YMMV / Super Robot Wars X

• Awesome Music
  • With the debut of Gundam: Reconguista in G, there were two things everyone was looking forward to, and developer B.B. Studio delivered in spades: amazing instrumental renditions of "BLAZING" and "G no Senkou/Flash of G", the respective first opening and ending themes to the series.
  • Much like the series proper, the superb instrumental rendition of Mashin Hero Wataru Series opening theme "STEP" also came as a charming surprise to fans and those unfamiliar with the show.
• Broken Base: See here for details.
• Catharsis Factor: The ability to kill Embryo nineteen times in the final route split is so satisfying. Furthermore, those who found the original Cross Ange plot offensive and disastrous will be surprised at how it's handled in this game via the IF ending.
• Common Knowledge: While the game's setting is tailor-made for Mashin Hero Wataru, and it can be argued that a number of other series got the short end of the stick, the extent to which Wataru is a Spotlight-Stealing Crossover is often exaggerated by the game's detractors:
  • Even within the Wataru-centric setting, Cross Ange fits with very little compromise required and is very well-represented plotwise. Code Geass is pretty much the only series that gets a Post-Script Season plot that wasn't already in numerous Super Robot Wars games by the time X released. While G-Reco and Buddy Complex suffer from having to work around Al-Warth, the most infamous plot change between them (Embryo starting the Buddy Complex plot out of pure pettiness) can be blamed on Cross Ange, not Wataru.
  • Doakdar was on the lower chain of Sorting Algorithm of Evil, located below the Anti-Spiral, Black Noir and Ende the Devourer, all of them using his advance for their own gain, and once Wataru got rid of him, his plotline was basically done and none of the rest of the series Big Bad suddenly put their crosshairs on him. It is essentially the opposite of Space Battleship Yamato 2199's treatment in Super Robot Wars V, which heavily took the spotlight for the beginning and end of the game but fell into the background during the middle of the game.
  • While Wataru did start the softening of Ange, it was only at the beginning; Lelouch and Nadia handled the rest.
• Complete Monster: Ende the Devourer is a Divine Beast and the creator of Al-Warth, populating it with survivors of the war against the Anti-Spiral to feed on their emotions—developing a taste for negative emotions while seeing positive emotions as mere condiments—while also taking advantage of the ignorance of Black Noir to have it manipulate events for him. Ende also uses his worshippers, the Keepers of Order to manipulate events inside Al-Warth while also training sorcerers in hopes to find a suitable host for Ende's future body. When the Keepers start to summon people from other worlds to bring war to Al-Warth and the creature meant to become his new self escapes, Ende summons more otherworlders to cause more conflict and corrupts the sorcerer Celric Obsidian into an unhinged berserker who uses the Keepers of Order to attack people. When X-Cross defeats both the Anti-Spiral and Black Noir, Ende appears in front of them to tell them that now, he plans to invade their homeworlds to feast on the emotions of its people before devouring Al-Warth in front of the X-Cross. Revived in the New Universal Era thanks to Debonair's machinations, Ende would himself revive and corrupt System Nevanlinna, seeking to drag both the X-Cross and the Earth Fleet Tenku into the New Universal Era so he can devour them for the sake of revenge.
• Contested Sequel
  • The addition of "Expert Mode" is seen as a plus for X, given it attempts to address the complaint of recent Super Robot Wars installments being deemed too easy, and whether or not it succeeds it's a welcome addition (or one that can be comfortably ignored at worst). However, consensus about its scriptwriting is mixed. The divide is heavily based on whether one's first impression of the story is on the Earth or space routes, as the majority of the plot-relevant shows are on the former, with Crossover elements between them more tightly interwoven, but events on the space routes consist almost entirely of situations isolated strictly to Gundam properties with little-to-no bearing on the main plot. Therefore, Earth routes provide a positive view of the game's story, while the space routes are seen as a disorganized mess; it also doesn't help that all of the secrets players have to actively hunt for are fixed to space route scenarios (this includes a general consensus these secrets aren't worth chasing, with most of them obtained either very early into a play-through or on a joint route).
  • How certain individual series were handled: while returning entries such as Cross Ange were generally perceived as well done, as X showed a greater willingness to experiment with its roster and their respective plots for a Crossover, the portrayal of Reconguista in G and Buddy Complex has received less positive reception; made worse by how this game was the latter two's debut in Super Robot Wars. ^note Reconguista in G ended up having little-to-no changes for its story or to the overall game, and could easily be replaced by a different series if need be. Buddy Complex is a more complex situation, bordering on Broken Base.
• Crossover Couple
  • The game has a lot of interactions between Ange and Wataru and it's one of the many reasons why Ange mellows down considerably, leading fans to pair them up as an Intergenerational Friendship type. Salamandinay is also included due to her fawning over the Savior.
  • Lelouch x Ange is another popular pairing due to the close similarities between them. It helps a lot with how supportive Lelouch is towards Ange throughout the game, and that in the ending Lelouch chooses to stay in Al-Warth (with the Cross Ange characters being from Al-Warth in this continuity), leading to a lot potential future interactions for the fans to imagine (such as Lelouch visiting Cafe Ange, or helping out rebuilding the Misurugi nation).
• Game-Breaker: See the details here.
• Good Bad Bugs: In most of its appearances in Super Robot Wars, Lucrezia Noin's "Taurus" can be resupplied with another unit that has the "Resupply" module which allows its user to use the the Resupply command^note Fully restore an allied unit's ammunition and EN at the cost of reducing the allied unit's morale, despite the Taurus having full EN and ammo.
