[HaRyu]

If you are losing motivation than it doesn't sound like you are having fun, at least to me.

*raises hand*

I've lost motivation in the last couple of stages! Still enjoyed the game immensely. :p

Still on 2nd to last stage, at least I have the skill point, and still need to deal with the aftermath. And in what seems to be a reoccurring theme with me in the last few stages, as usual, my units are spread all over the map again, with the support ones stuck in the middle of an enemy wave reinforcement.

Edit: I do have to point out the last SRW games I've ever completed on a straight run (w/ no breaks of no motivation), was Alpha Gaiden, and before that, Alpha 1. Every SRW game after that, I pretty much play until very nearly the end, then take an extended break, then beat the game, although I do have to point out, I also do that with most videogames, not just SRW (most recently, FF-XII-2, Tales of Graces F, Demon's Souls).

[Bebpo]

Edit: I do have to point out the last SRW games I've ever completed on a straight run (w/ no breaks of no motivation), was Alpha Gaiden, and before that, Alpha 1. Every SRW game after that, I pretty much play until very nearly the end, then take an extended break, then beat the game, although I do have to point out, I also do that with most videogames, not just SRW (most recently, FF-XII-2, Tales of Graces F, Demon's Souls).

This happened to me with Z1 & @3.

I probably would bail on Z2-2 at this point (5 maps left) and I'm pretty burned out and there's not much left besides fighting the rest of the bosses, however since I've been fairly systematic about how I'm playing it (1 map per evening on the weeknights before I do other stuff), I'll tread through it and should finish on Saturday.

[Pureauthor]

In Z3 they better give me goddamn GL upgraded units or I'm gonna be pissed! If you play as standard GL and just happen to do GIANT FORM GATTAIs in attacks... ugh. They really couldn't have just given you arc-gurren-lagann as an actual unit for the finale of Z2-2?

Arc GL would be a bad upgrade to end the game with. It has... what, two attacks? No one like the Spec V, last thing we need is another unit like it.

[HaRyu]

This happened to me with Z1 & @3. I probably would bail on Z2-2 at this point (5 maps left) and I'm pretty burned out and there's not much left besides fighting the rest of the bosses, however since I've been fairly systematic about how I'm playing it (1 map per evening on the weeknights before I do other stuff), I'll tread through it and should finish on Saturday.

Well, at the rate I'm going, I'll finish these last two stages by... oh I dunno... probably when the next SRW comes out. ^O^

[Bebpo]

Arc GL would be a bad upgrade to end the game with. It has... what, two attacks? No one like the Spec V, last thing we need is another unit like it.

No one liked Spec V for a different reason :P

Anyhow I'm slightly more ok with it now that I've discovered it's not a gattai attack so you don't have to drag the Arc Gurren around with you to do it all map.

Still, in Z3 they better let you use the other forms as solo units. Looking at the Wiki there were 3 more so I'm guessing first one you start with, 2nd one is the upgrade halfway and last one might be done like Arc-Gurren as an attack only form for the final maps.

I still am a little peeved that we finally get a mech show FULL of constant upgrades, making it really fun for SRW because you keep getting new attacks/animations

...and then they stretch 27eps out over 3 games over probably a 4 year period -_-

I look forward to the SRW W equivalent someday where they do all of GL in a single SRW

[Bebpo]

I also can see what you guys are talking about with the difficulty actually existing. It's only really in the last 5 maps or so, but the difficulty has seriously jumped like 5x for the end maps. Grunts with 40k HP and who hit hard, bosses with map attacks and HP regen, etc... still not bad where I'm at, but I could see doing this without a max upgrade team being tough.

Also is it just me or do the bosses with map attacks NEVER USE THEM. I'm going to have to youtube all their map attacks because enemies always tend to do the same attack over and over.

[HaRyu]

I also can see what you guys are talking about with the difficulty actually existing. It's only really in the last 5 maps or so, but the difficulty has seriously jumped like 5x for the end maps. Grunts with 40k HP and who hit hard, bosses with map attacks and HP regen, etc... still not bad where I'm at, but I could see doing this without a max upgrade team being tough. Also is it just me or do the bosses with map attacks NEVER USE THEM. I'm going to have to youtube all their map attacks because enemies always tend to do the same attack over and over.

I've only seen one enemy MAP in this game, but its probably because I either kill the grunts who have em, fast enough, or spam Exhaust on bosses, so they really cant use MAP in the first place and kill em as soon as my units can reach em.

[Bebpo]

Map 58 Zexis Route

That was a nice conclusion to a lot of things. Even though they kind of downgraded OO S2's end (no Exia Repair 2 vs. O Gundam battle, so Setsuna never got the thrust stab attack that's his super in Gundam v Gundam Next), they did a really good job combining the end of OO S2 and the end of Macross F.

The YF-29 attack is nice and the final Sheryl + Ranka song was nice too. I kind of want to watch Mac F now. I think I'll just watch the movies to save time (yeah, I know the ending is different).

