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[Bebpo]

SUPER ROBOT WARS Z2: SAISEI-HEN
Genre: Giant Robots Everywhere - The SRPG
Platform: PSP
Release Date: JP - 4/5/12
Price: A lot of your money, but worth every cent


Yes! It's that time again. Almost exactly one year later, the direct sequel to the Super Robot Wars Z2: Hakai-Hen (Destruction Arc) is about to make its appearance once again on the PSP with Super Robot Wars Z2: Saisei-Hen (Rebirth Arc). Unlike SRW Z1 which was a complete story from start to finish, Z2 was split into two separate games as several of the series covered were original aired as two parts. What did this mean in practicality? It meant that Z2-1, while covering a good chunk of the included shows, was in the end mainly a GIANT SETUP to make you need Z2-2 where all the universe crushing finales will finally take place.

For those just joining us, you can catch up on the Z2-1 thread here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426756

And the Z1 thread here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336163

GAMEPLAY - WHAT'S NEW?
-Not a whole lot! This is literally the 2nd half to last year's game. Meaning continued stories, with a couple new story entries and the same good gameplay that was in the previous game. Fast, challenging, and fun is the name of Z2 with its lack of squad or partner systems. It's straight out traditional "bunch of characters on a map" SRPG, just all the characters are super awesome robots that melt your face away. The only new "system" is really the Macross 7 song system for buffing/debuffing, which should be pretty similar to Lelouche's command system for doing the same in Z2-1.

But really, who cares about all that stuff, let's talk about
----------------
THE CAST LIST
----------------

There are A LOT of series in this one. I'm not even going to count them up. You have your returning group from Z1, the continuing group from Z2, and another two all new entries to spice up the experience. Here we goooooo....

ORIGINAL(S)

I'm assuming our main lead from the first half Crowe Brust is still in the game. I've been in media blackout a bit concerning the OG plot so who knows. Maybe we're playing as Asakim for the whole game or something. Who knows. But since he still has a lot of story to tell, as his past was only briefly hinted on in Z2-1, it is likely our wise-cracking penniless hero will return to lead ZEXIS to victory. There may, or will be plenty of other original characters, but that is part of the surprise!


----------------------------------------------
ALL NEW AND EXCITING MECHA-BROS:
----------------------------------------------

TETSUJIN 28 - 1980's anime version

One of the most iconic robots in Japan gets its first appearance in a SRW game! It will be based on the 1980s anime run called Shin Tetsujin 28 Go.
Strengths - Tetsujin is good at PUNCHING THINGS

MACROSS DYNAMITE SEVEN (including Macross Seven)

Rock n' Roll Top Gun is back. Seven SRW entries after Macross Seven's last appearance in SRW Alpha 3, lead singer Basara and his 1980s glam rock band return to sing once again.

Strengths - Basara's Engrish. POWAAA TOO THE DREAAAAMMM


----------------------------------------
Z2-1'S CONTINUING NEW SERIES:
----------------------------------------

GUNDAM OO - SEASON 2

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH

Strengths - Exia Repair!

CODE GEASS R2

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH

Strengths - Hilarity

GURREN LAGANN - LAGANN-HEN

Row Row Fight the Power and all that. Z2-2 will cover the 2nd half of the show as Simone and crew grow and grow to overcome all challenges that are thrown at them. The story will be based off the movie version of GL, which was notably changed in the Lagann arc; so those who have only watched the TV show may be in for some surprises towards the end!

Strengths - EVERYTHING

SHIN GETTER ROBO ARMAGEDDON - THE AWESOME-R PARTS

Z2-1 covered the first few eps of Shin Getter Robo Armageddon. Those eps were awesome. However, Z2-2 will cover the REST in all its glory.

Strengths - BLACK GETTER + SHIN DRAGON

GUNDAM WING - THINGS HAPPEN ARC

Gundam Wing TV was in the Z2-1, however in that game they did pretty much nothing but show up and have a few Heero/Relena quarrels while Trieze sipped coffee in his living room with Amuro and Quattro. The bulk of the plot of Gundam Wing will occur in Z2-2 along with the mech upgrades.

