"Mobile Suit Gundam Version 2.0" for the Sony Playstation (japanese import) FAQ/Walkthrough v0.5 by A Bao Char, Ariel Di Veroli Contact E-mail: shokanshi@underclocked.com Site: http://www.underclocked.com/~shokanshi Last updated: March 18th, 2002 Guide Percentage done (Approx): 50 percent ==================== -----DISCLAIMER----- ==================== (This disclaimer, as well as the layout, is borrowed from Psycho Penguin's, please check his Final Fantasy IV FAQ!!!) All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole and in part in any form. Playstation and Playstation logos are registered trademarks of Sony, Inc. Mobile Suit Gundam and all related trademarks are copyright of Sotsu Agency/Sunrise. The author of this document is in no way affiliated with Sony Entertainment of America and/or Sotsu Agency/Sunrise. You may not place this document on your website or reproduce it in any way without the author's consent. This guide may only be used for private and personal use only. You may not permit anyone under any patents to reproduce it, in part or in whole, or use it for profitable purposes. All content within this file is owned and created by Ariel Di Veroli (myself). Should you attempt to infraction under the fallacy that you are right, it must be be said straight out that you are a moron. =============== -----INDEX----- =============== I. Credits II. Version History III. Introduction IV. Controls, Options and Game Modes V. Cockpit Configuration and Weapons VI. Mission Walkthrough VII. Strategies and Fighting Tips VIII. Enemy List IX. Final Thoughts and Other Stuff ==================== -----I. CREDITS----- ==================== -Vincent V: The best Gunpla (Gundam Plastic Modelling) modeller I have ever known, and a good friend and fellow Gundam fan, who has guided me and helped me in my path to Gundam fandom ^_^. -Amuro: For creating my favorite Gundam community, Gundam.com (http://www.gundam.com) -Alejo: For being open about Universal Century Gundam. -Emeralda: For boosting my Char obsession with Zeta episodes ^_~ -Cutler Farm: For selling me the Gundam 0079 movie trilogy, without which I would have never got this game, nor become such a gigantic Gundam fan. -Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yadate and Kunio Ohkawara: For being the minds behind of one of the greatest Science Fiction epics of all time ^_^. ============================= -----II. VERSION HISTORY----- ============================= ---v0.5 (18/03/02)--- -Basic layout done, borrowed from Psyco Penguin's (again, check his Final Fantasy IV and other FAQs at http://www.gamefaqs.com) -Introduction done. -Controls, Options and Game Modes section done -Weapons section done -Walkthrough section up to mission 08 done =========================== -----III. INTRODUCTION----- =========================== --About This Guide and the Game-- I cannot believe I am doing this. Honestly. I am indeed writing my very first walkthrough! Yay for me! The one thing that stopped me from doing one is the simple fact that I like to sit back and enjoy games, not looking for every nook and cranny in them. Hell, I have played Final Fantasy 8 4 times and I have never collected all the Triple Triad cards. I also don't replay games a lot unless they are really enjoyable for me, like Final Fantasy games are. But, on the other hand, I became a huge Gundam fan in 2001 (unrelated to the show's broadcasting in the US though). Ever since then I wanted to have a game that simulated using a Mobile Suit, that I could play in my aging Playstation, and here it is! Ok, the game is quite old, from 1996, but it is still very playable, despite some heavy flaws on the 3D and such. The one I own is called "Version 2.0". As far as I can tell, the only difference I can guess there is with version 1.0 is that this one includes a much more recent CG intro, and an extra movie, which includes 2 Bandai commercials for the 1980 Gundam model kit line, and one small preview of "Gundam: The 08th MS Team". At any rate, I hope you forgive any mistakes on my part and that you find this guide useful. You will notice that, although it appears simple, this game has a number of complexities that make it quite pleasurable to play. --About Gundam-- I won't go into much detail about the Gundam saga, which is extensive, but I'll give you an idea about the show which the game is based on, Mobile Suit Gundam (also referred to as Gundam 0079). Mobile Suit Gundam (Kidou Senshi Gundam) aired in Japan in 1979, and it was later made into three 2 and a half hour long movies, premiered in 1982, 83 and 84, which made it a HUGE hit. Basically, it broke off from traditional super robot anime which showed heroic pilots using totally unrealistic robots to beat up