Evangelion: Battle Orchestra Game
Evangelion: Battle Orchestra is a fighting game that was developed by the game studio Broccoli based on the Evangelion anime series. The game was originally released for the PlayStation 2 on June 28th, 2007. It would later be adapted and released again on the PlayStation Portable with added content on July 30th, 2009.
Gameplay
Gameplay in Battle Orchestra consists of 5 different game modes.
Story Mode
This mode has a player choose an Evangelion pilot of their choice and go through a series of Angel battles in succession. Between each battle, a story that is unique to each individual character will be given in the form of a visual novel. These scenes are fully voiced by the original voice talent cast from the series.
Rumble Mode
A mode that acts as a “free-for-all” mode or a “quick-battle mode”. This mode essentially allows the player (or group of players) to quickly select characters, settings, and a stage.
Mission Mode
A mode that is only available on the PSP version of the game. Each mission has a list of requirements the player must meet before they can clear it.
Endless Mode
Endless Mode with cause enemies to continue spawning into the stage the player selected until their health bar reaches 0.
Practice Mode
Practice Mode allows a player to see specific information not usually available in a proper battle. It is particularly helpful to those who need to calculate how much damage a combo does or for those that want to test out a character’s special moves.
Fighting Mechanics
No matter what mode is selected, a player will find him or herself in a battle one way or another. Battles can take place on a variety of stages that each has unique hazards and traps. It is similar to Super Smash Brothers in that each character has basic and special attacks, as well as a shield. Rather than having a blast zone, however, battles are decided by a health bar.
Special attacks also use up a portion of the special meter. Super attacks that do more damage are also a part of the game. While they use a significant amount of the special meter, they have incredible attack power and each attack has a unique animation for each character. Each super attack is often a reference to the character from the original series or movie that they came from.
Playable Characters
Evangelion Unit 01: The original purple and green Evangelion Unit piloted by Shinji. It is shown going berserk and using a positron rifle for its super attacks.
Evangelion Unit 00: The original yellow-orange Evangelion Unit piloted by Rei. It uses an N2 mine for one of its super attacks.
Evangelion Unit 02: The original fiery red Evangelion Unit piloted by Asuka.
Evangelion Unit 03: The dark purple Eva unit that was originally infected by Bardiel. It is piloted by Toji and is seen wielding a pair of tonfa.
Evangelion Unit 04: An experimental Evangelion Unit that is originally never shown in Neon Genesis Evangelion because it exploded off-screen during an experiment with S2 engines. It is piloted by Kensuke.
Mass Production Evangelion Unit: One of the mass-produced units from The End of Evangelion movie. It uses its replica Spear of Longinus or calls the other Mass Production Units as its super attacks.
Evangelion Unit Beta: An Evangelion unit that previously appeared in Detective Evangelion. It is piloted by Kaworu. This unit wields a sword.
Evangelion Unit Alpha: A green Eva unit that originally appeared in Battle Orchestra. It is piloted by a Dummy Plug based on Rei.
Jet Alone: An anti-Angel machine that originally failed during testing in the original series.
Sachiel: The third Angel. It uses its beam attack and self-destruct as its super attacks.
Shamshel: The Fourth Angel. It uses a charge attack and its beam whips as its super attacks.
Ramiel: The Fifth Angel. It uses two different energy beams for its super attacks.
Gaghiel: The Sixth Angel. It uses a bite and an energy projectile fired from its mouth as its super attacks.
Israfel: The Seventh Angel. It uses a succession of energy blasts and a twin team combo as its super attacks.
Sahaquiel: The Tenth Angel. It can break off a bit of its body and use it like a bomb or use a full-on charge for its super attacks.
Leliel: The Twelfth Angel. It can spit out buildings and other debris at its opponent or absorb a target into its “true” body as its super attacks.
Bardiel/Infected Eva-03: The Thirteenth Angel and the version of Eva-03 as shown in the original series. It can use its arm to stretch out and grab an opponent to choke them as its super attack.
Zeruel: The Fourteenth Angel. It uses its foldable arms as its super attacks.
Berserk Eva-01: A berserk version of Evangelion Unit 01 that appeared in the fight with Zeruel. It uses attacks from the same fight as its special attacks.
Gunbuster: A special character that is from a series that Hideaki Anno also directed.
Lilith: The Second Angel. This character is only available in the PSP version of the game.