I liked how Basara played into the Macross F finale. When Evil Queen Grace starts talking to Basara and before she can finish her sentence he interrupts with LISTEN TO MY SONG!! and the girl in his crew is like "Basara, that's bad manners to interrupt!" lololol

I really wanted to have Basara give the final kill hit on the Queen just for Basara awesomeness, but I felt it was more right for Alto to do it with Sheryl & Ranka.

Otoh, I had Amuro kill Ribbons because now that felt right :D Last Shooting bye bye!


I very much liked the scene where Setsuna became FIRST INNOVATER and healed everyone, saved everyone, and broke all the misunderstandings, AND BROUGHT LOUISE BACK TO LIFE FROM THE DEAD (did she come back to life in the anime? I thought she died). It was a pretty epic scene and it solved a whole bunch of problems and made Setsuna feel like he deserved to be the OO series and Z2's Jesus Yamato.

Ribbons Gundam had some alright animations. I liked his GN Cannon cut-in. I always like Ribbon's dialogue lines, he made Gundam Musou 3 so fun.


Now on the previous map with Godmars....lol I know it's not their fault that Godmars, the show, obviously had very very little to it. It's a cool looking old-school mech, but there's so little plot, so few enemies, and ALL HE CAN DO IS PUNCH, SHOOT MARS BEAM, and SWORD SLICE. Man, I hope that was not a long show when it aired because his limited movelist would feel pretty tiring! I just think it's funny how his 4th and 5th attack are simply the same attacks as 1-3 but with slight alterations. I mean even his GOLDEN BELL RINGING form didn't even have a single new toy. So is there a reason Godmars 2nd half is usually skipped in SRW games? Didn't seem like there was anything hard to do in it.

Aaaaaand, I like a lot about Z2-2 (I'll have a lengthy review when I'm done and digest it all) but there are definitely things that seem pretty shitty. Like Elgan was this awesome OG character who was very interesting and badass and lead the team for much of Z2-1. Then in Z2-2 he's captured and disappears the whole game only to escape and then die 5 mins later and tell a little about his life story (which is prettttttty shady plot twisting) and shout GO ZEXISSSSS and die. Like Carlos, that was kind of a shitty use of such a good OG character built up in Z2-1. I honestly think the OG plot so far is waaaaay weaker in Z2-2 than Z2-1 as the OG characters in Z2-2 have like no development outside Insaram. Oh well, off to the final OG battle now. Let's see how much character/plot development/plot twists/satisfying conclusions they can fit in 2 maps.

[Bebpo]

Got to the final stage. It's time for you to finish the game HaRyu :P

2nd to last stage took me almost 3 hours and ran down a fully charged PSP-3000 from 100% to 0% battery >_< All the cutscenes, plus wanting to leave animations on for the bulk of it since it's the FINAL BATTLE and all that...looong.

Charging the psp now, not sure if I'm up for another 3 hours final stage tonight. Figure there will be at least 40-60 mins of ending cutscenes after a long map. Might finish it off tomorrow instead.

[Bebpo]

Does anyone have an english translation for the Prince's Zodiac and Asakim's 2 Zodiacs I don't recognize the kanji and am too lazy to look it up.

[Shouta]

They're The Inexhaustible Gourd (Aquarius) for the Prince and the Inquisitive Goat (Capricorn) for Asakim's. The second one isn't known. We can surmise who he got the Goat from though. =x Aquarius refers to the entire image of the water-bearer and the gourd so you can translate it that way. Translating it a little more literally works with the adjective though so rather than Water-bearer, Gourd makes sense.

[Bebpo]

They're The Inexhaustible Gourd (Aquarius) for the Prince and the Inquisitive Goat (Capricorn) for Asakim's. The second one isn't known. We can surmise who he got the Goat from though. =x Aquarius refers to the entire image of the water-bearer and the gourd so you can translate it that way. Translating it a little more literally works with the adjective though so rather than Water-bearer, Gourd makes sense.

??? Is this something in the ending that gives a hint about where Asakim got his other sphere from? Because whoever he got it from, he would have killed before he appeared in Z1, so it would be a character we've never seen before. Unless I'm missing something.

Also shouldn't Asakim have gotten a new attack in Z2-2 after he learns to control his second sphere and breaks out of the ZONE? I'm assuming that his Bird Transform attack with the egg shell and everything is his first sphere attack since sphere attacks seem to involve transforming.

It's weird, I can play a game like this with a hundred mechanical word kanji, but all the zodiac naming throws me for a loop in each Z game. Maybe it would help if I was familiar with the astrological signs in general, but I've never been into that stuff.

Also, you know how there's a side effect for each sphere? I thought Setsuko's side effect was she went blind or something in Z1. How did she get her vision back? I don't remember.

[HaRyu]

??? Is this something in the ending that gives a hint about where Asakim got his other sphere from? Because whoever he got it from, he would have killed before he appeared in Z1, so it would be a character we've never seen before. Unless I'm missing something. Also shouldn't Asakim have gotten a new attack in Z2-2 after he learns to control his second sphere and breaks out of the ZONE? I'm assuming that his Bird Transform attack with the egg shell and everything is his first sphere attack since sphere attacks seem to involve transforming. It's weird, I can play a game like this with a hundred mechanical word kanji, but all the zodiac naming throws me for a loop in each Z game. Maybe it would help if I was familiar with the astrological signs in general, but I've never been into that stuff. Also, you know how there's a side effect for each sphere? I thought Setsuko's side effect was she went blind or something in Z1. How did she get her vision back? I don't remember.

