SD GUNDAM G GENERATION CROSS RAYS

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 3,695 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
SD GUNDAM G GENERATION CROSS RAYS Game Cover
There is very little to complain about with SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays because what it does, it does very well indeed, with no other game on the system to compare it against, other than its previous non-English entry. What we have here is months of content spread across an accessible, user-friendly package that will reward players who like to tinker with squad micro-management but will also let newcomers to the series enjoy the pyrotechnics display from each engagement. We doubt that we need to tell fans of the franchise why this is such a worthy investment; the amount of fan-service (we're talking the good, wholesome variety here) is staggering and more than worth the admission price. To those who love strategy RPGs and have already exhausted all possibilities provided by Fire Emblem: Three Houses and rabid Pokémon trainers who have filled their Pokédex, we offer this advice: Cross Rays might just be the best game of this type on Switch that you've never heard of, and would probably pass you right by if you’re not a Gundam fan. Take a chance on this and you might just become one. It's a fitting 40th-anniversary celebration of the entire saga.
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SD GUNDAM G GENERATION CROSS RAYS is a tactical RPG featuring massive mecha battles from the Mobile Suit GUNDAM series. Choose your favorite characters and mobile suits from over 30 years of GUNDAM history, and lead them to battle in epic clashes. Build your own team, strategize, and experience the ultimate GUNDAM crossover.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,695 reviews
story166 positive mentions
grinding162 negative mentions
  • Runs very well on Steam Deck.
  • Gameplay is fun with great visuals and a lot of customization options for mobile suits and characters.
  • The ability to evolve and develop a team around favorite mobile suits and armors adds depth to the experience.
  • The game crashes frequently for many players, especially on PC.
  • Lacks content from the Universal Century timeline, which may disappoint some fans.
  • The user interface can be clunky and overwhelming for newcomers, with little guidance on mechanics.
  • story1,337 mentions

    The story in "SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays" primarily retells the narratives of four main Gundam series: Wing, Seed, 00, and Iron-Blooded Orphans, along with their side stories. While the game captures key plot points and character interactions, it often condenses the original material into a simplified format, which may leave newcomers confused and fans wanting more depth. The visual novel-style storytelling, while engaging for fans, can become repetitive and lengthy, with missions that sometimes drag on for over an hour, leading to a mixed reception regarding pacing and narrative delivery.

    • “I was surprised as to how deep and involved the storylines are; it doesn't feel like a synopsis when you're playing through the stories.”
    • “The gundam elements are very well done, and the storyline closely follows the actual gundam series.”
    • “The story is great, covers a lot of the original anime stories.”
    • “The story is near incomprehensible to people who aren't familiar with Gundam.”
    • “The game can get a bit repetitive though, since most of the missions are relatively similar and retell the anime storylines pretty closely, so you have to sit through a lot of dialogue.”
    • “The only downsides as it is for me is that the 'story mode' is just a literal copy of each series episodes of their respective show.”
  • gameplay473 mentions

    The gameplay of "SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays" is a blend of turn-based strategy and RPG elements, appealing primarily to fans of the Gundam franchise. While the mechanics are engaging and allow for extensive customization and team assembly, many players find the lack of clear tutorials and repetitive gameplay to be significant drawbacks. Overall, the game offers a solid experience for those familiar with the series, but newcomers may struggle with its complexity and grindy nature.

    • “The enjoyable strategy and leveling make it so engaging, and the simple gameplay keeps it from ever getting boring.”
    • “Its impressive roster of mobile suits, captivating storytelling, and engaging gameplay make it a must-play for both Gundam fans and strategy game enthusiasts alike.”
    • “The gameplay loop seems a little complicated at first but it becomes pretty simple as you settle into it, and you can chain together some pretty fun combos and group attacks using allied suits or warships.”
    • “The game really doesn't explain its mechanics well, and there's no dedicated tutorial; it just thrusts you in the deep end.”
    • “The combat is incredibly repetitive and tedious; the energy system does little to improve gameplay, and the stages are unbearably long.”
    • “The gameplay improvement from SD Gundam Overworld was so little; I expect more improvement to be made. The latter stages are always boring because of too many enemy grunts; the core gameplay needs huge improvement.”
  • graphics310 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the high-resolution visuals, stunning battle animations, and overall aesthetic appeal, particularly for fans of the Gundam franchise. However, some players have noted issues with crashing on certain graphics cards and criticized the tactical graphics as uninteresting compared to the vibrant animations. Overall, while the game showcases significant improvements in graphics over its predecessors, it still faces technical challenges that can detract from the experience.

