Angst? What Angst?: Despite what had happened to her during the "ODE Incident" in Gaiden, Lamia has quickly gotten over it. Perhaps Lemon didn't design her to dream in her sleep so she never had nightmares about it.
Not that Shu Shirakawa is easier than the Mooks, but after fighting someone like Dark Brain, he's comparatively easier (since the latter is That One Boss), even when he's the True Final Boss for Original Generation Gaiden. Quite a shame when he was horrendously difficult in Super Robot Wars 3 and was the hardest boss in franchise history in his Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden incarnation, though the primitiveness of the game mechanics for those installments contributed to his difficulty back then, as well as his knack of constantly casting "Spirit Commands" like his Alpha Gaiden counterpart.
In the Second Original Generation, Euzeth Gozzo is a lot easier especially after pitting players through Perfectio and his cronies in a Marathon Level.
While Lamia Loveless' treatment in Original Generation Gaiden is debatable (be it this or Badass in Distress), The Inspectors turns her Angelg into nothing, but a "Humongous Mecha that flies and constantly gets beaten up and only good for blowing up" (except that one time performing Phantom Phoenix with Royal Heart Breaker), making Lamia look like a Faux Action Girl until she gets her hands on the Vysaga, and only starts racking up good kill counts afterwards (while the show makes a black-Palette Swapped Angelg for Echidna Iisaki; unfortunately, it too serves to get destroyed). The Record of ATX manga portion of The Inspectors (based more on the Anime while taking up some story elements from the game) averts this, having Lamia use the Angelg just as capable enough to rack a high kill count.
Gameplay and Story Integration example: while the Leige Geios from Super Robot Wars 4 is still formidable in the Second Original Generation, it's nowhere near the monstrosity it was when it first appeared in its respective debut. This may be a case of being a Degraded Boss later in the Second Original Generation.
"Blind Idiot" Translation: The English translation for The Moon Dwellers could be better - there are multiple instances of typos, punctuation errors, poor use of grammar, stiff lines of dialogue and incorrect nomenclaturenote Battleship names are taken at their literal Romanization from Japanese sources, like the Hagwane and Kurogwane, an egregious fault when Atlus' localization didn't fall for such flimsiness. It is noted that the one mistranslation that international players generally let slide was "Slave" to "Slaybe". What's infuriating is Gundam Breaker 3, also translated by Bandai Namco and released in English five months earlier, has a more coherent localization compared to The Moon Dwellers.
In Original Generation Gaiden, Duminuss serve as this in the scenario between fighting Alkaid Naash and Dark Brain, for the fact that it's not using Spirit Commands after you damage it enough (including HP-recovering one). Once it appears, you can just pound it to death without any interruptions or things that render your SP-consumption futile.
If players are aiming for the route leading to the True Final Boss in the Second Original Generation, the AI-1 and Duvan Org are this: despite being a Dual Boss in the scenario after the Super Robot Wars Destiny finale, they don't have Perfectio's unit abilities nor his event-driven, Regenerating Health situation. Additionally, this scenario is where EinstAlfimi joins the party for the rest of the game.
Chapter 34 of Original Generation Gaiden is the only map where you can deploy Lamia and face off against Bartolls. If you still feel like she's done dirty by the Bartolls that captured her, put her through humiliating and life-threatening situation for a long time in the first place and she deserves sweet Revenge (the rest of the captives already had their time when they faced Wilhem von Juergen), go ahead and send her to destroy all the Bartolls herself, she has enough tools to make it happen herself. As a bonus, she also has special quotes against those machines expressing displeasure at her capture by them and promises that the incident won't happen again this time.
"Free Battle Mode" in Original Generation Gaiden allows players to create their own, custom battle scenes with any unit-pilot combinations available from the PlayStation 2 games. It's useful for finding out hidden battle quotes with certain unit/pilot match-ups, yet it equally creates this trope. If the above Lamia/Juergen scenario didn't satisfy players, they can go beyond like pitting heroic characters against Hate SinkComplete Monsters (see below) or the villainous Eldritch Abominations getting pounded by Mook units from 100% HP (yes. Those hundreds and thousands of HP of Dark Brain can be taken down in puny pellets by a LION series in one attack if you desire so).
