Dynasty Warriors: Gundam

Damn it, Setsuna, watch where you swing those things! Those logos aren't cheap, you know.

As could be guessed from the title, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (Gundam Musou in Japan) is a Spin-Off of Koei's popular Dynasty Warriors Hack and Slash series of games, flavored to the tastes of Bandai Entertainment's immensely popular Gundam series of Humongous Mecha anime. Perhaps sadly, it does NOT, however, involve the characters of the Three Kingdoms Era climbing into Gundam cockpits and taking over ancient China with giant robots. Yet.

As with the Dynasty and Samurai series, DW: Gundam tells the tale of a famous period of warfare by way of having a player take control of influential combatants of the day and sending them on a Foe-Tossing Charge through depictions of noted battlefields while taking down millions upon millions of Mooks. However, the big twist here is that the famous period of warfare is the completely fictional Universal Century of Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Gundam ZZ, and most recently, Chars Counterattack. The battles are fought not by people, but rather by influential Mobile Suits of each period, and the charges leaving dismembered Mecha-Mooks and lots of Stuff Blowing Up in their wake.

Not wanting to leave non-UC fans left in the lurch, Koei and Bandai-Namco also decided to throw in the "Original Mode" (Later replaced with the new "Mission Mode") in which groups of pilots from across the various Gundam Universes are brought together for the sole purpose of beating the ever-loving tar out of each other's MS.

So far, there have been the following installments in the series:

The following tropes are common to many or all entries in the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam franchise.
For tropes specific to individual installments, visit their respective work pages.
  • Action Girl: The female pilots, obviously. Also, Lacus Clyne of all people gets to be a pilot from the second game onwards. A pretty deadly one, too, since she's using her ex-fiancee Athrun's Infinite Justice Gundam to carve up the enemy.
    • Lacus ends up fighting her boyfriend Kira in her story mode and wins. Despite wearing a dress, she wears the pants in their relationship.
  • A God Am I: Kai's almost averting it, but then: "Try as we might, humans can't be gods... But we can come pretty close though!"
  • And Your Reward Is Clothes: For three characters in the second game: Milliardo Peacecraft gets his Zechs Marquise outfit, Loran Cehack gets his pretty Laura Rolla party dress, and Haman Karn gets her ZZ spacesuit. In the PS3 and 360 releases, Amuro and Char can both switch between their Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, and Chars Counterattack outfits as soon as they're unlocked for Mission Mode. Hilariously, the data for Char and Amuro's extra outfits are still there in the PlayStation 2 version, they've just been Dummied Out. They are still accessible via codebreaker, though.
    • The third game adds a few more outfits - Char gets his Neo Zeon uniform (which becomes his default, and the CCA normal suit becomes an unlockable alternate), Haman Karn gets her Neo Zeon uniform (complete with slightly goofy-looking headpiece), and Katajina gets to let her hair down and just go crazy - literally.
  • Anti-Villain: Jerid Messa in the first game's Original mode, in which he fights to save the Earth, only so the Titans can oppress it. But he's still sincere about it.
    • The Knight Gundam from the third game, who only wants to help the pilots learn how to resolve their conflicts through communication via the cosmic equivalent of a Locked in a Room scenario.
  • Ascended Extra: The Turn X, Hambrabi, and Guncannon are upgraded from Class 2 to Class 1 Mobile Suits in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3.
    • Anavel Gato, Beecha Oleg and Elle Vianno had appeared in previous games as NPCs but were upgraded to playable characters in DWG3 as well.
  • Ascended Meme: The Devil Gundam is now an available support unit, this means that you can now defeat any enemy or take any field WITH THE HELP OF KYO~JI!!!
  • The Atoner: A few Big Bads, most notably Knight Templar Paptimus Scirocco and Well-Intentioned Extremist Char Aznable, express regret for the things they've done in their home series after teaming up with others in Original Mode. In her ending in the other two games, Haman Karn also shows signs of this.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: Amuro and Char do this in the first game.
    • Domon and Master Asia (sort of) as well as Shinn, Kira, and Athrun (again, sort of) in the second game.
  • Back Tracking: If you've ruined your relationship with another character, you can replay certain missions again (and again, and again, and again...) to repair it. The sequel partially averts this with special missions specifically designed to allow you to boost relationships with those who don't like you (which you will also play again, and again, and again...). The third game changes the relationship system so that friendship levels can only go up, not down, so the main reason to play missions again (and again, and again, and again...) is to boost friendship levels higher and earn more cash.
  • Bad Export for You: While both games on the next-gen consoles have been released overseas, the show tunes from various Gundam series (Ex. Anime Ja Nai, Rhythm Emotion) are only available in the Japanese versions. Also, the export versions of the second game are not dual-audio like the first and third games.
  • Bash Brothers: Gym and Yazan. Especially punctuated in the second game, when a random battle event has the duo entering the field against you - piloting both Musha Gundams.
  • Big Bad: Musha Gundam in the first game, Musha Gundam and Musha Gundam Mk. II in the second game, and Knight Gundam in the third game.
  • Blunt Yes: Kira yamato and Shinn Asuka's Combo SP Conversation.

