Gundam Side Story 0079 - Dreamcast

Game Review & Description

When Bandai decided to bring the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise to Western audiences in April 2000, they wisely chose to skip the mediocre licensed games that plagued earlier consoles and instead opted for Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes, the spiritual successor to the respected Blue Destiny trilogy on Saturn. This first-person mecha simulation drops you into the cockpit of a grunt-level RGM-79 GM mobile suit during the One Year War, specifically the Australian theater following the catastrophic colony drop known as Operation British. You're Lieutenant White Dingo, commanding an elite Federation squad through nine missions of tactical mobile suit combat. The choice to focus on regular soldiers rather than unstoppable teenage prodigies piloting the titular Gundam represents a refreshing shift toward grounded military simulation, even if it meant fans expecting Gundam Wing shenanigans were left disappointed by the absence of Heero Yui and company.

The gameplay splits itself between first-person shooter mechanics and squad-based strategy, creating something that resembles MechWarrior filtered through Japanese sensibilities. You pilot your mobile suit using an unconventional control scheme that aged about as gracefully as milk left in the Australian sun. The D-pad handles forward, backward, and strafing movement while the analog stick rotates your cockpit view independently, meaning you can walk one direction while looking another. It's conceptually interesting but practically frustrating, especially during close-quarters beam saber duels where precision matters. Combat revolves around managing your arsenal of machine guns, grenades, shoulder cannons, beam sabers, and the never-depleting head vulcans while issuing orders to your AI squadmates. The lock-on system simplifies targeting quick-moving enemy mobile suits, and the sniper scope lets you scout distant threats or provide fire support for allied units engaged elsewhere on the battlefield.

Visually, Rise from the Ashes earned praise for its detailed 3D mobile suit models that faithfully recreate the designs from the original 1979 anime series. The developers at BEC clearly studied the source material, as the way mobile suits move, fight, and react captures that signature anime feel despite being rendered in polygons. The battlefields feature realistic fog effects and undulating terrain that genuinely sell the sensation of piloting a 60-foot war machine across devastated landscapes. Where the presentation stumbles is in the character models, which GameSpot memorably described as resembling plastic dolls left to rot in weather for several seasons before being granted unholy life. Their hollow black eyes and awkward proportions create an unsettling uncanny valley effect during cutscenes. The pseudo-realistic visual direction draws heavy inspiration from Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, trading anime's vibrant colors and exaggerated proportions for muted military tones and propaganda-style cinematics.

The audio design deserves special recognition for elevating the experience beyond its visual quirks. Voice acting quality surpasses most 2000-era localizations, with solid performances from industry veterans like Wendee Lee, Kirk Thornton, and Steve Blum bringing personality to the White Dingo squad. The lip-syncing matches remarkably well with the 3D character models, a rarity for the time. Sound effects were lifted directly from the anime series, meaning every Zaku heat hawk clash and mobile suit movement roar sounds exactly as Gundam fans remember. The musical score leans heavily into orchestral military themes with an overly idealistic propaganda tone that either enhances the wartime atmosphere or becomes grating repetition depending on your tolerance. One particularly memorable quirk: Gundams roar for approximately ten seconds after completing missions, which grows tiresome faster than you'd expect.

Critics awarded the game a Famitsu score of 32 out of 40 and generally positive Western reviews, though shortcomings prevented universal acclaim. The nine-mission campaign clocks in at roughly four to six hours, which feels brief even by 2000 standards. Japanese players received a Premium Disc expansion featuring battles against iconic mobile suits like Amuro Ray's RX-78 Gundam, plus unlockable weapons and a sound test mode, but this never reached Western shores. The narrative cleverly weaves into established Gundam timeline events, with characters discussing happenings in space and reacting to major plot points like Garma Zabi's death, creating satisfying connective tissue for franchise fans. The lack of multiplayer or versus mode represents a missed opportunity given the tactical depth and variety of mobile suit loadouts. For Dreamcast owners hunting import curiosities or Gundam enthusiasts wanting the rare cockpit simulation experience, Rise from the Ashes stands as one of only a handful of Western-released franchise games worth experiencing, even if titles like Armored Core 2 on PlayStation 2 would soon perfect the mecha formula. Whether you're learning the clunky controls or mastering beam saber techniques, a range of hints, tips, and cheats related to Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes may be found below.

Complete Walkthrough Video Playlist

GameShark / Pro Action Replay Cheat Codes:

The following dongle-dependent codes are designed for use with the North American (NTSC) version of the game, but may work on compatible systems:

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