The original revelation of the two franchises colliding unsurprisingly caused a stir amongst the fanbases of both KOEI’s Dynasty Warriors series and Sunrise’s phenomenally successful Gundam franchise. While some may have found it difficult to assess exactly how KOEI intended to manipulate the Dynasty Warriors formula to accommodate the giant Mobile Suit battles of Gundam at first, quite simply, what better way to do it than to deliver another of the astonishingly popular Dynasty Warriors titles set in the unique universe of Gundam? Two years on, and a sequel in the bag, it’s now obvious that this was KOEI’s intention from the start.
The Dynasty Warriors series has many comparables in the modern videogames industry, the likes of Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden offer similarly structured 
combat in sequential arenas, despite their disowning coat of gloss, and the latter entries in the Phantasy Star series deliver a similarly compulsive Levelling System marking-out a players’ progression. However, none quite stand in the same modest spectrum as KOEI’s one-time pet project; none have such an avid fanbase ready to take onboard any- and everything the publisher can produce. This not only allows KOEI to experiment with the formula, but also receive uncommonly constructive feedback from an eager community.
Despite the warm welcome each release receives – regardless of the interval between their arrivals at retail – the Dynasty Warriors series has taken some time to get running at speed on the Current-Generation. Beginning with a handful of pleasant but ultimately underwhelming PlayStation 2 ports, namely Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires and a gloss coated Samurai Warriors 2, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam and the surprisingly unique turn of the ever underrated Bladestorm: the Hundred Years’ War were welcomed while gamers awaited the eventual arrival of the slightly disappointing Dynasty Warrior 6. Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War may have been deserved of more press coverage, but Dynasty Warriors: Gundam became the Current-Generation poster child for KOEI, and with good reason.
Within its’ main gameplay modes Dynasty Warriors: Gundam plays in accordance with an expanded Dynasty Warriors ruleset at all times. Playing through you
r chosen characters’ storyline – from which, there are many to choose – capturing Fields by eliminating a set number of enemies and occasionally a selection of Guards will diminish your enemy’s overall resources, and taking set bases or defeating named characters will win the battle. Each and every campaign can be played in two-player co-operative mode, though will only allow a single Gamer Profile to be signed-in at any onetime, undermining the game’s Achievement value somewhat.
Battles are generally a little longer than that of the main bloodline of the Dynasty Warriors the series, though not exceptionally so. The player will often be asked to traverse great distances between bouts of combat, but the Jetpack each character is equipped with often makes-up for the lack of cavalry. The range of the many characters is exceptionally diverse, with each complimenting the revision of the Dynasty Warriors combat system with a unique moveset. While a basic combo is available simply through repeated presses of the X Button, the player can throw in variables with presses of the A Button for dashes and the Y Button for using their equipped firearm, expanding the possible combinations for each character into double-figures. Each character can be levelled-up and many can switch between different Mobile Suits, which in-turn can also be levelled-up. In addition, however, the player will not only earn Skills which grant stat modifiers as with other titles in the Dynasty Warriors series, but also find Parts on the battlefield which can be attached to a Mobile Suit offering varying enhancements, and further bonuses through specific combinations of those Parts.
Alongside the Official and Original story-based gameplay options, a two-player Versus Mode is also available, with three different options present.
Normal Match is a standard one-on-one affair, while Warriors Match sees each player slugging through enemy robots to collect power-ups and upgrades before the walls are lowered and they go head-to-head. The Shotdown Contest sees players compete to see their respective Fields keep the enemy populace below fifty units, tempering with their opponents strategies through the collection and use of power-ups.
While the visual quality of Dynasty Warriors: Gundam is far from top-tier two years after initial release, the game does still present a welcoming aesthetic. Character models are suitably chunky and though the draw-distance remains limited, it is far superior to the earlier Dynasty Warriors titles on the Current-Generation. The voice acting will, for the most part, please fans of the anime series, though many sound bytes will be far too repetitive for many.
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam isn’t simply a Sci-Fi series shoehorned into the Dynasty Warriors mould; it’s a shrewd design decision manipulating that ruleset to perfectly balance the Gundam universe within such a game. Dynasty Warriors fans may find the adjustment a bit sluggish, but given time will fall into the new groove long enough to reach a full 1,000 GamerScore, and for Gundam fans there’s simply little that compares.
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