Kira Yamato: "You will help, right?"
Shinn Asuka: "Yes...."

Mr. Bushido: (when selected) All right. My first time as a Dynasty Warrior Gundam!

  • Brother Chuck: Some characters that were present in the first game (Anavel Gato, Jamaican Danigan, Horace, etc.) are absent in the second game, though the Nightmare of Solomon returns in the third.
  • Bait and Switch Boss: Boy, these games sure do love telling you victory conditions have changed.
  • Call A Musou Attack A Smeerp: Unlike other Warriors games, the ubiquitous power gauge and resulting Limit Break-style attacks are referred to as the "SP Gauge" and "SP Attacks".
  • Calling Your Attacks: Domon and Master Asia mostly, although Amuro, Char, Haman, Scirocco, Judau, and the Purus do it as well. Humorously, Heero lampshades whenever he and Domon use a Combination SP Attack (and once when they fight together in Heero's story mode), telling him to pipe down.
  • Can't Catch Up: Some playable pilots are simply better than others. For example, in the second game, Lunamaria has lower stats at Level 50 (the maximum) than Shinn, Kira, and Athrun do at Level 40. Of course, it makes a certain degree of sense that the supporting cast would max out at a lower skill level than the main characters -- there's a reason they're the main characters, after all.
  • Cat Fight / Designated Girl Fight: Female pilots get a Friendship Mission where they battle against other female pilots in order to improve their relationship values with the male pilots (while male pilots, of course, get the opposite mission). Also notable is Cecily Fairchild's sole Story Mission, where she basically has to run a gauntlet of other female MS pilots, only to learn that the reason everyone was attacking her was because Seabook told them about how pretty and awesome she was, in order to make it easier to find her when they picked fights with her out of jealousy. And yes, she does kick the crap out of him for it.
  • Cherry Tapping: Some missions require you to play in crap-ass mobile suits, such as Zaku Tank or Ball, and for extra cherry-tapping value even require you to take down massive robot enemies in said suits.
    • In DW:G2, the "Soldier's Battlefield" sequence of missions rewards you for this. If you beat all four, your friendship level with nearly all of the Loads and Loads of Characters goes up, since you've just impressed the hell out of everyone with your cherry tapping abilities.
      • Considering that in order to do that, you have to beat That One Boss with a mook suit, there's a very good reason they're impressed.
      • "Zaku Tank: Lord Of Land" - did you just take out a bunch of aces and the Psycho Gundam MkII with something that tends to work best using its tiny little claws?
      • "Ball Is Your Friend!" - take "Zaku Tank: Lord Of Land" and replace the Pyscho Gundam MkII with the Alpha Azieru and it's the same principle.
        • Ball really IS your friend...That machinegun fist SP attack is insane in single-suit-combat! Also despite being more dangerous the Azieru has less armour than the Psycho. Perfect fodder for Ball. Torso level 3-4 + all SP gain skills = Hokumon no Ken style... in space.
  • Colony Drop: This is a Gundam game. The first game's Original Mode features this as the ultimate goal of the Musha Gundam, as it plans to smash an entire planet into the Earth.
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Enemy boss suits in the second game have access to certain special attacks (ex. Nu Gundam deploying its fin funnels independently, Wing Zero flying offscreen and turning into a Kill Sat) that the player can never learn.
  • Continuity Nod: The "Remember the Past" missions in the second game, and the History Missions in the third game. Also, if certain pilots are on the same side (Ex. Haman and Kamille), they can disrupt the field.
    • A rather heartwarming version is available in the third game - use Dozle as your pilot and Audrey as your operator, and you'll get family-based flavor comments from both, including Dozle letting out his Papa Wolf.
    • Another subtle one in the third game happens in the mission "Warriors, Again..." As part of the mission, you have to fight the remaining units from Glemy's failed revolt, including several of the mass-production Qubeleys. However, one will be marked Unknown, and when defeated will leave the field instead of being destroyed. Those who know the backstory to Gundam Unicorn will quickly realize that was the MP Qubeley being piloted by Puru Twelve, a.k.a. Marida Cruz.
