Super Robot Wars T, released in March 2019, was the third entry in the robot anime crossover franchise Super Robot Wars’ main series to get an English release (albeit only in Asia), and the first to be released on the Switch.
Also see: Review- Super Robot Wars T
Previous entries in the Super Robot Wars series have already made attempts at implementing DLC: For example, the 3DS games had “Tsume Supa” puzzle stages based on tsume shogi, while some of the PS3 games and all of the recent releases, including T, had “Campaign Maps” which were stages with additional story content. The ill-fated SRW OE for the PSP experimented with episodic releases, while the mobile SRW X-Omega has gacha.
The Expansion Pack DLC for Super Robot Wars T, however, is an entirely new thing for the series. Though similar at first glance to Campaign Maps, those were individual stages with side stories that were mostly irrelevant to the main plot, and had the player using predetermined lineups of characters and robots, with none of the upgrades or equipment from the main game carrying over. The Expansion Pack, on the other hand, is a set of 14 stages (20 when including route splits) that takes place after the conclusion of the main game, serving as a continuation to its story, and sees the player taking control of the same characters and robots as in the main campaign (including secret characters and robots that were unlocked), retaining upgrades and equipment.
It should be noted that the player needs to load a save from after clearing the main game (or the expansion itself, for subsequent playthroughs) to start playing the expansion- One cannot simply jump into the expansion without clearing the main game first. The player can also select from three difficulty levels that determine how strong the enemies are.
The story of the expansion takes place several months after the ending of the main story and follows the characters as they investigate suspicious activities by terrorists, and then attacks from other worlds. In addition to characters the player had in the main story, the original characters and robots from the two previous games, Super Robot Wars V and X, who were only available temporarily during secret stages in the main game, join the player permanently.
A common issue in Super Robot Wars games, that is also present in T, is how some characters have attacks or abilities unlocked very late in the game, giving the player little time to play around with them. The Expansion Pack thus gives players more stages to use such characters and play around with what they can do.
Unfortunately, while the Super Robot Wars T Expansion Pack does seem to be something that fans would enjoy, the fact is that for most players, it simply will not justify its price tag (2500 yen in Japan).
Despite its length, there is very little story content to be found in the expansion, and the characters from previous games being brought back is not at all put to good use. Gameplay-wise, the vast majority of stages are simplistic and plain, without even any challenging SR point requirements. The biggest problem, however, is how the expansion disappointingly has no new characters or robots at all: Even its final boss, which story-wise could and should have been a new thing, is reused content. It is rare to see DLC at this price have so little to offer.
The Good: Super Robot Wars T had great characters and gameplay, and the expansion lets the player continue onwards from the main game.
The Bad: The Expansion Pack has almost no new content to offer at all.
Conclusion: While fans would probably appreciate the chance to use the characters, robots and equipment they had in the main game more, and the Expansion Pack is in itself not overtly badly executed, it is a sore fact that it quite simply fails to justify its 2500 yen price tag.
