As someone who’s been building Gunplas for longer than I care to admit, Gundam Breaker 4 has certainly piqued my interest! The lack of cross-play is a bit of a bummer, but I’m eager to dive into public lobbies and see the monstrosities other players have cooked up.
It’s been quite a struggle for Gundam Breaker fans. Over nine years since the exceptional launch of Gundam Breaker 3, the series took a downward spiral with the poor quality New Gundam Breaker reboot and the discontinued Gundam Breaker Mobile gacha game. The shutdown of the mobile game made me think that the Gundam Breaker series had been buried for good, departing with the money of compulsive gamblers into the sunset.
Back in the Nintendo Direct earlier this year, I couldn’t believe my eyes when Bandai Namco unveiled Gundam Breaker 4. The way they stuck with the traditional naming convention instead of going for something like New Gundam Breaker 2 was a clever move. It was clear from the start that this was a genuine continuation of the original series, and not an attempt to rehash the same concept in a forced way. To avoid any association with the past misstep, they made sure to never bring up the New Gundam Breaker again in their marketing.
Speaking as a fan who deeply immersed myself in the series starting with Gundam Breaker 2, and subsequently investing countless hours into Gundam Breaker 3, I find myself both content and disappointed upon playing Gundam Breaker 4. The gameplay mechanics have been adjusted to resemble the foundation laid by Gundam Breaker 2 and 3, but there are significant flaws that keep it from reaching its full potential.
At the outset of GUNPLA Battle Blaze: Beyond Borders (referred to as GB4 within the game), players are immediately immersed in its beta phase set within the game’s universe. This is similar to Phantasy Star Online, but instead of relying on advanced technology found only in large arcades like Gundam Breaker 3, players can now use their own devices to scan their gunpla model kits into a virtual space. As time has passed and technology has rapidly developed within the game’s world, this concept has become accessible for anyone at any given moment. This mirrors the advancement of video game technology in our reality over the past four decades.
In terms of its setting, Gundam Breaker 4 takes place some time after the occurrences depicted in Gundam Breaker 3, Gundam Breaker Mobile, and the Gundam Breaker Battlogue anime. Despite being set within the same universe, the narrative of Gundam Breaker 4 can stand independently, making it accessible for newcomers to jump straight in. For fans who have followed the series previously, there are a handful of familiar characters making brief appearances and moments that long-time enthusiasts will appreciate.
As a fervent enthusiast diving into the GB4 open beta, I found myself joining forces with Tao and Lin, both of us greenhorns in this digital arena. Over time, we forged a band of three, subsequently enlisting additional characters to join our crusade, taking part in various beta events within GB4. The tale, at times, echoes the narrative structure of the dot hack series, although I won’t delve into the intricate mysteries that are unfolding. However, what sets this Gundam Breaker 4 adventure apart is the occasional in-game correspondence from characters, which adds a unique touch, albeit lacking an in-game forum akin to the pseudo-MMO franchise.
Although it’s not extraordinarily remarkable, the central plot is still satisfying and entertaining. Each character who joins the protagonist’s group gets some degree of development. Out of interest, I went through the entire game with English voices, and the actors did a commendable job in portraying each character’s unique personality in a believable way.
In Gundam Breaker 4, one significant drawback lies in the overly repetitive level layouts, which seem to have been borrowed from Gundam Breaker Mobile. Regardless if it’s a main mission or an optional quest, every stage follows the same pattern: battling wave after wave of enemies within an enclosed space, getting transported to the next stage where you do the same thing over and over again, before facing off against the main enemy team or massive boss in the final area. The only minor changes from this formula occasionally present themselves when you need to protect a shuttle or demolish a monument to advance.
Previous games had players move through sequential levels, each with its own distinct spatial flow and thematic environment. However, in Gundam Breaker 4, it seems as though stages are randomly selected, resulting in a sudden transition from one setting to another, such as going from an urban cityscape to the interior of a volcano. Although later stages in the main story introduce fresh visuals, I found myself losing track of distinct landscapes after some time, which might be one of Gundam Breaker 4’s biggest oversights.