alien invaders. Gundam was different in its deep and grim war story, showing a future which is not rid of the troubles of today. Poverty, overpopulation, politics, evolution and the tragedies of war are all explored in the brilliant first installment. The premise is basically this: it has been almost 80 years since the plan of space colonisation began. During that time, many colony clusters were established. Side 3, the farthest one from Earth, became a Republic, led by Zeon Daikun, whose ideals included the independence of the colonists and the final emigration of all mankind to space. Eventually, Side 3 declares itself independent and, with Zeon dead, goes under the control of the Zabi family, who create the "Duchy of Zeon". Zeon's gigantic industrial output is only matched by Earth's resources, and tensions escalate. Eventually, this leads to the declaring of war from the Duchy, in the year of Universal Century 0079. Zeon's superior technology allows them to have the upper hand, with their powerful Mobile Suits, which the Federation lacks... for now. ============================================== -----IV. CONTROLS, OPTIONS AND GAME MODES----- ============================================== | L1,2| | R1,2 | ------- -------- / _ \____________/ \ | _| |_ ___ ___ /\ _ | | |_ _| |sel| |str| [] (_)| | |_| __ __ __ >< | | / \ | | / \ | \ | AL |----| AR | / \ / \__/ \__/ \ / \___/ \___/ D-pad: Move. You can change the configuration so that the upper direction makes you go down, like in airplane simulators. While in PAM, you move the crosshairs until you reach one of the edges, then you start turning/facing that direction. X Button: Cancel (in menus) / Shield Guard (hold down the button) O Button: Accept (in menus) / Vernier Jump (on Earth environments only) Select Button: Change from Precision Aiming Mode to Fixed Aiming Mode. PAM is the default, you always start your battles with it. /\ Button: Lock On Target L1: Move Forwards L2: Move Backwards L1+L2: Full Stop R1: Strafe R2: Weapon Change ---Notes on controls--- -The Shield does not allow you to use any weapons when it is covering you. It only protects you from frontal attacks, although not to 100%. The Zaku-II cannot use the shield. -When using the Vernier Jump, you can tap the O button to keep floating until your vernier runs out. ---OPTIONS MENU--- -Score Ranking: Shows you the scores for Time Attack mode -Weapon Change: Allows you to unequip some weapons from the Gundam. You have to keep the Beam Saber always, however. You can also change the weapon order here. -Key Type: Here you can configure your controller. Pressing right allows you to edit action buttons, while pressing up or down lets you navigate through different movement configurations. -Level: Choose between Easy, Normal or Newtype difficulty settings. -BGM: Turn the Background Music On or Off. -Sound Test: Listen to tracks from the game. -Special Movie: A bonus movie, featuring two Bandai Gundam model commercials, and one preview for Gundam: The 08th MS Team OAV. ---GAME MODES--- -Story Mode: Play as the RX-78 Gundam against Zeon in 14 missions. You can save each time you finish one, and continue by choosing this mode next time you play, or choose a new game. -Time Attack Mode: You can play missions you have already passed in Story Mode, to try and make better times in them. -VS U.N.T. Spacy Mode: The game's two extra missions are here, available from the start. You can choose between Char's Zaku-II or Gelgoog and fight the Gundam. -Data Load: Load or Save your data (includes all Story and Time Attack data) -Options: Go to the Options Menu ============================================== -----V. COCKPIT CONFIGURATION AND WEAPONS----- ============================================== ---Cockpit Configuration--- under construction. ---Weapons--- -RX-78-2 Gundam- Beam Rifle: This is the Gundam's standard weapon, and the best overall one in the game in my opinion. Although there is a delay between shots, one shot of this gun destroys most non-boss enemies. After you have depleted its energy (marked by the red bar in the right of the screen), you have to wait for some seconds for it to recharge. Hyper Bazooka: You get five shots of this one for each mission. The delay is bigger than the Beam Rifle, but the shots are much stronger. It is also much harder to land a shot on Mobile Suits because the weapon is quite sluggish. It's best used against large targets such as Mobile Armors or ships. Head Vulcan: No delay and infinite ammo, yet not very powerful. This weapon is not very recommended, unless you wanna test yourself. It comes in handy against Musais sometimes, but not often. Want a challenge? Newtype difficulty, face Char's Z'Gok using only Vulcans. Beam Saber: This weapon is close-quarters only, and quite hard to slash the enemy with. Nevertheless, each slash is a bit more powerful than a Beam Rifle shot, so sometimes it is worth a try. The difficulty in handling it is that you'll most likely crash into the enemy before being able to land your slash. -MS-06S Char's Zaku-II- Zaku Machine Gun: More powerful than the Gundam's Vulcan, with no delay and infinite ammo (can someon confirm this? I never lasted enough to see if it was actually infinite...). Zaku Bazooka: Roughly the same as the Hyper Bazooka. Heat Hawk: This axe is less powerful than the beam saber, and it's a bit harder to use. -YMS-14 Char's Gelgoog- Beam Rifle: Basically the same as the Gundam's. Beam Nanigata: Same as the Beam Saber, but with cooler sound FX ^_^. ================================= -----VI. MISSION WALKTHROUGH----- ================================= (note: The titles are not the actual ones in many cases, because I don't know japanese. I have tried to keep the original ones where possible though.) ---Story Mode Missions (piloting the RX-78-2 Gundam for the Earth Federation)--- 1-"The Red Comet" Environment: Space Support: None Enemies: 1 MS-06F Zaku-II, Char's MS-06S Zaku-II This is a very, very simple mission. Basically, you have to fend off attacks by Char Aznable and one more Zaku-II. What I find quite interesting in this mission is that the typical background bitmap actually moves, as it is the colony of Side 7, so it rotates! The bad thing is that the eye candy does not last very long. One beam for the Zaku and three for Char's will win this one. 2-"Atmospheric Re-entry" Environment: Space Support: White Base Enemies: 3 MS-06F Zaku-II, Char's MS-06S Zaku-II Another quite simple mission, although it may get tricky on "Newtype" difficulty. As the White Base tries to re-enter Earth's atmosphere, Char attacks to divert them from their course to Jabrow. Concentrate on the normal Zakus first, as they'll make a run for the White Base, which will provide cover fire for you. Be careful with Char, he's faster now. It takes some more shots to kill Mr. Aznable this time around as well. 3-"Garma's Demise" Environment: Earth Support: None Enemies: 1 (sometimes 2) MS-06J Zaku-II, 8-10 Dopp Attack Fighters, Garma's Gau Bomber-Carrier Oddly enough, the third mission is, to my judgement, one of the hardest missions in the game. Particularly the first time through it. First of all, it is a complex battle in difficult terrain. You find yourself in actual soil, you can't just fly anywhere. As if that didn't confuse you enough, you are in the middle of a city, and it's damn easy to just bump your Gundam against buildings. The Zaku's don't pose much of a problem, but be careful as they can maneouver in this terrain much easier than you. The real problem here are Garma's Dopp fighters. These buggers just fly around and drop bombs at you. They come in 3s, but as soon as you kill one, another takes up its place until you killed 8 or 9 of them. Do NOT shoot them from the ground, that's a waste. Instead, wait until they have begun their attack run, jump and shoot them in the nose with the Beam Rifle. Like most non-boss targest, they'll die with just one Beam. After a while, Garma's bomber plane comes in. SHIELD YOURSELF when it shoots its energy beams or you'll be in for heavy damage. Shoot it wherever you like, but Hyper Bazooka shots in its open cargo bay do the maximum damage. My recommendation: Beams wherever you can hit it. 4-"Zeon's Frontline Base" Environment: Earth Support: None Enemies: 3 Magella Attacks, 2 MS-06J Zaku-II, 3 Gun Turrets, 1 Adzam Mobile Armor This one is a bit tough as well. First of all, jump over the Magellas and, as soon as you find the base, destroy the control tower and the gun turrets (there's a third one in the distance). You CANNOT target them, so you will have to have the Precision Aiming Mode turned on to shoot them. Then deal with the Zakus first, dead easy as always, one beam per mono-eye. Afterwards, the Magellas... To destroy them, take your distance from it, jump and as you fall and they get in the way of the crosshair you shoot (or else, activate the PAM, which is much slower as it ain't THAT precise, and you'll get a beating in the meantime). Now, before destroying the other Magellas, chase the flying turret that took off the one you just destroyed. They are smaller than Dopps, but weaker weapons-wise. After a while, the game's (and the show's) first Mobile Armor will appear, the Adzam. Shoot it out of the air, but be careful as it has a weapon that absolutely paralyzes your Gundam. Try and make sure that you killed off all targets before it comes, because the Adzam doesn't wait, it just comes in at a certain point in the battle, regardless of how many enemies are down. One good tactic is to ALWAYS keep it in sight when it enters the battlefield. That way, you can still shoot it even if paralysed. 