Rediscovering a Hidden Gem: Gundam Crossfire's Second Chance

[@wun1gee]

The thing most people didn't realize about this game was that the more you played it the better the pilot got and the better the MS responded. When you first start they are incredibly weighty and slow to respond but by the time you play through a few campaigns they're moving around real quick-like.

[@MusicFan752]

Good point, though the biggest issue I’ve seen with it first hand is the frames. On console it ran incredibly poor like it was running at ten fps for most missions even when there’s not much going on in said mission.

[@ShoXwavee]

doesn't improve the terrible frame rate tho lol

[@gonzoengineering4894]

See this is one of those ideas that every new game designer comes up with, where you have a faithful model of something that is really cool to watch in action on TV or in real life, and you forget somewhere in the fine tuning process that you are making a game. It's not a bad system on it's own, but the rest of the design does little to support. The pilots in thise game aren't really characters for one, so your progression doesn't feel tied to any narrative growth. The progression is so gradual and unexplained that most don't realize it's happening, The game presents itself as skill based rather than stats based, and there's no hook or milestones like most similar sytsems have. A new player with a new pilot jumps in the beginner MS and loses interest when the game feels clunky and awkward, with zero hint that it will every be any different. Add the undercooked level design, graphics (nevermind the framerate issues) and enemy ai, and most people will simply give up before their first campaign wraps rather than go on to get the best version of the gameplay loop in new game plus. This would've probably done alright on the PS1 or in the early PS2 days, but the PS3 was the final death of the era where average kids might get 1 or 2 games at birthdays and Christmas and play them for months regardless of quality. The game would probably be amazing if it got another year or 2 of development. It had several cool ideas that hadn't really been done before or since, but they wanted a launch title. Ces't la vie

[@Lef07]

You become an Ace pilot

[@QuintonRobinett]

The way this game adds a certain weight to the suits over making "every" suit float like a butterfly makes this my favorite game in the whole franchise.

[@donovandunlap8560]

In my humble opinion, I think that the game Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon was peak Gundam in terms of the 0079 timeline.

[@silvermknight]

I love me some Federation vs Zeon but, Battlefield Record 0081 was peak Gundam.

[@hazzard1983]

​@@silvermknightyes and the other title

[@qvxeix1709]

The game is good ONLY if you’re able to run it on a RPCS3 Emulator, on the PS3 the frame rate was trash, but then again for me that was like gold.

[@imthethriller]

does it have of 60 frames patch

[@gonzoengineering4894]

I have always suspected that this game was an alpha build of a great game that got shipped out to get something out. Crossfire would probably be amazing if it got another year or 2 of development. It had several cool ideas that hadn't really been done before or since, but they wanted a launch title. Probably because Journey to Jaburo sitting on the shelfs when the PS2 dropped wound up being the UC's biggest beachhead in the US and they wanted lightning to strike twice. There's a broader problem with Gundam games of the PS2-3 era at play here too: There was no continuity of design. Every new release was reinventing the AMBAC, only Federation vs Zeon got any real iteration. Most gundam fans had a favorite from the last generation and many PS2 games were probably bought in the hopes of getting another spin at that gameplay. For many fans, Crossfire's biggest crime was not being the next Zeonic Front or Journey to Jaburo or Encounters in Space, and for most of them it would be the moment they gave up looking for one.

[@lawhammergaming]

As a guy who gundam is life, this game was a bit rough to get into but mastered you can really feel the evolution of what became of gundam games now, Crossfire was a gem in itself but it's definitely not for everyone, it has it's own touch and its a gritty version of what they wanted to attempt a future for in this series, no pilot images just text and your own skills, its downgraded in some way when it comes to weapons and how suits handle but that's the charm you're not a one man army sometimes you have to play tactically, because when you have no arms and head vulcans are all you got sometimes you just have to use what you got.

[@Alloy101010]

Thank god someone else believes this too. If not for performance issues due to launch rush it would have been more well received. I love the game regardless of the issues to this day and wish for a remake and sequel.

[@kidrobot.]

nah, because the games prior were better

[@revansdisciple4636]

🫡 Gundam is Life, my Life is Gundam.