    • “The visuals are stunning, with a nice blend of sprites and models.”
    • “The graphics for the battle scenes are just beautiful and the fact that I can mix and match teams to assist in completing levels helps me overlook the limited strategy aspects.”
    • “The graphics are crisp, the game runs well, and there are a ton of mobile suits for you to unlock.”
    • “As expected, graphics, voice dubbing, and gameplay have not changed much from its predecessors.”
    • “A free-to-play game from 13 years ago had better graphics than this game.”
    • “The graphics outside of cutscenes look RPG Maker level bad, and the lack of direction leads to solidified characters coming off as one-sided or boring.”
  • music173 mentions

    The music in the game has received high praise for its quality and nostalgic value, featuring a mix of original tracks and remixed themes from various Gundam series. Players appreciate the extensive customization options, allowing them to import their own soundtracks and assign music to characters and battles, enhancing the overall experience. However, some users noted that the music can become repetitive over time, and there are concerns about the absence of licensed tracks from the series.

    • “The music is fantastic, as is typical of anime music.”
    • “Overall, a very good game with a great soundtrack that constantly keeps you vibing.”
    • “Custom BGM allows you to import your own music, which is probably the best feature this game could offer, and the music is crisp and nice.”
    • “I expected an entirely original soundtrack, and while there are new pieces, I found I was more drawn to sounds from Wing and Astray that I remember and enjoy still.”
    • “It doesn't really happen to me that the music of a game irritates me, but I had to mute it here after like 10 minutes.”
    • “I'm sad they didn't get the licensed music from the series; it would've added a lot, but I guess there's licensing issues.”
  • grinding166 mentions

    The game is widely regarded as grindy, requiring significant time investment to unlock characters and mobile suits, especially for completionists. While some players enjoy the repetitive nature of grinding for upgrades and resources, others find it tedious and detracting from the overall experience. The introduction of dispatch missions helps alleviate some of the grind, but many still feel that the gameplay can become monotonous, particularly in the late game.

    • “The combat is incredibly repetitive and tedious, the energy system does little to improve gameplay and the stages are unbearably long.”
    • “You spend 90% of your time grinding for money and for new gundams.”
    • “The only major downside for me is that this one requires an insane amount of grinding, more than other releases, but only if you want to go into the hardest difficulty at the end of the game.”
  • optimization41 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including crashes and lag during battle animations, particularly on lower-spec rigs. While a few users report smooth gameplay after adjusting settings, many highlight the game's poor optimization despite its reliance on 2D graphics. Overall, it appears that while the game is playable for some, it still requires substantial improvements to enhance stability and performance.

    • “Crossrays is also the first installation that emphasizes pilot's performance over ms, and allows even the weaker grunt unit to perform like a cutting-edge unit as long as the pilot is an ace themselves.”
    • “Not to mention it's an immediate buy if you're a Gundam fan; sure it's SD, however, it's the more optimized models compared to what they used to be.”
    • “18 hours in and no issues to speak of performance-wise.”
    • “This game isn't optimized very well, which is funny considering 90% of what you see is a 2D image, and only very few 3D models are on display. It's hilarious that they'd go through the trouble of actively making the game look worse when they could just use the 3D models everywhere.”
    • “As of now, the game is literally unplayable and is poorly optimized.”
    • “I can't even finish the first stage because after the cutscenes you get your results, and on the very next load, it crashes 100% of the time for me. I don't know why, but moving through menus too fast also causes a crash, and performance is horrible.”
  • stability38 mentions

    The game has faced significant stability issues on PC, including frequent crashes, freezes, and various technical glitches, particularly at launch. While some players report that the developers have been quick to address these bugs with patches, many still experience ongoing problems, such as memory management issues and black screen glitches. Overall, while the game shows potential, its current state may deter players until further improvements are made.

    • “The PC port is decent, with some caveats (a little bit of consolitis in the menu design, I haven't been able to get a resolution higher than 1920x1080 yet), but otherwise looks and runs great.”
    • “Not because of difficulty spikes, but frequent crashes and freezes.”
    • “I cannot fully explain what is causing it, but this game refuses to use the Steam Cloud for its save data, and as a result, continuously eats up more and more memory until the game itself begins to create bugs and glitches due to insufficient space.”
    • “Disabling VSync in NVIDIA helps, but this game is far too buggy to be worth $45 on sale.”
  • replayability34 mentions

    The game boasts exceptional replayability, with numerous difficulty levels, extensive character and unit development, and a wealth of content that encourages players to return. Players can engage in various activities, from customizing characters to grinding for mobile suits, ensuring a rewarding experience regardless of playstyle. Overall, the replay value is highlighted as a significant strength, offering hundreds of hours of engaging gameplay.

