Today is about big robot from classic. It’s Gundam that everyone love and know. Well, except me. I prefer Zoids. Can’t say no to giant dinosaur robot, you know? Anyway, I will play Banpresto’s Mobile Suit Gundam Ex Revue (1994).
Pretty straight forward title, I must say. I know my knowledge about Gundam is as thin as dry leaf in autumn but I’m pretty sure that robot below the title, is not the Gundam itself. It’s the final boss of this game. We will see it much much later. So how do I play this game?
The game kindly shows me this
“How to play” screen. Surprise! Surprise! It’s fighting game. As far as I know
Banpresto made 2 kinds of Gundam arcade game. One is fighting game and the
other is vertical shoot em up. There are 4 buttons but what they do are
slightly different than the standard control of SNK fighting game (e.g., Garou - Mark of The Wolves). There are 3 strengths of attack mapped on each button:
Light, medium middium, and heavy attack. The 4th button is for throw
although you can do the same thing with usual method: forward and heavy attack.
The throw button is for extra availability and theoretically easier way to
perform throw but you probably rely on usual method of using forward and heavy
attack. The instruction also tell me that I can perform dash by moving joystick
twice in either left or right direction. But what it doesn’t tell me is how to
jump and block although they are done in standard way. To block, you simply
hold back direction when attacked.
The roster consists of 14 playable robots which I think too many. But to be fair Street Fighters 2 New Challengers has 16 characters. That’s higher number by 2. If you look closely the roster, there’s some pair robots that are identical except for their paint job. They’re akin to ninjas in early Mortal Kombat game. One robot is belong to main character and the other belong to unnamed pilot. Also, they have slightly different moveset than their “copy”. My eyes immediately fixate to Belfast in globe. I didn’t know it’s capital city before a light cruiser’s name.
Against all healthy common sense, I pick Guncannon instead of the main protagonist Gundam. The reason is: first it has name of gun and cannon, 2 things that I like. Second, it’s Shoto character that is capable of shooting projectile standing and crouching. Imagine Sagat has the same height of Ryu. No, scratch that! Imagine Ryu can perform Hadou Ken while standing or crouching. There you get the combat method of Guncannon. Or maybe you can associate it with Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat 2 or 3. That’s also reasonable. Immediately I encounter mirror match. But because this is the first match, the AI should be pretty easy to beat.
Naturally, I can slip my low shot against my opponent’s standing shot and it’s pretty easy to execute because the input for this low shot is quarter circle forward + attack. Quite oddly, the input for standing shot is quarter circle back + attack that somehow has less reliable input detection. This could be problem if I want to neutralize enemy’s standing shot with mine.
Of course, there’s winning quote as Kai fell his imposter but I don’t quite get it? I assume he’s really happy and thrilled that he win the match.
My next opponent is Z’Gok. Right of the bat, that fellow in the background get hit by a Mega Rock. The scene is looping. His friend replaces him from below, instantly get hit by rock and then fall. I hope they have good health insurance.
Then another fellow Z’Gok fall from above while hanging into a rock. This underground base has lots of safety problem. As for our match, well. I manage to throw him. I reckon the move is Deashi Harai (translated: front foot sweep). You probably think it looks lame, however: First, that’s the move that I learned in Judo club for first time. Over and over again. Second, somehow it inflicts more damage than getting hit by cannon’s projectile in the face. Go figure! Also, the physic is wrong. The recipient of Deashi Harai, should be stumbled to the side in very near distance. But in this Gundam’s universe, they will fly 4 meters (13.1234 feet) away! Medic_sf12_badmagic05.wav
Besides shooting the cannon is 2 stances, Guncannon also has capability to jump to the other side and shoot downward in the middle of the jump. This move naturally useful to get out of corner. This move input is quite weird: move the joystick with 270o motion starting from back, down, forward and ends in up direction, and press attack button. It was miracle that I discover this move. Back then I have strange inspiration to perform this strange motion joystick, perhaps because Savage Reign influences me. Somehow. But it works and surprisingly the input detection is quite responsive. Back then there’s no move list on GameFAQs. However, Goh_Billy made it in 2022. If you are looking for reliable move list guide on any fighting game, you should rely on this guy. He has twitter account, you should follow him.
