It is a bit difficult to distinguish each mech in the beginning, but you learn what they all look like.

Sound:
Meh, most of the music and sound effects are great though some sound a bit weird. Its not a big problem since I normally play with the sound low anyways.

I loved this game once i got past some difficult interface issues. The story is something you would expect from a mech anime, and with 2 stories with MANY episodes in them, this game has a lot of replay value and game time. It also helps that the game seems to flesh out every character's personality so you care a bit more about them. As I said before, this game is perfect if you like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars.

~Squeak~