Since its birth nearly 40 year ago, the Gundam Metaverse continues to soar with over a dozen television series, a plethora of video games and so many gunpla models to choose from that we lost count. Thanks to its constantly evolving storyline and mobile suits, Gundam continues to be a favorite among mecha anime fans and collectors throughout the world.

The Gundam Metaverse continues to soar with over a dozen television series, a plethora of video games and so many gunpla models to choose from that we lost count. It all began in 1979 when the television series Mobile Suit Gundam first debuted in Japan. Giant oversized robots were popular among science fiction followers at the time, but this new franchise called Gundam brought something new and unexpected to the mecha genre – a story of war and peace between earth and space fought by huge mobile suits called Gundams. 

Like the pilots inside, the Gundams are modeled after humans, each with its own set of unique weapons like buster rifles, Gatling guns and beam sabers – allowing for close range combat as well as long range attacks. Gunpla, or small-scale plastic Gundam models manufactured in Japan by Bandai Hobby, are fun to build because of these various weapons and realistic/unique designs storyline and mobile suits, Gundam continues to be a favorite among mecha anime fans and collectors throughout the world.

Gundam and Gunpla have existed together since the dawn of time, connecting fans of the anime with collectors and hobbyists worldwide. The first Gunpla were manufactured in July 1980 after the initial airing of Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979. The word Gunpla comes from the combination of “Gundam” and “Plastic Model,” and are constructed with colored plastic parts that snap together, requiring no glue or paint. The pieces are so realistic that putting them together gives the builder an idea of how a Gundam would actually work and operate and brings them one step closer to their favorite pilot, episode or series. With a Gundam replica for nearly every Gundam and mobile suit from the animated TV shows, there is no end to the collecting – from Wing Gundam to Barbatos Lupus. After all, who doesn’t like building their own small-scale versions of ginormous fighting robots? 

Gunpla is so popular that it has its own annual contest called the Gunpla Builders World Cup, where Gunpla builders from around the world compete for the prize of best customized mobile suit. Gunpla has several of its own television and net animations: Gundam Build Fighters, Gundam Build Fighters Try, Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue and Gundam Build Fighters GM’s Counterattack that are currently available on rightstufanime.com. These shows are set in a canon universe where the characters design, build and battle Gunpla. As Meijin Kawagushi, a character from Build fighters says “Gunpla is freedom” referring to the nearly unlimited potential for customization 

The big draw of Build Fighters is that it features cameos and references from almost every single Gundam show, as well as custom Gunpla based off of a huge amount of mecha from the entire series.  For example, the main character of Build Fighters (Sei Iori) creates a Gunpla that he calls the Build Strike Gundam.  It uses the Strike Gundam from Gundam SEED as its base, but Sei combines it with other parts to make it his own unique model.

But what could be better than building and customizing your own Gunpla model you may ask? Piloting it in BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment’s New Gundam Breaker for the PlayStation 4 of course. This newest installment in the Gundam Breaker series allows for the building and customization of your very own Gundam. 

The hottest and most recent Gundam series – Iron Blooded Orphans – will be well represented in the New Gundam Breaker, with such Gundams as Barbatos Lupus Rex, Bael and Kimaris Vidar. Each Gundam comes with its own collectible parts. For example, Barbatos Lupus Rex allows the pilot to activate the Alaya-Vijnana system to increase combat speed, Bael has arms that can clothesline all enemies in sight and Kimaris Vidar uses the Ahab Reactor to defend itself against beam attacks. 

Fight against over 100 of your favorite mobile suits in team battles, collect their parts and use them to complement your fighting style or to reproduce the look of your choice Gundam. You can even switch out parts during combat to give you the upper-hand against your enemy. The combinations and possibilities for different builds are endless, so let your imagination run on overdrive and build the Gundam of your dreams.

New Gundam Breaker releases on June 22, 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Steam. Stay up to date on game news and pre-order yours today here.