Strengths - More Gundams!

MACROSS FRONTIER - SECOND HALF

Second half of Mac F comes to Z2-2! I never made it this far in the show, so I have no idea what happens that is different in the 2nd half, but hey, should be cool and play well with Macross Seven. Includes mechs from movie version.

Strengths - MORE SINGING

SHIN MAZINGER - EVEN BETTER HALF

The second half of the already amazing Mazinger reboot.

Strengths - EPIC

VOTOMS - MORE STORY

Z2-1 sure covered a lot of Votoms story. However, I've been told that there is still LOTS more, so the Votoms plots should continue in this one. Yay!

Strengths - Chirico's dodge rate.

DANCOUGAR - GOD BLESS DANCOUGAR

!!! Apparently, Dancougar who was only in the Z2-1 as a support character for Dancougar Nova's story, will get some of his own tale told in Z2-2.

Strengths - It's freaking DANCOUGAR, the original one, the awesome one. What more do you want?



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Z2'S NEW ENTRY SERIES THAT FINISHED IN Z2-1 BUT MAY STILL HAVE A ROLE YET:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DAI-GUARD

DANCOUGAR NOVA

GODMARS

*Godmars actually has more story they could cover, but apparently it's unlikely that Z2-2 will cover it.

TRIDER G7

EUREKA SEVEN - MOVIE VERSION

-----------------------------------------------------
SUPER ROBOT WARS Z1 RETURNING SERIES:
-----------------------------------------------------
THE BIG O

ZAMBOT 3

DAITARN 3

GOD SIGMA

AQUARION

BALDIOS

GRAVION ZWEI

ORGUSS

GUNDAM X

TURN A GUNDAM

GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

ZETA GUNDAM - MOVIE VERSION

CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK

XABUNGLE

OVERMAN KING GAINER

As you can see, there will be A LOT of GIANT ROBOTS in this one. The tough part will be choosing which 20 or so you will deploy each stage! However, branching paths will make it easier to use them all.

Returning units are getting new attacks and animations, so there's a reason to use them all!


------------------
SCREENSHOTS
------------------

------------------
FINAL TRAILER
------------------


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEigzl0hRFI

 

[Bebpo]

Question to those with a better memory of Z2-1: I've been replaying Z2-1 this week to try to refresh my memory of everything that happened. I'm around stage 20 now and I recall most of the important bits, but I don't remember what happened with

Spoiler

Old Man Elgan in the end. Did he die in Z2-1 or was he still alive at the end?

 

[distantmantra]

YES.

 

[Beth Cyra]

So hyped.

Shin Dragon is going to be amazing. Still weirded out by Wings usage and Zero's yellow saber.

 

[chickdigger802]

Z2-1... wasn't really challenging at all if I recall... .

 

[Bebpo]

Z2-1... wasn't really challenging at all if I recall... .

Some of the skillpoints were on first run.

 

[I should be doing hw]

Are there any SW games for PSP in English that I could play right now? I've never played anything in the series but this makes me kind of want to start it.

 

[Bebpo]

Are there any SW games for PSP in English that I could play right now? I've never played anything in the series but this makes me kind of want to start it.

PSP, no. However there are a couple of fan-translated games like SRW J for GBA or Alpha Gaiden for PS1.

If you don't mind not having licensed anime series, the Original Generations games were brought out in English on GBA.


Sadly, if you want to play SRW, you pretty much need to play them in Japanese. The games are fully playable to people who don't read Japanese, however you do miss out on the storylines in that case and just have to adlib it yourself and create exciting plots in your mind to go along with the action.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Are there any SW games for PSP in English that I could play right now? I've never played anything in the series but this makes me kind of want to start it.

Short answer: ha ha ha, no.

Long answer: licensing hell.


God-tier OP.

 

[I should be doing hw]

Disappointed. I think I'll do the second best thing and just rewatch some of the anime listed in the OP.
How was that PS2/Wii title released somewhat recently?

 

[Beth Cyra]

Disappointed. I think I'll do the second best thing and just rewatch some of the anime listed in the OP.
How was that PS2/Wii title released somewhat recently?

