When I was carried out marathoning all a few installments of Mobile Accommodate Gundam Battle Procedure: Code Fairy, I felt no particular require to play Cellular Suit Gundam: Fight Operation 2. The match is based mostly on the engine and mechanics of the absolutely free-to-participate in, multiplayer-focused Struggle Procedure 2. But it’s frankly a great sign that Code Fairy didn’t serve as my gateway to obtaining again into GBO2. At the very least in my circumstance, that absence of want demonstrates that Code Fairy is a Gundam recreation that stands alone.
It is very best to think of Code Fairy as a way for B.B. Studio to grow the use of its Struggle Operation engine further than its primary target on on the net multiplayer. In a perception, it is like the “campaign manner” Struggle Operation hardly ever had, whilst in this situation it is offered independently. In fact, Code Fairy is solitary-participant only, nevertheless linking help you save information from GBO 2 will unlock numerous goodies in both of those online games (these types of as Code Fairy Cell Suits in GBO 2). There’s no need to have to stress about events, each day logins, or any of the free-to-play fluff that powers today’s are living-assistance titles. All there is is the fifteen missions of the principal story campaign (five for each aspect), and the simulator scenarios if you want to follow or grind out some more benefits.
Becoming main to the working experience, Gundam Code Fairy‘s narrative is rather robust. Compared with the single-player modes of most multiplayer-initially action online games these days, the campaign does not feel like an afterthought intended to mollify people who really don’t have web connections. If anything Code Fairy‘s marketing campaign recollects the more mature period of Gundam titles, led by the likes of Journey to Jaburo, Shed War Chronicles, and Gundam Facet Stories: Lacking Url. Like those game titles, Code Fairy tells nonetheless a further mysterious tale from the shadows of the A single 12 months War.
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By my lights, if there is any just one Gundam recreation that Code Fairy most resembles, it is Cell Fit Gundam: Zeonic Entrance. Not only is Code Fairy fully about people from the Principality of Zeon, it has a selection of insignificant callbacks to models and activities from Zeonic Entrance by itself. The tale follows the exploits of Alma Stirner, a Zeon pilot freshly assigned to the North American front and “Noisy Fairy”, the Zeon military’s first all-feminine cellular accommodate squad. Alongside fellow squaddies Mia Brinkman and Helena Hegel, Alma requires her marching orders from Noisy Fairy’s commander, former ace pilot Killy Garrett. Alongside one another they train, expand, and come to be a fearsome asset to Zeon forces around the training course of the A single 12 months War.
Major gatherings from the One Yr War type the background and spine of Code Fairy‘s tale. Nevertheless each individual mission is just one that applies to the unique, comparatively tiny theater of Noisy Fairy’s operational spot, huge happenings like Operation Odessa and the loss of life of Garma Zabi aid tie the game to the greater Universal Century timeline. If you ever preferred to know how Zeon forces had been in a position to struggle for a bit lengthier just after the crucial decline of Odessa’s mining operations, Code Fairy teaches us that this squad played a element in producing that occur.
Gundam Code Fairy is structured a ton like Sakura Wars, which in switch is structured like an anime series. Just about every of the 15 missions begins is bookended by an anime-design intro and ending sequence, along with a “next episode” preview. Hand-animated sequences also lend taste to the storyline in just about every mission. Even the way the people are rendered in the in-engine cutscenes has been altered to be much more “anime-like” in look in contrast to the NPCs in Battle Operation 2. Also like Sakura Wars, the video game is rather light-hearted, tonally speaking. Nevertheless these women are most surely soldiers on the getting rid of aspect of a war that is killed half of humanity in less than a year, there is continue to time to toss a Halloween celebration or agonize above necessary actual physical instruction. Gamers and Gundam lovers hunting for a gritty war tale may possibly be dissatisfied that Code Fairy is nearer in spirit to something like Valkyria Chronicles than War in the Pocket.
The glut of narrative and character holds up the weaker portion of Gundam Code Fairy, which is the mission design and style. Although the gameplay of Gundam Battle Operation 2 is pretty strong, that foundation is developed on a foundation that serves uncomplicated multiplayer brawling earlier mentioned all. That signifies, that even with makes an attempt in each individual mission to give different and intriguing aims, the mechanics don’t usually do the job out in a satisfying way.
For example, in one particular mission, I was to lure enemy forces into a set of pre-planted traps. Having said that, the moment the mission kicked off, the enemy forces acted like AI bots in a simulation match, and didn’t definitely behave in a way that in shape the “script” of the mission. Even so, the instant-to-minute combat is potent. Every cell go well with has a wide variety of weapons readily available, and matters like thruster cooldowns, reloading, and many aiming stances give Code Fairy (and by extension GBO 2) a simulation-model edge. It is a slower, additional methodical battle stream, compared to the high-speed chaos of the Gundam VS games, or the arcadey action of the Gundam Breaker titles. It can also get amazingly challenging, considering that your Zeon-model mobile satisfies are usually at a drawback fighting beam-geared up Federation forces or even using on a completely armed Gundam unit.
Mobile Suit Gundam Code Fairy feels like the revival of a beloved period of one-participant, narrative-focused Gundam game titles. If potential efforts in this line get the very same treatment and interest, then basing it on a free-to-engage in multiplayer-led engine like GBO 2‘s was a go nicely value the tradeoffs.
All a few pieces of Gundam Code Fairy are available on PS4 and PS5.