Review: Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered Is for Fans

There are certain ways in which Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered shows its age. We aren’t fully integrated into the Cosmic Era so, while moments from SEED and SEED Destiny are here and we can experience certain fights, our custom avatar isn’t fully integrated and there isn’t a cohesive campaign. I highly recommend rewatching the anime series first. (Crunchyroll has both of them now, as well as SEED Freedom.) Missions aren’t complex, gameplay is uncomplicated, and I honestly recommend pacing yourself when you play since so many of the situations involve “beat up every enemy.” 

Now, this isn’t to say any of that is bad. Someone going in needs to keep in mind that this Artdink made it for the Vita about 13 years ago. This means the mission spaces are going to be small and sacrifices needed to be made to get it running on the system. As long as you go in understanding exactly what it is, it’s easier to appreciate what it does right. It can be a fun beat’em up. We can be a Natural or Coordinator, and that influences our abilities. There are a lot of units and pilots to unlock. You can choose between two types of ranged weapons and melee attacks when you fight. While there isn’t a true campaign, some story elements and exclusive unlocks do come up via the us being part of Earth Alliance Forces, ZAFT, or eventually switching to a new faction like Archangel. 

However, it does mean some niceties are absent and, while this is a remaster, sometimes Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered doesn’t look as good as you’d expect even with the touch-ups. I do think Bandai Namco generally did a fine job with the mobile suits themselves and their textures. Some of the maps and locations aren’t as impressive, but I feel that is due, in part, to them not being great to begin with. There’s only so much a developer can do with some basic locations, and I genuinely think the missions set in space sometimes feel a little more impressive as a result. Conversely, I think movement is handled better in recent releases like the Gundam Breaker series, especially with vertical leaps and boosts. Given the small spaces and how short missions are, it isn’t an issue.

In fact, I think the Switch version of Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered might be the superior one because it can more closely mimic the original experience. Artdink and Bandai Namco intended this to be played in short bursts on a handheld device. I had the most fun with it when I did the same. Sit down for 30 minutes. Go through between two and four missions. Play around with pilot and suit combinations and do some tune ups on units I really like. That also helps with possible later missions that can occasionally get a bit challenging, though overall it felt pretty balanced to me. I was impressed that the computer controlling enemy units actually seemed to make ace opponents behave in intelligent fashions and even coordinate with each other.

I think of Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered as something of a welcome surprise that we likely ended up getting due to Gundam SEED Freedom and the success of other recent games and anime adaptations. It is not the absolute best entry out there. It is clearly made specifically for fans of the Cosmic Era characters, suits, and story. Still, it is fun and offers a different type of Gundam game experience.

Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered is available on the Switch and PC worldwide, and the original game debuted on the Vita in Japan.