Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs Force arrives on Vita with a simple pitch: take the Extreme Vs series, shrink it to handheld size, and let players build their own squads of Mobile Suits for six-on-six battles. The result is a competent fighting game with a story that tries harder than the hardware wants to allow it. It earns a 5.2 out of 10.
Trailer, via Bandai Namco Entertainment America.
The Squad System
The biggest change from the console Extreme Vs games is squad construction. Players can now build teams of Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors, assign them to a flagship, and send six fighters into battle at once. The classic 2 vs 2 format stays, but the focus shifts toward managing a full roster.
It is a natural fit for a handheld. Instead of tracking a single fighter, players manage a whole team, issuing orders and assigning duties across the battlefield. Capture posts, spawn minions, gather Force Points — the squad system adds layers that the Vita screen barely has room to show.
The Story Mode
The Extreme Force mode is the game’s main draw. It is a prequel to Gundam EXA, set before the Universal Century timeline, and it follows the “Project Force” plan. Two virtual combat simulators, Aire and Tereno, create a human personality from the database AI to dive into recreated Universal Century battles, linking with pilots across timelines in hopes of saving humanity from extinction.
As the player progresses, irregularities appear, threatening the project. These irregularities are revealed to be created by the control program of Project Force itself, which hijacks Aire and Tereno to speed up human evolution through despair. The program offers the player a choice: pick Aire or Tereno to gain power, destroying the other in the process.
The story eventually reaches Earth 0’s core, which is revealed to be the Extreme Universe. After a fight against duplicates of Universal Century’s villains and a final showdown with the NZ-999 Neo Zeong, the control program is defeated. But before it dies, it triggers a self-destruct sequence on Earth 0’s orbital station, attempting its own “colony drop.” Aire and Tereno merge to become the new control program and stop the drop, sacrificing their identities to save the player.
The Hardware Limitations
The Vita is not a powerful machine, and the game shows it. The EX Mode, a staple of the Extreme Vs series, is removed entirely. Some attacks are reworked — Exia’s Trans-AM activates when the machine’s armor drops to a critical level — and some are cut altogether, including assists for certain mobile suits.
The screen resolution suffers too. Battles feel cramped, and the sheer number of fighters on screen can make it hard to follow who is doing what. The squad system, which demands constant attention to teammate positions, feels especially tight in execution.
The Missions
Completing missions rewards GP, which repairs units or grants passive bonuses. Clearing certain missions unlocks additional mobile suits to pilot, though some Mobile Armors and mass-produced suits can only be used by the CPU. Missions come in two types: Force and VS.
Force missions are objective-based and feature the squad mechanic. Players assign orders to teammates or a warship to advance on the map, capturing posts by destroying marked turrets. Units respawn at captured points and summon minions to push forward. Force Points are gathered over time and can be spent on bonuses like increased attack power or faster respawns, each with a level requirement.
VS missions are straight duels between squads, a familiar Extreme Vs staple carried over without much change.
The Music
The theme song is “Inherit the Force,” performed by T.M.Revolution. It fits the Gundam identity well, though it does not stand out among the genre’s catalog of dramatic synth scores.
The Release Timeline
The game launched in Japan on 23 December 2015. Localized Chinese and English editions followed in Asia in January and February of the next year. On 12 July 2016, it reached North America, Europe, Africa, Australasia, and the Middle East as a digital-only release on the PlayStation Network, including all DLC and updates from the Japanese version.
| Region | Release Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 23 December 2015 | Physical |
| Asia (China, English) | January–February 2016 | Physical |
| North America, Europe, Africa, Australasia, Middle East | 12 July 2016 | Digital-only |
The Verdict
Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs Force is a solid, if limited, entry in the Extreme Vs lineup. The squad system adds depth, and the story mode delivers a coherent narrative that respects the Gundam canon. But the Vita hardware holds it back, and the removal of EX Mode leaves a gap in the package.
Players who want a portable Gundam experience will find plenty to enjoy here. Those looking for the full console Extreme Vs experience will be disappointed by what is missing.
The game succeeds as a portable spin-off, but it falls short of the series’ console standard. Its ambition outstrips its hardware, and that tension defines the whole package.
Score: 5.2 of 10.
Key Facts Box
– Developer: Bandai Namco Entertainment
– Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
– Platform: PlayStation Vita
– Genre: Fighting
– Themes: Action, Science fiction
– Modes: Single player, Multiplayer
– Perspective: Third person
– Story mode: Prequel to Gundam EXA, set before the Universal Century
– Theme song: “Inherit the Force,” performed by T.M.Revolution
– Release dates: Japan (23 December 2015), Asia (January–February 2016), Digital-only North America/Europe/Africa/Australasia/Middle East (12 July 2016)
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