Beating Dark Brain himself, if you know where he originated. His debut was from an obscure Famicom game, SD Hero Soukessen, where he was also a goddamn difficult final boss that many kids in the age before emulators and save states were unable to defeat. The kids have grown up, there has been other features to ease up their games now in OG Gaiden, and even if Dark Brain is still utterly difficult here, with good preparation and game sense, they now have a chance to finally beat down that boss that terrorized them since childhood that they couldn't defeat with the likes of Ultramannote Specifically Ultraman Taro, the final form of the Ultraman characters, Kamen Ridernote Specifically Kamen Rider BLACK RX, the final form of the Kamen Rider characters, Gundamnote Specifically Nu Gundam, the final form of the Gundam characters and Metal Heroesnote Specifically Jiban, the final form of the Metal Hero characters.
Common Knowledge: Being one of the few untranslated games for the longest time as well as the nature of the game being a Gaiden Game, Original Generation Gaiden had a lot of 'statements' accepted as fact, when it isn't, thanks to No Export for You along with several word-by-word translation videos popping up in Youtube. Even then, usually the stages with the final battles were the only ones translated, leaving out a lot of important context.
People considered that Wilhelm von Juergen was always in charge of ODE and responsible for 'killing' Lamia (more on this below). The more keen viewers would later realize that Juergen was... Dead All Along. The rogue ODE System, having assimilated Juergen with no difficulty, just decided to use his face as an 'avatar' or sorts to express its will. When the heroic Psychodrivers tried to check his presence via their psychic links... they found no trace of Juergen at all. This does have an effect of Juergen being heavily Misblamed for the ODE Incident, although his crime was basically just about changing the direction of the system, but that's about it, he got killed for it before the incident began, and was only responsible in creating a menace, not directly directing it.
All in all, while Lamia looked like she was killed by the ODE, the truth was that it's not quite. Players only believed that because of the heavy reaction of Kyosuke thinking that he caused her death, when in truth, Lamia was still in a condition more like the robotic equivalent of a comatose, not destroyed enough to be completely unsalvagable to be saved and repaired by Duminuss (Kyosuke's reaction was pretty common, however, there are many people who mistook a comatose person as already dead). So telling that the ODE killed her is not quite right and also served as yet another damning point for ODE and takes away its 'claims': It even failed to be a Hero Killer.ExtraAnd overall, it also makes Lamia's captivity a Necessary Fail; when Kyosuke saved her, she was badly damaged that the Terra Federation did not have the resources to completely repair her to her former state, so succeeding in rescuing her that time would be like putting her on a life support or being considered 'crippled for life'. By being shot down, Duminuss can use its various technologies alien to Earth to actually restore Lamia to something actually repairable, and by the time Axel saved her, she's already in a condition that the Earth Federation can repair her to normal. So... good for you, ODE?
Duminuss was touted to be a complete Evil Matriarch from start to finish due to its actions later where it forcefully had Tiz and Laliar merge with it without any tinge of regrets. For a lot of people, they may think that Duminuss' characterization was derailed from its Reversal counterpart where it was humanized with its kind treatment to the Homunculus. As it turned out... in the beginning, Duminuss actually was as close as it got with its Reversal counterpart, while it didn't dote on its homunculus, it was very trusting, cordial and cooperative with the Homunculus (it did treat everything else like expendable pawns, but then again as long as it's not about the Homunculus, the R counterpart did the same anyway to the various villain factions). What many failed to notice was that near the end of the game, while researching about the inner chamber of the Swordian Fortress, it learned about the phrase 'Wisdom of Darkness', basically Dark Brain's epitaph. Just hearing that turned its head mad due to its incompleteness and as a result, it resorted into a tunnel-vision in trying to 'meet its master', without any care for its Homunculus, leading to those events that made it look like an Evil Matriarch. That was what the heroes directly witnessed in the Swordian Fortress since it never made any other direct appearances since Hellgate Facility, so it made people think that it was Duminuss' nature all along when it was a little more complicated.
Complacent Gaming Syndrome: For the custom MK II Gespensts in the Second Original Generation, most players will usually stick with the "Type-N" frame as its weapons have longer range and its final attack is ALL-based, meaning it targets both units in a "Twin Unit" and any adjacent Twin. Expect pilots using this mecha to be near the top of the kill count, especially if they're paired with another pilot in a Twin Unit with the "Violent Assault"note Gain the effects of the "Accelerate" (+3 to movement), "Fury" (the next attack bypasses enemy barriers and defensive pilot skills), and "Assail" (any non-MAP attack can be used post-movement) Spirit Commands or "Continuous Attack"note If the next attack destroys an enemy or both enemies in a Twin Unit, pilot gains an extra action on the same turn "Twin Command". Bonus points if both pilots have the "Continuous Action"note If the next attack destroys an enemy or both enemies in a Twin Unit, pilot gains an extra action on the same turn. This only works once per turn pilot skill.
