Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Apologies for the game screen suddenly going black and white during the ending for a short while; that's the result of the USB connection from my capture device randomly loosening at the worst possible moment (seriously, couldn't it have waited like, another minute?!). The game does not normally turn black and white at all, even if the timing of it did look suspiciously fitting!

Anyway, this is a recording of one full game of "SD Gundam Gashapon Warriors 2: Record of Capsule Wars" (as I might translate the title) for the MSX2 microcomputer, published by Banpresto on floppy disk in 1990. I selected to play on the Full Moon Island map, versus the CPU, on the easiest difficulty, with the option set for both sides to start with a larger number of units, and a starting fund of 5,000 CT (credits, I guess?) for both sides as well. In retrospect, I should've picked a higher difficulty level, as the CPU is an absolutely MORON on Easy. ;)

The goal of the game is simply to take the enemy's main base, which is guarded by the most powerful unit in the game: the Musya-Z. Whichever side takes the opposing base first wins.

Along the way, you can capture cities, artillery, satellites, etc., each of which adds to the amount of money you receive at the beginning of each turn (represented by the IC number at the bottom of the screen).

Money can be spent at your main base or any of your sub-bases to buy new units, each of which take a certain number of turns to be constructed (between 1 and 3) and can then be deployed at will from that specific base for as long as you still own it. That last part is important, as it is possible to take over enemy sub-bases -- and if there are any units under construction or ready to be deployed when you take them over, they become YOUR units!

I took over one of the enemy's sub-bases during this game, in fact, but then lost it before the Z-Gundam I'd commissioned was finished being built. Fortunately, the CPU was TOO STUPID to deploy said Z-Gundam (despite having ample opportunity to do so!), so I was able to retake the (completely unguarded) sub-base on my very next turn, then immediately deploy my Z-Gundam and use it to finish off the enemy's Musya-Z to win the match. Not the best strategy there, CPU! ;)

During battle, your unit generally has a button 1 attack (a ranged weapon) and a button 2 attack (usually a beam sword), and possibly a tertiary attack that's triggered by pressing both buttons together (grenade, homing missile, etc.). There are also a number of power-ups and power-downs that appear at random in the stage: oil to repair your unit or shoes to make you move faster are the good ones, but the talisman is the worst, as it freezes you in place for 5 seconds. The clock, then, reduces the amount of time remaining before the battle is declared a draw, and if you happen to pick up a flashing clock, it just ends the battle in a draw right then and there.

There are also tiny robots, jellyfish, etc. that exist solely to get in your way, but can be moved around or have their movement direction reversed by shooting them, potentially allowing them to be used strategically.

One thing that I didn't actually do at all during this match was deploy a carrier unit -- these are units that CAN fight other units, but can't take over cities, artillery, satellites, etc., nor can they capture bases. Instead, they can carry other units (up to three at a time) over long distances, as well as directly fire missiles or beams at other units on the map (missiles do a lot of damage but are most likely to miss, while beams do little damage but are most likely to hit). I probably should've used these units more strategically in this match, especially with all the obstacles making movement from one end to the other pretty slow-going, but... hey, the CPU was an idiot, so it didn't really matter in the end. Heheh.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this footage! There's a little bit of gameplay from the MSX version to be found on YouTube already, but it's very minimal, and doesn't show an entire match from beginning to end, so I figured I'd do the honors of being the first to upload that for your viewing enjoyment. This isn't a quick game to play, but it is a lot of fun, and has sparked my interest in the other SD Gundam games (none of which I've ever played!), so all in all, I'm really glad to have gotten my hands on this one, and definitely give it a recommendation for other MSX gamers -- especially those looking for a really nice 2-player title!