Found this a while back, this might help clear up any story questions. Spoilers there, obviously. http://chengongandfriends.blogspot.d...729c018dd4b3ed

[Bebpo]

Lion is so good! Makes me want to watch the show/movies because it sounds so epic. Wish they didn't wait until the very end of the game to give you the bgm.

[Jubern]

??? Is this something in the ending that gives a hint about where Asakim got his other sphere from? Because whoever he got it from, he would have killed before he appeared in Z1, so it would be a character we've never seen before. Unless I'm missing something.

Think back of Z1. There was a certain female always sticking with Asakim and piloting a mech which head was kinda shaped like a goat...
When he came out of the ZONE, Asakim said that Sphere holder was also very curious about him, so much that she was "swallowed by (his) darkness" or something like that.

Why are you assuming that he needed to get this one before Z1?

[Lostconfused]

Lion is so good! Makes me want to watch the show/movies because it sounds so epic. Wish they didn't wait until the very end of the game to give you the bgm.

Uh it's not the Wings of Goodbye so it's more of a disappointment than anything else. Lion is just the opening for the 2nd half of the tv show.

[Bebpo]

Done.

Z2 had some of the best OG tunes in SRW. Lots of tracks, lots of great ones. The OG story and characters were probably the best written ones in SRW yet. Too bad the OG mecha kind of sucked, though Brasta grew on me a bit.

I can't freaking believe they didn't give Crowe & Ester a Brasta Combination Assault attack. Gotta wait for OGs for that I guess! Ester should have gotten an upgrade or at least a new attack too! She starts with 4 and that's all she ever gets wtf. It's also a bit bizarre how her Brasta has better animation/cut-ins than Crowe's and his upgrades.

Ending was pretty nice. Wrapped up pretty much everything and the final map had some interesting story bits. Liked the prince's final reveals as to his plans and liked the SPHERE REACTOR TEAM GOOOOOOO vs. Asakim. Gaiou's final reveal about his intentions and his story, the 4 generals who once fought for something in different ways, him going with his revive cell plan and over time getting drawn to loving the fighting purely for fight and forgetting his original mission; he went out strong. Good character. He's going to be such a fucking hard boss in OGs ten years from now if they're still making videogames.

Locking Asakim away as a prelude to Z3 was cool. Now we have the end OG apocalypse threat being built up alongside the anti-spiral GL end of the universes, ORIGINAL LAW, the remaining sphere reactors, Asakim's HAUNTED PAST, the 3 other dimensional generals all for Z3's OG plot. Should be awesome.

For such a long freaking game (especially if you combine Hakai + Saisei; probably the longest SRPG ever made in that case), they did mainly good at not having plot holes and having events happen in a satisfactory way. They even gave Aim a little more backstory which was sorely needed to explain all his actions from Z2-1 as well as in Z2-2. Speaking of which, for such a MAJOR VILLAIN across both games and basically the ONE PERSON who was behind everything in this entire dilemma for 200 hours of maps straight...Aim died really early in the endgame and he was easy and didn't even put up a struggle. Was a bit unsatisfying in that respect.

Anyhow, the only mistake I think the game's writers made was NOT GIVING CARLOS BACKSTORY. He obviously has one, and he's still alive in the end (zexis) but he seems too minor of a character to be in Z3, so I don't expect him to re-appear and get anymore story. He seemed like he was supposed to have some story to him.

Crowe is a good lead. In fact, he's probably one of the best SRW leads. Really great guy who gets along with everyone. Just needed better mech animations :P At least he'll probably get that in OGs.

The way they handled the anime storylines were pretty good. The game definitely feels a bit rushed, same with Hakai-hen. Like they had to take a lot of shortcuts to make it out in time for the 20th anniversary. Things like no O gundam sprite, all the color swap OG mechs instead of new ones, lack of OG combination attacks, etc..etc.., but there's enough quality in there that I can forgive it not being *perfect*

I still think splitting Z2 into 2 games overall created 2 weaker individual games than what would have been 1 really strong single game. Both Z2-1 and Z2-2 are great SRW titles and I'd put them in the upper tiers, but I'd also put them below the best ones like Z1, because on their own they have odd pacing issues and not as many upgrades/surprises.

I'm not sure if Z2-2 is better than Z2-1. I know we all said it had to be because it was the conclusions to the storylines whereas Z2-1 was just sort leaving a bunch of things hanging and Z2-2 was where all the mech upgrades and stuff would be. This is true, but Z2-1 had the better Gundam storyline with OO S1, Z2-1 had GURREN LAGANN storyline , whereas in Z2-2 GL really isn't in the game outside like 3 maps, The Geass seasons are probably about equal, Z2-1 had more interesting Mac F story, Z2-2 had the best Shin Getter story, Mazinger was a little better in Z2-2, Votoms better in Z2-2, Z2-1 had Dai-Guard, and E7 movie and Dancougar Nova, Z2-2 has God Bless Dancouga for like 2 maps. I dunno, in the end I think they're pretty even. Each entry has some good, some weaker stuff.