Anyway, about my opponent. Well, he has Shouryu-Ken and dashing straight punch of Balrog. Overall, not interesting moveset.
There’s some intermission about the final boss, between matches. This pilot is amazed by her robot while boasting it. No one will be her enemy, she said. I can prove you’re wrong.
Next opponent is Gouf and it has capability to fire projectile which makes it slightly tougher opponent than Z’Gok. That yellow vessel on the back reminds me of Gustav from Zoid. Not sure why.
Ok. Gouf can also sink into the ground and jump out, which is adaptation of Sektor’s uppercut teleport. It also has cable weapon that can be utilized as whip.
Here’s another Kai’s quote which is more puzzling than before. Stay like what? You have to speak more clearly, buddy.
It's another Z’Gok but I remember this one is very tedious. It has E. Honda’s moveset but imagine his head shoot projectile while doing his signature “Sumo Headbutt”. It becomes broken, yeah? That’s what happen here. Low shot doesn’t hit either Z’Gok or the missiles. I need to perform standing shot more often but as I’ve said before the input detection for that one is finicky.
We know that Honda’s moveset includes Sumo Smash which is powerful anti air move hitting upward then downward. This Z’Gok has that too. So it’s very risky if I attempt to jump kick on it but hey! I did it! It was when Z’Gok jump that I can land my mighty drop kick successfully. Heavy_positivevocalization04.wav
My next match is against Zaku. It has this move where it swing axe and then kick which reminds me of Dee Jay’s double rolling sobat. Also it can perform Shouryu-Ken. In fact, it does computer Ken’s routine in Street Fighter Alpha 3, performing 2-3 Shouryu-Ken consecutively.
Surely, you can punish Zaku on way down after Shouryu-Ken. One of option I have to punish it is using heavy attack. In Guncannon case: it has 2 heavy attack. By default, it fires its cannon to generate small range blast which lack of range but high priority because the blast is not part of its body. When in close range, it performs this side heavy punch that has dramatically longer ranger. It’s quite bad if I want this long reach punch but Guncannon does the cannon blast instead.
Zaku has got something else in its sleeve if you can call that arm “sleeve” that is. Zaku can launch micro missile out of its leg. We are proud member of “Low shooter” gentleman club (with Sagat as our current club president) and we like to settle our dispute with 15 seconds of throwing projectile at low height. That’s our creed.
You can also perform throw by holding forward and press medium attack. In Guncannon case, it grabs the opponent and shoot them in point blank range several time. I’m not sure exactly whether this grapple or Deashi Harai that inflict damage the most. Usually throw with medium attack input deals less damage. So I suppose Deashi Harai is more powerful than point-blank blast of cannons.
My next opponent is Acguy.
Sorry for my robot racism lack of knowledge of robot in Gundam universe,
but why Acguy looks quite similar to Z’Gok?
Acguy can cling into ceiling/top border and later punch forwards as it lands on ground. Also, it can emits big blast from its head. Judging by that crouching pose, I assume it copies Blanka’s Electric Thunder.
As Shoto character, Guncannon has anti air move. If I do Shouryu ken input, Guncannon does this jumping elbow charge which is quite peculiar move. It’s quite the opposite of Shouryu ken, it has longer horizontal reach but shorter vertical reach. With long horizontal travel, enemy can safely duck underneath Guncannon like this. Although it’s still functional as anti air move, I prefer standing heavy attack for anti air measure.
Meanwhile, the preparation for final boss robot has been completed and the pilot is really eager to ride on it. Is it common in Gundam universe that the hangar has low gravity? How they can do so well in preparation or maintenance if they left the bolts floating around?
Next match is against Dom. It can launch projectile while back dash kind of like Kain from Garou - Mark of The Wolves. But my crouching shot is more cunning! Is it just me or Dom (and its fellow in the background) should belong in Sega’s Space Harrier?