In an unexpected turn, the one collaboration level in Gundam Breaker 4 featuring Pac-Man offers a sneak peek into the potential diversity that could’ve been incorporated within the game. This stage creatively mimics the rhythm of Pac-Man by having invulnerable adversaries chase players through a maze. To harm these pursuers, players must gather a specific power-up, granting temporary vulnerability for a limited period while they navigate the labyrinth and collect pellets to progress.
It’s great news that Gundam Breaker 4 shines in a key aspect that sets the series apart – the gunpla-building experience. As players advance, they’ll come across Mobile Suits from various Gundam series. At launch, Gundam Breaker 4 offers over 250 kits, making it the largest starting roster among console entries before any additional content was added post-launch. Any enemy defeated might drop some of their parts for players to collect and use.
If a specific Mobile Suit part isn’t being released during gameplay, players have the option to buy the complete kit for that gunpla in the shop located within the lobby. Although the initially purchased parts will be at the lowest level and rarity, you’ll learn about means to boost their performance later on.
In Gundam Breaker 4, players have an extraordinary opportunity to create their own Mobile Suits. They can either meticulously assemble their favorite Mobile Suit by fitting together all its components accurately, or they could experiment wildly by combining parts from various different Gunpla (model kits). This game offers a remarkable level of freedom in construction compared to previous versions, as players are now able to customize the head, body, left and right arms, legs, backpack, long-range weapons for each arm, short-range weapons for each arm, shield, and up to eight different accessories known as Builders Parts. Additionally, they can fine-tune all the skills their Mobile Suit is capable of using in battle.
The noticeable difference for players rejoining the series is that each arm can have a unique weapon now, and many weapons can be wielded together. Previously, there were two attack buttons, but they’ve been modified to trigger attacks with either the left or right arm’s weapon. Most one-handed weapons no longer follow the light and heavy control scheme from past games; only two-handed weapons like the greatsword and melee types retain this traditional control scheme.
In Gundam Breaker 4’s combat system, some fresh mechanics are introduced as you engage in battle. As you launch your gunpla assault, you’ll observe two large meters on the right side of your screen – the Hit and Break gauges. The Hit gauge is filled by consistently striking enemies, while the Break gauge relies on regularly dismantling enemy components. Once either of these gauges reaches its maximum, they increase temporarily, providing players with advantages; increasing the Hit gauge offers boosts, whereas elevating the Break gauge enhances the drop rate of parts.
Instead of directly boosting the Hit or Break gauges, weapon types enhance these two meters by excelling in increasing them more efficiently. For example, axes and maces are more likely to shatter parts, whereas lances and fencing sabers have multiple-hit combo attacks that effortlessly sustain the Hit gauge.
Initially, it appeared that I was limited to choosing only two weapon types to manage the gauges effectively, which seemed restrictive and took away my freedom of choice. However, upon playing, I realized that the restriction wasn’t as significant as it seemed. As long as I maintained a consistent damage output, be it by defeating enemies or depleting boss health bars (which both trigger Break), or by using ranged weapons to keep the Hit gauge under control, I was able to adapt and enjoy the gameplay.
Though I appreciate the developers trying some new ideas with Gundam Breaker 4 here, I wish they also had a “two-handed” variation for every weapon type. By confining most categories of weapons to a one-handed stance, their moveset feels diluted as a result. They have a standard attack combo string, a “heavy” attack by holding down the attack button, and a move that activates when a person switches weapons in the middle of a combo. It’s not a bad idea conceptually, yet it lacks variety and loses a bit of the unique identity some weapon types had in Gundam Breaker 3.
Although I’ve encountered some problems with this latest Gundam Breaker version, it cleverly addresses user experience by implementing adjustments that significantly streamline some of the troublesome aspects found in earlier versions. For instance, when customizing your gunpla, you can promptly enter a training mode directly from the assembly menu to evaluate the performance of a particular part, weapon, or skill. This means you no longer need to load up a stage for a few seconds just to make quick checks.
In the latest Gunpla model building, you have the ability to adjust the size and scale of individual components, excluding weapons. This resolves a persistent issue where High Grade (HG) and Master Grade (MG) parts appeared mismatched due to their inherently different sizes. Moreover, Gundam Breaker 4 introduces the possibility of incorporating SD Gundam parts into any size category, opening up endless possibilities for unique models. The advanced painting system still stands, offering even more customization options while allowing greater control over each part’s details such as panel lines.