Tetsujin 28 was totally pointless addition besides saying "hey we resolved the licensing dispute" :P It had no story beyond the first half of the game, like 2 enemy sprites and 2 friendly unit sprites. It was a great unit gameplay-wise, but story-wise it didn't really add much. Same with Mac 7 Dynamite which got 1 whole map, but the real bonus of Mac 7 was obviously just having Basara running around shouting at people the whole game and having all the great Mac 7 music and broken Mac 7 buffing. But yeah, in terms of plotlines, Z2-2 was entirely just finishing up the Z2-1 plotlines without any new anime stories coming in.

Good game. Might be my GoTY depending on how the rest of the year goes.

Hopefully they take their full 3+ year time and don't rush it to make Z3 so it can have a worthy finale with tons of new series, new animations, and lots of OG plotting. Just please don't split it into Z3-1 and Z3-2 NamcoBandai, I know you saw the $$$ that you made for doing it here and it probably made your eyes light up and maybe you're even thinking of doing Z3-1, Z3-2, Z3-3 as a trilogy, but if you seriously string out the rest of Gurren Lagann through 300 hours of maps, I'm going to burn your office down.. Just give me one Z3 game that ends it all and features a good chunk of:


-Rest of Gurren Lagann
-Gundam Unicorn (probably will be the premiere series for Z3)
-OO Awakening of the Trailblazer
-Gunbuster+Diebuster
-Star Driver
-Aquarion Evol
-Eureka Seven AO
-Votoms Sequel OAVs
-Break Blade
-And if you want Endless Waltz & CCA

I will be thrilled and pay your $150 fancy edition or whatever. Just take the time, make it one game, and make it EPIC FINALE.

Also in Z3 I want a controllable character that has more than one sphere so we can see COMBO SPHERE attack animation :P Also Asaskim with like 4+ spheres is going to be a hard boss I imagine. Will be cool to see the rest of the sphere holders!

[Jubern]

Done too!

Had a huge grin on my face for the final scene, truly a fitting ending for the 1 million G man. Now, spoilers galore :

I loved Crowe as a protag, and Traia was awesome too, I was disappointed she didn't got more screen time. The original cast was pretty solid all-around and getting back Setsuko & Rand was sweet too.

I really liked the way stories intertwined way more than in Hakai-hen, it just felt right. 00 for instance, worked out tremendously well with Wing (Zero System, TDS), Frontier (awesome stages near the end) or UC (Innovators/Newypes parallel)...

There's also some pretty serious setup for Z3 : We know Awakening of the Trailblazer will be there, Gurren Lagann is not over, Votoms can continue with its OAVs (I guess?), there may or may not be Unicorn, Endless Waltz is likely... The original storyline has seriously picked up too. And then there are little things like Frontier being over but not resolved (love triangle, but also the fact that Brera disappeared, Mishima is still there...), Shin Mazinger Z playing it self but clearly leaving clues in case they can do something about it next time and so on.
All that plus the inevitable new entries, fuck yar!

Gameplay-wise it was nice but easy I guess. Nothing too grand, but it was nice. Took me a lot more time than I thought though, my reading speed isn't really there yet so all in all it took me 92h (Hakai-hen: 73h for reference).

Definitely had more fun this time than with Hakai-hen... Now to wait 3+ years for Z3?

[TruePrime]

Haven't finished the game, in fact I had taken a long break but I just hit the level where you get Shin Dragon.....Got to say this is easily my dissapointment of the year.

I don't really give a damn about Shin Getter and while I'm sure given the story it will have a combo attack or two with Shin Dragon, I really, really hope that Shin Dragon gets a few more attacks that is just it.

Seriously, 1 attack for each Shin Dragon/Liger/Posidon? Well two if you want to add Double Tom but even then that was some really weak ass shit and the big Getter Beam while alright wasn't even that great and the small boring cut in for the DK was fucking pathetic.

Other then that still loving the game. Granted at this point I don't know if I will pay full price for Z3, at least not unless it has at least Endless Waltz, CCA, and Getter that isn't Shin.

[Shouta]

Shin Dragon is very acceptable considering the show. I watched it last week and it fits exactly like how I expect it would.

[TruePrime]

Shin Dragon is very acceptable considering the show. I watched it last week and it fits exactly like how I expect it would.

Going only by the anime I can't really argue that it they did anything wrong. I do however think that the amount o love that went into Shin Dragon compared to say the animation and overall attention to detail was much higher for Shin Getter.

It really doesn't matter regarless, Shin Getter is the popular one and the star of the show so it should get the attention. I just don't like Shin Getter so to me it's a disappointment that Shin Dragon is the way it is.

Edit: The thing is, it's just like I've always felt like they brought their A game with the Getters. Be it Robo/G/Shin the first time I get a Getter I'm in for a treat because they are going to do something that even the animes couldn't pull off nearly as well be it a simple Getter Beam or an Open/Change.