Aguilla Setme is the cruel head of "The School", a pilot training academy, and responsible for the Brainwashing and Mind Rape of countless children, turning them into heartless Child Soldiers, with no compunction about sending them off to die as Cannon Fodder or to kill civilians. Agilla's Mind Manipulation process is portrayed as painful and traumatic, with one of its "graduates", Latooni Subbota, saved from having what amounts to post-traumatic stress disorder and developing social issues. When Arado Balanga, another of the prorgram's "children" manages to escape, Agilla shows no remorse at Brainwashing his partner Seolla Schweizer and sending her to kill him. When Seolla is liberated, Agilla decides to sic the three of them with their beloved Onee-samaOuka Nagisa; fortunately, Ouka frees herself long enough to kill Agilla at the cost of her own life. What makes Agilla so sadistic is how she dubs the students as "samples" - test subjects to be used and discarded on a whim.
The Ax-Crazy, sociopathic Archibald Grims, a Psycho for Hire without a cause, only wants and loves "needless bloodshed, especially from the innocents." He also gleefully forces Elzam to make a Sadistic Choice, whether it's to allow Grims to unleash a deadly nerve gas, killing the entire populace of a colony, or to kill his, Elzam's, own wife to prevent the attack.
Lubikka Hakkinen is a brutal, sadistic mercenary who leads attacks on civilian colonies all the while sporting a big Slasher Smile on his face. One of these attacks took the lives of the parents of Tytti Noorbuck, and this wasn't the first atrocity Lubikka had committed. When Tytti exposed him, Lubikka was forced to flee, becoming a mercenary raider who still carried out war crimes, except now he possesses a fixation on making Tytti suffer. He targets her friends and kills her lover Ricardo, all to hurt the one person who escaped him before he plans to kill her as well.
Continuity Lockout: Zigzagged - while the developers had previously insisted players should play games in the main Continuity to understand the overall narrative, it becomes jarring when obscure Banpresto titles like Hero Senki: Project Olympus and The Great Battle series are not only referenced, but form a tie-in towards overall Continuity; even Spin Offs like Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier wound up making room for Axel Almer to appear and vice versa. The Archives section for The Moon Dwellers, which chronicles every major event upwards to the game, helped mitigate some of this, but it still leaves out plenty of relevant details, not to mention the fact that all the text boxes in the videos of the plot events shown are still in Japanese with no translations for anything but the short descriptions of the events taking place between them.
There appeared to be some connection between those freaky "Flatfish" and Katina Tarask in Original Generation Gaiden, given how she's constantly zoning out in their presence, before blaming it on their fish-like appearance scaring her. Rather "unprofessional" of Katina, since she's usually not scared of anything. The Sequels don't bother making a mention of this, yet the theory kept persisting, especially when veterans recall Katina had ties to something as monstrous as the "GAB-L", her Humongous Mecha from her Trading Card Game origin.
The "Twelve Keys" Dark Brain mentions seeking in Original Generation Gaiden: are they the same as the "12 Spheres" in Super Robot Wars Z? Particular mention goes to the former, which was released roughly nine months before Z; Jossed by the time the Second Original Generation was released, with its narrative explicitly stating the completed "Keys" are the Gan Eden.
Gateway Series: Since Super Robot Wars relies on players knowing the material from licensed series, it can be overwhelming for newcomers who don't recognize certain titles from licensed installments, especially the obscure ones. The Original Generation-only premise of this series means its characters and Mecha are easier to digest for new franchise players, and can be used as an anchor when they're trying the Super Robot Wars title the respective characters and their units made their debut in.
Every Original Generation game has at least one example, though Barrelions are the most consistent, having too much Hit Points, will occasionally defend when attacked and come in large numbers. They don't exactly pose a threat, but are typically annoying during scenarios they appear in. At one point in Original Generation 2, the game uses this to create a literal Beef Gate made of Barrelions forming a wall on the map.