    • “There is an insane amount of replayability, and it eases you into it so well, so even though I have only 4 hours in, I still feel as though I have made progress with my mobile suits.”
    • “You can play through the stories of some of the best series (Gundam Wing) and the different difficulty levels with increased rewards allows for a lot of replay value, especially since you can make your own custom pilots and level both them and mobile suits up to transform into better ones, giving you a reason and reward to level grind.”
    • “With hundreds of hours of replay value, it's more than worth the price of admission!”
    • “The game has a high level of content before worrying about replayability, but even then each campaign mission has 3 difficulty modes making the enemies you face much more threatening.”
    • “You can play through the stories of some of the best series (Gundam Wing), and the different difficulty levels with increased rewards allow for a lot of replay value, especially since you can make your own custom pilots and level both them and mobile suits up to transform into better ones. This gives you a reason and reward to level grind, but if you're just in it for the story, playing on normal allows for minimal grinding as well.”
    • “The game itself is really fun with a lot of stuff to do, from creating and customizing your character to grinding to get your favorite mobile suit to pilot, or beating the stages on higher difficulty or unlocking the characters and warships. Whichever you choose, there's plenty to do and the replay value is endless.”
  • humor28 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with players enjoying funny character lines and amusing bugs, such as a launch glitch that dramatically increased damage output. While some find the art style and voice lines entertaining, others feel the humor can become repetitive and that the character creation feature lacks depth. Overall, the game offers a lighthearted experience, though it diverges from the more comedic tone of previous Gundam titles.

    • “It is awesome to see some of my favorite characters spout funny new lines when they use mobile suits from other Gundam series!”
    • “Game had a hilarious bug that made all damage absurd at launch, which was fixed within a couple of hours.”
    • “To address the naysayers, there was a launch day bug (for about an hour) where all damage values were multiplied by about 30x, which was hilarious and unintentional - it was patched almost instantly, but not before a couple hundred people rioted and gave one of the most promising games of 2019 a negative review.”
  • character development8 mentions

    Character development in the game has been simplified, allowing players to invest capital instead of points, which some users appreciate. The character design is frequently praised, drawing comparisons to other popular series like Fafner and Gundam OO, indicating a strong visual appeal that enhances the overall experience. However, the new user interface may initially confuse some players, though it is not seen as a significant issue.

    • “I love the character design; it feels like Fafner.”
    • “The character design is really good.”
    • “They simplified certain aspects of character development, allowing you to spend capital instead of points.”
    • “- Simplified certain aspects of character development; now you can just spend capital instead of points.”
    • “The new UI seems a bit confusing, which affects the overall character development experience.”
    • “While I appreciate the character design, the lack of depth in character development is disappointing.”
  • emotional6 mentions

    The emotional engagement of players largely hinges on their prior investment in the franchise, as newcomers may find the early grind discouraging without favorite characters to motivate them. However, dedicated fans appreciate the extensive fan-service and customization options, which enhance their emotional connection to the game through rewarding combat sequences and a wealth of content. Overall, while the emotional appeal can vary, it is particularly strong for those already invested in the series.

    • “We doubt that we need to tell fans of the franchise why this is such a worthy investment; the amount of fan-service (we're talking the good, wholesome variety here) is staggering and more than worth the admission price.”
    • “Incredible, eye-watering glorious combat sequences, months of gameplay content even without touching any DLC, huge number and variety of units to unlock, develop, and collect, full customization options for both gameplay and player-controlled squads.”
    • “The battle animation visuals, though nice, become repetitive and too long. Without map fight animations, you end up playing a boring story on a dull playfield.”
    • “The battle animation visuals, though nice, become repetitive and too long. Without map fight animations, you end up playing a boring story on a dull playfield.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization model for SD Gundam G Generation Eternal is free-to-play with in-app purchases, but users criticize the excessive fragmentation of downloadable content (DLC), perceiving it as a cash grab.

    • “Bandai Namco has announced the Gundam strategy game SD Gundam G Generation Eternal for iOS and Android, which will be free-to-play with in-app purchases.”
    • “These DLCs are separated into way too many pieces for the cash grab.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere in the game is characterized by the versatility of warships, which can operate across various environments, including space, atmosphere, water, and ground. This multi-environment capability enhances the immersive experience and adds depth to gameplay.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

74% average critic score

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Play time

84hMedian play time
84hAverage play time
8-180hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 24 analyzed playthroughs

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