[@JohnSmith-ip6kc]

Crossfire was actually pretty entertaining

[@qvxeix1709]

Got a tip for u when you use cannon type MS: If you want it to fire quickly and on the move (sort of), first JUMP forward or backward AND then FIRE your cannon. It makes cannon type MS much easier and somewhat nicer to use.

[@cameron-vj6vy]

the mobile suit game where mechs can lose limbs.

[@usagiyoshino2428]

It is what most Gundam games nowa days is missing and that is battle damage, first time seeing this in Gundam vs Zeta I was amazed and in that game the most part you can lose is a total of 2 parts though.

[@cameron-vj6vy]

@usagiyoshino2428 why I will never sell my copy

[@usagiyoshino2428]

@@cameron-vj6vy Good call, One of many hidden Gems.

[@cameron-vj6vy]

@@usagiyoshino2428 that and armoured core 4 & for answer

[@The-0ni]

I remember finally playing this game and I loved being able to use a Zaku; a mobile suit as iconic as the Gundam. I started Zeon but eventually I hit a wall in the campaign. I decided instead of walking away to give the Federation campaign a shot instead. It was at that moment I realized how much faster the GM was compared to the Zaku. Playing PvP against friends who were in awe at my reaction speed confirmed what I believed. Fighting for Zeon made me a better pilot/player; the Federation just had better mobile suits.

[@adama5790]

Man I wish I knew about this stream. I've put so much time into this game on the PS3. I suffered through the terrible frame rate and have beat the game 3 times. I love this game. Gundam Vs. Zeta Gundam is still the peak Gundam game.

[@demomanchaos]

Getting a beast PC that can smoothly run PS3 games via Emulation makes this game far more playable.

[@solreavir]

If you get the chance get Battlefield Record. The sequel and much Improved Version of this game and pretty much a Cult classic for PS3. It had Online multiplayer as well

[@vincentzombi3916]

This game was great! I played it to death to the point there was nothing else to do but restart again, my nephew got into Gundam like last year and I let him play all the og ps1, 2 and 3 games and he loves them! He beat journey to jaburo like nothing and had the most fun with federation vs zeon

[@starrieyedGirl]

I loved this game. When I first tried to play it I didn't understand it. It took forever for me to learn this game But once I did I fell in love with it.

[@hazzard1983]

Playing the last level is a real test

[@demomanchaos]

The last level as Zeon is absolute ass, guntanks with homing shots spammed all over the place is just straight bullshit.

[@Felix24148]

The GM Cannon was an MVP early on in this game for me. I'd long snipe enemies at a distance before they even noticed me. And the Gundam EZ8 is a bit of a cheat unit until you get an RX-78-2, because you can take out enemies with the EZ8 fast by firing all of it's machine guns at once. It's got the hand held machine gun, the head vulcans, and the chest vulcans. If you can manage to fire all of them at once while still moving, the damage stacks, and enemies go down quick.

[@demomanchaos]

The Federation campaign is so much easier than the Zeon one. Zeon has to deal with aircraft spam but don't have units that are any good at anti-air. They also have to deal with absolutely bullshit guntanks with homing shells that eat right through the paper thin armor of Zeon units. The enemies in Zeon's final mission are absolutely beyond cheap. You also don't get the absurdly overpowered RX-78, which just chews through everything in the game.

[@mikehutzel4943]

i beat the campaign system for each faction 10+ times love this game.

[@quasideificalpaca]

Behold, Gundamwarrior 5 mercenaries

[@reihidezero]

thats a great game i played it alot back in the day

[@randallmart92]

The Epyon should've definitely had some head mounted guns or a darn beam pistol or something for mid to long range in games..hell even Bael from IBO had at least mid range cannons to somewhat give you a chance to stun enemies before goin in for the melee combos.

[@jmallas984]

I have this game on my ps3 im glad i kept cause i knew i would come back to this later on.

[@SuperDarkSamurai1]

I enjoyed this game, just felt that it could have added a few more suits for both sides.

[@soulezwan266]

I really need to replay this game again... A part of me wish they made Gundam game like this more.

[@WR01018]

Did you play this on emulator? The resolution and frame rate are so much better than I remembered.