The mass-produced JinRai in the Second Original Generation has a boatload of HP and armor in the same ballpark as the Barrelions, but higher, with an unusually high mobility rate. Justified since they're an offshoot of the JinRai, though they're made more annoying with each one having the same "Afterimage" ability note Gain a 50% chance of evading any attack at 130 Will or higher as the JinRai. Unless players cast the "Strike" Spirit Commandnote Gain 100% accuracy for one turn for a guaranteed hit, players will likely be burning away pilots' "Spirit Points" they are intending to save for dealing with bosses later in the same scenario. Oh, and mass-produced JinRai come in hordes of at least a dozen at once.
Regarding Beowulf: fans deduced he was associated with the Einsts via Facial Markings under his eyes in his character portrait for Original Generations, similar to Einst Alfimi. The Endless Frontier drama CD doesn't explain why Beowulf's Gespenst MK III could regenerate a lost limb after Axel uses the Soulgain to destroy it, further fueling the speculation he is tied to the Eldritch Abominations. The first five minutes of The Inspectors confirms this, but its validity in the games' Continuity has not been established yet.
When the Nashim Gan Eden fires a Wave-Motion Gun towards the moon just as the Final Boss scenario is underway in the Second Original Generation, many players believed this event was simply ForeshadowingJudgment getting into Original Generation as the villainous Fury reside deep within the moon; even Elma makes a quip about this in Dark Prison, citing the blast "did not hit any man-made structures". Sure enough, they serve as the headlining antagonists in The Moon Dwellers.
Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: The enemies that the Steel Dragon Battle Group faced could be nightmarish and some of their enemies were just plain nasty and heinous. But the one that gets the most ire of the fans is Lee Linjun, because he's such an enormous jerk and the player had to put up with him for a considerable time in the Inspector War as an ally who generally just makes things worse, and after he betrays the good guys, he caused the death of the beloved Daitetsu Minase. Even when he does something right and beneficial for the climax of the Sealing War, the fans aren't so easy to just accept his redemption and still consider him the most hateable asshole in the cast.
Just Here for Godzilla: The only reason players bought the premium edition of Infinite Battle at release was so they could play Dark Prison without having to wait six months for it to be sold as separate Downloadable Content. Infinite Battle itself was deemed So Okay, It's Average.
Despite Sanger being one of the top characters in the Second Original Generation, players can't seem to figure out what benefits his Ace Bonus providesnote When Sanger reaches 130 Will, auto-cast the "Fury" Spirit Command.
The AM Gunner in the Second Original Generation is a unit no player wants to use as its arsenal needs a pilot who has the pilot skill "Hit & Away"note Enables movement after attacking, weak attacks that can't be used post-movement, and no Huckebein MK III to dock with to form the Huckebein Gunner, since all Huckebeins are destroyed in a mandatory event.
In The Moon Dwellers, the Granteed: the unit cannot naturally fly, thus it's grounded; movement is cut in half whenever a unit traverses through city buildings, and the game features plenty of such city-based scenarios. Furthermore, the Granteed has little post-movement attacks, its weapons and "Orgone Cloud" barrier consume too much EN, weapon attack power is middling (even with upgrades) and the one attack in its arsenal that isn't Will dependent has pitiful range. While the Granteed Dracodeus finally allows the unit flight, it becomes pointless since the rest of the game from that point on is set in space; finally, its strongest attack is locked out until completing the Judgment plot. Most players agree the unlockable Coustwell Brachium is a better machine for Touya to use; it doesn't help The Moon Dwellers perpetually shoves Touya into the Granteed at every turn of the game.
Memetic Loser: On whole, the ODE System was actually a credible threat enough to be treated as a global threat and it showed. In other scenarios, it would have been considered a legitimate threat and a dangerous opponent where Lamia's distress wouldn't be considered particularly embarrassing for her. Unfortunately, due to originating from a non-licensed show crossover OVA (therefore, it never did tangle with stalwart entries like Mazinger Z, Getter Robo or Gundam), having the unfortunate situation of being created by a rather Unintentionally Unsympathetic creator (often considered cosmically and dangerously Wangsty), as well as at all it served was basically being a Disc-One Final Boss that later got taken over by Duminussnote And worse, in R, Duminuss also messed with another artificial intelligence group which is basically Galfa Empire and that was basically the game's penultimate boss instead of a Disc-One Final Boss., the ODE is basically viewed as a 'foolish upstart' and 'irrelevant wuss' compared to other threats (especially when later on, the series went on to go basically Lovecraft Lite) instead of a legitimate threat since it didn't have the 'legitimacy' of proving itself via fighting other licensed heroes.
