is a series of Japanese tactical role-playing video games produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Banpresto. Starting out as a spinoff of the Compati Hero series, the main feature of the franchise is having a story that crosses over several popular mecha anime, manga and video games, allowing characters and mecha from different titles to team up or battle one another. The first game in the franchise was released for the Game Boy on April 20, 1991, and later spawned numerous games that were released on various consoles and handhelds. Due to the nature of crossover games and licensing involved, only a few games have been released outside Japan, and in English; Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation and its sequel were the first of these in 2006. The franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016, and its 30th anniversary in 2021, and Super Robot Wars 30 was also released overseas.
Games
Most are standalone games, whose background stories may involve the plots of the included series, but no other Super Robot Wars titles. However, there are several main continuities existing with a large Multiverse:
Classic Consists of the 2nd, the 3rd, EX, F and F Final games (in that order). F and F Final replaced the 4th, while 2G is not considered canon, due to its non-inclusion in the Complete Box set. The side-story Masō Kishin - The Lord Of Elemental is divided into two parts: "Part One" occurs before the 2nd and "Part Two" after the 4th (4th was released before F and F Final). The primary antagonist organization of this series is known as DC (Divine Crusaders). Masou Kishin Consists of Gaiden: Masou Kishin - The Lord of Elemental, OG Saga: Masou Kishin 2 - Revelation of Evil God, OG Saga: Masou Kishin 3 - Pride of Justice and OG Saga: Masou Kishin F – Coffin of the End (in that order). Gaiden: Masou Kishin - The Lord of Elemental for the SFC was ported as a remake for the NDS (with a series first use of the OG Saga prefix replacing Gaiden) and later as a remake of that DS version in a limited edition bundle with part 2 of this series, named OG Saga: Masou Kishin I & II, for the PSP. The last two titles in this series were released for the PS3 (the former also was ported to the PS Vita). Alpha Consists of Alpha, Alpha Gaiden, Alpha 2 and Alpha 3 games (in that order). "Part One" of Masō Kishin - The Lord Of Elemental also provides relevant information, taking place before Alpha. Compact Consists of Compact, Compact 2 and Compact 3 games for the Wonderswan (in that order). The first series game on WS Compact was remade as Compact for WonderSwan Color for the Wonderswan Color. Compact 2 was released as three chapters for the WonderSwan; the trilogy was later compiled with updated visuals, sound and new content as Impact for the PS2. Impact Consists of Impact and MX games for the PS2. Previously, Compact 2 was released as three chapters for the WonderSwan; the trilogy was later compiled with updated visuals, sound and new content as Impact for the PS2. Despite the sharing of gameplay mechanics between all of the Wonderswan games, and the similarities between Impact and MX, Compact 2 and Impact are not tied to any other games in the series. MX for the PS2 is seen as a direct sequel to Impact as it reuses several of the same series of the latter and has similar gameplay elements and much of its soundtrack remixed from the one in Impact. MX was ported to the PSP with minor adjustments and additions. Original Generation This series does not feature any manga or anime characters at all, instead starring the "Banpresto Originals", original characters made specifically for previous games in the series. This timeline draws upon from all previous continuities. Both Original Generation games for the GBA which were released in the US were compiled with updated visuals and sound as Super Robot Wars Original Generations, followed by the sequel Super Robot Wars Original Generation Gaiden, the remake version of Masō Kishin - The Lord Of Elemental, Masō Kishin 2: Revelation of Evil God, 2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation, Masō Kishin 3: Pride of Justice, Masō Kishin F: Coffin of The End and Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Moon Dwellers. Also part of the Original Generation series is the Endless Frontier series, composing of Endless Frontier and Endless Frontier Exceed, which is set after Original Generation Gaiden. This continuity was the only one to have had titles officially released in the West. The Moon Dwellers is one of the first in the series that has an English translation for the Japanese market. Z This continuity consists of Z, Z Special Disk, Z2, and Z3 in that order. The story focuses on the Twelve Spheres, which play an important part in the game's story line. This timeline is well-known for introducing an extremely large amount of debuting series, on a scale that previous SRW titles have never reached. In addition, Z3 was the first SRW game to have HD sprites. International Era Consists of V, X, T, 30, and Y. This continuity is commonly named this due to SRW V being the first mainline game to receive official translation and release outside of Japan. Using the engine utilized in Z3, these games are independent of each other plot-wise. Mobile games Consists of X-Omega and DD. X-Omega is a departure from SRW'''s usual turn-based strategy formula, and is more similar to a defense-type game, where units are placed and commanded to defend against invading enemies. It is known to have an extremely large number of debuting series, and also have non-mecha anime crossovers.DD returns to the usual SRW turn-based strategy formula, and battles are much more reminiscent of normal SRW games. However, players are only allowed to deploy 4 of their own units at a time, and instead of mechs being pulled from the gacha, attacks are instead.