  • Crippling Overspecialization: The use of the Overdrive skill can sometimes have this effect. Gundams and other non-mook class units have three SP Attacks: one ground, one aerial and one combination attack used when in close proximity to an ally who also has an SP charge. Usually one single SP attack is more suited for clearing hordes of mooks while the other is more suited to dealing pinpoint damage to commanders. Overdrive replaces the ground SP with the usually more powerful combo SP, which can sometimes cause trouble if it has the same specialty as the aerial attack. Turn A is a particularly good example of this problem.
    • At the same time, Turn A's aerial SP and its combo SP are both frighteningly effective in tackling either aces or crowds of mass-produced suits. There's a reason an Overdrive-enabled Turn A is considered a Game Breaker.
    • The Gundam Epyon is a better example, as it has considerable melee strength and surprising reach with its whip-shaped heat rod. However, it doesn't have any ranged attacks in its arsenal, and if it can't close with an enemy, it's functionally helpless against its opponent.
    • The Palace Athene and Guncannon, both Elite Mook suits, swing straight to the other end of the scale of overspecialization. The Palace Athene carries beam cannons, grenade launchers, and missile racks, and is capable of hammering even Ace Custom mobile suits to pieces, while the Guncannon has its massive twin shoulder cannons to wipe out mook suits. However, both units are quite sluggish and their melee attacks are definitely inferior, meaning that anyone who can get close enough can tear these suits new exhaust ports several times over.
    • There IS variation with a few Mook and Elite Mook suits, it's just small and hard to see. Their combo and critical health SP attacks are basically the same with a little extra. The Gyan is the easiest to spot.
  • Cutscene Power to the Max: In the second game, Kira's final boss scene, as well as any scene where Kira himself is the final boss. Amongst others.
    • In the first game, Char's Zaku II is somehow able to block the Bakunetsu God Finger with its heat hawk and survive being at Ground Zero of a Twin Buster Rifle shot.
  • David Versus Goliath: The second game brings in gigantic Mobile Armors as bosses, leading to some truly epic boss fights.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Horribly, painfully averted. The more frequently you defeat another character, the more negative their opinion of you will become. This becomes a big problem when you require their friendship to unlock new missions. Thankfully, this is fixed in DW:G3, where friendship levels always go up and never go down.
    • Played straight in some missions where two enemy pilots appear at once in the same area. If you defeat both of them fast enough, they'll return as allies.
    • Also played straight for the Gundam Wing series of Mission Mode missions in the second game. Any character other than Heero or Milliardo eventually gets e-mails from both of them that drop their relationship values to the lowest possible level and unlock missions where you have to fight them; eventually, however, Relena sends you an e-mail asking you to help them, and if you complete the resulting mission chain, both Heero and Milliardo become your friends.
    • Also occurs in Amuro's Story Mode in part 2: In his early missions, he battles Heero, Domon, and Uso. They join his side in later missions.
  • Demoted to Extra: While an active support character in the first game, Rain is reduced to being involved only in Domon's story missions and the Gundam Fight Friendship Missions compared to other characters with similar roles. This at least isn't as bad as what happened to Horace.
  • Desperation Attack: At 25% armor, your SP gauge starts filling automatically, and any SP attacks you use are a more powerful version, complete with portrait cut-in.
  • Double Entendre: Full of them, as per-usual in a Dynasty Warriors game. However, the mother of them all comes from Lacus Clyne, of all people. In her combo sp attack with Athrun Zala from the third game:

