All Mecha Fans Should Be Playing Gundam Breaker 3 (2025)

The Gundam franchise has received countless games over the years, ranging from fast-paced shooters to turn-based strategy games. Regardless of the genre, Gundam fans are always looking for games that place them in the cockpits of their favorite mobile suits. However, with the team shooter Gundam Evolution shutting down later this year, many players have started looking for a suitable replacement. The upcoming Armored Core VI: Fires of the Rubicon is shaping up to be a solid contender and is sure to be the mech game of the year. But for those who need a similar mech-based action game to hold them over or simply prefer Gundam's iconic mobile suits, Gundam Breaker 3 is a must-play title.

Unlike the emotional, war-centric narratives of other Gundam works, the Gundam Breaker games focus on collecting and building Gunpla, plastic models based on Gundam's various mobile suits. Despite its mundane premise, the series boasts incredibly energetic combat and deep Gunpla customization, with each entry improving and expanding upon Gundam Breaker's basic gameplay loop (apart from the widely maligned New Gundam Breaker). Gundam Breaker 3 is easily the best of the series and a fantastic celebration of the entire Gundam franchise, making it a perfect game for both longtime fans and newcomers.

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Gundam Breaker 3 Delivers Energetic Mech Combat

Like its predecessors, Gundam Breaker 3 centers around building and customizing Gunpla using different parts and weapons belonging to mobile suits from nearly every notable Gundam series, including mainline works and obscure spinoff media. Along with choosing a melee and ranged weapon, players can swap their Gunpla's head, arms, legs, backpack, and shield, as well as equip different accessories. Beyond their aesthetic differences, these parts alter the Gunpla's stats and (in some cases) unlock unique attacks that improve with extended use, which incentivizes experimenting with different parts and weapons. All of this gives Gundam Breaker 3 an impressively robust range of options for character building, allowing players to design their Gunpla around practically any playstyle.

In the same vein as series like Diablo and Borderlands, Gundam Breaker 3 is a loot-based action RPG. Although parts can be purchased from an in-game shop, the most reliable means of acquiring them is by defeating enemies in missions. Fortunately, Gundam Breaker 3 is extremely generous with loot drops. Simply damaging enemies will have them dropping basic upgrade materials and parts and defeating them often results in an explosion of multiple high-rarity parts. Even if players exit or fail a mission, they still keep any parts or other items they collected. This heavy emphasis on loot might be a turn-off for some players, but Gundam Breaker 3 never uses it to create pointless roadblocks or force players into a tedious grind. Instead, the frequent rewards of new parts keep players invested in the game and motivated to see what they will earn next.

None of this would matter if the gameplay wasn't entertaining. Thankfully, Gundam Breaker 3's flashy and chaotic battles never disappoint. Along with being able to use a varied arsenal of weapons and special abilities, the Gunpla also move incredibly fast, allowing players to quickly fly around arenas while delivering devastating attacks. As a result, combat plays out at dizzying speeds, with both players and enemies alternating between dodging and trading blows. Unlike most other mecha games, however, Gundam Breaker 3 prioritizes melee combat over ranged, which forces players into an intense balance between evading attacks and closing in on enemies.

Since the game frequently lets players mow down large groups of weaker enemies with ease, Gundam Breaker 3 can often feel like a power fantasy. Fortunately, this never detracts from the gameplay, as the fast-paced battles make successfully dodging attacks and juggling enemies simple yet satisfying to pull off. Combat in Gundam Breaker 3 carries enough depth to consistently be incredibly fun, especially once players start fine-tuning their Gunpla's moveset and learning how to extend combos. Furthermore, attacks have a chance of temporarily removing parts from enemy Gunpla to disable their weapons or halt their movement altogether, allowing players to exploit newly formed openings in their foes' defenses.

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However, combat becomes far more hectic in battles against the aptly named "powerful enemies," which boast far more speed and durability than other opponents. Learning how to quickly transition from dodges to attacks and back becomes essential to surviving their devastating flurries of shots and slashes. Gundam Breaker 3 is at its best with these tougher foes, as they test both the player's knowledge of the combat mechanics and the quality of their Gunpla's build. On higher difficulties, these encounters can be brutally punishing, which makes overcoming them all the more satisfying.

Gundam Breaker 3's combat is also supported by its massive selection of weapons and unique abilities. Although players start with basic swords and rifles, the game eventually provides whips, rocket launchers, and even the option to fight unarmed with martial arts or wrestling moves. Some stages will also feature powerful vehicles that can be hijacked from enemies, providing a welcome change from the rest of the game's intense combat. However, even without these vehicles, Gundam Breaker 3's variety of offensive options prevents its combat from ever becoming stale.

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Gundam Breaker 3 Provides Nearly Limitless Customization

Gundam Breaker 3's greatest feature and a large part of why it's still active today is its Gunpla building mechanics. More specifically, many of its players treat the game as a Gunpla simulator rather than an action RPG. Along with an enormous catalog of parts that lets players build any mobile suit they imagine, Gundam Breaker 3 provides a robust set of aesthetic options. Individual parts can be customized with different colors, patterns, and finishes, along with options to add scratches, dirt, or chipped paint. Players can also save their builds as presets and even share them as optional opponents in the game's bounty hunter mode.

Few games come close to Gundam Breaker 3's substantial mech customization, which is why its players have stuck with the game for over seven years after its release. Even now, players still use online forums and social media posts dedicated to Gundam Breaker 3 to share unique designs and impressively accurate replicas of mechs from other works. Although more recent Gundam games like Gundam Evolution and Battle Operation 2 have even larger multiplayer focuses, their microtransaction-filled, free-to-play models and lack of open-ended customization prevent them from ever being able to replace Gundam Breaker 3.

Whether it's for the thrilling action gameplay or the creative joy of designing Gunpla, Gundam Breaker 3 is a must-have game for all fans of the mecha genre. The overwhelming abundance of content and variety keeps the game constantly fresh and interesting, and the additional DLC packs only add to the game's impressive magnitude. It should be noted that although Gundam Breaker 3 never received a Western release, the game features a full English translation and isn't nearly as pricey as most other imported titles. As such, it's easily accessible and absolutely worth playing.