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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/503753-srwc3_large.jpg]]
2''Super Robot Wars Compact 3'' is the final ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' installment for the Bandai Platform/{{WonderSwan}} line of handhelds. It is the second and final ''Super Robot Wars'' for the [=WonderSwan Color=], and the only one that is exclusive to the [=WSC=].
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4The Earth is nearing what seems to be the end of a long, painful war. [[Anime/MazingerZ Dr. Hell]], [[Anime/GreatMazinger the Mycenae Empire]], [[Manga/GetterRobo the Hyakki Empire]], [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Neo Zeon]], and the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Organization of the Zodiac]] have all been defeated, with the [[Anime/CombattlerV Campbellians]] and the [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Titans]] on the verge of destruction. However, [[TheFederation the Earth Federation]] cuts back at the very last minute: the Argama is forced to finish off remnant Titans on its own, while the SuperRobot teams are left to deal with the remains of their respective enemies without assistance. Because of this, half a year passes with little-to-no progress being made against completely destroying the various factions.
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6Little do they know that a new war's about to begin: when Jaburo is under siege by a mysterious, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy fight-happy race]] called the Shura, a stray warrior named Folka Albark with his mech Ialdabaoth ends up siding with the Londo Bell, while being systematically hunted by his fellow kinsmen.
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8''Compact 3'' is a peculiar game compared to its contemporaries within the ''Super Robot Wars'' series. It was released during the final year of the Wonderswan's life cycle; Banpresto shipped a mere 15,000 copies to stores, and most indications are that an even lower amount was actually sold. (Compare that to the 200,000-250,000 that ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsDestiny'', which released around the same timeframe, sold.) The game mechanics are a strange mix of classic design and more modern traits, so one gets pilot customization while [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness also having to work around the "Limit" unit stat]]. There are no outer space missions whatsover.
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10The addition of ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' alongside the returning ''Anime/AuraBattlerDunbine'' and the first "true" storyline usage of ''New Story of Aura Battler Dunbine'' create a game that is known for dimension hopping and magical mecha. Other debuts include the psychological horror series that is ''Anime/{{Betterman}}'', the obscure ''Anime/MakyouDensetsuAcrobunch'', and the infinitely more obscure (as in, likely the most obscure 70s anime to ever grace a traditional ''Super Robot Wars'' game) ''Combining Squadron Mechander Robo''. Everything else is pulled from a previous game in the ''Compact'' sub-series.
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12!Series listing in ''Compact 3'' (Debuting entries are in bold)
13* Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam
14* Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ
15* Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack
16* [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz]]
17* Anime/MazingerZ
18* Anime/GreatMazinger
19* [[Manga/GetterRobo Getter Robo G]]
20* [[Manga/GetterRobo Shin Getter Robo]] ({{Manga}} version)
21* [[Anime/CombattlerV Super Electromagnetic Robot Combattler V]]
22* '''Combining Squadron Mechander Robo'''
23* '''[[Anime/MakyouDensetsuAcrobunch Acrobunch]]'''
24* Anime/AuraBattlerDunbine
25** New Story of Aura Battler Dunbine[[note]]Previous games feature the Sirbine and Zwauth, with Silky Mau sometimes appearing as an optional subpilot, but this is the first time that it gets the full story treatment.[[/note]]
26* '''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'''
27* '''Anime/{{Betterman}}'''
28
29!Tropes that ''Compact 3'' has include:
30* AlasPoorVillain: Garuda has a moment after being defeated by Combattler V, with Hyouma and Folka agreeing that Garuda is a very prideful - if misguided - warrior.
31* AncestralWeapon: All high-class Shura Gods, specifically the ones used by Shura Generals, are relics of their ancestors; current generation of Shura only has the technology to build the lowest class, namely the {{mooks}}.
32* AloofBigBrother: Altis Tarl, Folka and Fernando Albark's older brother.
33* AnIcePerson: Maysis Mark, the Shura General of Ice.
34* BadassFamily: The Randou Family from Acrobunch.