[@WingGNTCustom]

yeah rpcs3

[@gregorbonne9089]

If they took the gbo2 engine and remade this game that be great

[@avenger1_gbo260]

This game was often considered one of the worst ever PS3 games, but maybe if the framerate was a little better it would be remembered more fondly. It definitely had its issues though. I think the same team that worked on this game later worked on Battle Operation, BB Studios if I am not mistaken. That weighty gameplay really does carry over.

[@mattias969]

Ok so dude why have i never heard of this game??!? :0 i must have it

[@NIGHTMAREOFSOLOMON1]

I like these game I rented it back in the days it took me a long time to figure it out how reload my weapons and of the upgrades and the paints and how skip days to have my mobile suits be repair

[@LittleIAO]

I was always a big fan of this game. It's what makes me somewhat like Battle Operation since they're a bit similar.

[@OtioseFanatic]

I love this game. Always have. Still play it on my steam deck.

[@nightwolf235]

I played this back when it came out I liked it because it reminded me of the ps2 game zeon front which was another realistic gundam game.

[@Quanfalone]

its a good game, but severvly lacking in many areas, maybe a solid B-

[@jacknickolstine3355]

I would love to see a new gundam game. I would pay AAA price.

[@MaximusOverhead]

Gotta be honest going from Armored Core 4 to this in the PS3 days was jarring, crossfire is just kinda awkward to play.

[@neonhaze3725]

I feel like crossfire would be the realistic take on if we were at war in giant mech battles in today society and eventually as we got more technology advanced with building them we would eventually get to AC speeds

[@mobiusZero2]

Msgo 2 is more faster and mobile but this game is more accuracy how they would move

[@lonnie741]

Hey it’s better than gbo2 cause all I get is teammates that leave early cause they suck n just stand around look pretty

[@WingGNTCustom]

facts

[@boochaca7957]

gawd, i remember playing the fast af one with like some kinda laser staff. shit was fun as hell for some reason

[@romanov3937]

I like this game because your suit can lose limbs, something which Gundam games rarely do, it makes you want to play better. Too bad Gundam Battle Operation 2 doesn’t have this feature

[@hazzard1983]

Don't leave your back exposed walk back ward with your shield and side step to get a bead on them

[@rangertsune9234]

I never got to play this wish I did though

[@CodeRed001]

I really liked the models in this game. I feel like it had a lot of potential but the game was rough around the edges. It's framerate was awful, even when I emulate it on my 3090 ti it's still stuck around 45 fps.

[@Drbeattles]

damn son. this game is great

[@Archerxtreme]

Another Century's Episode also needs to return. And with gameplay that's more like A.C.E. 2 and 3 and not R.

[@frosthank7066]

You gonna make a second part to this?

[@WingGNTCustom]

Yeah I'll probably play it again😈

[@hunteriggy2762]

​@WingGNTCustom do you think bandai namco will remastered the ps2 & ps3 gundam games

[@zeswa00x]

I loved this game!!!!!

[@gregorbonne9089]

This game is fun but the auto aim sucks

[@FightCain]

You should play MS sensen 0079 and Gundam senki 0081

[@jamielishbrook2384]

Hey man. I know im a few months oate here. But just curious. What were your thoughts on iron blooded orohans?

[@WingGNTCustom]

I loved a third of IBO but the last bit of the show just didn't really hit for me.

[@LilyBeta]

22:05 Www~ *_GBO2_* does sucks pretty often ( the matchmaking ain't so balance in skill between players, what's more... the community are largely toxic too in mid years ) 😂

[@hmmdoh7835]

Imo this kinda feel realistic, but ppl like gotten used to fast pace like fast foods why this fail

[@casvalcat3546]

I'm enjoying playing Lost War Chronicle on PS2 than this game. Also the Gundam Battle Universe on PSP. Give it a try. Gameplay is better plus no weird controls system

[@popandlochness]

😂 give ‘Rn them hands.

[@DaMasterPilot]

Man, this game had some problems, but it was good all around. That and you sound like a young Morgan Freeman.

[@ivantsang2156]

GBO2 is more like a CSGO

[@june6959]

promo sm 🌺