Dom also has another projectile shoot move where it quickly fires bazooka and it knocks back a bit due to big force of the bazooka. Besides those, Dom has this anti-air move that blatantly copies Haohmaru’s Kogetsuzan (Arc Moon Slash). As you can see, my projectile passes Dom harmlessly. This is one of big problem in this game, besides ai’s capability of input reading on later matches. All anti-air move can be used to avoid projectile especially in early part. I can understand it has high priority over any melee attack but when it has “projectile avoid” property, it breaks the gameplay balance. With addition of 90% of roster has ability to shoot projectile, being Shoto seems less special. But I feel Guncannon is still viable character to pick. Unlike Zack in Dragoon Might.
Next opponent is Gelgoog and it likes to make me cornered with this rapid thrusts which look like Jubei’s Hassou Happa.
Or twirling its blade like Tam Tam’s Paguna Paguna. Does it have ability to shoot projectile? Definitely! It quickly draw its laser rifle for quick shoot. So how can I defeat this opponent?
Perhaps the answer is shoot
more projectile. To quote Team Fortress 2’s Engineer “Use more gun”. Also the
enemy is fairly susceptible to low attack. This is the close range version of
heavy low attack where Guncannon puts all its force into its shoulder and ram
the enemy’s leg. Heavy_cheers06.wav
Next target is Gyan with head’s shape like diamond with top horn. It has versatile shield. Besides used to block attack, it can launch floating mines while Gyan hop backward.
The shield can also launch micro missiles. Gyan also can charge forward while doing rapid stab a la Charlotte’s Splash Fount. But I forget to take screenshot of it. My bad.
Meanwhile the final boss pilot impressed with my victories achieved by spamming projectile and low attack a lot. If it’s stupid but working, it ain’t stupid.
It’s another Zaku. The fight is not so interesting because Zaku can only shoot projectile with rifle and swinging with cable like Spiderman. At least the ai doesn’t have much either intelligence or ability to read my input control, so the fight is less jarring that I thought.
Eventually, I fight the titular/main protagonist: Gundam. But in my opinion, this fight as not as interesting as previous Zaku because the moveset is pretty boring. It consists of laser rifle shot, Haohmaru’s Kogetsuzan, and unmemorable forward sword slash.
Oh God! It’s another Gelgoog! The moveset remains the same but this Gelgoog is more aggressive. It likes to make combo, chaining normal attack after special move. Perhaps Guncannon doesn’t have ability to do that because it doesn’t have multiple hitting melee special move but it’s my reliable main.
The final boss robot is itching to fight me. You don’t get this kind of cutscene in Street Fighter 2.
That’s freaking rude. Immediately charge at me while I’m still astounded with that scalar effect. Not even your silly skirt like Flatwoods Monster’s, can make me less angry to you.
Now you throw me away with one hand. What a smug!
Ziong is pretty annoying foe because it likes to float around thus making my low projectile useless. Besides charging at me like Rayden or M. Bison, it has capability to shoot projectile from its fingers either in mid-air or on the ground.
The final boss cutscene really like to show you buttock. The pilot’s. The Maintenance staff’s. This time, you get to see the robot’s backside. Kind of. The jet thruster obscuring the view.
The very first thing the final boss does is this shoulder charge. It’s immune to projectile while doing so. Fair enough.
If you think you’re free from any association with Street Fighter 2 game reference, well too bad. Dolmel here clearly has M. Bison’s sliding kick.
Did I say the final boss is fair? Maybe I shouldn’t judge too soon. If the final boss shoot projectile and immediately does the charging shoulder, it will be more complex. The projectile can be negated with yours but you will get hit by the charging shoulder afterward. Of course, you can block both of those attacks but that trick with projectile as setup, is still cunning.
Dolmel can also perform Guile’s Sonic Boom but for short blast. However it’s enough to neutralize my low projectile. It goes without saying that Dolmel can deal tremendous damage if you’re not careful. I think most of the roster has same level of power and Dolmel has 1.5 or 2 times power of them.
Speaking of low shoot, I can use it to hit grounded enemy. I often follow up with this low projectile firing every time my opponent knocked away. B. Jenet, Zack, and now Guncannon. They all can hit grounded enemy with projectile. Cunning low blow. Now you know my character preference in fighting game.