Misblamed: As stated in Common Knowledge... Juergen was Dead All Along, but because his face was used by the ODE system as its avatar later and the fact that in its designed protocols while using his face, it committed a Player Punch... people saw it fit to think that it's all his fault, not just the system itself.
As their entry in Complete Monster states, characters like Archibald and Agilla crossed the horizon by default.
Lee Linjun crosses it when he kills Daitetsu Minase; of course, he was a Jerkass before that, too. His admittance about how much he screwed up and doing a Heroic Sacrifice that helps out the Steel Dragon Squad against Euzeth Gozzo is still a point of contention at whether it pulled him away from the horizon or not.
Beowulf has little characterization in the games since his initial appearance is limited to a prologue with no dialogue, leading people to believe he's an Alternate Universe Kyosuke who's just as heroic. Post-Continuity Reboot, while his conversations are sparse, how the "Shadow-Mirror" paint him is any, but stellar. Within the first minute of The Inspectors, he kills a defeated Ryusei by Impaled with Extreme Prejudice - a sign Beowulf was more evil and monstrous than either the Shadow-Mirror or The Federation he was working for. Not helping this incarnation is Beowulf espousing about "re-creating a new world" as he confronts Axel.
Duminuss, at least in this continuity, crossed it when it, in its tunnel-vision to meet its creator, ordered Tiz and Laliar to merge with it and gaslighting them into thinking that they're doing this because they're 'good, obedient children of their creator'. It was bad enough that Arado and Seolla, already came out from traumatic 'parenting upbringing' via The School, actually said it out loud that Duminuss is worse than Aguilla Setme. And to top it off, the next thing Duminuss said is that it felt absolutely no regret of doing so.
Gu-Landon Goetz has more on-screen prescence compared to his home game and while he does show disdain to the Earthlings, he also exhibits knightly qualities, such as mannerisms to Princess Shana-Mia Eterna Fura or properly punishing misconducts against the Knights' chivalry (such as using "Larseilam" at the expense of Jua-Mu Dalby), turning him Affably Evil in The Moon Dwellers. Near the end of the game, his first order as the new Fury "Emperor" (post-Shana-Mia's departure) is to have the Gau-La Furia battleship destroy the "Rubble Pile", despite Hellruga Izberga and the worse of the Gardisordians already eliminated, rendering Sieg Altreet, Sally Emil and Fairey Firefly the Sole Surviving Gardisordians - a heinous act when the latter aren't even similar to the Earthlings whom most of the Fury dislike. Nevertheless, him ordering a genocide destroys any affableness Gu-Landon had; all parties agree he has to be taken down, period.
Before the release of The Moon Dwellers, Bandai Namco pulled some quick translations in its promotional trailers: its dialogue renders "Granteed" pilot Touya Shiun saying "Crush them, Granteed!!!" into "Die, Granteed!!!", unintentionally having Touya hate his own machine. Averted by the time the game was launched.
Pre-Original Generation Gaiden, Lamia getting shot down dead by Juergen in "2.5: Unified Wisdom", making it look like Death by Adaptation, was convincing enough for players to believe the prospect of Lamia, a character with all of her original plot threads resolved, being Killed Off for Real to leave space open for other characters. Averted once the game was released.
All five units of the Huckebein series are destroyed by Amara Barton in the Second Original Generation; doubles as Tear Jerker for veteran players. Made worse if players believe the rumor Bandai Namco and Sunrise were indeed responsible of getting rid of the machines because they look like Gundams, but with the Serial Numbers Filed Off, although the release of Super Robot Wars V debunked that rumor. The punch is thankfully lessened for those who plays Super Robot Wars DD and knows Japanese: Shizuki Shizukawa actually faked the destruction of Huckebein, convincing Amara that she actually did the deed. Once the dust is cleared, Shizuki sent the Huckebein to repairs, promising that it'll once again fly like the rest of the robots. Getting to know that info by playing a mobile game while being fluent in Japanese, however, is easier said than done.
The Second Original Generationplays the Death by Adaptation or inversion of Spared By Adaptation on Chris, the second personality of Cliana Rimskaya, the sweet Nice Girl who's interacting with the cast off-battlefield, and then does the same to Ventus after he's promoted from Secret Character into a mandatory recruit. Unlike Lamia, they are more likely to stay dead in order to keep an Eldritch Abomination from being released again, which overall casts a very troubling future for Joshua and Liana, who are still looking for a way to undo the sacrifice without unleashiing said abomination again.