Lacus Clyne: "Let's do it, Athrun"
Athrun Zala: "Lacus... I don't know about this."

  • Downloadable Content: Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 has free downloadable missions available. Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 has priced DLC that includes new playable pilots and mobile suits, including Marida Cruz's Kshatriya, Mr. Bushido's Susanowo, and all of the Gundam Meisters (except Setsuna, who's already included in the basic game).
  • Dual Boss: Shinn has to fight two powerful Aces in his final boss battle.
  • Dual Wield: Some use dual swords, some use dual guns, two use both.
  • Duel Boss: Most of the Mission Mode stories end with this.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Quite literally in the second game, wherein Zeta Gundam's Kamille Bidan has an Official Story mode whose ending can change depending on whether or not you prevent certain events from occurring. Playing normally results in the TV series' Downer Ending, but working to prevent the events leading to the deaths of Action Girl Emma and Genius Bruiser Henken leads to the much happier ending from the Compilation Movie.
    • To elaborate: While every character's Official Mode aside from the CCA versions of Amuro and Char has a good and bad ending depending on how the last mission plays out, Love is the Pulse of the Stars is an achievement.
    • On that note, this is averted with the Char's Counterattack scenario, as no matter how many times you save someone, they'll run away thanking you for saving them only to return and try the EXACT same tactic. The window to beat the opponent gets smaller each time until there is practically no way to avoid the character death cutscene. Only Rezin can be 'saved' and the game acts like she died anyway as she doesn't appear in the second part.
  • Excuse Plot: Musha Gundam distorting time and space is used to justify Mobile Suit pilots from different time periods fighting with and against each other in Original Mode.
    • In the second game, Heero's Story Mode is just random missions he was hired for, without any connection to each other.
  • Extremity Extremist: The Gundam Epyon can only use melee attacks.
    • In a more literal (and perhaps more comical) example, the Zeong is also an extremist, using only its hands to fight its enemies. Why is this? Recall the end of Mobile Suit Gundam if you will. The Zeong here is the same as seen there. It can't attack with its feet because it has no legs.
  • Flaming Sword: Knight Gundam's sword becomes this after using its SP attacks.
  • Flanderization: To cut down on time, what with the Loads and Loads of Characters and all, a lot of characters were taken down to the basic stock of what they were remembered for; and their permutations.
  • Foe-Tossing Charge: Plenty. This is, after all, a Dynasty Warriors game. The Unicorn's is arguably the most spectacular and devastating, whilst the Acguy's is definitely the least dignified.
  • Foe Yay: One of Judau's lines, after defeating an enemy officer, delivered quite flirtatiously: "We gotta get together sometime after the war." And yes, he will say this to anyone, ranging from home series antagonist Haman Karn, to Domon Kasshu, to Ramba Ral. This was tweaked in the third game; now his line is "I hope to see you again - in peaceful times."
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: Reccoa's first story mission is meant to depict her infiltrating the Jupitris; at one point she tells Paptimus Scirocco, "I'm Reccoa Londe, a civilian traveler, just passing through. My Suit is acting up." This is after she's slaughtered her way through the enemy army and single-handedly taken down the Psyco Gundam Mk II, and right before she personally hands Scirocco his ass while he's in The O, all while piloting a crappy Tier 3 Gelgoog. No wonder Scirocco politely wishes her a safe journey after he's been defeated -- Reccoa's scary!
    • Pretty damn scary in the original series too! Wiping out colonies just to stay on someone's good side? She's clearly so far out there no dissonance trope can explain away any of what she does. Can't help but wonder if Scirocco responds to her overtures simply because he fears the monster he's created might gas the Jupitris similarly if he doesn't put her on the same pedestal as Sarah.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: "Oh so that's why I've been all tingly! It's because of you." The fact that it's said by Puru pulls this into Squick Territory. It doesn't help that she proposed to take a bath with Judau, who thankfully declines.
    • Puru makes the same offer to anybody who completes the Cherry Tapping 'Ball is your Friend!' mission in the second game - as part of a conversation in which Lacus, Laura and Puru congratulate the player on their skill with, ahem, Balls.
    • This is just Puru's way to be friendly. So far the only one who agreed to take a bath with her is Puru Two.
    • On a more dramatic and serious note, it's surprising that they kept Setsuna's militantly atheistic flavor comments in.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: The Guncannon's fighting style combines this with the BFGs on its shoulders. Particularly notable in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3, where the Guncannon is Class 1, and its new and slightly goofy-looking fighting style allows it to stand toe-to-toe with suits carrying beam sabers and heat hawks.
  • Grievous Harm with a Body: Several 'grab' attacks allow your pilots to do this. A particularly bizarre example is the Seravee Gundam's C6 attack, where the suit's built-in Seraphim Gundam allows Tieria to basically throw himself at the enemy.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: All the damn time.
  • Hot-Blooded: Pretty much standard for most of the cast, even Haman gets this way sometimes.
  • Ho Yay: Of the oddball crossover variety. For example, rescuing Seabook Arno from the bad guys, and hearing him gratefully remark, "My soul has drawn you here... or at least, that is what I want to believe." Glemy Toto's rescue lines are arguably even worse: they're the same ones he says when he falls in Love At First Sight with Roux!
    • And in the non-crossover category, Kira and Athrun's tendency toward long, soulful exchanges of dialogue. Possibly lampshaded in the following combination Special Attack dialogue:

Scirocco: Women are the goddesses of war, wouldn't you agree?
Athrun: How the hell should I know?

