Gundam VS Series - Television Tropes & Idioms

A series of hybrid Action/Fighting Games based upon the wildly popular Gundam anime franchise. Each game in the series follows the same basic format: The player chooses a Mobile Suit and a pilot, then engages in a series of third-person battles with the opposing forces. Both sides have a resource meter, representing their ability to wage war; to win, one must destroy enough enemy machines to deplete the enemy's resources, with the machines' value being determined by their overall power.

The series has gone through nine iterations so far:

Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs Zeon (2000): The first game in the series, centering on Mobile Suit Gundam. It laid down the groundwork for the entire series, as well as being an overall fun and enjoyable game. Several months later, Capcom updated the game into Federation vs Zeon DX, adding in the Ground Combat Gundam and Ground Combat GM from The 08th MS Team to bolster the Federation's roster. The DX version was used to make the home version, which added a Campaign Mode wherein the player became a Federation or Zeon pilot and fought through the One Year War from the early skirmishes up until the final battle at A Baoa Qu.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: AEUG vs Titans (2003): This first sequel shifted the story to the popular Zeta Gundam timeframe and introduced some new mechanics, such as Transforming Mecha. Like its predecessor, it later had a DX version which added in several Mobile Suits left out of the original release, added in the Awakenings system (Assault, Revive and Mobility) and was used to make the home version.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs Zeta Gundam (2004): A sequel to the sequel, Gundam vs Zeta Gundam could be considered the "complete" version of AEUG vs Titans. It features every Mobile Suit from the previous games, as well as bonuses from Gundam ZZ: Judau and the ZZ Gundam, the Purus and their Qubeley Mk-IIs, and the ZZ version of Haman Karn. A home-exclusive release, the Campaign Mode from the previous two games was replaced with Universal Century Mode, where the player could explore the entire cast's role in the One Year War and Gryps Conflict, changing history by altering significant events and moving towards the best (for that faction, at least) ending.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Alliance vs ZAFT (2005): Jumping to the Alternate Universe of Cosmic Era, this sequel focuses on Gundam SEED and greatly overhauls the game engine. The action is sped up thanks to several changes, including addition of Boost Dashing, melee combos made more plentiful and easier to execute, and the ability to activate Awakenings when your meter is only half-full. Later upgrades added in several Mobile Suits from Gundam SEED Destiny, including the five Second Stage Gundams and several custom ZAKUs from the first part of the show. The Playstation 2 port earned some flack for lacking any extra modes, a problem which was rectified somewhat in the Playstation Portable release.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Alliance vs ZAFT II (2006): Focusing on Gundam SEED Destiny, this game's primary change from its predecessor is a greatly expanded cast list (with some re-balancing for the machines that appeared in that game) and the expansion of the Awakenings system similar to AEUG vs Titans DX (Speed for Mobility, Power for Assault, and Rush Mode from Alliance vs ZAFT. All with character specific effects...). Later upgrades added in the Strike Noir and Stargazer Gundam from the ONA Gundam SEED C.E. 73 Stargazer, while the home version (dubbed Alliance vs ZAFT II Plus) adds in several slight variations to existing machines, such as Yzak Joule's GOUF Ignited and Andy Waltfeld's Gaia Gundam. Plus also features P.L.U.S. Mode, where the player takes on the role of Shinn Asuka and performs missions for the rest of the cast, earning new machines and making friends as he does.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs Gundam (2008): A Crisis Crossover game, featuring characters from every series from Mobile Suit Gundam up through Gundam SEED Destiny (with Setsuna F. Seiei and Gundam Exia appearing later as a bonus). The game's plot is...simple: the Devil Gundam arises in 2032 and takes over arcade machines from the Gundam vs Series that encompass the entire franchise, forcing the heroes to unite and fight off the monster. Gameplay is a mix of the SEED and Universal Century games, with a streamlining of the resource system, removal of the Awakening system (replaced by G-Crossover attacks), and Mobile Assists (Striker-like assists performed by allied Mobile Suits). The Playstation Portable version added in four new machines, the Guncannon, Kampfer, Gundam GP01, and Destiny Gundam.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs Gundam NEXT (2009): An overall improved version of Gundam vs Gundam, boasting more new Mobile Suits, new stages, new music, re-balanced characters, and the NEXT Dash ability, allowing every character to dash-cancel their attacks for even faster action. After spending most of 2009 in arcades, a PSP port (NEXT Plus) was released in September, gaining Wing Zero Custom, Altron Custom, the 00-Raiser and Reborns Gundam, the Zeong, The O, Providence Gundam, and the Kshatriya, along with a Mission Mode.
Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. (2010): Released in arcades in late 2010 and in December 2011 for Playstation 3. The game resembles Gundam vs Gundam, but was rebuilt from the ground up with a few changes: Mobile Assists are only given to some characters, while every MS has a character-specific Super Mode dubbed an Extreme Burst, with several having Finishing Moves on top of that. It also uses a card system similar to Street Fighter IV that lets the player customize play options like the interface design and Mission Control. It is also the first game in the series to include mecha and characters from non-animated Gundam works, including Crossbone Gundam, Gundam IGLOO, and Gundam SEED Astray. The home version was released December 2011 for PlayStation 3 and gained several new units, including Blue Frame Second L and Gundam Dynames, not to mention DLC, which introduced Blue Destiny 1 among others.
Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Full Boost (2012): Announced shortly before the home release of the original Extreme Vs.. The game adds a Combo Breaker feature, gives two choices of Super Mode, and gives everybody a Super Move. Several new characters have been introduced including Char's Zeong, M'Quve's Gyan, Nimbus' Efreet Kai, Corin's Kapool, Yzak's Duel Gundam AS, Londo's Astray Gold Frame Amatsu, Sven's Strike Noir and Selene's Stargazer, Nena's Throne Drei, Ribbons' Reborns Gundam and Allelujah's Arios Gundam, Schwarz's Gundam Spiegel, Jamil Neate's Gundam X, Kou's Gundam GP-03 Dendrobium "Stamen", Yazan's Hambrabi and Emma's Gundam Mk.II, Mashmyre Cello's Zaku-III Kai, Mafty's Xi Gundam, Heero's Wing Zero (This time, the TV version, not the Endless Waltz one) and Unicorn Banshee (in addition to everything from the home version of the original ExVs).

The series was originally developed by Capcom and produced by Banpresto, but Bandai Namco stepped in as producer for Next Plus and finally took over completely as of Extreme Vs. Fed vs. Zeon ran on Sega's NAOMI board (the arcade equivalent of the Dreamcast, used in Soul Calibur 2 and 3), the next few games used Namco's System 246/256 (Playstation 2-equivalent, used in Tekken 5), and Extreme Vs. jumped ahead to System 357 (Playstation 3-equivalent, used in Tekken 6).

All these games provide examples of:

Actor Allusion: In Full Boost, one of Leos' battle quotes is "I'll shatter that illusion of yours!"; ironically, his character was originally on the receiving end of that Catch Phrase.
Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: The boss fight with the Strike Freedom in Next Plus takes place on a platform in multicolored space with the Devil Gundam's burnt-out husk in the background (presumably it's the Devil Gundam's stage after its defeat). The Turn A stage (the one with the White Doll statue) has a glowing Moonlight Butterfly-style sky. Extreme Universe is a variation since it's mostly metallic, but the floor is made of gigantic hexagonal pillars that Extreme Gundam can raise, drop, and destroy with its attacks.
And Your Reward Is Clothes: In Alliance vs. ZAFT II Plus' P.L.U.S. Mode, maxing a character's friendship will give them an alternate character portrait that shows them in civilian clothes and smiling at you.
- Full Boost reintroduces the concept, letting the player choose between alternate costumes for their characters; for the most part this is simply choosing between their pilot suit and their uniform or civilian clothing.
Anime Theme Song: While the earlier games used background music from their respective series, Alliance vs ZAFT began the trend of throwing in theme songs, which continued into Gundam vs Gundam, where every show is represented by its theme (except for Zeta Gundam, due to the same licensing issues that plagued the US release).
- Starting with Gundam vs. Gundam NEXT, each game has had its own theme song. NEXT's a remix of "Ai Senshi" by Gackt, Extreme Vs. had Linkin Park's "The Catalyst" from their A Thousand Suns album, and Full Boost has " FIGHT IT OUT feat. K(Pay money To my Pain)" by both Akihiro Namba and Takeshi Ueda.
Assist Character: Gundam vs. Gundam introduces Mobile Assists for every playable machine, with some (such as the Acguy) having separate assist-like moves. In Extreme Vs, assists are no longer universal, usually only possessed by the machines without enough weapons or moves to fill out the standard five-part moveset. Some machines (like the GP02A) have more than one Assist Character, which are "chosen" by holding in one direction or another while pressing the command.
