Format: Advance
Genre: Strategy RPG
Developer: Banpresoft
Publisher: Atlus

Sexy Romance Weapon: Oriental Grind is tactical based pun for the tactical based game Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation. Atlus had their hand in this one, which means that the dialogue is fairly good and comedic, as well as very good music. This turn based tactics game is based on Gundam/Mechs. The original series was called "super robot wars", and this is the first game(?) of the series that was published abroad here in English. Apparently there was some licensing issues or something, so they named it Taisen, problem solved! To starts off, this game is BIG and LONG. You are given a choice between 2 characters at the start, Ryusei and Kyosuke. I went with the Kyosuke route myself. Based off which choice you make, you get a completely different storyline, missions, characters, etc. There are some shared storyline missions between the 2 Main Characters around the middle of the game, and the final boss. Since this is a tactics based game, you can expect it to play very similar to fire emblem, civilization 1, or any other grid-based RPGs. What makes this series unique is it's depth in modifying your units. You control "pilots" which have raw stats, but in order to go into combat you need to put a pilot into a mech. Each mech has it's own stats as well. In addition to each mech having it's own stats, they also have their own inventory and weaponry. Some PTs cannot be equipped at all, while others can be loaded with tons of weaponry. To add further onto the level of complexity already brewing, each pilot also has upgradeable stats AND special skills ANNNDDD unique spirit skills. Oh, right additionally each mech, pilot, AND weapons have their own area favorability.. What's that? you want to use a Beam weapon under water? well your pilot has an S ranking for water, your mech has an A ranking, and your beam has a D ranking. That's about a B ranking attack right? HALF DAMAGE FOR YOUUUUUUUUU. There are also a few unique weapons in the game and other mechanics to worry about. One of those mechanics is known as "will" or "willpower". I'm not exactly sure how this mechanic works but the gist of it as I grasped it is that the more you fight, the more willpower you get. Some weapons require a certain amount of will before they can be used. There are also at least 2 combination attacks I found during my playthrough. "Rampage Ghost" and "R Formation". But wait! there's more! Each mech AND each weapon can also be upgraded with money you earn from destroying enemies. That means your meek little 2400 damage machine gun can become a 4600 damage powerhouse by shilling out a quarter of a million bucks. Each weapon has their own stats as well that are, thankfully, unchangeable(aside from damage). There is one other customization option called "parts" that you equip to mechs directly to enhance or modify their abilities like +1 movement or +20 evasion. Phew. Once you get your mechs and pilots all settled with what you want, you're prompted to a good solid 10-20 minutes of storyline for almost every mission. The dialogue is often light and comedic, at least in the Kyosuke route. You get to pick which units you send out, but more often than not you only have a little variance in what you are going to hold back. Each mission has stipulations, more often than not surrounding a turn counter. What makes this game truly difficulty is the "Battle Masteries". Each mission has a special stipulation that must be accomplished if you want to acquire a "Battle Mastery". Many special parts and even the final boss are locked behind getting Battle Masteries. Many of them are cutthroat difficulty, but the worst ones are requiring an enemy to be shot down, due to them being able to flee if their health gets too low. The gameplay is atypical to fire emblem, 2 units get turns hitting each other for 1 round of combat. The graphics are quite excellent, especially for the GBA. The music is absolutely full of banger songs too. Aside from all the customization, the game is quite enjoyable and offers a significant challenge by the end of the game. I wouldn't recommend this one for fairweather-gamers. Fun but Complex.

Hot Tips: The Final Boss requires 32+ battle masteries to access it. Upgrade Machine Guns. Get 'Support' for everyone. I am Sanger Zonvolt, The Sword that Smites Evil!!

All in All, I went with a 9.6 for this PT lovers game. There's so much optimization that it's time consuming as heck. The cutscenes can often drag on forever and if you reset, there's no skipping. Newgame+ requires you to beat the game on both characters(kinda ridiculous). A lot of the mechanics you have to learn the hard way. Many of the 'good' things in this game are hidden behind secret objectives, use a guide.