Gundam: Battle Assault

Gundam: The Battle Master is the first game in the series, released for the PlayStation in 1997. Even this first game features the large multi-jointed sprites and 2-screen-high stages that the rest of the series would follow on. The game would also feature its own unique pilots that are exclusive to this game, replacing the regular pilots that are often associated with each mobile suit in the franchise. It includes the following mobile suits from the Universal Century era:

Playable

• FA-010S Full Armor Enhanced ZZ Gundam
• MS-06F Zaku II
• MSM-03C Hygogg
• MSN-02 Zeong
• MSN-04 Sazabi
• NZ-000 Quin Mantha
• PMX-003 The O
• RX-78-2 Gundam
• RX-78GP02A Gundam Physallis
• RX-93 Nu Gundam

Bosses (Non-Playable)

• MA-08 Big Zam
• AMX-002 (AMA-X2) Neue Ziel
• Psyco Gundam Mark III
• Hydra Gundam

Gundam: The Battle Master features gameplay unlike most fighting games, let alone the other games within its series:

• Mobile suit movement is realistically slow.
• Repeated damage to a specific body part on an enemy will result in that part's armor breaking.
• There's no standard "health bar". Instead, a mobile suit has a "temperature bar" that would fill up as it gets hit. When the bar is full, the mobile suit overheats and is knocked down. When a mobile suit overheats four times, it is knocked out and loses the fight.
• The standard punch and kick buttons are complemented by a shoot button (for firing beam rifles or machine guns), a weapon button (beam sabers, heat hawks, etc.), and a thrust button that allows the mobile suit to fly indefinitely. This is similar to Endless Duel, as well as games such as Capcom's Cyberbots.
• Projectiles are unblockable.
• Special moves are limited. A mobile suit will have a rapid fire version of the shoot button and one or two unique moves. All special moves drain a bar below the temperature bar that can only be filled by connecting with melee attacks.
• Some mobile suits can dodge into the background to avoid attacks, while others can erect a beam barrier that can block projectiles (which can be held indefinitely unless hit by a melee attack).
• Bosses are massive and fill up nearly half the screen. They can not be knocked back by any attack unless they overheat.