Back from the Dead: AEUG Vs. Titans introduced the Revive Awakening, which lets you avoid death but costs one of your mobile suit's limbs (and everything connected to it, like weapons, shields, or abilities); it can be used multiple times, as long as you refill the meter beforehand. Gundam vs Gundam NEXT brought this ability back, but only gave it to certain machines which did this kind of thing in their home series. The Hyaku-Shiki loses its left arm, limiting its melee options and taking away the Mega Bazooka Launcher. The O can use this multiple times, first losing its head to no great effect, but losing its left arm and beam rifle the second. In the meantime, the Titans Gundam Mk-II loses its left arm, which gets rid of its shield and its ability to reload, limiting it to what ammo it has left.
- A couple of machines take this a step further, with a special "extra form" that it assumes upon being destroyed. The Zeong is reduced to just the head, which flies around and only has its Breath Weapon beam. In Extreme Vs., Gundam Exia turns into Exia Repair, which cuts it down to just its beam rifle and a stripped-down melee moveset.
Bonus Boss: Do well enough in Gundam vs Gundam NEXT, and you'll be "treated" to a fight with the Strike Freedom Gundam.
Boss Fight: Sometimes a stage's goal will be to take out one specific character. Gundam vs Gundam NEXT adds in full-on boss battles usually with mobile armors, including the Elmeth, Apsaras III, Gundam GP03 Orchis, Psyco Gundam, Quin Mantha, Alpha Azieru, Rafflesia, Zanneck, Devil Gundam, WaDom, and Strike Freedom with METEOR.
- Extreme Vs brings in the Regnant and Extreme Gundam, which currently has Carnage Phase, Tachion Phase & Ignis Phase forms.
  - The home version adds the Zakrello, Big-Rang, Apsaras II, Divinidad, Adrastea, Destroy Gundam, Psycho Gundam Mk-II and GN Arms Type-D. Full Boost is slated to add more, but so far the only ones known are the Shamblo and the fourth Phase of Extreme Gundam, the Mystic Phase.
Breakable Weapons: In the UC games and the original Gundam Vs Gundam, shields only block damage if an attack happens to hit them, and can be destroyed if they take enough damage. If the shield has a weapon or special function linked to it, that disappears too. The Gundam X and Gyan suffer the worst from this, as their shields house important weapons (the former's beam rifle and the latter's missile and bomb launchers). Losing the shields reduces them to just melee (and, in the GX's case, vulcans).
- The Gundam and ZZ can benefit from this, as losing their shields gives them access to Dual Wielding saber attacks.
- Some weapons are "breakable" in the sense that, when they run out of ammunition, the MS discards them and swaps over to another. The Gouf Custom does this, ditching the Gatling shield in favor of the much weaker triple Gatling, while the Turn X (in Next Plus) starts with its beam rifle, swaps out for its bazooka, and then fires beams from its right hand.
Character Select Forcing: Some of the mission mode stages will force you to use a certain machine. This is especially apparent in Next Plus' Plus Mode, which features routes that loosely re-create the events of the different Gundam anime.
Charged Attack: Alliance vs ZAFT introduced the Hold variety of this; the Charge Meter appears in the ammo indicator for the weapon to which it's linked.
Cherry Tapping: Pretty much any tertiary weapon (i.e., Gundam's Vulcan cannons) is like this, though there are some exceptions.
Colony Drop: The Mobile Suit Gundam cast's G-Crossover attack.
- In Extreme Vs. Full Boost, Char's Sazabi can call in a colony drop that serves as its Extreme Burst Attack.
Composite Character: A couple of the machines in Extreme Vs. combine elements of past incarnations; for example, Next Plus had both versions of Wing Zero as separate characters; ExVs combines their best aspects into a single character.
Continuity Nod: Fed vs Zeon has a rather hidden nod to the famous Lost Episode "Doan's Island" (besides the eponymous island being one of the stages). In the Federation Mission Mode, after Garma dies, a stage opens up in the Pacific that sends you to Doan's Island and pits you against a single Zaku II that only uses melee attacks. The stage is very easy to miss, since it's only available immediately after Garma's death; if you do any other mission first, it's Lost Forever.
Defeat Means Friendship: Averted in P.L.U.S. Mode, where beating up on a character will make them think less of you; if you want to befriend them, you have to do missions with them and avoid attacking them.
Degraded Boss: In Extreme Vs, the Divinidad Boss Fight will apparently come in two forms: one will be a standard boss battle against a single powerful machine, while the other will feature several weaker (and slightly smaller) Divinidads, mimicking the Final Battle of Crossbone Gundam.
Demoted to Extra: Anyone who went from playable to Assist Character in the transition from the old games to Gundam Vs. Gundam or from GvG to Extreme Vs.. Furthermore, ExVs removes most of the playable females, turning quite a few of them (like Puru and Cecily) into Mission Control.