Lo behold! The mighty sliding kick that’s “borrowed” from the infamous M. Bison, is denied by humble leg scoop. It looks lame compare to ordinary sweeping kick but it works. This lame low attack can bypass Gelgoog’s special moves back then. It must be hurt the feeling of the pilot knowing her powerful mobile suit get humbled by lame low normal attack.
Not really. She acknowledges my skill and power to control Guncannon fair and square. Such a sportsmanship. After open up her helmet to reveal she’s generic blonde anime girl, she just sits there tightly until Dolmel blows up. Maybe she rather dies than tells the other story of how this lame Guncannon defeats her and her supreme mobile suit.
Time for my character’s ending but there’ not much to it. After some snippet of Guncannon’s portrait, we get zoom in on Kai says he won’t be sad anymore. Good for him, I guess? It begs question though. Who’s this Mihal? Miguel? Michael? Time to do some quick search about this. Hopefully, I won’t get trapped in rabbit hole of Gundam’s lore. Ok. The search wasn’t so hard. I believe Mihal that he’s talking about is Miharu Ratokie. Note that it’s common Japanese’s mistranslation of “L” with “R”. Basically, Miharu is Kai’s love interest and she dies in some accident. It seems my guy Kai Shiden here, is not so likeable and arrogant person. But he’s Shoto character. He deserves to be smug. That’s my opinion.
Then you’re treated with robot’s specifications along with credit roll. I’m not sure what working weight means. It’s probably robot’s weight along with their combat gear within their maximum weight limit. That’s my best guess.
Banpresto’s Mobile Suit Gundam Ex Revue (1994) is not just Street Fighter 2 with Gundam franchise embedded on it. Banpresto made some rather wild modification on it to the point that it’s not balance like the aforementioned Capcom’s fighting classic game. But it’s not as crazy as Street Fighter 2 Rainbow Edition. Like I’ve said before. Almost all the playable character has ability to fire projectile. I’m not sure whether Char’s Z’Gok can fire projectile or not. I assume yes thus entire roster have ability to fire projectile thus making pure shoto like Guncannon less special. Speaking of Guncannon, it has the shortest melee range because it has no melee weapon. It’s like Ryu in any Vs Marvel game, where his punch and kick can be easily outranged by pretty much anyone. Maybe Banpresto wants to balance the roster but in lazy way by giving everyone ability to fire projectile. Then there’s projectile avoid property in anti-air move. They should give it “armor” property (where the fighter can still get hit but the move can’t be interrupted) instead. At least. On top of that, enemies seem have very brief recovery time if their attack is blocked, making it hard for you to punish their attack after blocking. The input detection is pretty lousy in some case. Even with all those problems, Mobile Suit Gundam Ex Revue still pretty competent and enjoyable game. The inclusion of extra button to throw, is functionally good. The roster can be easily learned. Strangely, there’s no grappler character. I like to see mobile suit that’s specialized at grappling. The presentation is wonderful. Strangely, there’s joystick input indicator on below. The sound effect is pretty generic but I like the inclusion of robot’s noise like Gagaga or Jzeem. The music is not memorable, sadly. The visual effect is good. There’s shadow after image during moment when special move involved. It’s should be for super move but as far as I know there’s none. There's "warning" word inside of robot's name as they take damage. Also the pilots get either hurt expression or bleed if their robot lose. The background changes slightly as match's round changes too, which is neat touch. Usually the background change in form of day/night cycle indicate the time progress as the fight keeps going. I assume they research Gundam lore for design and story. Or at least they have more thorough research than me.
Mobile Suit Gundam Ex Revue (1994) is pretty decent fighting game with movelist taken from Street Fighter 2, and Samurai Shodown with the coat painting of Mobile Suit Gundam. Perhaps because the copycat movelist is the main interest point in my opinion. But maybe I like Gundam more than before. Just a bit though. The giant Tyrannosaur/Godzilla robot from Zoid: Gojulas, definitely wins my heart, you know?