Neo(wii) wasn't that great to me and Z1 (Ps2) is my fav SRW so far.

 

[Naite]

Been replaying through Z2-1 for the past week or so. Forgot about the game and only on my 2nd run.

Excited to use the 00S2 and Shin Getter units, and spamming as many Big Bang Punches while The Guardian is playing in the background as possible.

 

[hayejin]

Been playing Z2-1 past few days.
While I love the inclusion of Shin Mazinger, this means I will never get to use my favorite: Great Mazinger and Tetsuya. Maybe they can include Energizer Z and allow playing Tetsuya.

 

[Danj]

Are there translation FAQs/storyguides for the Z series? Also, where's the best place to get the Z games if you're in Europe (i.e. not Play-Asia as they still won't ship Sony stuff here)?

 

[Jubern]

They... what? I'm in France and have been to import again for a long time. Where do you live?
Among other options, you have Yesasia!

Anyway, let's do thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis. So hyped.
Bebpo, if you have the time, maybe you could put youtube links for OP and/or some SRW Z1/2 animation for each series? I know we probably won't get much clicks anyway, but hey.

 

[squall23]

How was that PS2/Wii title released somewhat recently?

NEO:

All supers
All Eldoran (may never ever happen again)
Awesome cast
Awesome soundtrack (it's weird how the Nintendo 3D SRWs always have soundtracks that are very memorable)
Awesome game mechanics

Best alternative SRW ever

 

[Boss Doggie]

Will be picking up Geass route not because of shitty Geass characters but because of fucking VOTOMs. Anybody not named Chirico got nothin' on Chirico.

 

[Bebpo]

I'll be doing all routes simultaneously like I did for Z1, Z2-1 and am currently working on with @3. So I'll be lagging behind a bit like usual, but I like it that way.

 

[Palette Swap]

I finished my 3rd run through hakaihen 2 days ago. That was absolute cake and I kind of experimented with abusing healing units to boost experience. Level 99 Amuro is god tier. And level 99 Sumeragi and co totally break an already broken game with their support seishin. I've begun my fourth lap just to play that fourth version of chapter 9 but I probably won't complete it in time so I'll stay at 3.

3 laps completed and scenario chart full. So ready for the sequel.

I hope they add way more secret characters/units/parts or even routes. I loved this back in the original series and the alpha series. I found Z2 to be a bit lacking in that department.

Are there translation FAQs/storyguides for the Z series? Also, where's the best place to get the Z games if you're in Europe (i.e. not Play-Asia as they still won't ship Sony stuff here)?

Mark Neidengard has written story guides for Z, Z special disk and Z2.1. The first two can be found on gamefaqs and the latter was completed this week and can be found on his homepage ATM.
Yesasia works for Europe if you're looking to import.

Edit: does anyone know if there will be a digital version at launch?

 

[Jubern]

Yup, there will be a digital release at launch, unlike Hakai-hen.

 

[Sinople]

I'm so late on this series. I refuse to play Z1 before I finish all the Alpha games but I have yet to begin Alpha Gaiden, A2 and A3. And they're such time sinks... T_T

 

[Mandoric]

WHAT WE KNOW ALREADY:

[spoiler]Prologue					Black Rebellion (Code Geass eps 24-25)
Prologue			Destroy All Gundams (Gundam 00 ep 25 + Gundam Wing Heero's self-destruct)
Prologue				Armageddon (Getter Robo Armageddon + TTGL)
Episode 1						Fighting Girl
Episode 2						  Fugitives
Episode 3					The New Adventures of Gigantor
Split			Japan			Space			Middle East			Kummen
		(Gigantor, Trider, Dai-	   (Macross F, Gundam 	    (Gundam W, Gundam, SEED) 	  (Votoms, Code Geass)
		 guard, Gundam X, King      00, Aquarion)
		 Gainer)
Episode 4	   Embattled Takeo 	    Second Coming	     Bewildered Soldiers	    Assemble EX-10
	           General Company				         (W: Ep 12) 		     (ATV: Ep 14)
Episode 5	  The Melancholy of PR	    Twinkle Star		OZ and A-LAWS		      Maelstrom
		       Division 2[/spoiler]

