(Photo : Bandai Namco / Screenshot taken from official website)
Bandai Namco's "Gundam Assemble" is the studio's entry into the tabletop genre, which features five-centimeter-tall miniatures that can be built and painted.
These figures will then be used to play in the tabletop game and feature a series of popular models from the entire franchise. These will not be limited to only one series or timeline, giving fans an opportunity to play with their favorites.
Gundam Tabletop and Card Game
The setup for the miniature models works similarly to the regular gunpla models but at a much smaller scale. However, some fans are a little bit skeptical about how Bandai Namco plans to make the tabletop game work.
The majority of tabletop properties use a single framework for their lore, but the "Gundam" franchise is split across multiple distinct, separate timelines. The "Gundam Build Fighters" tried to work with various timelines but used re-purposed versions of classic mecha designs.
Furthermore, the series focused the story within one coherent setting to avoid confusing viewers. However, the tabletop game seems to use actual designs from their respective "Gundam" series and has no unifying lore to tie them all together, according to Forbes.
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The game works similarly to how "Gundam Evolution" had a top-down corporate approach to how the mecha worked and just ignored the respective settings. Unfortunately, the effort that went there did not work out well for the game in the long run.
Bandai Namco's latest efforts show that it is committed to diversifying the "Gundam" brand. However, some people are saying that the studio is doing it in a very generic and uninformed way.
What To Expect
The supposed card game based on the "Gundam" franchise is said to have an expected release window of July 2025. This is also the same timeframe when "Gundam Assemble" is set to come out for the public, Screen Rant said.
All of these combine to make this year a memorable one for the "Gundam" brand. There is also the "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX" series that was co-written by the creator of "Evangelion," Hideaki Anno, which is set to come out in 2025.
Bandai Namco revealed more details about the card game during the Bandai Card Games Fest that was held in Orlando. It will have a simultaneous release in English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese languages.
There will be four started decks that will come out for the "Gundam Card Game," each built around two different card colors. Each deck will have two versions: a standard edition that costs $11.99.
On the other hand, the studio plans to "introduce a number of aircraft that were not included in the Edition Beta," which was released in December 2024 for $69.99, according to AniTrendz.
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