  • Hyperspace Arsenal: Some mobile suits are capable of manifesting bazookas and Gundam hammers seemingly out of thin air, and pretty much every mobile suit's gun mysteriously vanishes when it pulls out a melee weapon.
  • It's Up to You: In proud Dynasty Warriors tradition, if your side needs something important accomplished, you can count on being the one who has to do it. Especially if someone else volunteers to do the job, in which case your objective will be "save your ally's dumb ass and then do whatever it was they were trying to do."
    • In one of Four's missions in DW:G2, Kamille Bidan shows up for the sole purpose of helping you, and then proceeds to park himself offscreen and not move while you take on a giant mecha by yourself. Thanks a lot, Kamille. (In his defense, Four does explicitly say that taking down the Psyco Gundam is Something She's Got To Do Herself.)
    • It's also worth pointing out that, while they never do anything plotline important, your fellow squad leaders and aces are far from useless. They manage to capture enemy fields often enough, and the "Leadership" skill makes them fight better. In DW:G3, they become even more useful, though you still have to save their bacon occasionally.
      • Even better with "Jamming" skill, which makes enemies weaker.
      • Amusingly, it seems to be all based on morale and not at all with what they're piloting. Meaning Lunamaria is one of the most deadly fighters offscreen in the entire DWG series. When she always pilots a Zaku, red or otherwise. And macho guys like Yazan and Gym are constantly 'in trouble' despite using Musha or a Turn Gundam. (This being before you unlock the pilot switch mode.) Essentially the problems from normal DW, where the Qiaos can hold for an hour but Wei Yan and Zhang Fei constantly scream for help.
  • Idiot Ball: Millardo/Zechs holds it briefly in his second story mission.
    • Puru Two for all of hers. It never occurs to you to just fly to another area, huh? Gotta take advantage of the whole Let's You and Her Fight setup, right?
  • I'll Kill You!: Unsurprisingly, Heero Yuy eventually sends you an e-mail in Mission Mode that consists entirely of the following:

From: Heero Yuy
Subject: I'll kill you!
I will kill you!

  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Most of the guard-breaking 'grab' attacks actually involve stabbing someone with your beam saber before doing something deeply unpleasant to them (i.e., more unpleasant than being stabbed with a beam saber in the first place).
  • Joke Character: The second game allows you to utilize mook-class MS as playable units. They're generally underpowered, and lacking the versatile movesets of the player and mid-boss level units, although properly upgrading them can yield potential Lethal Joke Character results.
  • Late Arrival Spoiler: Schwarz Bruder's partner attack in the third game reveals his secret identity, which was a pretty big plot point in G Gundam.
  • Large Ham: This is a World of Ham so everyone falls under this at some point, but special mention really must go to Gym Ghingham, Master Asia, and Domon Kasshu.
    • "YOU DON'T KNOW ME?! I AM MASTER ASIA! UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST!"
  • Let's You and Him Fight: Pilots are assigned more-or-less randomly to one side or the other in most Mission Mode missions, even those ostensibly linked by a storyline. Certain common random encounters can also occur regardless of which pilot you're currently playing as. This leads to such curious matchups as Dozle Zabi vs. the Black Tri-Stars, Amuro Ray vs. Chan Agi and Hathaway Noa (or worse yet, Lalah Sune), or Shinn Asuka vs. Lunamaria Hawke, and also means that a pilot who was on your side in one storyline mission can be your enemy in the very next storyline mission and vice versa.
    • Lampshaded when Elle and Roux wind up on the opposite sides and battle each other.
  • Level Up At Intimacy 5: In Mission mode the player gains access to new missions, suits and characters by leveling up your pilot's relationship with other characters.
  • Lightning Bruiser: In theory, most any MS can be made into one of these with the right combination of equipment and upgrades, but special mention has to go to Char's Zaku II in the third game. With its special equipment (Triple Acceleration) unlocked and Char in the cockpit, the suit's movement and attack speed dramatically increase, allowing you to jet across the entire battlefield in seconds and hack apart enemy aces before they can finish saying their arrival speech.
  • Loads and Loads of Characters: 40 playable pilots and 66 Mobile Suits in DW:G2, not counting the various non-playable support characters and Mobile Armors.
  • Mama Bear: Haman, but only with Minerva.
  • Massive Multiplayer Crossover
  • Melee a Trois: Certain missions include a third (yellow) faction, which is hostile to both the friendly (blue) and enemy (red) factions.
  • Mo Cap Mecha: Mobile Suits in cutscenes tend to emote for their pilots, even if they're not supposed to be built that way.
  • Mood Whiplash: During some Combination SP attacks.

Puru Two: I HATE YOU, GET AWAY FROM ME!!!
Jerid Messa: Don't step on my toes.