Downer Ending: Gundam vs Zeta Gundam has a route that results in the events of Char's Counterattack happening early, and boy is it depressing. It starts when both Lalah and Sayla are killed during the One Year War; jump ahead to the Zeta era, where Char and Haman lead the Axis Zeons against the Federation; Haman and Kamille are killed at Luna 2*
An assumption, since both get special dialog if shot down on this stage and don't show up in later stages whether or not they lived
. The game doesn't give an out-and-out ending for this, but Fridge Logic suggests that tihngs went From Bad to Worse, since without Nu Gundam and the psychoframes, there's no way Amuro can stop Axis...
Downloadable Content: Extreme Vs. has Zeong, Blue Destiny 1, The-O, Gottrlatan, Freedom Gundam and Arche Gundam. To coincide with The Best re-release of the game, both the Xi Gundam from Hathaway's Flash and the GP03 Dendrobium Stamen from Stardust Memory were released (both being Y500 a piece like the 1st 6), alongside a DLC pack which has the 1st 6 DLC in one bundle for Y2000. Later, the Arios + GN Archer, Strike Noir, Zaku III, and Astray Gold Frame were also added.
- The first press run of the game included a code to unlock the Hi-Nu Gundam; it was later made available as free DLC (everything else is Y500 a unit).
Dualvertisement: Between Extreme Vs. and Gundam EXA, the manga celebrating Gundam Ace Magazine's 10th anniversary. The Final Boss of both games is EXA's villainous ex- and his Extreme Gundam, while Full Boost makes protagonist Leos Arroi playable with his own custom version of Extreme, and his partner Cecia Avea joins as a navigator.
Duel to the Death: In Alliance vs ZAFT II Plus, one of the Enemy missions with Andrew Waltfeld is this; you're dropped into the map back-to-back with a single hit point, meaning first blood wins.
Dummied Out: In Gundam vs Gundam NEXT Plus, hacking can be used to gain access to normally unplayable machines like the bosses or the MS added for Next Plus Mode. The Next Plus mecha are incomplete, with maybe one or two attacks...with a couple of exceptions. Buster, Blitz, and Lunamaria's ZAKU were mostly copied over from Alliance vs. ZAFT, while Sandrock Kai was included for a stage where you fight the entire Wing Team. Hacking these four as playables shows that they're already mostly complete, only really lacking voice clips*
All the more unfortunate for Sandrock, since Quatre's seiyuu Ai Orikasa is already in the game as Fara Griffon
.]], assists and balanced stats.
Early-Bird Cameo: Banahger Links with the Unicorn Gundam and Marida Cruz with the Kshatriya appear in Gundam vs Gundam NEXT before the actual Gundam Unicorn anime.
Everything's Better with Spinning: The Gundam has a jumping spin slash, the Guncannon has various roundhouse kicks, and the Gelgoog can spin its beam naginata to deflect attacks; Double Zeta has a spinning piledriver; God Gundam's God Slash Typhoon; Wing Zero has its famous Rolling Buster Rifle attack, while Epyon has a spinning sword slice; The O has its own spinning slash; As well as Leos' custom Extreme Gundam with a spinning slash at its basic phase.
Excuse Plot: Gundam vs Gundam. Devil Gundam taking over arcade machines? Who cares, let's get to the fighting.
Extremity Extremist: The Gouf, as well as the God and Master Gundams, have extremely few ranged moves, focusing almost entirely on melee combat; Gundam Epyon has absolutely none, fighting only with a heat whip and beam sword.
- This gets changed up a little in Extreme Vs, where God and Master have more standard ranged attacks, but are still melee focused. This also applies to the Susanoo, which lacks a standard projectile, instead having a move which powers up its melee attacks (though it does still have the beam chakram and Tri-Punisher).
Face Heel Turn and Heel Face Turn: Can happen in Universal Century Mode and P.L.U.S. Mode, depending on several factors.
- Rather prominently, Gundam vs Zeta Gundam has routes where the three main characters each end up with the Titans for various reasons. For Amuro, he and Lalah defected from the war and both ending up working willingly for the Newtype Labs. For Kamille, his parents were killed by the AEUG's attack on Green Noah, leading him to join the Titans for revenge. For Quattro, his story is an extension of the Project Zeta storyline, and he defects to the Titans after causing Garma's death as per the original series.
Fandom Nod: In Extreme Vs, the SEED intro video shows the Strike Gundam Dual Wielding beam rifles, a nod to the fact that it sometimes did this in the original anime during Off Model moments (which eventually became Memetic Mutation).