In the latest Gundam Breaker, I’ve noticed that there’s no more advantage to using MG parts over HG parts. Historically, MG parts were considered superior due to being unlocked later in the game and perhaps because of their larger scale, they were thought to deserve better stats. However, in this version, parts that have both an HG and MG counterpart will have identical stats. The only difference is that MGs can be upgraded to a higher level, making them more powerful when fully optimized compared to their HG counterparts.
In simpler terms, both large and small versions of any part in this game have the same maximum level and standardized stats. For instance, a Zeta Gundam head at level 50 has the same stats as a level 50 Zeta Gundam head, no matter if it’s from the High Grade (HG) or Master Grade (MG). The only noticeable difference between them lies in their appearance, since the MG part is larger by nature, it can be scaled up to appear bigger than an HG part.
As players advance through different chapters in the main tale, they’ll eventually gain access to methods for improving various components. This will lead to acquiring items that let you boost a component’s level and rarity; increasing the level enhances an individual stat, whereas raising the rarity grants additional ability slots. Eventually, players can combine other components with their currently equipped one to selectively transfer desired abilities from them.
In simpler terms, I’d like to modify my Gunpla (model kit) to resemble Epyon in terms of its legs, but without the unwanted features such as thruster capacity and recovery speed it currently has. Instead, I desire the enhanced health capacity (HP) and movement speed that a Wing Gundam’s legs offer. To achieve this, I plan to combine my current Gunpla with a Wing Gundam model, allowing me to easily switch out the unwanted abilities for the desired ones.
The process is generally straightforward, but understanding some of the terms used for abilities can take a bit of getting used to. For instance, ‘Attack Power: Throw OP Lv. 9’ means the throw ability has level 9 and its attack power is strong. ‘Max Duration: Break Combo Lv. 17’ suggests that the break combo’s maximum duration is at level 17. Lastly, ‘Extended Activation: Hyper Trance EX Lv. 9’ means that the hyper trance ability can be activated more frequently or for a longer time, and it’s currently at level 9. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t provide detailed explanations for many abilities, so you’ll need to experiment to figure things out. It’s slightly less confusing than Gundam Breaker 3, where players had to merge different color rarities to advance their parts, because Gundam Breaker 4 simplifies it by using plastic item pieces that can either increase the separate rarity or level bars.
Designing a personal gunpla in the Gundam Breaker series is an enjoyable experience largely due to the variety of abilities it can unleash during battle. In Gundam Breaker 4, many early decisions about parts were influenced by the type of EX or Option (OP) skills they possessed. For instance, if I preferred funnels, I might have favored a Nu Gundam’s backpack or a Cherudim Gundam’s arm for access to its shield pieces. Alternatively, if I wanted my model kit to have temporary boosts in power, I may have added a part from a Unicorn Gundam or Banshee Norn that included the NT-D EX skill.
Building a Gunpla solely based on the capabilities of individual parts might not offer sustained enjoyment because many parts lack specific EX or OP skills. However, it’s when we consider Master Skills that things get interesting.
When a player fully enhances the rarity level of a part, all its exclusive abilities transform into Master Abilities. Now, these abilities can be inserted into any Gunpla construction universally, irrespective of whether the part is in use or not. Finding myself overwhelmed with rarity upgrade materials from tougher stage battles, I decided to broaden my collection of Master Abilities by enhancing parts’ rarities extensively.
It seems that in Gundam Breaker 4, the skills appear to be modeled more similarly to New Gundam Breaker, being more toned down and understated compared to the flashy, exaggerated animations from previous mainline games. Instead of a lengthy sequence of flashy katana strikes followed by an air launcher into a spinning helmbreaker finish with just one EX skill, Gundam Breaker 4 offers a quicker, simpler 5-hit katana combo. However, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any cool or entertaining skills to experiment with; it’s just that the overall skill animations are noticeably less over-the-top compared to previous games.
In this updated version, the usage, resources, and distribution of EX and OP skills have undergone significant changes. Previously, each equipped EX skill had an individual cooldown upon activation. Now, all EX skills operate from a shared universal EX gauge that functions similarly to a super bar in fighting games. Players can accumulate up to 9 EX bars, and each EX skill can consume 1, 2, or 3 bars. There’s no longer a waiting period before activating an EX skill again, allowing players to continuously use them if they manage to fill the EX gauge quickly.
