If any of you are interested in the Super Robot Wars games having tried out Y and possibly also Fantasy Maiden Wars, I'm going to introduce you to the winner of Bamco's first and newest popularity poll in the 'if we were to remaster and rerelease an old game, what would you want'?

The winner of the polls in this case being Z2 Ruination, otherwise known as Hakai-hen or Destruction Chapter, released for the PSP in April 2011. That's 15 years ago!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvxZSAgT5Ck

Now, I'm sure the most immediate and relevant question on a lot of peoples' lips is; why release Z2 first and not Z1? Why go with a sequel without first releasing the game it's a sequel to?

The answer lies in the fact that Z1 and Z2 very much feel like standalone titles; in fact, Z1 was never even meant to be the first game of a trilogy when it first came out, and in the context of Z2 you have the group from the first game, ZEUTH, who literally drop out of a bunch of portals into the world that your team ZEXIS is already stomping around in.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Z2 is very well-loved for carrying forward the animation style and principles of the previous game and backing it up with a phenomenal cast list. Primarily of interest to players in the west will be the first halves of the Gurren Lagann and Code Geass plots, as well as Gundam 00 and the at-the-time most recent Mazinger Z rendition, True Impact!. It also includes the nifty semi-pastiche Dai-Guard, other 10s contemporary and solid super robot show Dancouga Nova, 10s contemporary and solid real robot show Macross Frontier, classic super-gritty real robot show VOTOMs, the movie Eureka SeveN Pocketful of Rainbows, as well as the original 80s Dancouga and GodMars, and generic 70s super robot product Trider G7 for flavour. Making a solid appearance in their earliest forms before their plots really get rolling are also Gundam Wing and Getter Robo Armageddon.

You get to play with all of these characters and engage in super robot war with terrorists, aliens and other evil governments before the game barfs the protagonists of Z1 onto you (including Gundam SEED Destiny, Big O, Gravion, Orguss and much more) and from there things get really interesting. The story continues after a timeskip in the second game, Saisei-hen / Rebirth chapter, which will surely also have a subsequent remaster soon afterwards.

It's been reported that the game will use the same engine as Super Robot Wars Y, probably meaning a similar map style, and the potential for modern QoL like unlimited skill purchases and Custom Bonuses instead of Full Upgrade.

If you want to know more about the protagonist of Z2, that's the reason why perennially in-debt Crowe Broust was included in the final Anniversary Scenario for Super Robot Wars Y. Think of it as your sneak preview for an old game.

Of course, it's likely that some or all of these assets will get modern touch-ups from their PSP versions, but for a look at what robots you'll be using and fighting against in this game check it out here on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbOdHuJvoUZUNIaBhRMR6UJVRv23ig08d

;)