Zigzagged with the "Twin Battle" system: unlike the squad-mechanics in the Alpha games and "Tri-Battle System" from Z, a Twin Unit can only be formed during scenarios rather than before in the intermission menu. Furthermore, the system requires pilots to reach 110 Will first before players can form a Twin Unit, making this unlikely at the start of scenarios (since all pilots start at 100 Will) except for characters having reached "Ace" status AND are part of the top three Aces on the roster, which will grant them the required 110. The problem still persists because that only applies to at least three characters on the rosternote More are possible through Will-raising Spirit Commands or through appropriate equippable parts given to units which grants their pilots higher starting Will at the beginning of scenarios, while Will gains vary between characters. Finally, the Twin Command can only be accessed from a Twin Unit, and requires Spirit Points from both pilots to activate, though the Command's effects apply to the entire Twin Unit. However, most players agree the majority of available Twin Commands are largely useless, with only a few being ever used (such as "Soul"note Deal 2.5 times the damage for the next attack).
Averted by the Second Original Generation: the Will prerequisite is gone, and players can form twins in the intermission menu, thereby extending the number of deployed units in scenarios. Furthermore, certain Twin Commands (like "Chain Action"note If the pilot's next attack destroys an enemy, the pilot can perform an additional action) becomes a necessity in order to acquire particular Skill Points.
Shocking Moments: In The Moon Dwellers, the destruction of the Cross Gate at the climax of the game threw many players off because they didn't think it was possible within the narrative, especially when they appeared in prior Super Robot Wars titles and most fans never thought about it before either.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: The EXbein in The Inspectors (see Exiled from Continuity); made more evident in The Moon Dwellers as the unit effectively replaces the Huckebein MK III on the roster with the "Boxer" and "Gunner" frames to boot.
Too Awesome to Use: Moon Dwellers offers an unusual variant in that some players skip acquiring the Coustwell because the Ax-Crazy version of Jua-Mu, voiced by Masaya Matsukaze in all his hammy glory, is so utterly perfect in the machine that neither Touya nor Calvina can begin to measure up to it as a fit.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Ouka dies in an area almost full of "Machine Cells", the Original Generation equivalent of Devil Gundam Cells. Back in Super Robot Wars Reversal, the Big Bad resurrects Master Asia using DG Cells; what should be a Reversal parallel in Original Generation Gaiden is instead given to Lamia rather than Ouka, who's almost tailored to be the Master Asia equivalent (story-wise, anyways). While it turns out for the best eventually, some fans believe Ouka was simply too good to be resurrected. On the other hand, it's implied the Machine Cells stopped functioning after the Earth Cradle collapsed, particularly since the supercomputer "Magus Gebo" that powers the Machine Cells is also destroyed in the collapse.
No one expected Axel and Einst Alfimi would be brought Back from the Dead for Original Generation Gaiden, the former even playing a pivotal role in the story (saving a Brainwashed and Crazy Lamia). In fact, the game managing to maintain its "image" from "2.5: Unified Wisdom" threw players for a loop (promotional materials didn't show Axel nor the "Cry Wolves"; Fiona Gureden and her survival from Original Generations, however, was spoiled), yet the biggest surprise was Dark Brain as the Big Bad of the game and eventual Big Bad Ensemble of the series, effectively bridging The Great BattleSpin-Off into Original Generation.
The rest of the Masou Kishin cast appearing on a console Super Robot Wars again after a 11-year hiatus since their last appearance in Alpha Gaiden for the Second Original Generation. What makes this return unexpected was a lot of fans lost hope of that ever happening, until Banpresto revealed it at the last moment before the game was released. Moreover, the Masou Kishin mecha gaining their final attacks as a secret, despite violating canon, adds to this.
Savvy players knew the plot of Super Robot Wars 4 would happen sooner or later, but no one anticipated the "Guests" of the Zuvorg Alliance to appear in the Second Original Generation: all of its characters are present, including a certain Inspector who comes Back from the Dead.
For Alpha players, it's obvious the Nashim Gan Eden would appear as the Custos of the Garden of Baral were seen in promotional trailers of the Second Original Generation. What players didn't expect was Kukuru from Alpha 2 appearing alongside the returning Youkijin; in fact, players pretty much forgot about Kukuru post-Alpha 2 due to her limited prescence as The Rival exclusive only to Sanger's Alpha 2 troute. Likewise, Son Ganlong being present as one of the late-game bosses, but rather than the "Shin RyuOhKi" from Alpha 3, players are treated to the new "OuRyuOh".
