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Super Robot Wars 2 is the first and only Super Robot Wars title released on the Famicom and the first to have an actual plotline, with its larval form becoming the modern Super Robot Wars battle engine, though it clearly borrows a lot from the first game, in this regard. First released in December 1991, the game was given two Video Game Remakes: one for the Game Boy as Super Robot Wars 2G, and then for the PlayStation as part of the Super Robot Wars Complete Box.

2 began what most fans call the "Classic Timeline", to wit, the "Divine Crusaders War" (DC War) is the primary focus of the game. When alien technology is discovered by a scientist named Bian Zoldark, who studies it and informs the government of the potential threat that will occur unless the world is fully prepared for it. Unfortunately, Bian's words are not taken seriously, thus he creates the "Divine Crusaders", with the intent of conquering The Federation, jolting the government's attention towards Bian. Enter the heroes and the first of many Original Generation characters and Mecha, who wind up becoming part of the DC War, but also Bian's hidden machinations.

A Fan Translation of the original Famicom version was released by Aeon Genesis.

Series present in Super Robot Wars 2 (Bold indicates debuting entries)


Tropes common to Super Robot Wars 2 are:


  • Cutscene Power to the Max: Subverted; at one point in the game, a mysterious robot appears and destroy a bunch of turrets in a single attack and leaves. Eventually, its pilot joins Londo Bell. Not only can the player use that same attack that hits all opponents in range without Mooks performing a counterattack, the pilot can counter any opponent with it, and the attack can be used post-movement, in either its default humanoid mode or its transformable aerial mode?! The tradeoff is that the Cybuster is a textbook Glass Cannon.
  • Duel Boss: Played with in 2G. One stage is entirely dedicated to the fated duel between Domon and Master Asia. However, if Domon gets shot down, Amuro, Kouji, the Getter Team, and Masaki enter the fray instead of the player receiving a Game Over.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: 2G allows players to recruit Lune Zoldark, who was not introduced until Super Robot Wars 3. However, she leaves right when the Federation gets ready to take out her dad.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: Super Robot Wars 2 ditched the sentient robots and contains dialogue between missions, but the original Famicom version is otherwise still very different from modern SRW games:
    • Almost every minor character that is recruitable is a Guest-Star Party Member due to a rather aggressive Arbitrary Headcount Limit.
    • There is no Morale/Will system.
    • There is no separation of pilot and unit stats, so leveling up works more like traditional RPGs.
    • Only two attacks per unit. There is no easily-available "base" damage, with there instead being separate attack values depending on what terrain the enemy is using.
    • Everyone has access to Spirit Commands unlike SRW1, but the effect of the Commands vary from their later incarnations, with some of them like "Spirit" being completely unrecognizable.
    • Shops are on the map as tiles that one of your units have to visit, akin to earlier Fire Emblem games. There are only single-use items available.
    • The title theme is "Neppu! Shippu! Cybuster" instead of the Classic-series' more familiar theme "Toki wo Koete". (Not to be confused with "Zeta - Toki wo Koete".)
    • Every single Gundam unit shares a single Leitmotif, which remains to a certain degree in future "Classic" games. The Leitmotif in question is "Tobe! Gundam", which wouldn't be used as a Super Robot Wars battle theme after this game until the remake of Super Robot Wars. Aeon Genesis, who produced the fan translation, released a separate patch that changes this song to the more familiar "Gallant Char" that was used by the Super Famicom games.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: In Scenario 2, the Michiru Saotome and her Getter-Q are an enemy unit due to hostages being taken by the DC, forcing her to fight against you. And her tactic is to bumrush you. Once the hostage situation is settled, the Getter-Q joins your side as an NPC. You can't control her, you can't heal her. And her fighting style is exactly the same. Depressingly, she's a hidden bonus character in the PSX version. To unlock her, she has to survive the stage. Easier said than done. 2G at least only required you not to shoot her down.
  • Long Song, Short Scene:
    • The Leitmotif of UFO Robo Grendizer is too long for its own good. Thankfully, you can fully listen to it when switching to Grendizer's battle mode.
    • Subverted in 2G. The battle animations are very quick, leading one to believe that there are large portions of each battle theme that go unplayed like in other Super Robot Wars games - until one examines the audio data and learns that the developers only composed about 10-15 seconds of each theme.
  • Mecha Expansion Pack: In 2G, fully upgrading a unit's stats normally gives them an item that gives them one final stat boost. The V2 Gundam instead transforms into the V2 Assault-Buster Gundam.
  • Negative Continuity:
    • The defection of Reccoa Londe and the brainwashing of Four Murasame occur in this game. That's fine and all, until it happens AGAIN in the exact same manner for the sequel, and NO ONE bothers to mention that it's happened before.
    • Lalah Sune also is savable, which is a rarity for the series. However, that doesn't stop her from randomly jumping back to the DC between this and the sequel... and Amuro doesn't bother to comment on it at all in 3.
    • Elpeo Ple dies if you take the steps to recruit Ple Two, yet she's alive and kicking in Super Robot Wars 3, no worse for wear... and you still have to convince both if you want them in your squad again.
  • Original Generation: Masaki, Bian and Shu Shirakawa; for the mecha, the Granzon, Valsion and Cybuster
  • Thanatos Gambit: Bian states unless Londo Bell defeats him, they have no chance against an extraterrestial threat. Sure enough, he's given a beating that ends with him getting Killed Off for Real, but he intended this was necessary in order for The Federation to better arm itself and for them to prepare for the impending invasion.
  • The Mole: Paptimus Scirroco attempts to betray Bian, but Shu informs him that Bian knows and has him kicked out of the Divine Crusaders. This is retained in the sequel.
  • Villain Team-Up: Considering Bian happens to earn the allegiance of every Gundam series antagonist (thus far) and a few super robot villains into one faction, this easily applies.

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