This is the first time I got a Getter and was let down by it. Maybe I just got to excited given how awesome Shin Getter as an emeny was and how awesome they made Beat Metal G's Open attack but I was just really dissapointed with Shin Dragon.

[Absol]

Welp, just finished stage 45. I'm going at this so slow lol... and my spirit just drains whenever the game decides to throw at you another wave of 40 cannon fodders after the initial enemies. Hope I can finish this before summer break ends.

[mjemirzian]

I'm up to 44 myself. Haven't edited and uploaded all the videos for it yet.

Anyway, the strategy guide was released in Japan so we now know the real conditions for getting the alternate ending route. From YuushaFan on srwg-w.org:

"Zero Points

Prologue 1 (The Black Rebellion): Zero shoots down Cornelia (+1)
Scenario 7D (Blackout): Clear the map (+1)
Scenario 14B (Power Bestowed): Clear the map (+1)
Scenario 17 (A Bride in the Vermillion Forbidden City): Zero shoots down the Da Longdan (+1)
Scenario 27 (Zero vs Zero): Wing Gundam Zero is reduced to 60% HP or less (+2) OR Wufei is shot down (+1) (Note: Zero points in this scenario are mutually exclusive!)
Scenario 37 (The Galaxy is the Stage): The map is cleared and Zero has accumulated 70 kills or more by this time (+1)

You will know if you have enough Zero Points if Shirley manages to avoid being stabbed by Rolo and if Lelouch shows his face to Chirico before the battle at the Geass Directorate begins in Scenario 39. In order to unlock the hidden route split, you must accumulate 5 or more Zero Points, or be playing through a subsequent run. "

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I wonder what platform Z3 will be on. I'm guessing either PSP again or the VITA.

[Bebpo]

Probably ps3. PSP will be dead by 2014/2015. Vita is just too iffy with the install base. 3DS would be a visual downgrade since the resolution is even lower than PSP; possible though.

Ps3 otoh still has a few more years of life in it as Japan's main console. Even if ps4 is out in 2013, there will still be ps3 games in 2014 and even 2015 like ps2 and psp before it.

[Lucis]

Probably ps3. PSP will be dead by 2014/2015. Vita is just too iffy with the install base. 3DS would be a visual downgrade since the resolution is even lower than PSP; possible though. Ps3 otoh still has a few more years of life in it as Japan's main console. Even if ps4 is out in 2013, there will still be ps3 games in 2014 and even 2015 like ps2 and psp before it.

Wishful thinking, unless they are delaying 2nd OG for Z3 purposes ;)

[Bebpo]

I'm not sure what you mean by that? Z3 and 2nd OGs are separate teams and have little to do with each other.

Z2 would have been on PS3 according to Terada but at the time the decision was made PS3 was still struggling like the Vita is now. Now that PS3 recovered and is fine in Japan, especially for Namco Bandai stuff, it just seems the likely choice.

[mjemirzian]

I really doubt it's going to be on the PS3, unless they decided not to do 720p. 2nd OG is taking a long time precisely because they need to create all the 720p art assets from scratch, and not a lot of those are going to be reusable for Z2-3. It'll be on PSP next year, either that or Vita if it starts selling better.

So I'm up to Scenario 47 in my Z2-2 challenge run, still uploading a video playthrough. I just finished uploading all new videos up to 45 including every route split (that's 76 total scenarios). I'm going to plow through the rest of the game in the next week or so, now that all the route splits are out of the way and I failed to meet the alternate ending route requirements. After that, I might replay the game with no parts equipped and no intermission training in addition to the other conditions. I'd like to replay to get the alternate route, at least.

These are the route choices that I stuck with as I played further through the campaign. The other route splits were left uncontinued: D (Kummen), B (Space #2 Route), C (Space #3 Route), A (Dark Continent Route #2), B (Frontier Fleet Route).

Turn count up to the beginning of scenario 44 using the above route splits: 223 turns / 43 scenarios (5.18 avg).

The same turn count up to the beginning of scenario 44, assuming I took the super route splits: 208 turns / 43 scenarios (4.83 avg). As you can see, the playthrough is 15 turns faster just by choosing the super route splits. This is a theoretical turn count, but it gives you an idea of how much easier the super route is. The super route offers better parts, more/better recruits, easier difficulty, lower turn count, and more opportunity to increase the kill count/level of the top tier, which consists mostly of supers.

While I am using parts, I'm also trying to use them effectively to meet my playthrough goals. Just because a player has access to parts (or other strategic depth/features) doesn't automatically mean they're going to be smart enough to use them effectively to lower their turn counts versus someone who chose not to use them. This also applies to upgrades/pilot points, except it's far easier to use PP to destroy the game's difficulty with stuff like continuous action than it is to give the right units the right assortment of parts to finish a scenario one turn faster.

Finally, I do have a Z2-2 tier list (based on my playthrough conditions) that I'm working on. I should probably wait until I'm finished the game to post it, though.

[Bebpo]

If Z3 is on PS3 it will be the same as what they would have done if they had put Z2 on PS3, they're just going to upscale the sprites. The resolution of the sprites will be the same across Z1-Z3 since they re-use the old sprites for the returning cast.

