The Let's Play Archive

Super Robot Wars Z

by Brunom1, Dr. Pepper, Caphi

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Original Thread: Rand and Setsuko's Excellent Adventure - Let's Play Super Robot Wars Z

 

Introduction



Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the Space-Time Oscillation Bomb.

What game is this?
Super Robot Wars (SRW) Z was the last game of the series to be released on the Playstation 2 and, while the series has a couple of games released in the west (and a few others received English patches), it is completely understandable if you’ve never heard of it.
SRW games are, essentially, massive crossovers of mecha anime that have been built around a solid strategy game – all the different stories are tied together by an original plot (the Z games are rather known for the specially great quality of their crossover).

Such was this game’s success that Banpresto (the developer) created an expansion-esque Special Disk that included, among other things, 20 extra missions which will also be covered in this LP.


Why LP this game?
My first LP was of SRW W (which you can find in the LP Archives) and I can say that I really enjoyed it – it took a long while to get there but, when things finally clicked, it was good fun. As such, I’ve decided to go for another one and Z is one of my all-time favorites.
Of course, like with W, this is both a labor of love and also an effort to give a more in-depth display of what this game has to offer!


What series can be found here?
SRW Z’s roster is quite large but there’s also an interesting tidbit about them: it was (at the time) the game that had the largest number of show debuts in the game series and it’s quite impressive that they created such a compelling story with shows that they hadn’t worked before.
The shows you’ll find here are:
Each SRW game includes at least one (or several) Original characters, created to be the link that binds all those series together. We'll be talking about them soon enough.

How will you play this game?
Like a good bunch of other SRW games, this one had a story translation done by Mark Neidengard, though not word-for-word. As I did in W, I will be using that guide as a baseline and expanding upon it with a translation of my own.
To assist with that, I’ll be joined by the wonderful Caphi (who LPed Z2.1 and provided great help in W) and Dr.Pepper; while most scenes will be summarized, particularly important or amusing moments will be directly translated by us.

One last thing: half of the fun in these games is the anticipation of what might come next.
Series spoilers are allowed as long as they are tagged but original story spoilers are OFF LIMITS - it is a very interesting story and it should not be spoiled.


What about those original characters?
Z has two selectable characters: Rand Travis/Mel Beater and Setsuko Ohara/Toby Watson/Denzel Hammer.
Both groups have huge amounts of exclusive missions (and the game itself is quite big), so I’ll be handling Rand’s path, as it already has that base translation, and Setsuko’s path will receive a fresh translation from Caphi, with Dr. Pepper creating the updates themselves.

Now, let’s meet our protagonists:



Rand Travis is a “wandering repairman” who, together with Mel Beater, runs the “Beater Services” company: a kind-hearted, boisterous man that can, at often times, come across as a bit slower than most.
Nevertheless, he is passionate about his job and always keeps an eye on Mel. You may call him THE HEAT.

Voice Actor: Yoshihisa Kawahara (other known works: Kippei Tachibana in Prince of Tennis and Adams Tinel in Gundam AGE).



Mel Beater is the de facto owner of Beater Services, which was created by her father: her personality is very perky but she shows real dedication towards helping Rand and her company get along.
She is certainly smarter than Rand on most aspects.

Voice Actress: Mai Aizawa (other known works: Ayano Minegishi in Lucky Star and Mio Naganohara in Nichijou/Regular Life).



Setsuko Ohara is the rookie of the Glory Star team who make their living as test pilots for UC Gundam's Earth Federation: she’s very shy and insecure, often unable to stand for herself.
Still, her team-mates take good care of her and, despite it all, she is more than willing to fight to prove herself and her team.

Voice Actress: Yukiko Takaguchi (other known works: Hinata Miyakawa, also in Lucky Star and Mitsuko Isurugi in SRW OG: The Inspector).



Toby Watson is Setsuko’s superior officer and, in direct contrast to her, is an outgoing and cheerful man - he can get serious when push comes to shove, though.
He is very encouraging to Setsuko and, alongside their captain, constantly tries to help her overcome her insecurities and grow.

Voice Actor: Takashi Kondo (other known works: Faust in Guilty Gear, Suigetsu in Naruto and many others).



Finally, we have the captain of the Glory Star: Denzel Hammer! ( ).
On top of having a badass name, Denzel is an overall cool older guy: he’s a great pilot, cares deeply for both his team-mates and knows when to relax or when to crack the whip.
Alongside Toby, he does his best to help Setsuko come out of her shell and become a proud member of the squad.

Voice Actor: Hiroaki Ishikawa (other known works: Ushiyama in Gaogaigar and Stoneman in various Megaman animes).

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