Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Missing Link announced for PlayStation 3

Namco Bandai’s next Gundam game is Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Missing Link for PlayStation 3, this week’s Famitsu reveals.

The game marks the return of the Gundam Side Story series. 1997 saw the release of Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny for Sega Saturn, followed by Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise From the Ashes for Dreamcast in 1999, and Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Space, To the End of a Flash for PS2 in 2003. It is the first title in the series after 11 years, and follows a side story taking place during the One Year War.

A release date is currently unannounced, but the game is in development at Gundam Side Story and Gundam Battle Operation studio B.B. Studio. It is a third-person action shooter featuring not only terrestrial fights, but space ships, too. Players will choose between the Earth Federation Forces or Principality of Zeon, each with their own respective stories.

A number of Mobile Suits that appeared during the One Year War appear, including terrestrial, underwater, and space suits. There is a Mobile Suit customization component, and there are original Mobile Suits, too.

Battles take the form of a three-suit platoon. You can switch which suit you operate during battles.

The main characters of the Earth Federation Forces are of the 20th Independent Mechanized Unit. To the public, they are members of a Mobile Suit experiment unit, but they actually enforce without connection to the Federation or Zeon. They carry the face of a disciplinary force known as the “Slave Race.”

The main characters of the Principality of Zeon are of the 8th Platoon of the Special Competitive Unit Marchocias. They are strong ruffians who crave military success.

Thanks, Sinobi.