Fanservice: Non-sexual variety: Allowing the player to go to town with their favorite Mobile Suits is a pretty big draw for Gundam fans.
Fast Ball Special: During EXAM Mode, Blue Destiny 1's GM assist becomes this. Also qualifies as Grievous Harm with a Body, since the poor GM is obviously not a willing participant.
Finishing Move: Extreme Vs adds these, usable only when the player is in Extreme Burst Mode. Examples include the 00 Gundam's Raiser Sword and Strike Freedom's METEOR Full Burst.
Fire, Ice, Lightning: Extreme Gundam's armor phases are in this trope. And it's order of sortie even arranged perfectly as the trope in Trial Mission Mode's Final Mission.
For Want of a Nail: The Project Zeta storyline in Gundam vs Zeta, where Garma Zabi doesn't die, which leads to Ramba Ral and the Black Tri-Stars surviving as well and eventually to Zeon conquering the Federation at Jaburo.
- In Spite of a Nail: The outcome of this storyline is the Federation rebelling against Zeon during the Zeta era, which is literally just the original Gundam series' events played out with more powerful MS.
Fragile Speedster: Waltfeld's Gaia Gundam moves faster than Stella's and has better melee combos, but has below average HP compared to other units in its tier. The Hambrabi also has thin armor.
Game-Breaking Bug: In Extreme Vs, a bug can give the 00 Gundam permanent Trans-Am (which includes defensive teleportation in the form of Quantumization, making it nigh-on impossible to hit).
Invisible Wall: Alliance vs. Z.A.F.T. replaced the older games' mission boundaries with these. Unlike the normal version of this trope, this is actually a good thing, since the boundaries were frustrating*
going outside would get you auto-piloted back, leaving you completely open to attack
, annoying *
"You've left the mission area, please return!"
, and slowed down the game.
Joke Character: Meer Campbell's ZAKU Warrior in Alliance vs ZAFT II, which prances around, dances, and flings grenades. Can be a Lethal Joke Character in the right hands.
Lampshade Hanging: Quite a bit of the inter-universe dialog in Gundam vs Gundam NEXT. For example, Quattro comments on the similarities between Camille and Shinn, Amuro grouses about Char imitators, and most characters dismiss Celestial Being's modus operandi as nonsense (though Kira, Usso, and Loran agree with them).
- If Mu La Flaga (Akatsuki) is partnered with Quattro Bajeena (Hyaku-Shiki), he'll say "Yours is golden too, huh? Well then, let's show them our Golden Combination!"
- When you partner Char (piloting Sazabi) and Zechs (piloting Epyon), they give a lot of back-and-forth monologues in which they give off their anti-Earth rhetoric; one of Char's post-battle quotes further lampshades the fact that Zechs' attitude is an act by having him ask if Zechs is really serious about his ideals.
- Then you have inter-universe commentary in regards to mobile suits. Some examples include Shinn mistaking Char's Red Zaku for Luna, Domon wondering if Akatsuki and Hyaku Shiki are in Hyper Mode and Ribbons noting that the classic Gundam looks like 0 Gundam but without a Solar Furnace.
Lethal Joke Character: Fan-favorite Acguy in Gundam vs Gundam NEXT.
Lightning Bruiser: The Strike Noir in Alliance vs ZAFT II and Turn A and Unicorn Gundams in Gundam vs Gundam NEXT; the Noir is actually banned from tournament play in Japan, while the Turn A and Unicorn have their own balancing factors.
Luckily My Shield Will Protect Me: In the Universal Century games and the first Gundam vs Gundam, some MS carry shields which absorb hits if they just so happen to be in the path of the attack, but will "break" if it takes too much damage (and you lose any weapons it carries. In the SEED-based games, Next Plus and Extreme Vs, shields are used by tapping Back then Forward, never break, and can completely block anything that hits them from the front, no matter whether it's simple vulcan bullets or a BFG that completely washes over your machine and should, by all rights, obliterate it. In a recent update, Extreme Vs gave every single MS the ability to Shield Guard whether or not it actually has a shield (if it doesn't, it just blocks with its arms).
- The Extreme Vs. version of 00 Raiser takes this to greater heights by having a 360 degree guard. Meaning it blocks any attacks from any direction as long as it's guarding.
Meta Mecha: Extreme Gundam has four power suit-like "Phases": Carnage Phase, Tachyon Phase, Ignis Phase, and Mystic Phase.