[Bebpo]

It'll be on PSP next year, either that or Vita if it starts selling better.

There's absolutely no way Z3 is coming out in 2013. I'd be really surprised if it comes out in 2014 either. Every SRW game by this team has taken 3 years not counting the Z2.1->Z2.2 split which is unique. Alpha 2 -> Alpha 3 -> Z1 -> Z2 were all 3 years apart. Unless they rush the game because of the depressed economy and wanting shorter dev times, Z3 will not be out until mid 2015. It will be very, very difficult to release a major game on PSP by that time. PSP sales are already starting to go down, there's no way it lasts another 3 years.

[Lucis]

I'm not sure what you mean by that? Z3 and 2nd OGs are separate teams and have little to do with each other. Z2 would have been on PS3 according to Terada but at the time the decision was made PS3 was still struggling like the Vita is now. Now that PS3 recovered and is fine in Japan, especially for Namco Bandai stuff, it just seems the likely choice.

Right, wishful thinking again, 2nd OG being an OG game with not nearly as many character/animation to do is taking so much longer than they thought, what about Z3?

Simply upscaling? why couldn't they do that with 2nd OG with OGs? Or maybe they are doing that? And it's still taking this long? This kind of game just is not very feasible on a true HD system with out going to some kind of 3d (cell shading)

[Bebpo]

OGs is all new HD sprites because they wanted to reboot the OG series in new sprites (probably for use in future OG games).

If they did Z3, there would be no reason to make the sprites look "HD" since they wouldn't be re-used if Z3 was the last in the Z series. Right now I'm sure they are not even thinking about the platform and simply making the Z3 sprites at the same resolution and detail level as the Z2 sprites. This is what they did with Z2, they weren't sure if it was going to be a PS3 game or a PSP game until after the sprites were made. They simply kept on making sprites consistent with the SRW Z1 sprites and then choose the platform. They'll do the same with Z3 and if the platform happens to be PS3, the sprites will look like if you stick SRW Z1 in your BC PS3 and play it. No extra "HD" work.

Also a couple of facts:
-we have no idea why 2nd OGs was delayed a year. We don't know if it was because of extra work required for "HD" sprites. The first OGs game was delayed an entire year from its original release date just like this. Was it the good quality sprites that caused that? Sure didn't keep Z1 from being on PS2 afterwards. It's very possible that the OGs team who did OGs and is doing 2nd OGs...are a just a slower team, that run into problems meeting deadlines.

-Super Robot Wars games have never had to make sprites at the resolution of the system they are on. What resolution do you think SRW Alpha 2 & 3 sprites were on the PS2? Certainly not 640x480 with sharp detailed sprites like Guilty Gear or SRW Z1. The sprites were closer to PS1 resolution and as a result are very pixelated. If they put PS2 resolution sprites on PS3 like sticking Z1 into your PS3 right now, the result would be very similar to how Alpha 2/3 looked.

If you look at the history of SRW games, how they are made, and the industry conditions that ran alongside productions, it's not wishful thinking, but rather very obvious that Z3 can only be on PS3 or 3DS. Maybe WiiU depending on how it does in its first year. PSP is impossible, and Vita is unlikely unless it does much much better in Japan in the next 2 years.

[mjemirzian]

If Z3 is on PS3 it will be the same as what they would have done if they had put Z2 on PS3, they're just going to upscale the sprites. The resolution of the sprites will be the same across Z1-Z3 since they re-use the old sprites for the returning cast.

I have my reservations about that theory. Why would they put upscaled sprites on the PS3 when they're going through all the effort of 720p sprites in 2nd OG? It seems to me like that would backfire and confuse gamers who might not know that Z2-3 is upscaled and blurry while 2nd OG is 720p. Moving a series onto a new system also risks losing an installed fanbase.

Z2-3 has probably been in planned and in development since before Z2-2 went retail. I don't see what would cause them to take more than 2013 to release it. By the end of 2013 it'll be almost two years since Z2-2, anyway. The animations take the bulk of development time and cost, almost all of which can be reused from the past two games. Anyway, you can laugh at me when 2013 passes with no Z-3, and it ends up being announced for PS3 or 3DS and not PSP/Vita.

I've uploaded S47, S48, and the Prologue. So Bebpo you say it's only the last 5 scenarios where it got difficult to you? So far for me the most difficult scenario was 35A/35B. It has been getting easier since then, esp on the super route splits.

[mjemirzian]

I've completed my Z2-2 challenge run, although I missed out on the alternate ending route. I've finished uploading playthrough vids of almost all scenarios. The full challenge conditions are included in the playlist description if you're interested in reading them.

Like most SRWs I've played, the late game plays much differently from the early and mid game. The early and mid game is mostly concerned with dodging, defending, support attack/defend and countering, while the late game shifts to a focus on MAP attacks, support seishins like Enable, Hope, and Supply, and high damage attacks. I like the change of pace as you get to experience the game in a different way and aim for even lower turn counts than the first half of the game.

Route choices: D (Kummen), B (Space #2 Route), C (Space #3 Route), A (Dark Continent Route #2), B (Frontier Fleet Route), A (Normal Ending Route).

