As soon as this game was annouced back in January as the first 20th aniversary game of SRW, everyone was hyped up to the limit and we all can't wait for this masterpiece. The hype was understandable, considering that there isn't any "major" titles for the past 2 years or so.
Hakai-Hen is the first of the planned two-part of Z2, to make up for the lack of space on a PSP's UMD, and it sure is since most new series that appeared didn't recieve their major upgrade quite yet. This two-part format was never used since F/Final back in the early days of the PS1 and the Sega Saturn(with maybe an exception of the Compact 2 series, which was a three-part).
Branpresto made the return of Z as epic as they could. Introducing an awesome brand new series namely Shin Mazinger, Gundam OO, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, Daiguard, VOTOMS, Eureka Seven movie, and the Macross Frontier movie. All of Z's cast return with an exception of Grendizer. The rest of the cast are some neat series that we haven't seen in a while like Gundam Wing(TV Series), Shin Getter Armageddon, Dancougar/Nova and Godmars. Some characters are replaced by their new counterparts like Kouji, the Getter Team, and the Eureka Seven people.
I won't go into details of the battle system and stuff, I will focus more on my impression in these reviews. So after finishing the game twice, I believe I'm ready to summarize my feelings.
Sound(9.5/10)
The BGM, are beautifully done and arranged. Though some might say that certain ones like Triangular and Tori no Uta are worst than their L's counterpart. I think they're all awesome, not to mention everyone in the new cast are treated with an extra song or two.
The returning cast, of course, are stuck with their old themes. It's not big deal, really, and it's good that they focused more on the new cast.
Graphic(9/10)
While the music might not seems like a huge step-up from A Portable. The graphic here is Z-tier level. Hell, the animation are all longer and possibly better than Z's if you could ignore the fact that it's on a PSP screen. Like in L, some details are added to the returning cast, mainly on the Gundams since Branpresto have just recently got the right to use a Full-size cut-ins on the Gundams. Of course, there are some disappointing parts, I won't mention it here but overall, it's amazing.
Storyline(10/10)
Like the Graphic, the storyline and crossovers in this game is just what you expect from Branpresto. Even someone from different series has an alternate quotes when fighting each other. Even grunts got some neat lines. The story itself is something you just gotta read for youself, many translators are working on this game on summarize and translating the dialouges. Check out the Gamefaqs board for futher updates.
Gameplay/Battle System(10/10)
Unlike the last few games, Z2 went back to the classic style of only one-unit per...one sortie slot. There is no Partner System, or the Tri-System, or the Squad-System. Just you and the cute little head on the map.
There are some interesting ability to name, like Zero's Tactic command which boost our unit's stat on certain amount of range. Zero's ACE bonus increaseses the range by 2. Though it's a pain to get it since Zero isn't a fighter type.
Talking about ACE, Z2 brought back this system from like...AP? When your pilots' kill count reaches 70, he/she will receive a certain stat boost or a new skill. This make replayability higher and make you keep track of your pilots.
There's alot more to talk about, like the Sub-order, FUB bonuses, etc. I wanna focus more on my impression so let's end the system explanation here.
The difficulty is around not too high, but with the return of the Skill Point system(now called the SR point) you might need quite a bit of thinking.
While this game has only 50 stages, there are tons of route split, making this the longest handheld SRW up to date. Of course, also boosting the replay value.
In conclusion, some might be dissapointed that there is no squad system to make up for the large list of units and it goes back to the single-unit like the old days. Also the fact that the map are just a plain background with head-spirit. But trust me, the actual gameplay are extremely smooth and the loading time is great, even without installing the game. Like in W, screenshots from the anime were added since there is no half-body portrait. I honestly prefer it this way, but again it's a matter of opinion.
I couldn't wait for part 2, and I bet you all couldn't to.
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