    • Also for some random dialogue. For example, first Puru spawns. "I'm Elpeo Puru. Nice to meetcha!" Then Jerid. "Nice to meet ya." And then Kamille spawns on the opposing side...
  • Mook Chivalry: Averted. The Mook suits will swarm you, and attack from off screen. Bazooka wielders are by far the worst. In DW:G3 the Mook AI is improved, and they will quite often attack you in formation, as well as synchronize attacks (i.e. ranged MS shooting you while melee MS jump you).
  • Morality Pet: Audrey/Mineva for Haman in the third game where the worst trait Haman shows is being kind of haughty.
  • Mythology Gag: Chick Magnet Paptimus Scirocco making a suggestive comment to Gundam ZZ's Roux Louka, who reacts with incredulity and disgust. "Are you hitting on me?"
    • By the third game he runs an entire faction with the sole purpose of collecting female characters, in fact the only male members of his faction were Garrod Ran and Loran Cehack.
    • Normally, pilots will default to only using particular mobile suits from their respective series until the player unlocks the ability for pilots to use any suit. However, certain pilots can sortie in suits from other series that reference their series - for example, Lunamaria can sortie in Char's Zaku (referencing her red ZAKU Warrior) and Ribbons can sortie in the RX-78 (referencing the 0 Gundam).
    • Shinn's relationship mission in the third game has him in a one-on-one fight with Four Murasame in the Psyco Gundam, resulting in a meta-mythology gag.
    • In the first game, when Milliardo and Char meet in his story mode, Milliardo makes a speech about how he never had any aspirations for leadership, and is a warrior at heart. Char comments that "You sound just like me."
  • Never Give Up Speech: In Domon/Puru/Milliardo's Original mode, Master Asia and Heero respectively give one to Domon and Milliardo in their Darkest Hour.
  • Ninja: The Hyaku Shiki's moveset is very ninja-like.
  • No Export for You: Dynasty Warriors: Gundam: Special/Gundam Musou Special for PlayStation 2 which introduced Musha Gundam MK II was only released in Japan.
    • Not really a loss in any way since unlike most of the entries on that page, pretty much every improvement and addition was shunted to 2, along with 2's base improvements.
  • No Indoor Voice: Domon has this awesome way of shouting 90% of his words.
  • Older Than They Look: Garrod Ran is easily one of the most easygoing characters in the franchise, but he is still older than half the playable characters in DW:G3.
  • One-Man Army: It's Dynasty Warriors. You're in a Gundam. Do the math. There's also a skill you can earn actually called One Man Army, which turns you into even more of a Badass when you're fighting on your own.
  • Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: In the English dub of the second game, Puru normally has a fairly neutral American accent, but occasionally slips into a Southern drawl for no particular reason ("I'll cover y'all!"). She loses this trait in the third game.
  • The Other Darrin: The English versions of the games were unable to obtain the services of several voice actors who worked on the various Gundam anime series, and thus had to recast some of the roles. For example, Mark Gatha (Domon) retired from voice acting to become a doctor, and Mark Hildreth (Heero) has said he won't play the character anymore after being Misblamed for his robotic performance in Gundam Wing.
  • Overprotective Dad: Dozle in the third game. His relationship mission has him wade through an army just to test if Banagher is good enough for his daughter - and culminates in him beating the tar out of the poor boy.
  • Palette Swap: In the first game, the Qubeley and its two Mk II successors are all effectively the same character with the same moveset. The only differences are in coloration and some very minor stat variations. The twin Gundam Mk II units are largely the same, but have the sequence of their successive Limit Break attacks reversed from one another.
    • The third game adds a significant difference for these suits, through their unique special equipment.
    • Some of the Mook suits in the third game are essentially palette swaps of each other: the Gaza C and Gaza D differ only in their coloration and shape. The Gouf Flight Type has exactly the same moveset as the Dom. And the GM, GMII, and GM Command are all identical, except for coloration and how they hold their shield.
  • Plot Threads: Puru/Puru Two's story missions, to the point that you'll have to basically switch from one to the other.
  • Popularity Power: To focus on the dynamic between Amuro and Char and in the lack of CCA both Amuro and Char have their original Mobile Suit Gundam suits in the first game.While Amuro understandably is barely able to fight his enemies blow for blow Char takes them on quite well when in the original Gundam He was barely able to hurt Amuro.
  • Poor Communication Kills: A major theme of the third game's Story Mode. Communication difficulties, mistrust, and conflicting information between the various factions leads to a large number of conflicts that could otherwise have been avoided. Multiple characters in every faction lampshade this, commenting on the folly of rushing into battle when nobody really knows what the hell is going on. It really doesn't help that the Knight Gundam is deliberately manufacturing several of these misunderstandings in order to create a conflict for the pilots to resolve.
  • Power Creep, Power Seep: An acceptable break from canon, as it allows the older series' MS to go toe-to-toe with opponents who would easily wipe the floor with them in-universe.