35* BloodKnight: Most likely "Freedom Knight" Alion Lucada...though to be honest, being a Blood Knight is a requirement for any Shura warrior. According to Folka, the Shura don't just fight for the sake of it, but they fight to win, which makes it very important that they gather THEIR forces up first.
36* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Fernando
37* CainAndAbel: Inversion; Fernando being the "bad" Abel for Folka, who's "good" Cain.
38* CapedMecha: A feature of pretty much any [[Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne Guymelef]] that isn't a mass production model. The capes on Zaibach mecha double as {{Invisibility Cloak}}s. Also present with Fernando's Valefor after its [[MidSeasonUpgrade apotheosis.]]
39* CatGirl: [[Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne Merle, Nariya and Eriya]].
40* ChivalrousPervert: Alion has a crush on Maysis and ''hits'' on his own robot (as a ''joke'', mind you).
41* CombiningMecha: Acrobunch, Anime/CombattlerV, Manga/GetterRobo G, Mechander Robo, Shin Manga/GetterRobo.
42* CoolHorse: Altis' mecha is not a horse, but a centaur. A bit of a ShoutOut to [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Koku-Oh]], with Altis being the AloofBigBrother of [[{{Expy}} Kenshiro pastiche]] Folka.
43** Alion's mecha Agares ''is'' actually an anthromorphic horse
44* DareToBeBadass: After beating Alkaid in the final scenario of ''Compact 3'', he dares Folka to find a way for the Shura to live in a world without fighting.
45* DemotedToExtra: In spite of being the titular character and more or less the hero of his series, [[Anime/{{Betterman}} Lamia's]] reduced to a handful of roles in the game and always is a NPC ally on missions he appears.
46* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Right after [[spoiler:both Fernando and Maysis pull a HeelFaceTurn to make Mizal pay for his treachery, Alkaid made his grand entrance and the two immediately pulled a LastStand, attacking Alkaid and dying (in Maysis' case, [[DeathSeeker she's attempting to reunite with her deceased lover Altis]]).]]
47* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
48** Played with. While it certainly ''looks'' the part of a MissionPackSequel to the previous ''Compact'' games (which were based on ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWars4 Super Robot Wars F]]'' and thus have plenty of this trope), many core mechanics were updated to those of more contemporary ''Super Robot Wars'' games. That being said, it still contains the "Limit" stat.
49** The heroic force is still collectively known as [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Londo Bell]], while the rest of the franchise had began to move towards original faction names like the "[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha Alpha Numbers]]" and "[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsReversal Round Knights]]".
50* {{Expy}}: Averted so far: Folka isn't THAT much of a [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Kenshiro]] expy in the beginning, except for the attack Kanji display, due to graphical limitations.
51* EvilChancellor: Mizal Touval; trope's more evident in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Gaiden''.
52* {{Fanservice}} Most pilots have static [[SuperMovePortraitAttack cut-in portraits]] that slide in and out of view. [[Anime/{{Betterman}} Hinoki and Kaede]] have animated portraits where they [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6FbiY-a_JU jump into view]], causing their breasts to bounce.
53* {{Gonk}}: Magnaz, complete with [[GagLips gag lips]].
54* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: At the end, Shion tells Silky that no one will believe their tales of another world.
55* GreenAesop: At the end of ''Compact 3'', Ryusuke of the Mechander team suggests that cleaning up the pollution and damage to their world might be a better deterrent against the Congistar forces than trying to stage an attack on Ganymede. The ''Endless Waltz'' cast is up for it, noting that at least that's a battle that doesn't involve fighting.
56* HumanAlien: The Shura and Jimmy from Mechander Robo.
57* InconsistentSpelling: Is it Phorka or Folka? Is it Fernando or Phernand? Is it Ialdabaoth or Yaldabaoth? Is it Valefor or Valefar? In fact, Compact 3's inherent use of this trope for its original characters and mecha is just mind-boggling.