Instead of having a variety of optional equipment with unique attack sets, Operator skills (OP) have evolved into solely activatable abilities. These skills function using traditional cooldowns after each use and up to eight of them can be carried at once. A significant change with OP skills involves certain weapon types, like funnels, now being exclusive to EX skills; there are no longer any funnel options as OP skills. Health recovery skills follow a similar pattern, although passive HP recovery and lifesteal remain installable abilities for parts. Reducing cooldowns on OP parts can be a highly beneficial modifier due to the achievability of gunpla movesets that emphasize quick firing of OP parts.
An interesting twist that enhances the repetitive gameplay in action RPGs is the introduction of the Expansion Ability Cartridge system. As you progress in the main story, stages may start dropping these cartridges, each containing up to three random abilities for a gunpla (your robot). These abilities can either boost or hinder your gunpla’s structure. For instance, receiving a random cartridge could grant an impressive 253% increase in HP capacity but reduce the speed of ranged weapons by 6%. Additionally, these cartridges might activate new features, such as auto guarding, which causes the gunpla to automatically block whenever it can.
Previously, I drew a parallel between the multiplayer mode within Gundam Breaker 4’s GB4 program and Phantasy Star Online. The similarity is evident, particularly in the main menu areas that accommodate up to 24 players online, while teams of three can collaborate to progress through levels together. Regrettably, I could only experience the game’s online features for a short period during a temporary open network test on the PS5, as the online servers were unavailable in my PC review copy obtained from Steam.
Although it’s disappointing that the game doesn’t allow cross-platform play, I’m optimistic about a thriving community that enjoys the community-oriented design of the lobby system. Of course, players have the option to set their lobbies as private whenever they want. I can’t wait to check out some public lobbies and see the creative structures others will build.
A captivating aspect that I wasn’t able to test due to connection issues during the review phase is the clan system in Gundam Breaker 4. This game allows players to create an online community, although I’m unsure of the maximum number of members a clan can have. It’s uncertain if Bandai Namco has plans for post-launch events that utilize the clan system significantly. However, what is clear is that upon completing the main story, clan members receive access to an Item Box. They can share or trade items with other clan members by depositing and withdrawing items from the shared Item Box. Regrettably, I couldn’t personally test this feature and learned about it through tutorial prompts instead.
As a gamer with a powerful setup (GeForce RTX 3080), I’m thrilled to share my experience with Gundam Breaker 4 on PC. This game ran flawlessly, boasting high frame rates, and pushing all settings to max made it visually stunning, even compared to what I saw on PS5. The only minor hiccups were some map environments in the later stages of survival mode, but overall, it ran smoothly for me. Given the plethora of PC options and customizations, I’m hopeful that most gamers will have a similar experience without any performance issues.
A significant aspect is the introduction of Diorama mode, offering endless hours of creative exploration for users. This feature offers a comprehensive set of tools to construct detailed model sets, complete with rich environmental details. It’s like diving into a vast toy box, allowing you to replicate iconic scenes from Gundam, reimagine familiar moments with imaginative ‘what-if’ scenarios, or create something entirely original. The level of control, such as the ability to pause an animation frame at will, is remarkable. I suspect that some enthusiasts may spend hundreds of hours in Gundam Breaker 4 just on this mode alone. Users can share their screen captures, either through a diorama masterpiece or standard photography mode, into an in-game gallery where others can view and appreciate their work.
Gundam Breaker 4 can be seen as catching up with an old companion after a tough patch in life. Although it may not surpass its mainline counterparts in certain aspects, it serves as a commendable adjustment from the recent less-than-stellar releases. The monotonous stages and reduced weapon options are a slight setback, however, numerous enhancements to this latest installment of the gunpla action RPG series make gameplay more enjoyable. Despite completing the main story in approximately 17 hours, I’m currently at around 60 hours due to continuously creating new gunpla builds to conquer the highest difficulty stages independently. This game takes virtual model kit building to a new height, and the possibility of constructing something exceptional, or disastrous, is only confined by one’s creativity.
7
The game, Gundam Breaker 4, has been released not only for PC but also for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
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2024-08-27 10:27