- In the sequel of Extreme Vs, Full Boost, Leos' custom Extreme Gundam sports this trope also at its three power suit-like "Phases": Zenon Phase, Eclipse Phase, and Aios Phase.
Mighty Glacier: The Power Awakening turns your character into this, beefing up the damage you deal and granting resistance to hitstun (unless you take a big enough hit to knock you down).
Mission Control: Extreme Vs adds selectable navigators, whose main purpose is to tell you how awesome you are after you win. The current roster includes Haro, Fraw Bow, Ghiren Zabi, Lalah Sune, Aina Sahalin, Alfred Izuhura, South Burning, Cima Garahau, Fa Yuiry, Elpeo Puru, Quess Paraya, Micott Bartsch, Suberoa Zinnerman, Audrey Burne, Cecily Fairchild, Bernadette Briett, Katejina Loos, Rain Mikamura, Relena Darlian, Tiffa Adill, Sochie Heim, Mirialia Haww, Lacus Clyne, Meer Campbell, Meyrin Hawke, Sumeragi Li Noriega, Feldt Grace, Nena Trinity and Cecia Avea, who is voiced by Ayana Taketatsu.
No Export for You: AEUG vs Titans and everything after Gundam vs Zeta Gundam, most likely due to the declining popularity of Gundam overseas, combined with bad critical reception of the games after Federation vs Zeon.
- However, Extreme Vs. was ported to PlayStation 3, so at least gamers outside of Japan can simply import and play without dealing with Region Coding.
Not So Different: In Gundam vs Zeta, Kamille's Titans route gives him a final battle with Amuro; at several points during the fight, they both shout out various stock phrases (like "Why you!" and "I'll get you!") in perfect unison.
Offhand Backhand: One of the original Gundam's balancing measures is that, if its user fires at an opponent behind them with the beam rifle, they will stand in place and fire said rifle behind them, stuck in place for a second or two longer than any other suit would be.
Orgasmic Combat: Tifa from Gundam X spouts some rather naughty lines in the Gundam DX, complete with orgasm scream when DX dies during the final blow. Just use the DX in Arcade and you will know why.
Original Generation: As mentioned under Dualvertisement, Extreme VS draws from the manga Gundam EXA for new characters. The final boss is evolution-obsessed ex- and his Extreme Gundam. Extreme VS Full Boost adds protagonist Leos Arroi and his own custom Extreme Gundam, as well as his partner Cecia Avea as Mission Control.
Palette Swap: Subverted; the various custom-colored machines (such as Char's Zaku II and Heine's GOUF Ignited) all play differently from their baseline counterparts and each other.
Patchwork Map: Gundam Vs. Gundam, emphasizing its Crisis Crossover nature, gave each series a map that was thrown together from random locations and plot elements. Gundam Wing gets off relatively light, its map being the Sanc Kingdom with Libra visible in the sky; meanwhile, G Gundam gets a map that throws together landmarks from all over the world on a Floating Island colony surrounded by beam ringposts.
Poor Man's Substitute: One route in Universal Century Mode allows you to recreate Char's Counterattack, only without any of the machines or characters exclusive to it. This results in Char running around in Puru-Two's Qubeley Mk-II, and Amuro using whatever the player chooses (though this route does unlock a ZZ Gundam for him).
Popularity Power: All over the place. The most popular shows get the most MS (First Gundam and Wing each have seven in NEXT Plus), while popular characters get all or most of their MS, like Char*
gets his Zaku, Zeong, Hyaku-Shiki and Sazabi in NEXT Plus
and Kira*
gets the Strike, Freedom, and S-Freedom
, and even things like the Acguy, which was a complete and total joke in the original series, gets a loving treatment because fans adore the Ugly Cute little bugger.
- There's also what might be called Shilling Power, as Gundam 00 and Gundam Unicorn, the shows Sunrise is really trying to push at the moment, get a lot of attention. In Extreme Vs., 00 gets eight MS*
  00-Raiser, Cherudim, Susanoo, Exia, 00-Qan[T], and Raphael, with Dynames joining in the home version and Arche being DLC
  , and all four Unicorn MS (Unicorn, Kshatriya, Sinanju, and Delta Plus) get Super Moves, making it the only series that can make that claim. Not to mention that both series get three operators apiece, including some questionable choices like Nena and Micott.
- A more literal expression from Extreme Vs., where Bandai-Namco held special events to determine what would be added to the game first. The first event was Deathscythe Hell and Relena versus Crossbone X2 Kai and Cecily (Winner: The Wing cast), the second was Ghiren Zabi versus Lacus Clyne (Winner: Gihren), and the third and final pitted Crossbone Full Cloth against Raphael Gundam (Winner: Full Cloth). Of course, everything ended up being in the game after all, the winners just got in a week or two earlier than the losers.