    • Especially notable with the Turns, as they should be able to mop the floor with the rest of the lineup easily.
      • In fact the Turns are quite weak, so their movesets actually make viewing their series a big surprise for players unfamiliar with them. Aside from the awesomely huge invulnerability time blessed by Moonlight Butterfly, they are all-around average. (but thanks to X's ability to spam MB using all SP skills makes him effective, if cheap as hell.) The combo SP attack however, is pretty broken on both. For X, Butterfly lasts longer, for A, it pulls the nuclear warhead out of its chest and throws it like a grenade. A really really big highly damaging grenade. (most of the one-hit SP attacks are crowd clearers and do terrible damage.)
  • Power Trio: Four trios are formed in the first game's Original Mode, though characters do change sides through campaign sometimes, the main setup is usually:
    • Heero, Master Asia, and Jerid
    • Domon, Milliardo, and Puru
    • Loran, Emma, and Puru Two
    • Judau, Roux, and Scirocco
  • Pummel Duel: Between Master Asia and Domon in Domon's fifth mission in DW:G1's Original Mode.
  • The Rashomon: Subverted. Original Mode looks like it's this, but no character's route is completely compatible with any of the others', and some are drastically different.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Ramba Ral's story mission in the second game consists of him giving a few to some of the younger pilots, and Master Asia does this to just about everyone in the second game as well.
  • Recycled in Space
  • Redshirt Army / Mooks: Well, duh. Again, it's a Dynasty Warriors game.
    • Plus, it's Gundam after all. If massed waves of grunt suits didn't explode on a regular basis, it just wouldn't be proper. In the third game the grunt suits will often literally explode, doing damage to anything around them, which can cause huge chain reactions of exploding grunts.
  • Relationship Values: A major part of unlocking hidden characters/MS/missions in the second game's Mission Mode is working on relationships with any and all characters you're not currently using. Values increase by fighting on the same side and aiding an ally when they're in trouble, but decrease if you wind up on opposite sides and by actually defeating them in battle.
    • Also, pilots will start with relationship values for pilots set by the events of their series - for example, Kira and Lacus start off at the highest tier of relationship. This becomes a problem for characters like Char or Haman, who start off with a number of pilots that are pissed off at them.
    • Thankfully, the third game has overhauled the system so friendship values can only increase.
  • The Rival: Domon Kasshu eagerly latches onto a few other pilots as a friendly rival, with hilarious results in the case of Heero Yuy (who futilely tells him to shut up) and Kamille Bidan (combination SP Attack conversation: "Are you MAN ENOUGH? KAMILLE?")
    • In the second game, one of Domon's flavor comments is a long-winded declaration of his rivalry with your character. Unfortunately, it's pretty much the only flavor comment he makes at that relationship level, and it gets a bit old after the seventh or eighth time you hear it in a single mission.
  • Running Gag: Koei loves to make jokes referring to Gundam Wing characters and self-destruction attempts in the 3rd Game.
  • Ryu and Ken: Some mobile suits have moves tweaked and modified from other suits, especially if they have connections e.g. Unicorn and Amuro's Gundams, Sinanju and Char's suits, and the Master and Burning Gundams.
  • Set Bonus: Multiple parts from the same inventor give a stat bonus, while multiple parts of the same type give a special skill. Done away with in the third game, where instead of parts you get MS blueprints.
  • Shout-Out: Roux and Leina comparing Judau's behavior to an old man in his Story in Mission Mode could possibly be a reference to his appearance as "Grey Stroke" in the Crossbone Gundam and V Gundam mangas.
  • Slow Motion Fall: When you defeat an enemy pilot, the game lets you witness your victory in slow-mo.
  • Stop Helping Me!: In DW:G2, sometimes a giant mobile suit will be on your side in a battle. Finally! Sweet payback for all those David and Goliath battles you had to win by yourself! Or at least until you walk into your giant ally's Beam Spam and get nuked along with all the enemy mooks around you.
    • Or when part of your mission objective is to keep someone alive, and then they go into battle with a Mobile Armor with you, only to end up dying because the AI is stupid.
      • To be fair, it depends more on what they are listed as 'internally.' Much like Dynasty Warriors everyone still has their own 'AI' field (tactical, offensive, defensive, etc, just with more mixes to account for making their battle technique match their personality). Unfortunately it is invisible to you, the player. You can see this best when you compare Quess in the Azieru with Gyunei. Gyunei is an absolute monster (he'll tend to lose his own field because he kills so many of his own troops), while Quess is pretty weak and reserved when fighting. Gyunei is as dangerous to stand near as Lu Bu in DW even, if he's your ally. Yazan and Gym are equally dangerous when spawning in M As, thankfully very rare if you have unlocked Musha however.