58* LifeEnergy: Powering a Shura God requires one's life. Subverted once Folka "apotheosizes" the Ialdabaoth
59* LittleMissBadass: [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Leina Ashta]] [[TookALevelInBadass becomes one]] in this game, to the point where she's the only person who can reach the maximum level of Newtype. Her brother, one of the most powerful Newtypes of all time, only reaches level 8.
60* MusicalNod: This game's predecessor was compiled into ''Super Robot Wars Impact'' on the Playstation 2. This game, in turn, features downports of a couple of ''Impact'' [=BGMs=], most notably the enemy reinforcement theme.
61* NotQuiteDead: Tekkou Oni survived his fate in ''Getter Robo G'', and ends up joining the group after an EnemyMine situation.
62* OddballInTheSeries:
63** Thanks to the heavily ''Dunbine''/''Escaflowne''-centric plot, there are no outer space missions. Unlike the ''Earth Crisis'' portion of ''Compact 2'', the Space terrain stat is completely removed from unit profiles.
64** There are a measly ''three'' {{Combination Attack}}s: "Double Burning Fire" (Anime/MazingerZ and Anime/GreatMazinger), "Twin Aura Slash" ([[Anime/AuraBattlerDunbine Dunbine and Billbine]]), and "Sisters Attack" (both [[Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne Teirings]]).
65** Likewise, there are very few secrets in the game. Beyond the MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers situation involving Getter Robo[[note]]Getter Robo G and the opportunity to recruit Kouchou Oni vs Shin Getter Robo and an automatically-joining Tekkou Oni[[/note]], there's only [[Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne Naria and Eriya]] and the option to pick up the Camouflage Billbine. This means that ''Compact 3'' is one of the rare games featuring ''Dunbine'' where Tod Guiness ''cannot'' be recruited.
66* OutOfCharacterAlert: During the attack on the Omega Missile base in ''Compact 3'', Folka notices that Fernando is a lot more kill-happy than usual. Fernando states that all Shura are born to fight and kill and strive for the position of General, but Folka sees through it and tells him to show his "true face" after defeating him. Sure enough, it's actually [[{{Shapeshifter}} Arco]] disguising himself as Fernando.
67* PragmaticAdaptation:
68** Given that the low-key opening theme of ''Betterman'' doesn't jive well with [=SRW=]'s general tradition of including the first opening song when a series debuts, much less a [=SRW=] game on the Wonderswan, the developers decided to make an exception and utilize its ending song instead.
69** ''Mechander Robo's'' Omega Missiles are in the game, but only for a few scenarios as opposed to being an omnipresent threat.
70* TheRemnant: Whatever's left of the [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Titans]] and [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Neo Zeon]].
71* {{Robeast}}: The Shura attempt a more direct homage with their animal-themed mecha, but they have soldiers as pilots.
72* {{Sampling}}: The ''Super Robot Wars'' series' usage of recorded bits of audio to help its chiptune music approximate the original songs was nothing new at this point, but its usage sticks out here as the Wonderswan's audio was otherwise woefully underpowered by the time ''Compact 3'' released. By far the most notable application is "Epistle" from ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', a song whose main melody consists of OminousLatinChanting.
73* SmugSnake: Mizal
74* SpamAttack: Folka has those RapidFireFisticuffs; he also has Shinha Kou Ken, where he spams energy bolts. Folka ''loves'' to spam.
75* SphereOfDestruction: [[Manga/GetterRobo Stoner Sunshine]].
76* StalkedByTheBell: the Omega Missile from Mechander Robo frequently shows up after 3 turns from Stage 10 until Stage 16. It has a post movement MAPW with a range of 1-6 around itself that hits for about 4k damage and NEVER misses.
77* TheStarscream: Mizal
78* ThemeNaming: All Shura Gods are named after [[Literature/ArsGoetia mythical demons]].
79* {{Tsundere}}: Maysis gets really gushy in front of Altis, but when Alion teases her about it, she snaps; likewise, in battle, she possesses a no-nonsense personality like [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Soi Fon]].
80* TooManyBelts: Folka's outfit is loaded with it.

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