5-"Desert Wind" Environment: Earth Support: 1 RX-77-2 Guncannon Enemies: 2 MS-06J Zaku-II (equipped with Missile Pods), 1 MS-07B Gouf This mission is fairly easy. The Zakus are improved as they are faster and sport missile pods in their legs, which can cause serious damage. The Guncannon does a good job at running cover, and in some occassions it actually killed both Zakus for me, letting me concentrate on Ranba Ral's Gouf. It isn't that much of a challenge though, but it is quite fast, plus it does some nasty damage at close quarters with that Heat Sword. Although it is a bit hard to target with the sluggish Beam Rifle and the Bazooka, the Beam is best, as you don't get many shots at him because of his speed. Just try to be close, cover often, and shoot when you see an opening. Some 4-5 shots should send Mr. Ral crying to Hamon's lap. 6-"Ambush! Triple Dom" Environment: Earth Support: None Enemies: 3 MS-06 Dom At first this mission might seem overwhelming. No support against three new and fast Mobile Suits, piloted by the "Black Tri-Stars", Gaia, Ortega and Mash. Plus, you got the forest which diminishes your field of view drastically... But you gotta avenge Matilda. The Doms' pattern is to basically go all around you, eventually shooting with their bazookas or getting up close and attacking with their Heat Sabers. Get used to this, as you will see Doms later on. Unless you are really slow, the three Doms won't home in on you at once, so take them out one at a time. Let them get a bit close, and land your shot, but don't let their Sabers near you. Jumping is a good technique, but the Doms are fast enough to get behind you and shoot you before you land. Occassionally (meaning, if you don't shoot them for some 3 minutes), the Doms will coordinate their attacks. Kill them before that happens. 7-"Marine Warfare" Environment: Earth (Underwater) Support: None Enemies: 1 MA-04 Grabro, 2 MSM-03 Gogg, 2 MSM-07 Z'Gok, 1 Mad Angler Submarine This mission is the only underwater one in the game. Basically, the MS behaves as in space, only more sluggish, and you cannot use the Hyper Bazooka or the Head Vulcans. The Goggs are fairly easy, they are slow, so beam'em. Then come the Z'Goks... fast aren't they? Just keep strafing when they circle around you, and land beams on them the minute you can. Now here come the meat of the business, the Grabro and the Mad Angler. Avoid the submarine, because it will grab you with a chain of sorts, and then shoot torpedoes at you. Instead, focus on the Grabro, and try to get behind it by strafing while targeting (a most useful technique). Defeating the Grabro will win this mission, so forget about the Mad Angler (yes, Mr. Aznable, you are not worth the bullets we lay on you XD). 8-"The Battle Of Jabrow" Environment: Earth Support: 2 RGM-79 GM Enemies: 4 MSM-04 Acguy, 1 MSM-07S Char's Z'Gok Despite the grand cinematic for this mission, instead of fighting the good fight with Zeon's Dopps, Gaus and Dodai-equipped Goufs, you fight inside Jabrow against their amphibious MS (well, loyal to the plot at least). The mission's difficulty comes from the obstacles in the terrain. Jabrow being in a cave, you can't jump high or you collide with the ceiling. There are numerous buildings as well as stalactites, so be careful. The Acguys are a bit faster than a Zaku, but they are bigger, so they are easier to target. Plus, they think that if they hide behind a building, you cannot see them (ahh... the early days of FPS' A.I....). The problem comes when Mr. Aznable decides to step in... he is, literally, prancing around the place, occasionally shooting you, which makes him hard to target. SOMEHOW, I trapped him between two buildings and a stalactite, so every time he got up, he couldn't go far. The GMs are quite useful in dealing with, at least, 1 Acguy, and the way they run around is funny ^_^. Missions 8 to 16 coming soon! =========================================== -----VII. STRATEGIES AND FIGHTING TIPS----- =========================================== under construction ========================== -----VIII. ENEMY LIST----- ========================== under construction ============================================ -----IX. FINAL THOUGHTS AND OTHER STUFF----- ============================================ 18/03/2002: I can't believe I actually sat down and wrote all of this! I will soon update with the rest of the missions and sections 7 and 8. And now, in anticipation of your insight into the future... (From Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters In Space) -Ariel Di Veroli