Gunpla is a popular hobby not only in Japan but worldwide. For years, hobbyists like myself have bought numerous model kits, painted them, customized them, and even displayed them in various dioramas to share with others. That being said, there is one game where players can not only build and customize their gunpla but also pilot them in unexpected ways and that’s the Gundam Breaker series.
Gundam Breaker 4 is the newest installment of the Breaker series and after many years of waiting, gamers have once more the opportunity to make their original Gunpla. The game is worth waiting for as it redeemed itself from its predecessor, New Gundam Breaker. I admit, I was skeptical of its announcement and was worried that they did nothing to improve the last game’s faults. However, after years of development and improvement in the features of the new installment, GB 4 is a game that will erase the existence of its predecessor.
In this new Breaker game, players can build their gunpla and play them in various missions locally or online. With insane customizations, photography features, and more, everything that all Gunpla fans would want can be found here. The game’s newest feature is Dioramma mode which allows players to create their iconic scenes with either original gunpla kits or the player’s customized Gunpla. They can even add special effects, environments, and more to make their displays ideal to share.
Story mode is similar to what players experienced in previous titles. As the protagonist, you are a beginner to the world of gunpla and will be fighting against various players online and working together in a clan to reach the top. To help reach the top of the rankings, players can take part in story and quest missions to build up their collection of parts. Missions range from eliminating other clan mobile suits to defending shuttles, or even defeating Perfect Grade suits and mobile armors; everything you can expect from the series so far.
The only thing I would love the developers to do is add more objectives that don’t just do elimination or defending as these missions tend to be very repetitive. I think they need to come up with more original objectives that can challenge players to their limits.
After completing a mission, players are rewarded with various items that are suitable for their gameplay. Among them are various parts from mobile kits and each plays a crucial role in strengthening one’s style. There are 250 Gunpla kits in the game and more to come in the coming months from DLC updates and patches. Kits such as HG Strike Freedom Gundam, MG RX78-02 version 3.0, HG Aerial Gundam, and more can be unlocked or purchased in the Store menu.
What I love about this is that not only are the parts unlockable, but each has various stat boots and unlockable skills that can be customized. For instance, when I equipped the Destiny Gundam’s backpack and the chest-piece of the Unicorn Gundam, they allowed my Gundam to have both NTD and the Wings of Light EX skills. With Optional Skills like Destiny’s Long Sword, I was able to make a powerful mobile suit for my team.
Of course, combat in GB4 is important as it is now more diverse because of the foundation that Gundam Breaker 3 laid out a while back. Gamers can now use either single or dual-wield weapons in fights. Whether it’s close combat or long-range battles, the combat is awesome. Including the Awaken system which is a game changer in every GB game, I would say that this part has given a ton of goosebumps.
Customization is at the very core of the game. Aside from choosing various parts, I love that I can paint my gunpla with my favorite colors. With a huge selection of color palettes, my choices are nearly endless. Since the graphics of this game are nice and simple, especially when playing on the Nintendo Switch shows no problems at all. My only concern when playing this game is the loading time, but it could be a hardware problem so I can’t say much since I am playing on the Switch.
Gundam Breaker 4 would not be complete without its online features. For many hours, I have played the game not only locally but online as well. Playing with friends, sharing blueprints of our own customized gunpla, and sharing online our dioramas have been addictive to the point, that it is already almost 3 in the morning. I am simply impressed with how dedicated the developers are to the Gundam Breaker community. They’ve certainly greatly improved online features.
To sum it up, Gundam Breaker 4 is a great game for consoles and PC. I would to see more updates to be announced for this game since there are many DLC plans made for it and hoping that the popularity of it will last the same as what Gundam Breaker 3 did in the past.