Final turn count: 261 turns / 60 scenarios (4.35 avg). There were a few scenarios I didn't feel like replaying for a lower count, so I know there's room for improvement here. Not a lot of room, though. Anything under 5 average is pretty good in my books, whether it's a challenge run or not. Consider that if I took the easier super routes, I'd have taken about 10 less turns.

I'm not going to spam the thread with a full list of my turn counts, but I will list the last 10 scenarios:

Don't Believe in Zero (Normal Route)
E50a: 4
E51a: 1
E52a: 1
E53a: 2
E54a: 3
E55a: 2
E56a: 1
E57a: 1
E58a: 2
E59a: 1
E60a: 1

Going to reply to some posts here that I was waiting to finish the game for.

Not only are there tons of grunts, but every map seems to start the enemies far enough back that the first turn is just moving my units all forward and I have to wait for the next turn to start attacking.

I didn't see anything like this in Z2-2. What scenarios were you referring to?

Or at least make it, and wanting to get those Skill Points. If you could care less about Skill Points, and would rather have a abnormally high turn count and death rate, sure, I can see one doing it. :P

Nah. I got my lowest turn counts on scenarios 50-60, and met all the goals of my challenge conditions. I suggest you look at my videos to learn some better late game SRW strategies, although it sounded like you were frustrated at making basic mistakes as well. Don't worry, everyone does that.

I also can see what you guys are talking about with the difficulty actually existing. It's only really in the last 5 maps or so, but the difficulty has seriously jumped like 5x for the end maps. Grunts with 40k HP and who hit hard, bosses with map attacks and HP regen, etc...

I didn't find the endgame to be as difficult as you said it would be. Yes there are a lot of grunts at endgame, even a couple 30-40k HP grunts, but the Turn A Gundam's MAP can wipe them all away and then some. No boss can withstand super robot ultimate attacks backed up by support seishins. In conclusion, Butterfly Wings > All in Z2-2.

[HaRyu]

Nah. I got my lowest turn counts on scenarios 50-60, and met all the goals of my challenge conditions. I suggest you look at my videos to learn some better late game SRW strategies, although it sounded like you were frustrated at making basic mistakes as well. Don't worry, everyone does that.

Possibly, although I'm pretty sure I attribute all the suffering (losing the will to play, units dying, stupid mistakes), all due to the fact of me missing that ONE STUPID SKILL POINT FIVE FRIGGIN STAGES AFTER THE FACT.

I'M STILL ANGRY ABOUT THAT, IN CASE YOU COULDNT TELL.

In fact, I STILL havent finished the game. Still on 2nd to last stage. To clarify, no I have not restarted the stage, I'm still on the original play through of that one stage. My will to beat that game is gone. I figure I'll beat the game by, oh I dunno, sometime this Fall.

Oddly enough, a few days ago, found my fan-translated copy of Alpha Gaiden... might be in the mood to play that again. Which would mean I may beat a 10 year old game, for the 15th time, before I beat even beat SRW Z2.2

Woohoo nostalgia.

[mjemirzian]

Possibly, although I'm pretty sure I attribute all the suffering (losing the will to play, units dying, stupid mistakes), all due to the fact of me missing that ONE STUPID SKILL POINT FIVE FRIGGIN STAGES AFTER THE FACT.

Missing a skill point can be demoralizing, but you can't let it bring you down. Why don't you want to restart the stage? Part of most strat games is figuring out a better strat then retrying. What did you end up spending your PP and funds on? I know my run was a no pp/upgrade run but I can still point out what I'd spend my resources on.

Anyway, I've finished a tier list. This list is based on the conditions of my playthrough, which means no pp/upgrade. So if you aren't interested in discussing pilots/robots under those conditions, this isn't the list for you. Listings within tiers are not in any particular order. No I'm not interested in arguing at that level of detail between pilots.

I still haven't played alpha gaiden.. will get around to it someday.

[Bebpo]

I didn't see anything like this in Z2-2. What scenarios were you referring to?

A handful of maps in the 30s and 40s. Don't remember and specific maps.

I didn't find the endgame to be as difficult as you said it would be. Yes there are a lot of grunts at endgame, even a couple 30-40k HP grunts, but the Turn A Gundam's MAP can wipe them all away and then some. No boss can withstand super robot ultimate attacks backed up by support seishins. In conclusion, Butterfly Wings > All in Z2-2.

It wasn't overly difficult, but for instance the map with the God Mars final enemy that was a repeat of the same map in Z2-1 where you have to fight all the mini-bosses in the game as grunts along with the final boss of God Mars and Dancouga Final. Each of the 30 or so mini-bosses has about 30-50k HP and hit pretty hard. That was definitely a step up in difficulty from the early stages in the game.

[mjemirzian]

It wasn't overly difficult, but for instance the map with the God Mars final enemy that was a repeat of the same map in Z2-1 where you have to fight all the mini-bosses in the game as grunts along with the final boss of God Mars and Dancouga Final. Each of the 30 or so mini-bosses has about 30-50k HP and hit pretty hard. That was definitely a step up in difficulty from the early stages in the game.