Recurring elements Story In most games, the player selects or is given a Banpresto original character and machine, who is connected to the overarching storyline which ties together the events of the constituent anime for the game. Some featured anime also has their plots intertwined: in Super Robot Wars Alpha, the White Fang from New Mobile Report Gundam Wing allies with Paptimus Scirocco's rebellion from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, resulting in the two enemy forces working together. The stories play out the events of the anime, albeit altered to make room for characters, settings, and plot elements from other shows. It is said that the events of each game are caused by incursions known as Dimension Quakes that started several years prior with the explosion of a "dimensional bomb", thereby constantly merging and separating the various universes without anyone knowing, and ensuring canonicity with both the other games and the properties they adapt.
One of the most notable recurring changes in the series is the near-complete absence of character death. Whenever the game gets to a point that a character died within their anime, the games will frequently use an element from another series to ensure the character's survival. This is likely done in order for the games to appeal to a broader audience.
Gameplay Battles in Super Robot Wars are turn-based. The player usually gets to move their forces first, one at a time, then control switches to the game's AI. When a unit attacks, the target reacts by blocking (increasing defense against the attack), evading (reducing the attack's chance to hit), or countering (striking back with their own attack). Once chosen, the battle animation is played out. If the player unit is not destroyed and successfully damaged the enemy, then the unit gains experience points. All battles are carried out either the terrain of land, air, sea or space, which affects the performance of machines, pilots and weapons in various ways. The battlefield also contains objects which grant various effects. For example, besides providing repair and energy refill, a military base also provides land units with defense bonus but will hinder them from moving freely. In addition to standard mecha and vehicle units, the player often has one or more "Battleships", air- or spacecraft units that in addition to powerful long-ranged attacks, can also dock other units to refill energy, repair damage.
Units in-game are generally separated into two categories: "super-type" and "real-type". Super robots are heavy units with exceptionally high hit points and armor, and powerful, close-range weapons with high energy cost. On the other hand, real robots are light units which are faster and more agile, but have less armor and hit points, relying instead on dodging attacks. Their weapons have longer range and better accuracy at the cost of doing less damage per hit. Some units are treated as "support units", regenerating hit points and/or energy to allies, while battleships and carriers serve as transports or to resupply all units, while also providing powerful fire support. Though every unit takes a single grid on the tactical map and has little visual difference in battle animations, a larger unit gains defensive and offensive bonus against smaller units, but carry a disadvantage to evasion and accuracy. In later titles, certain attacks can bypass the size attribute, nullifying the effect of size in combat. Some units have other unique characteristics: for example, Getter Robo can transform into different forms with new weapons and different attributes.
Weapons carry various attributes other than range, accuracy modifier and attack power. All weapons can be divided into melee and shooting categories that determine its effectiveness by pilots' status. Other attributes can be affected by terrain or a target's defensive ability. In addition, some units make use of "MAP Weapons" which affect multiple squares at once, with some damaging everything in the area and others, such as Cybuster's Cyflash, ignoring allies. Some games feature weapons which inflict status effects on enemies that drain their energy, weaken their armor or damage the pilot's stats.
History Origins and development In 1990, Japanese video game developer Banpresto released SD Battle Ōzumō: Heisei Hero Basho, the debut entry in its Compati Hero series, for the Family Computer (Famicom). A crossover between "super deformed" versions of Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Mobile Suit Gundam, it was created as a congratulatory gift for Yukimasa Sugiura, who at the time had been promoted president of Banpresto. SD Battle Ōzumō enjoyed a commercial success in Japan, prompting Banpresto to create a more mature-oriented successor, Super Robot Wars, for the Game Boy in 1991. The original game borrowed several concepts from SD Battle Ōzumō, most notably its usage of characters from other Japanese entertainment properties. Its creation was also in part due to the popularity of both the Game Boy and Famicom in Japan, which continued to dominate the Japanese video game market. Banpresto turned the concept of Super Robot Wars into a franchise following its commercial success, beginning with 2nd Super Robot Wars several months later for the Famicom.