Power Creep, Power Seep: Can you really say, with a straight face, that Amuro Ray's Gundam is as good a machine as things like the Gundam F91 and the Akatsuki?
Promoted From Extra: The GM series finally gets it's long awaited arrival after two games as Assist Characters
Ramming Always Works: In NEXT the Zeta Gundam can perform its famous "Waverider Crash" on command; when in Biosensor Rage Mode the attack becomes even more powerful.
Relationship Values: In P.L.U.S. Mode of Alliance vs ZAFT II Plus, each character's attitude towards Shinn determines how the AI handles them; if they like you, they'll defect to fight alongside you, but if you've pissed them off they'll jump ship and try to kill you. Get a character's friendship to max, and you can opt to play as them rather than Shinn.
Scoring Points: The Universal Century games were notoriously strict with their scoring system, due to ranking Accuracy and Evasion. The Cosmic Era games lightened things by restricting the score to number of enemies shot down, damage taken, and time remaining. Scoring high enough in any game in the series earns Nintendo Hard bonus stages.
Self-Destruct Mechanism: In Alliance vs ZAFT II Plus' P.L.U.S. Mode, an AI-controlled Athrun can attempt to perform the Aegis Gundam's self destruct grapple from the famous deathmatch between himself and Kira. In Gundam vs Gundam, the player can perform the move on command. And of course, Wing Zero self destructs as part of its Defeat Pose.
- Extreme Vs and its sequel Full Boost adds in more, like Zaku III-Kai's self destruct grapple.
Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The sure-fire method of getting the happiest ending in Gundam vs Zeta Gundam Universal Century Mode is to avert as much tragedy and death as possible.
Shout Out: Several attacks from Street Fighter snuck their way into the game, including the Shoryuken, Spinning Piledriver, and Spinning Bird Kick. Since Capcom made this series, this should come as no surprise.
- Interestingly, God Gundam has a nod to SNK, as one of its melee combo strings ends with Dragon Punches thrown with alternating arms, like Yuri Sakazaki's Yuri Chou Reppa.
  - In Extreme VS., the God Gundam has a melee string that uses the Shoryurappa.
Soundtrack Dissonance: The theme for Gundam 0080 is the cheerful, upbeat "Reach Out to the Sky Someday", which doesn't quite fit the pitched battles going on around it. Then again, considering this is Gundam 0080 we're talking about here, it may be an Invoked Trope.
- Through Lyrical Dissonance (or just plain not knowing Japanese), the usual theme that plays while fighting in Jaburo, "Soldiers of Sorrow", is this.
SNK Boss: The Devil Gundam in Gundam vs Gundam; Strike Freedom in NEXT Plus.
- The Extreme Gundam. Sweet buttery Jesus, the Extreme Gundam. Especially in Tachyon Phase, where it seems to be even more aggressive.
  - Tachyon Phase is to be seemingly challenged by the fourth phase, the Mystic Phase, where it's as aggressive as Tachyon... and then there's its MOONLIGHT BUTTERFLY weapon at its wings.
Spiritual Successor: Gotcha Force, also by Capcom, has more than a couple gameplay similarities. Unfortunately, despite being a stellar game in its own right, it was promptly ignored for several reasons.
Sphere of Destruction: Alliance vs ZAFT II included the Windam Missile Type, whose entire draw was being able to fire nuclear missiles. Several weapons in Gundam vs Gundam have similar effects, including the Zaku Kai's hand grenade traps, Gundam Physalis's atomic bazooka, Zanneck's mega beam cannon, Gundam Spiegel's explosive kunai, Wing Zero's twin buster rifle, and Gundam Double X's twin satellite cannon, and Turn A's hand-thrown nuke. Extreme Vs brings most of these back while adding in a couple more, like Crossbone X-1 Kai's atomic shell.
Suicide Attack: In Next Plus, Aegis Gundam can grapple an enemy and self-destruct. In Extreme Vs., the Zudah can ram an opponent while in Overboost Mode*
making matters worse, it self-destructs whether or not you connect with the attack
. In the same game's Trial Mission Mode, the GM (Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO version) and Gaga also do this; there's even a mission where you fight nothing but suicide-happy Zudahs, GMs, and Gagas, with the ultimate goal of just surviving.
Super Mode: In the Universal Century and Cosmic Era, there are Awakenings: Assault (increased damage and super armor), Mobility (increased speed and boost), and Revival (Back from the Dead). The SEED games rename the former two to Power and Speed, and replace Revival with Combo (infinite ammo and the ability to combo pretty much anything into anything else).