Spoiler

Fighting Girl: Brasta Es (Esther), Deathscythe (Duo), Sandrock (Quatre)
Fugitives: Guren Type-02 Arm-1A (Kallen), Burai (C.C.)
Gigantor: Gigantor (Shotaro), VF-27γ Lucifer (Brela), VF-25F Messiah (Alto), RVF-27 Lucifer (Luca)

Japan: Zanbot 3, Trider G7, Gigantor, Daiguard, King Gainer, Gundam DX available.
Team up with Division 2, and meet Gainer and Garrod at their new jobs with Takeo.

Space: Macross F units, Aquarion, Gundam Exia Repair.
Follow the Frontier fleet.

Middle East: Follow Duo and Quatre, and rendezvous with the rest of the Wing cast.
Take on OZ, the A-LAWS, and even Quattro.

Kummen: Follow Kallen back to her bar. C.C., Chirico, Potaria, Kidera, Kan Yu, and Shako also join.

 

[hteng]

YATTE YARUZE!

 

[Pureauthor]

Question to those with a better memory of Z2-1: I've been replaying Z2-1 this week to try to refresh my memory of everything that happened. I'm around stage 20 now and I recall most of the important bits, but I don't remember what happened with

Spoiler

Old Man Elgan in the end. Did he die in Z2-1 or was he still alive at the end?

Apparently

Spoiler

Ribbons poisoned him or something, I dunno.

Also, concerning the OP, you put Dancougar in the 'plot finished' category when the latest PV shows they're gonna be doing God Bless Dancougar.

 

[Danj]

They... what? I'm in France and have been to import again for a long time. Where do you live?
Among other options, you have Yesasia!

Oh... wow... when did they lift the ban on that then? I just checked and you're right, Play-Asia doesn't have that stupid region block on PSP stuff any more. Still, looks like I haven't bought anything from there since 2004 or so.

 

[Jubern]

I bought Tales of Graces f on Play-Asia back in January 2011 without any problem, and I'm pretty sure the ban was lifted quite some time before that.

 

[Bebpo]

Also, concerning the OP, you put Dancougar in the 'plot finished' category when the latest PV shows they're gonna be doing God Bless Dancougar.

Oh really? That's awesome! Will update.

Does it look like any of the other's might get their stories like say, Trider G7 or Daitarn?

 

[Boss Doggie]

Oh really? That's awesome! Will update.

Does it look like any of the other's might get their stories like say, Trider G7 or Daitarn?

Trider... well, let's just say his appearance in Neo (was it Neo) didn't have plot too.

Now that I think about it, Daitarn's just there helping out.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

Trider... well, let's just say his appearance in Neo (was it Neo) didn't have plot too.

Now that I think about it, Daitarn's just there helping out.

Well, Banjo is just that awesome.

 

[Kincaido]

Nice OT. I still need to finish up Z2-1 though. Hopefully I get around to finishing it up soon and get to discuss this one with you all.

 

[lupin23rd]

Finally installing Z2-1 on my PSP, I keep wanting to touch the screen like on my Vita

Is there anything that carries over from the Z2-1 save to Z2-2? I'll probably end up going digital for the second part unless I take forever to complete the game, and end up in Japan when I'm ready to start it.

 

[Shouta]

Question to those with a better memory of Z2-1: I've been replaying Z2-1 this week to try to refresh my memory of everything that happened. I'm around stage 20 now and I recall most of the important bits, but I don't remember what happened with

Spoiler

Old Man Elgan in the end. Did he die in Z2-1 or was he still alive at the end?

Spoiler

Elgan was probably controlled and is being used in Z2-2 but I'm not sure. Nothing points to him being a sphere holder so he wouldn't get killed by evil Masaki. He's a Cursed Wanderer though.

Also, Dai-guard, Dancougar Nova, Trider, and E-7 movie are likely to get some more stuff for Z2-2. Their stories are truncated or they didn't do the big bang or they'll retread the story. They may have done it in a similar manner but they'll include all the elements this time. Macross Frontier was cut short in Z2-1 for example so that the entire thing would play out in Z2-2.