Somehow, Banpresto gave a little love to Super Hero Operations in the Second Original Generation by including newcomer Arteil Steinbeck, a clone Expy of Euzeth, who turns out to be Euzeth himself, having masterminded all current events in Original GenerationContinuity. Instead of the "Black Judecca" from Alpha, Euzeth uses the new "Adamatron", a clever Mythology Gag to the "Chojin Zest" from Super Hero Operations.
Michiru Hanaten is a delinquent loosely mentioned in the Endless Frontier EXCEED drama CD and appears in the Second Original Generation in-person to challenge Kouta to a fight. He achieved instant Ensemble Dark Horse status when he becomes playable in the game with his own Humongous Mecha.
Haken Browning and Aschen Brodel being present in The Moon Dwellers was not only a pleasant surprise, but it's a detailed follow-up to Sanger's sojourn into Project × Zone, as well as justify Haken and Sanger's absence in the Project X ZoneSequel.
Character-specific YMMV
Elzam von Branstein/Ratsel Feinschmeker
Ensemble Dark Horse: Having similar reasons like Shu is a darkhorse for the Masou Kishin games, Elzam has charm and character personality with additional traits such as Real Men Wear Pink via Supreme Chef, something that endeared fans despite his aloof aesthetics. That his Leitmotif "Trombe!" became the franchise's most notorious case of BGM Override/Musicalis Interruptus aided his popularity, to the point where he crossed over into the Alpha saga as Char Clone Ratsel, then immigrated back into Original Generation by receiving the Aussenseiter, then returned for the AlphaGrand Finale with his new unit altogether. It's telling the developers were counting on Ratsel's reception to players as the Aussenseiter means "outsider" - less literally, it also means "darkhorse".
Memetic Badass: By proxy of his Leitmotif overriding even boss themes (though not all of them); even then, his feats aren't anything to scoff at. For instance, in the Original Generation prologue, Elzam uses a Gespenst with no weapons to destroy a group of Aerogator Megillot drones by simply using the machine itself like a battering ram, while disabling the last one for good measure for inspection purposes. That Elzam and his "Aggressors" alumni helped invent Mecha combat In-Universe, making him one of the setting's best pilots, adds to his badass credentials.
Latooni Subota
Ensemble Dark Horse: Perhaps the most well-received character (who isn't Ratsel) in this series' narrative, Latooni had little prescene since she's a new character for the franchise (though she was loosely hinted at in Alpha 2), but a large part of the early Original Generation plot involved The School back-story, with her as a central focus. Coupled with Latooni coming out of her anti-social Shrinking Violet traits, fans slowly warmed up to the character, leading to the unusual "Fairlion" robot and her Leitmotif in the Sequel, which immediately brought her more attention. When it comes to the concept of Original Generation, Latooni is often deemed as the face of it with the reception to back it up.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Kai's case is one done from fan perception post-Continuity Reboot - thanks to how players responded (see Memetic Badass), the developers attuned him to his status via Gameplay and Story Integration, turning Kai into a Lightning Bruiser. Not only was this positive, but the Gespenst was given more customization options in the Sequels to take advantage of his strengths that only elevated Kai's standing on the roster even more. Breakout Character ensued and Kai often tops lists of many fans' favorite characters in Original Generation.
Memetic Badass: As the headlining pilot behind the Gespenst, fans attributed everything the machine can do to Kai, including the Gespenst Kick (despite anyone being capable of using it). This only elevated his characteristics and status when his peers like Ratsel and Sanger have access lavish Super Prototypes, yet Kai relegates staying in a Mecha-Mook. Things came to a head in Original Generation Gaiden when he pulled off the most insane maneuvers and martial arts-based techniques with a Gespenst against an AI-controlled "Wendigo" with nary a scratch. These days, Kai is touted as the face of Badass Normal.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Though he seemed like an afterthought at first, once he gets his G-Bankaran, fans immediately proclaimed he was one of the best characters in the Second Original Generation by how unexpected it was; incidentally, Michiru and the G-Bankaran are a Game-Breaker. Needless to say, the overwhelming reception to Michiru enabled him to return for The Moon Dwellers as part of the core characters.
Lefina Enfield
The Woobie: Lefina has a lot of self-confidence issues in the first half of Original Generation, to the point where she was ready to give up and run away from it all.
