Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first hour has the sturdy pull that Super Robot Taisen does so well: move a few prized machines into position, pick a target, and decide whether an incoming attack is worth defending, countering, or trying to evade. That last choice gives every enemy turn a little tension. A successful dodge means no damage at all, but gambling at the wrong moment can leave a valuable unit exposed.

Super Robot Taisen 64 is deliberately methodical rather than fast. You advance units across top-down maps, trade attacks, use special abilities, and gradually wear down opposition. Defeated enemies feed experience and money back into your squad, so upgrades between missions create a satisfying sense that your regulars are becoming the backbone of the army. If you enjoy watching careful investment pay off over a long campaign, this loop remains compelling.

The mission count is a major commitment, but it is not just a single fixed march. Choosing one of four protagonist and rival pairings changes both plot and stages, and scripted reinforcements can disrupt an apparently settled battle. Some characters can be persuaded to change sides, making it worth paying attention instead of treating every map as a pure elimination exercise. The Transfer Pak connection with Super Robot Wars: Link Battler can also unlock otherwise unavailable units, though the core strategy game has plenty to occupy you without making that connection its centerpiece.

Frustration is most likely to set in if you want quick tactical payoffs. These are extended battles in a series built around gradual accumulation: more experience, more money, better upgrades, and a larger roster. But if that rhythm works for you, the branching routes give a strong reason to return after the credits rather than considering one campaign definitive.

Graphics

Battlefield action is shown from a top-down viewpoint, keeping the grid and unit positions in view as you move robots across each map. The cast draws from a broad range of anime mecha series alongside Banpresto originals, including Gundam, Dancouga, Godmars, and Giant Robo, so the roster itself is the main visual attraction.

Story

The story is built around crossover appeal: pilots and robots from multiple Japanese shows share the campaign with Banpresto-created characters. New additions for this installment include Six God Combination Godmars, Giant Robo, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, giving the game a particularly broad mecha lineup.

Your opening protagonist/rival choice matters beyond a different face at the center. It changes the plot and the stages you play, which gives the campaign routes more weight than a cosmetic selection. That is a welcome fit for a game this long; a second playthrough can reveal genuinely different material rather than merely repeating the same mission order.

Recruitment adds another useful layer to the crossover drama. Some characters join automatically, while others can be convinced to fight for you. Since that can affect who is available in your force, it makes story encounters feel connected to your tactical decisions instead of existing only between maps.

Overall Experience

Super Robot Taisen 64 is for the gamer who likes a long tactical campaign and wants their robot roster to feel earned. Its strongest quality is persistence: every hard-fought victory can improve a unit, every upgrade has a future use, and every route choice promises another angle on the campaign. The payoff is substantial if you can settle into its turn-based pace.

It is especially easy to recommend to mecha fans who recognize even part of its lineup, but you do not need encyclopedic anime knowledge to enjoy the tactical core. The crossover flavor gives the battles extra warmth; the strategic decisions give them their staying power. Expect a demanding time investment, then enjoy the feeling of slowly building a force capable of meeting it.

For a look at an earlier related entry, see Super Robot Taisen on Game Boy. Super Robot Taisen 64 stands out through its branching protagonist routes and unusually large mission pool, making it a strong choice when you want one strategy RPG to occupy you for a while.

Retro Replay Score

7.6/10