    • Also, your allies will do things like kill-steal enemy aces from under you (especially when you're in a Zaku), rush up to you just as you're using an SP Attack (especially when your team attack is less fitting to the situation) and wipe out all the mooks milling around a Mobile Armor so you can't refill your SP Gauge. Thanks, guys.
    • In-universe example: if your relationship values with pilots are low and you save them, they'll say to you just that.
      • Well, frankly, Haman tends to say that to everyone but Judau. And she gets confused if Char or Papsmear Circus helps her.
  • Strange Bedfellows: It's very possible for pilots who were antagonists in their series of origin to end up on the same side. Probably one of the weirder examples is Haman Karn's final story mission in the second game, when Judau Ashta recruits Kamille Bidan and Amuro Ray, and all three show up in the middle of the battle to help her. It's a Big Damn Heroes moment that's actually pretty cool.
    • The most extreme example is perhaps in either Kamille's or Haman's Original story mode in the first game. They end up as friends and implied to be even more on Haman's. Haman and Kamille. Think about it.
    • In Judau's Original story mode in the first game, he manages to ultimately convince Paptimus Scirocco to do a massive Heel Face Turn by the end of his route.
    • In a heroic case, Puru, Domon, and Zechs/Milliardo from the first game. You couldn't have asked a more bizarre trio to work together.
      • It gets better in the second game. They say Domon's trademark lines before a shining finger attack when they appear, Puru starting, Milliardo saying the middle, and Domon finishing. Also if you pay attention to their storymodes this time around it is actually not out of place. All 3 follow codes of conduct that basically boil down to Defeat Means Friendship to the letter (Milliardo never gets to his CCA Char story segment self unless you play as Heero. In which case he hilariously replaces Char on Axis, leading to much lampshading). It's like their entire reason for existing. There are also minor hints as to who teams up with who in their EX mode storylines based upon unique dual SP attack quotes.
  • Super Mode: MS that canonically have them can enter into them via SP/Hyper SP Attack. This wasn't all that noticeable in the first two games, but with the third having quite a few more, it gives the suits that have the ability a definite advantage. In addition, the special gear of the Celestial Being suits extends Super Mode duration.
  • Super Move Portrait Attack
  • Talking to Himself: In the third game, Brian Drummond voices both Heero and Milliardo; it becomes a little obvious when his Heero voice slips into his Zechs voice.
  • Team Dad: In the third game's Story Mode, CCA-era Amuro and Char play this role to their respective Ragtag Bunches of Misfits.
  • Theme Music Power-Up: As the Musha Gundam is this game's version of Lu Bu and Honda Tadakatsu, naturally it has its own theme tune when encountered. Cue running away...
    • YMMV on this. While Honda is a beast, Musha and Lu Bu's most dangerous move is their lunging charge unblockable. Just as Lu Bu isn't quite as dangerous as a Boosted Gan Ning (One hit KO!) or Zhang Liao (Lu Bu's dragon is tougher than he is when stats are equal, go fig), or the Qiaos/Zhou Yu, the Hambrabi fulfills the role of Gan Ning (Stupidly powerful single-hit SP attack but overall only a mid-tier moveset), the Purus/Haman are the Qiaos, God Gundam is BOTH of these at once (SHIIIINING FINGER), and Nu Gundam/Sazabi round out the 'most irritating common fight' roster. Any of these can ruin your day a lot faster than either Musha when boosted. Wing Zero is no slouch either, having a Hambrabi-level hit as a NORMAL charge attack.
  • Theme Naming: The factions formed in DWG 3 all share a similar name trend.
    • The first four; Those who Understand, Those who Doubt, Those who Fight, and Those who Pass By
    • When the factions merge into a two sided army, it becomes; For Peace, and For Victory
    • And finally everyone comes together in; For Resolve.
  • Turns Red: Rival aces at critical armor levels can gain a yellow or red aura and come after you with their Desperation Attacks.
  • What Could Have Been: The last stage in Emma's story mission depicts what would happen if Quattro sided with Axis.
    • Kamille is often seen in Gyunei's Jagd Doga, possibly a Shout-Out to the persistent rumor that Gyunei was created as an Expy of Kamille after Tomino rejected the idea of Kamille showing up in Chars Counterattack fighting for Char after being put through some questionable brain surgery.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: In Jerid's story mission, Shinn berates him for the creation and use of Cyber-Newtypes.
    • Puru Two's story missions soon become one What the Hell, Hero? moment after the next stemming from Roux' distrust for her and Puru after Puru helps Haman. Leading to missions involving fights against Roux, Emma, Judau and Puru respectively.
  • World of Ham: Because dude. It's a Dynasty Warriors game AND a Gundam game. This is like World of Ham squared.
  • Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Averted, Haman considers Garrod's overly friendly way of speaking with Minerva an insult and demands he speaks to her more formally. Garrod being well... Garrod, thinks the means he must speak as such, he stumbles around with thine, thy and thou before Minvera asks him to speak like he always does.
  • Zeerust: Characters from the '70s and '80s still look like... characters from a '70s or '80s anime. Some of the Gundam sound effects from that era have also been kept.
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