Super Robot Wars Y

Mecha fans are eating good lately, and I hope SRW’s North American console debut is the first step of a new normal. In the meantime, I have to look up SSSS.Dynazenon and see what that crew of weirdos is all about. Walking away with a nugget of something new to look into and discover is the final piece of the SRW puzzle, and a crucial part of the magic.

Even if the gameplay of Super Robot Wars Y merely follows in the footsteps of the franchise's past successes, it still provides a fantastic SRPG experience that any fan of mecha, whether they be hardcore or casual, can find enjoyment in. It's always great to see that the franchise is continuing to experiment with its visuals, roster and how the story is told. One can only hope that the future of the franchise continues down this path.

It's somewhat disappointing that the game occasionally loses momentum due to pacing issues, the lack of full voice acting, and very basic visual presentation. That said, if you push through the drawn-out introduction, you'll find a genuinely engaging tactical role-playing game.

For long-time fans, Super Robot Wars Y is probably...maybe...hopefully a buffet of nostalgia. The thrill of assembling a dream team of mechs and watching them interact, however briefly, is pretty darn cool if an afficionado of the genre. As a standalone product? It never rises above its crossover gimmick and is far from a solid recommendation for those in love with tactical games. Oh, and the price tag is ridiculous.

We recommend Super Robot Wars Y only to the most devoted mecha anime fans who want to see their favorite heroes in action, but don’t expect deep strategy or sleepless nights over tactical choices.

Super Robot Wars Y is a fantastic and energetic celebration of mecha anime that knows exactly what fans want and serves it up in massive doses. Although it suffers from a few notable shortcomings, such as a poor user interface and a dull visual presentation outside of battles, everything is instantly forgiven and forgotten the moment the first battle animation lights up the screen. The core gameplay is deep, addictive, and surprisingly accessible. The sheer joy of seeing your favorite robots team up to the accompaniment of their iconic songs is simply an experience you won’t find in any other game—and one that reliably outweighs all its shortcomings. If only it weren’t for all those hours of grinding… oh well.

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Despite some flaws, Super Robot Wars Y is a complete joy to play, and it definitely has me wanting to explore more games in this long-running franchise.

Your mileage with Super Robot Wars Y will depend on your expectations. If you are coming into this expecting a robust Tactical RPG with an epic story that will be on your mind for weeks after rolling credits, you might not find what you are looking for here. But if you are like me, and see some of your favorite giant robots show up with their theme song blaring, shooting off their iconic moves, you can get a bit more mileage out of this title. I found myself in a tug of war between being subjective and objective with this game, and landed somewhere around the middle. This isn’t a TRPG for everyone, but some of you might get hit just right to have a new obsession.

Super Robot Wars Y has fully sold me on the franchise. It's a deep and fun tactical RPG with loads to do. Excellent performance on both desktop and Steam Deck, and a stunning soundtrack make this one an easy one to recommend for anime and tactical RPG fans alike.