Lee Linjun
Never Live It Down: Lee's Face–Heel Turn and being the catalyst of Daitetsu's death still lingers in the minds of fans years after the Second Original Generation was released. It's difficult to see his other traits or that he had believable reasons for why he was so arrogant all of the time, but crossing that Moral Event Horizon was simply unforgettable and unforgiveable.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: His back-story and Start of Darkness existed for good and were meant to garner sympathy, especially when he was an allied character on the playable roster. As seen with how many negative tropes he carried, they failed to save him from being considered unsympathetic or perhaps made him look even worse, that even when he does something actually beneficial to the Steel Dragon Battle Group (namely, ramming his Air Christmas at the cost of his life to Adamatron, causing him to pop out Ing Egret and enabling the group to turn the tides), people still think that it's not enough to get him Rescued from the Scrappy Heap, since for them, it felt all too sudden and not adequate enough to make up for his past douchebaggery.
ODE System
Never Live It Down: It made a very poor career-defining action in the eyes of the fandom, being a Big Bad Wannabe that took out an otherwise beloved character. Despite the Steel Dragons Squad eventually putting the blame to Duminuss for overall orchestrating the thing, the overall fandom will still consider the System the true culprit of Lamia's near death experience. And using Wilhelm von Juergen's face to do the task also ensured that Juergen takes the whole blame instead of the system.
Nightmare Fuel: Snarking aside, let's just say if it's not Lamia, anyone else taken by the ODE-controlling Bartolls will be turned into goo. And even so, it's no better for being Lamia, because before she got shot down, she was said to be 'utterly physically wrecked to the point that the current technologies cannot repair her fully'.
The Scrappy: A combination of being a Memetic Loser for the unintended manner (and not an endearing one at that) and having a particularly Unintentionally Unsympathetic creator (see below), and it was only defined for committing that one Player Punch, made the ODE System one of the more disliked 'character' or sorts amongst the series. (while it was an artificial system, it could possess sentience as long as it has an avatar, and having its own personality, as much as it was more like an assimilating Hive Mind).
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The game clearly wanted to display Juergen as a sympathetic Anti-Villain and at least a slightly morally better alternative compared to Adler Koch or Kaoru Tomine. Selcia still thought of him highly and mourned for him (and the good guys have enough standards to not curse him further despite just losing Lamia, out of concern of Selcia). But even then, the creation of ODE system is widely considered as Juergen throwing a massive Wangst over losing his family (he certainly handled it better than Tempest Hawker or Lee Linjun, but he could've done better), and presumably, he didn't even bother to properly test the first version of ODE installed into Mironga, which caused Selcia's brother Kyle Bean to go berserk as if riding a GEIM-installed machine and die. And even putting aside of the near death of Lamia, which makes it more personal to the Steel Dragon Battle Group, it doesn't take away that the ODE System caused untold amount of deaths of innocent people, all over Juergen's tantrum of losing his family. Even in the original OVA, Kyosuke tells him (through the ODE System using his face) that it's tragic that he lost his family, but that doesn't excuse the mass death and attempt to mind control everyone. And even if he's more moral than Adler and Kaoru, they're at least intentional attempts to generate audience hate.
Amara Barton
Draco in Leather Pants: Destroyed the entire Huckebein line, shoots Ing Egret down twice in a surprise attack, and is very fanatical of her boss Euzeth. Fan reaction to all this? "It's not her fault! Banpresto had their hands forced by Bandai Namco!". Granted, these acts are far from Moral Event Horizon (compared to, say, Lee killing Daitetsu) and ever since The Inspectors, Bandai Namco has been shuffling out the Huckebeins, thus the reactions might look justified.
Never Live It Down: Amara will never escape the stigma of being considered the "Huckebein destroyer", even if she has a lot more characterization within her, like being The Rival to Ing and another one of Ingram's "Balshem" clones, especially since she makes a surprise return in Coffin of the End and The Moon Dwellers, and the reveal in DD that thanks to Shizuki Shizukawa, Amara actually failed to completely destroy the Huckebein line. People also ignore her personality during her servitude under Shu in Coffin of the End.
Chienne, Chien and Chiot
Viewer Gender Confusion: Chienne is a girl, Chiot is a guy. Without carefully looking at them, one would think it'd be the other way around.
Jun Kanan
Les Yay: Very, very eager to point out the bodily figures of other girls with her battle quotes more akin to flirting.
for The Moon Dwellers to the Hans Zimmer theme