At first I wasn't really sold on UX's lineup. Heroman? SD Gundam? A three-part story that was only using 00's movie and not the TV show like Fafner was doing?
Still, I like my SRW and thanks to the regionthree bypass I could give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised; not only was UX good, it's one of the best games in the franchise I've played. It does a great job constantly keeping things fresh by giving you new units, upgrades, or attacks pretty much every stage, and the cast lineup is odd at a glance but once you play the game everything fits so well. The Festum, ELS, and Vajra form a trifecta of not-necessarily-evil aliens, Demonbane and Linebarrels both involve a time loop, Byston Well provides a convenient way for Shouko to come back to the world of the living...
And speaking of Shouko this is a SRW where secrets carry actual weight, and saved characters don't just shuffle off and let the plot continue as normal, no they contribute, take part in mid-stage cutscenes, and are generally treated as though you're going to get them. And this is a rare SRW where everyone is saveable, it doesn't make you have to clear secrets every time.
Interface-wise, things could be a little better. I seem to remember SRW L and other games having a better grasp on shuffling through squads and changing mech forms. The X button particularly doesn't feel like it's pulling its own weight and you can't customize it, but these are minor complaints.
The game is for the most part very well-paced, though there are a couple points where the difficulty spikes tremendously. The Gundam 00 and Linebarrels finales come to mind. There also just doesn't feel like there's many mook types present in the game either, usually no more than three types per-canon. Animations are also not the greatest and I would've liked more songs present, but both still suffice and the game still includes some great song remixes.
Ultimately I think it's an ironic tragedy that one of the best SR Ws ever is locked away from a good-sized chunk of the fandom. It's certainly the best SRW on a Nintendo handheld though, that's for certain.
If and when you can, give it a chance even if you're skeptical. The game is worth it, I promise you that.
If only more people could play this
At first I wasn't really sold on UX's lineup. Heroman? SD Gundam? A three-part story that was only using 00's movie and not the TV show like Fafner was doing?
Still, I like my SRW and thanks to the regionthree bypass I could give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised; not only was UX good, it's one of the best games in the franchise I've played. It does a great job constantly keeping things fresh by giving you new units, upgrades, or attacks pretty much every stage, and the cast lineup is odd at a glance but once you play the game everything fits so well. The Festum, ELS, and Vajra form a trifecta of not-necessarily-evil aliens, Demonbane and Linebarrels both involve a time loop, Byston Well provides a convenient way for Shouko to come back to the world of the living...
And speaking of Shouko this is a SRW where secrets carry actual weight, and saved characters don't just shuffle off and let the plot continue as normal, no they contribute, take part in mid-stage cutscenes, and are generally treated as though you're going to get them. And this is a rare SRW where everyone is saveable, it doesn't make you have to clear secrets every time.
Interface-wise, things could be a little better. I seem to remember SRW L and other games having a better grasp on shuffling through squads and changing mech forms. The X button particularly doesn't feel like it's pulling its own weight and you can't customize it, but these are minor complaints.
The game is for the most part very well-paced, though there are a couple points where the difficulty spikes tremendously. The Gundam 00 and Linebarrels finales come to mind. There also just doesn't feel like there's many mook types present in the game either, usually no more than three types per-canon. Animations are also not the greatest and I would've liked more songs present, but both still suffice and the game still includes some great song remixes.
Ultimately I think it's an ironic tragedy that one of the best SR Ws ever is locked away from a good-sized chunk of the fandom. It's certainly the best SRW on a Nintendo handheld though, that's for certain.
If and when you can, give it a chance even if you're skeptical. The game is worth it, I promise you that.