Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier is an extension of Banpresto’s long-running strategy series, only this time Monolith Software has taken the reigns and created a turn-based RPG that is both by the book and off the wall at the same time, with typical RPG elements, a unique battle system, and enough innuendo to make a nun giggle.
The game abandons the concoctions of characters and intellectual properties that are a trademark of the franchise in Japan, opting to only include original Banpresto properties (as well as a dash of Monolith’s fictional universes here and there) for the US release. Remaining, however, is the overwhelming sexual innuendo that hits players palpably as soon as the game begins, and resurfaces in nearly every conversation between protagonist Haken Browning and any of the large-breasted, half-naked female characters in the game. It’s totally immature, but just how ridiculous it becomes can be humorous, and it’s complimented by a fair amount of genuinely witty dialogue that will keep players grinning as they click through the on-screen text.
Early on, Endless Frontier appears to have the foundation of what could be an engaging storyline, but as the game progresses, too much extraneous information blurs the plot and leaves players looking for a way out, and toward their next goal. Still, the pace isn’t laborious, even in the many battles whose mechanics could easily become tiresome.
Although Endless Frontier is at least a semi-traditional JRPG, with towns, shops, an overworld map, random encounters, and turn-based battles, Monolith has chosen to invent a unique system that is fairly deep while remaining simple to understand. In each round of combat, players command their party members in a number of ways. Each character has a turn to use special skills, spells, and items amid chains of attacks that are pre-set by the player to be unleashed upon foes with regular taps of the A button.
As party members in the front row of the battle formation deliver these opponent-juggling combos of varying lengths, players can interrupt the action with support actions from back-row characters or switch gears and call upon the next front-row attacker to continue the chain. There is also a gauge at the bottom of the screen that, when full, allows a character to execute a flashy Overdrive combo for heavy damage.
Unfortunately, while the list of things to do during SRTOGSEF (I had to use that epic acronym at least once) encounters is sizable and the system is designed to be more fun and involving than the typical JRPG, the novelty of battle still wears off rather quickly, especially since the fights occur so frequently throughout the game. Additionally, boss battles (of which there are many) have a tendency to wear on for what seems like ages, likely a result of underpowered player characters.
Although some will be happy to hear the original Japanese voice acting crew rather than English dub, their constant babble during battles can become annoying. The music is better, however, with a fairly wide variety of tracks — remixes from other OG games as well as new compositions — used throughout the game. Visually, the large anime-style animations that overlay the in-game action are crisp and well-drawn. Battle sprites are large, but lack detail, and most effects outside of Overdrive combos are basic and insignificant.
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier is certainly a creative take on the Super Robot Taisen Franchise, and works well for the most part. The problem is that despite its attempt to be clever or controversial, it fails to be very engaging. The battle system is a saving grace, but in practice it is less thrilling than it may appear on paper. For franchise fans and double-d-cup anime lovers, though, Endless Frontier might just be a surefire hit.