Which scenario was that? 55a where you fight Muge and Zuul at the same time? Or is that on the alt ending route?

[Bebpo]

It's that map but probably slightly different on the other route. I think it was map 58 on the other route.

[mjemirzian]

Well if you can get them lumped together you can probably MAP them hard. Otherwise you'll need a lot of iron wall and strong super attacks to beat them up one by one. I'd really like to play the alt route myself as it sounds more difficult.

[HaRyu]

Missing a skill point can be demoralizing, but you can't let it bring you down. Why don't you want to restart the stage? Part of most strat games is figuring out a better strat then retrying. What did you end up spending your PP and funds on? I know my run was a no pp/upgrade run but I can still point out what I'd spend my resources on. Anyway, I've finished a tier list. This list is based on the conditions of my playthrough, which means no pp/upgrade. So if you aren't interested in discussing pilots/robots under those conditions, this isn't the list for you. Listings within tiers are not in any particular order. No I'm not interested in arguing at that level of detail between pilots. I still haven't played alpha gaiden.. will get around to it someday.

I didnt want to restart the stage because I had already completed 5 stages by the time I realized I missed the stupid skill point. Couple with the fact it was such an EASY skill point to get, I traced it back to Stage 41, Earth Route, condition is defeat all enemies then Energer Z by Turn 3. My only guess is that I may have defeated Energer Z first, before kill all the enemies. Bleh. Was I demoralized at that point? No, because it was the first playthrough, I could get a perfect Skill Point score on the next playthrough, wasnt a big deal decided to keep going.

The demoralization kicked in when I discovered that I didnt get the IF route. At this point, I had a "to hell with it" attitude, and just wanted to complete the game, just to get to the 2nd playthrough. And again, while I am on the 2nd to last stage, I stopped because the will to continue is gone. Not because I've maneuvered myself into a hole, and there's no way out. I am literally on the last couple of enemies on that 2nd to last stage, I just have no will to continue.

As I've mentioned before, losing the will to continue happens in a lot of games I play, not just SRW. Its very rare game that will make me actually play through the whole thing to the end, without taking an extended break. :P

As for where I spent PP, every main attacker got Continuous Action, Ignore Size, Will Break, and Predict (w/ Ignore Size not going to units that are already huge). Any other skills involving Will/Morale, didnt really bother, because its fairly easy to get most of your units to 120 Morale by the end of Turn 1.

Funds: my primary attackers all got full upgrades. Those would be Shin Getter, Shin Dragon, Gurren Langann, Nu Gundam, Bounddog, that black Votoms space unit, Wing Zero, and all the OG units. Everyone else, up to level 5 upgrades for everyone. Is spending funds in that matter a good strategy? FFFF... hell no. I've been doing it that way ever since I started playing SRW way back when SRW EX was released. Its just a habit I've developed, and its worked well for me.

Also, its because of my playing style, I don't like leaving units collecting dust, I like to evenly level up everyone. I also like bringing out a whole series at a time, especially if the stage in any way has some connection to the units in question. So for example, if I want to deploy one Valkyrie, I deploy ALL of the Macross units. If I want to deploy Kallen (the only Code Geass character/unit I like), I will deploy all the other Code Geass units I have, despite my hatred for them. If a stage has to deploy a specific unit because of story reasons, you bet your ass I'll deploy every unit related to that unit in that series.

Anyway, its only 1.2 stages left for me, I'll get to them at some point. ^O^

EDIT: Damn, I must be tired, re-read my post, makes me sound like English is my 2nd language or something. Well, I did work over 10 hours today. :p

[Lostconfused]

I still am a little peeved that we finally get a mech show FULL of constant upgrades, making it really fun for SRW because you keep getting new attacks/animations ...and then they stretch 27eps out over 3 games over probably a 4 year period -_- I look forward to the SRW W equivalent someday where they do all of GL in a single SRW

That was kind of obvious with Hakai-hen. When they stretched Gurren and Lagann as separate units for at least several maps where is in the show that last for only half an episode at best. But I do agree that stretching out upgrades for a game kind of defeats the whole point of TTGL which was just extremely rapid and non stop escalation.

But the way TTGL is handled Z2 is just strange in general. As part of shafting super robots on map attacks all of Gurren Lagann's map attacks, three of them, got turned into two single target attacks. And they turned it's one situational attack against a mothership in the show into a map attack for some reason.

But Z2 is still my favourite SRW so far because of it's series list.

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I haven't finished it yet but I'm assuming they will be saving STTGL for Z3? I'm on scenario 40 something, doesn't seem like there's enough time to roll out all those upgrades.

[-neosaint]

For all the Code Geass fans, a remixed version of the final battle in the series from the ZEXIS route.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4VS5vqklMU

[Jubern]

That was awesome!

Holy shit at the end, poor Schneizel :lol

[-neosaint]

00 Gundam finale remixed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAoxmV8NAEY

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

God damn. That was amazing. Going to repost those in the 2nd SRW OGS thread.

We need something to watch while we wait.

[Souther]

Chirico Cuvie and Tetsu no Lullaby. That is all.