Finally installing Z2-1 on my PSP, I keep wanting to touch the screen like on my Vita

Is there anything that carries over from the Z2-1 save to Z2-2? I'll probably end up going digital for the second part unless I take forever to complete the game, and end up in Japan when I'm ready to start it.

Yes. You'll get a link bonus for importing your save.

Complete Save: All pilots start with 150 PP and 5 Kills, you get 500,000 in Funds, A Hakai Emblem, Barrier Field and DM Unit

Every additional run through the game you have (up to 10): Additional 10 PP, +1 kill, and 100,000 Funds per run.

A Scenario Complete nets you: +100 PP, +5 Per Pilot, +500,000 Funds, A-Adapter, Repair Kit, Propane Tank, and a Cartridge.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I'm still wondering if we'll get Marg back for GodMars OVA.

 

[blind51de]

I'm still wondering if we'll get Marg back for GodMars OVA.

I haven't watched more than a couple of episodes of Godmars, but I think stuff like his own Godmars unit are OVA-only and were licensed seperately in D.
There's nothing about Godmars OVA in Saisei-hen's information.

 

[mjemirzian]

As far as gameplay, they're adding medals/achievements for the first time. That's on top of skill points and difficulty modes, I believe.

However, I don't doubt that Z2-2 will be one of the easiest SRWs since MX if you get a full import bonus.

Don't count out a squad or partner system just yet.

 

[Mandoric]

As far as gameplay, they're adding medals/achievements for the first time. That's on top of skill points and difficulty modes, I believe.

However, I don't doubt that Z2-2 will be one of the easiest SRWs since MX if you get a full import bonus.

Don't count out a squad or partner system just yet.

Squad or partner systems would have been covered in PR. They haven't, it's not in.

I don't think Saisei-hen will be particularly hard, but the last time a SRW had save importing it definitely didn't make it easy.

 

[mjemirzian]

Squad or partner systems would have been covered in PR. They haven't, it's not in.

I don't think Saisei-hen will be particularly hard, but the last time a SRW had save importing it definitely didn't make it easy.

Not necessarily. SRW tends to ignore gameplay as much as possible with their PR. It's not likely at this point, though.

There's almost no basis of comparison between older SRWs with save importing and Z2-2.

 

[Mandoric]

Not necessarily. SRW tends to ignore gameplay as much as possible with their PR. It's not likely at this point, though.

Most of the Z2-2 stuff I've had passed to me has been partial or totally devoted to game systems.

 

[Kintaro]

<reads OP>

<starts to burn up with Super Robot PASSION!>

Sad to see them use Lagann-hen (which was trash) but HYPE for more SHIN GETTAHHHHHH!

 

[mjemirzian]

Most of the Z2-2 stuff I've had passed to me has been partial or totally devoted to game systems.

All of the trailers and almost all of the scans and screenshots have been about the plot/characters/battle animations. Gameplay info has been in the minority, as it usually is with modern SRW pre-release info. On the other hand there's probably not a lot new or different this time around.

As a point of comparison, the latest Fire Emblem has its own extensive gameplay features trailer.

 

[Mandoric]

All of the trailers and almost all of the scans and screenshots have been about the plot/characters/battle animations. Gameplay info has been in the minority, as it usually is with modern SRW pre-release info. On the other hand there's probably not a lot new or different this time around.

As a point of comparison, the latest Fire Emblem has its own extensive gameplay features trailer.

Scans and screenshots are not the only PR that goes out.

 

[chickdigger802]

EUREKA SEVEN - MOVIE VERSION


....


.....
....
..

ew.

 

[Beth Cyra]

EUREKA SEVEN - MOVIE VERSION


....


.....
....
..

ew.

I will be having this reaction when it reads Aquarion Evol instead of Genesis or Aquarion OVA.

 

[mjemirzian]

Scans and screenshots are not the only PR that goes out.

Examples, please? Don't forget every trailer.

Anyway, I'm still concerned that the mix of difficulty modes, skill points, and "medals" isn't going to turn out well. The medals will probably just be the usual trophy/achievement collect em up stuff, so I don't see a big point to it. It's likely to be an easy but still fun and well designed game.

