Following on from the last batch of disappointing DLC for Gundam Side Stories, we now have a new set released. Featuring the YMS-15 Gyan this is at least a new mobile suit rather than just cheap re-skin. Focused around close combat, the Gyan was a formidable mobile suit in the original Gundam series. It’s also more of a classic design for the fans and so that is at least something to be happy about. There’s also a new VR Mission available now too and it looks like a decent challenge as well.

Dreadnought Gundam is on its way to the Gundam Extreme Versus Maxi Boost roster in July. Coming from the manga Gundam SEED X-Astray, the Dreadnought Gundam is piloted by Prayer Reverie, the rival of Canard Pars and the Hyperion Gundam. In game, it is another addition to the 2000 cost units. With its Dragoon attacks and Red Frame assists, it definitely looks to be a rather interesting suit to use within that cost bracket. I do wonder when Shining will eventually enter the fray as well, but hopefully we’ll be seeing it soon and many other fan favorites as well. Make sure to check out the gameplay trailer below to see Dreadnought Gundam in action!

Well we now have some cheap knock off DLC, as the G3 Gundam is a playable DLC unit in Gundam Side Stories. The reason this is basically a knock-off DLC pack is because the G3 is basically a re-coloured version of the standard RX-78-2 Gundam. Used at the end of the novel version by Amuro Ray, it’s just a higher performance version of the regular Gundam. Normally the G3 is given as an unlockable unit but clearly Bandai Namco are just being lazy/greedy this time around. At 400 yen it’s also a bit ridiculously priced too. A video of it in action is linked below.

Following on from the Gundam Unicorn themed DLC for Gundam Side Stories we now have the second set released today on PSN. This includes some new VR missions as well as two new mobile suits; the Pezun Dowadge and the Efreet Nacht. We’re sorta meh on the former but the later is cool as we enjoyed Gundam Senki 0081. This could also mean we might get some 7th Gundam DLC too, which would be pretty nice. Talking of VR missions, the game is actually better without all the story stuff getting in the way. Much like the older PS2 Gundam games, the core gameplay on its own holds up much better than when it has to tell a story. This was true in Journey to Jaburo with the Tactics Battle setup, that later basically made up the backbone of the far better Lost War Chronicles. Without all the manky cutscenes to ruin the ambiance, Side Stories is actually really solid.

So since Gundam Side Stories launched it’s been getting pretty terrible user reviews. Now in Japan these tend to have more weight with fans, more so than press reviews in fact, but this also means that we’ve already seen some initial price cuts. Whilst this is not an official reduction, a 40% decrease in price is pretty massive. Admittedly this is for the standard edition of the game, as the limited edition is still at full price, but even then this is pretty serious. It’s likely this has happened because outlets like Amazon have excess stock they need to shift, as the user reviews have relegated the game to the online bargain bin. Whether this price cut will shift over to importers is unlikely though, at least for the interim. In terms of sales, the game has done sorta average (at around 80k in its first few days). In any case, we ‘re hoping Bandai Namco will learn from this episode and either give these games a bigger budget or focus the scope to use the budget they already have.

Now that our review for Gundam Side Stories is up, we wanted to add a few more bits that cover the narrative. The reason why these aren’t in the main review is that these are pretty hefty spoilers. Whilst we don’t really care about spoilers some people lose their shit, so this concession is for them. This is by no means comprehensive but more the parts we thought worth mentioning.

After much wait Gundam Side Stories is released today in Japan. However, because we’re awesome we got a copy of the Limited Edition a day early (pictured above). So from playing about fifteen or so missions on the Slave Wraith side of Missing Link this is what we think of it thus far. In terms of controls and gameplay, it’s actually pretty great. It’s fluid and simple but with some nice weight to it. It feels like an amalgam of the old Blue Destiny games mixed with Lost War Chronicles and Zeonic Front. In terms of the latter, you have three units per team and you can switch mid-combat between them (like in Zeonic Front somewhat). These also act as your “lives”, as once one is taken out it has to recharge and you can switch to the others in the team. Once all units are down then that’s game over. Missions are short and simple but still quite varied. The game is quite focused as a whole, in that you don’t really have to customise the mobile suits or their load-out. You also have access to two weapons from the off, normally a machine gun and a bazooka/beam rifle but this varies from unit to unit. All this makes the controls and combat feel very direct and almost arcade like. The story and voice acting is also good and suitably interesting. All this aside though, this game looks really quite ugly in places. The majority of the cutsenes clearly weren’t done by an animator and the engine itself looks very dated indeed (worse than 0081 did in fact). The terrain especially looks like something from the PS2 era. We’re guessing this is because the budget was small and the content in the game as a whole is pretty massive (as they had to make seven games in one package). Once we’ve played it some more we’ll post our review but in the meantime it plays well but looks pretty disappointing. There are also some new gameplay videos, which we’ve linked below. You can buy the standard edition here.

In a nice move, Bandai Namco have announced what appears to be the last entry in the Masoukishin series; Masoukishin F: Coffin of the End for PS3. Considering all the prior games have been helmed by winkysoft, it’s likely this will be too. If that’s the case, then the “F” suffix harks back to their SRW glory days on F and F Final. No news on a release date or price as yet but an interesting omission is the lack of a Vita version. That aside, we’re looking forward to this quite a bit!

In an interesting move, Hidetaka Miyazaki (pictured above) has been made the new president of From Software. Following on from Kadokawa’s recent acquisition of the company, long time president Naotoshi Zin is stepping down to an advisory role. The latter is the interesting part; Zin has been at the helm of the company since its inception during the mid-80s (back when it made business software). So this change in leadership does fall squarely into the big deal category. However considering Miyazaki’s prior experience working on Armored Core and the Souls games, does make this appointment a good one. As he does have an understanding of how games are made firsthand (you’d be surprised and disappointed at how few execs in the games industry have a clue about game development). Anyway, all that aside we wish him luck in the new role as the industry is in a funny place at the moment.

This year’s Shizuoka Hobby Show is now in full swing. As such, the likes of AmiAmi have been covering it. The big announcements are a new kit line (called Reborn One Hundred) and the MSN-04II Nightingale being the first kit in the range (pictured above). To make matters even more fabulous, we’ll also be getting a Ver Ka MG of the RX-93-v2 Hi-Nu Gundam as well as the announcement that a Beltorchika’s Children manga will be serialised in Gundam Ace. Bar that, there will also be a new 1/48 scale kit of the live action Ingram. All in all, it looks to be a pretty kickass show this time around. If you’re at all curious, there is some additional coverage here, here, here, here and here.