- In Gundam vs Gundam, several machines have unique Super Modes, including the Zeta Gundam (Biosensor Rage Mode), Gundam F91 (M.E.P.E. Mode), Shining, God, and Master Gundams (Meikyo Shisui), Turn A Gundam (Moonlight Butterfly Mode), Freedom and Strike Freedom (S.E.E.D. Mode), and Gundam Exia, 00-Raiser, and Reborns Gundam (Trans Am Mode). The O has the ability to use all three of the old-style Awakenings.
- Extreme Vs restores Awakenings, now called "Extreme Bursts" and character-specific; for example, the 00 Gundams get Trans Am, Freedom and Justice get S.E.E.D. Mode, Nu Gundam gets Psychoframe Resonance, etc.
  - What's especially impressive is the details they put into said super modes: for example, Celestial Being's Gundams can activate Trans-Am repeatedly with cool-down times in between, but the Susanowo can only use Trans-Am once per battle, a design flaw that was present in the series.
Super Move Portrait Attack: A character portrait flashes up when you activate your Awakening in the older games; in Gundam vs Gundam NEXT, one flashes up if you land the attack that ends the battle. In Extreme Vs, you get one if you activate your Extreme Burst when the gauge is full.
Sword Beam: God Gundam in Gundam vs Gundam and Deathscythe Hell EW in Extreme Vs have this as their primary ranged attack.
Talking to Himself: Takehito Koyasu, who in Next Plus voices Zechs/Milliardo, Gym, and Flaga. If Flaga is partnered with any of the other three, he delivers a lampshade that leans on the fourth wall:
"Well, it looks like I'm...I mean, we're gonna be pretty busy."
- There is actually a stage where you fight all 4 of them.
Terrible Trio: The Dom's assist in Gundam vs Gundam is the Jet Stream Attack.
- In Full Boost Hambrabi can call in the two other Hambrabis and assist him in attacks.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: In Extreme Vs, Wing Zero's Finishing Move is a three full-power Twin Buster Rifle shots in rapid succession, while the Double X's is a G-Falcon empowered Twin Satellite Cannon along with two GX-Bits firing their Satellite Cannons.
Throwing Your Sword Always Works: The RX-78 Gundam (beam javelin), Altron Custom (twin beam trident), Double X (hyper beam sword) and Exia (beam daggers) in Gundam vs Gundam and NEXT; Altron's functions like a Precision-Guided Boomerang while the other three stun the opponent. In Extreme Vs, Char's Gelgoog has two different naginata throw moves, one identical to Altron's and another working like the RX-78's. In Full Boost, Marida's Banshee throws two beam sabers at conical range.
Versus Title
Victory Pose: Used extensively, along with Defeat Poses.
Vocal Dissonance: In North America, Mobile Suit Gundam and Zeta Gundam were dubbed by two different groups because of a voice actors strike. The US version of Gundam vs Zeta Gundam uses both groups, creating an odd dissonance between the One Year War and Gryps Conflict versions of characters. This is especially noticeable in the Project Zeta What If? route, where the events of the original series take place in the Zeta era, meaning you'll have Amuro talking with Matthew Erickson's voice when he suddenly shouts something about Char in Brad Swaile's.
- This creates another odd moment in the Project Zeta story where Mirai refers to the Argama as White Base, because of recycled vocal samples (in the Japanese version, the dialog was redone by the original actors and thus this isn't an issue).
Weapon Of Mass Destruction: Gundam vs Gundam replaced Awakenings with G-Crossovers, powerful attacks that covered a large portion of the arena in the fashion of MAP Attacks from Super Robot Wars. The list ranges from GENESIS firing into the battlefield to Peacemillion flying by. Because they caused slowdown and didn't suit the pace of the game, these were removed in the sequel.
Whip Sword: Crossbone Gundam X1 Kai has an interesting twist in Extreme Versus: it throws its beam zanber into the enemy machine, grabs the hilt with its scissor anchor, and then spins rapidly, lashing his opponent repeatedly.
Wrestler in All of Us: Several MS have throws among their melee strings (God gets a back drop, Spiegel gets the ninja staple Izuna drop, and Epyon gets a Bird Mode Spinning Piledriver), but the championship belt goes to Judau's ZZ Gundam, which uses grapples and throws almost exclusively.
- Full Boost adds one more unit to this trope: Leos' Extreme Gundam Xenon Phase. One of his moves copies God Gundam's back drop.