 

[Bebpo]

I've been sick and bored all weekend, so just been blowing through my Z2-1 replay. Up to stage 34 currently after around 9 hours. At this rate I should be able to finish the replay in time for Z2-2, which makes it a good refresher

I will be having this reaction when it reads Aquarion Evol instead of Genesis or Aquarion OVA.

Eh, Evol isn't bad so far for a monster of the day Super Robot show. It's not as good as Aquarion, but it's fine. The story will probably kick in at the final 3-4 eps like Aquarion did, and those will determine whether Evol's story is any good. As a SRW mecha it's already good with a wide range of neat attacks.

I'm more worried about E7 AO, haha.

 

[HaRyu]

Examples, please? Don't forget every trailer.

Anyway, I'm still concerned that the mix of difficulty modes, skill points, and "medals" isn't going to turn out well. The medals will probably just be the usual trophy/achievement collect em up stuff, so I don't see a big point to it. It's likely to be an easy but still fun and well designed game.

Skill points affect the difficulty, that's pretty much standard for the main SRW games now.

Medals are like skill points, in that there's requirements to unlock them. Getting medals lets you get special equipment, so its more than just achievements. Also, unlike Skill Points, they're actually making the requirements unknown, you have to figure them out yourself. This is how Skill Points USED to be.

 

[mjemirzian]

Medals are like skill points, in that there's requirements to unlock them. Getting medals lets you get special equipment, so its more than just achievements. Also, unlike Skill Points, they're actually making the requirements unknown, you have to figure them out yourself. This is how Skill Points USED to be.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. Hiding the conditions or handing out rewards isn't nearly as relevant as the conditions themselves, which are likely going to be patience/time investment tasks like collecting things, completing every scenario, etc. It doesn't matter if they're hidden or you get gameplay rewards for them. I think it's a cop out to include 3 different systems to increase difficulty or measure skill, yet the game still ends up being very easy because every skill point, medal, and difficulty level are softballs or collect em ups.

 

[HaRyu]

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. Hiding the conditions or handing out rewards isn't nearly as relevant as the conditions themselves, which are likely going to be patience/time investment tasks like collecting things, completing every scenario, etc. It doesn't matter if they're hidden or you get gameplay rewards for them. I think it's a cop out to include 3 different systems to increase difficulty or measure skill, yet the game still ends up being very easy because every skill point, medal, and difficulty level are softballs or collect em ups.

Its two systems, not three. The Skill Points are what affect the Difficulty. Its not like you can manually choose the difficulty, the game's difficulty adjust to how many skill points you have.

Besides, it not as convuluted as the first SRWZ point systems, now that was a headache. Skill Points (affected difficulty), ZEUTH Points (affected whether or not you can get into the ZEUTH Route), AKI Points, for determining whether or not Aki from the Zambot series lives, and finally the Ending Points (affected what ending you got). A combination of several of those point system also affected several secrets in the game, if I recall.

EDIT: And I guess we're suppose to call them Emblems, not Medals. The info I'm aware of says that there's 5 types of Emblems. Now I have no idea if that means there's 5 sets of Emblems, or there's just 5 Emblems all together. The Emblem "types" are: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum.

Looks like the only Emblem we know the requirements for are Iron Emblem = have 20 ACE Pilots on your team.

Gonna take a wild stab at this, and guess that there is only 5 Emblems to unlock. If its just 5 extra things on top of the Skill Point system, it isnt really that complicated at all.

EDIT pt DEUX: And after looking over the info/scans, its not even really considered a system honestly (even if they call it a system). It just looks like you just need to meet certain requirements to unlock actual equippable items (aka the Emblems). So its really not that much different than doing some out of the way thing to unlock a special item in any run of the mill RPG.

 

[Jubern]

I'm thinking I might play every route on the same playthrough, this time... It'd be the first time I'd do that, but the last game left me *really* sour about what I missed (basically everything not Macross and Gundam 00?).

Hope I won't get burned out é_è

 

[sonikokaruto]

why only in japanese