• Moe: Female protagonist Amari Aquamarine is a total cutie-pie - points include her timid attitude (at least in the beginning, before she starts racking up her own resolves), a cute, fluffy outfit (with a headband that resembles cat ears), and topped with the soft voice provided by Satomi Sato. A lot of players picked her over the more divisive Iori Iolite (detailed here) because of those reasons.
• Nightmare Fuel: Ende eating Al-Warth and succeeding without the heroes being able to do anything about it is a bit scary. Granted, it spits Al-Warth back out, but only because Ende's taste is the opposite of all the positive virtues Al-Warth is giving to the heroes of X-Cross.
• Scrappy Mechanic: Like Super Robot Wars V, the final attacks for the Nu Gundam, Zeta Gundam, and ZZ Gundam are locked towards their canon Universal Century pilots Amuro Ray, Kamille Bidan, and Judau Ashta, respectively, disallowing players from using these machines for anyone else to their full potential. Similarly, the Billbine's strongest attack is locked to Show Zama.
• Shocking Moments: The sub-pilot of the Original Generation mecha that has been with players since the beginning of the game becomes the True Final Boss. No one saw that coming.
• Special Effects Failure: Mixed with Stock Footage Failure, like its predecessor, footage from Cross Ange is still being intercut with the game's actual animation for the Vilkiss' and Enryugo's attacks.
• Stock Footage Failure: As a Late-Arrival Spoiler, Salamandinay appears in Enryugo's Convergence Cannon "Seiran" Super Move Portrait Attack during the times when she's supposed to be Behind the Black, her name being listed as '???' along with her character biography being unaccessible by the player. This seems to be an oversight since the cut-in for Photon Sword "Tenrai" does not appear when she's an enemy unit just like in V.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: With regards to localization - X isn't the first Super Robot Wars to receive an English option. The game has no official release for Anglophone territories, yet previous efforts at putting this language in could best be described as "serviceable". However, the team assembled by Bandai Namco Entertainment for X was made up of long-time Super Robot Wars fans (including a Promoted Fangirl from the Fan Translation of Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden). This is showcased by the quality of the English script, considered a high watermark for the franchise and contributed heavily to X becoming an underground success and its growing English fanbase, even bringing lapsed players back in.
  • When it came to the main protagonist units, the Xelguard and its mechanics are considered an improvement compared to the Vangray and later the Tyranado and both their upgraded forms. This is because X focused on having one protagonist unit to have multiple attacks with really good animations compared to making multiple protagonist units with only a few attacks each.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Fans of the F91 Gundam were not happy that beam saber animation was changed from the spinning animation the Mass Produced version had in V to a more basic one. It does not help that T followed suit with this animation too. Mazinger Z suffers from a similar issue where its new Breast Fire animation makes it look a bit Off-Model compared to the animation in V.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Zabine Chareux from Mobile Suit Gundam F91 would have made an interesting addition for the plot of Gundam F91 and Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam, giving Seabook and Cecily a recurring enemy to battle and Tobia relevance by seeing and fighting this past version of Zabine. Instead, the only Crossbone Vanguard enemy fought is Iron Mask while Tobia is left with almost no relevance to the plot outside of meeting the F91 version of Kincaid and Berah.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Aura Battler Dunbine is often relegated to Post-Script Season due to its Alternate Dimension plot, but the nature of the X setting is practically a dimension of its own, perfect for Byston Well to have easily been made a part of Al-Warth via Fusion Fic. Instead, Dunbine characters Show Zama, Marvel Frozen, and Todd Guinness simply hang around X-Cross without much to do.
  • The World of Revolution, which includes Daitarn3, Code Geass, Aura Battler Dunbine, and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, had a lot of potential for an interesting story addition, but was all unfortunately relegated to Post-Script Season. Code Geass only has Marianne as the sole enemy unit to fight from its series while Daitarn 3 has no other units from its home series to battle whereas V at least had one enemy Mook unit along with Koros making an appearance.
• Unexpected Character
  • The return of the Super Robot Wars Alpha version of Mazinkaiser: following the Grand Finale in Alpha 3, this version of the Mazinkaiser was shoved aside in favor of its Original Video Animation counterpart. Its appearance alongside the Mazinger ZERO and Mazin Emperor G is equally surprising. Furthermore, since this Mazinkaiser was used in tandem with Shin Mazinger ZERO, Kenji Akabane (who voices Kouji Kabuto in the Shin continuity) recorded voices while piloting the Mazinkaiser, when it's usually done by the original Kouji voice actor.
  • Seeing Masou Kishin: The Lord Of Elemental in a non-Super Robot Wars: Original Generation game again, largely because fans were content on having Masou Kishin elements stay with Original Generation rather than be part of a licensed installment.
  • Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: while a Studio Gainax series, its approach to Humongous Mecha is as unorthodox as Space Battleship Yamato 2199. Even more baffling is unlike other Gainax shows taking place in the future or during the present, this one occurs in the 19th century. Finally, take into consideration the main leads, Jean and Nadia, aren't even combatants in this game.
  • Mashin Hero Wataru provides an interesting example: it belongs to Sunrise, but the rights are shared with Red Entertainment and show creator, Ouji Hiroi (who also made Sakura Wars with them). Keep in mind Hiroi explicitly detests Super Robot Wars, claiming he would never allow his franchises to appear in this series in any capacity, but X seems to have dispelled that notion; furthermore, Project × Zone and Super Robot Wars X-Ω set an earlier precedence regarding Sakura Wars. Finally, because Hiroi left Sega, he cannot enforce his reasons anymore.
  • To a lesser extent, the Hi-Nu Gundam in its 2006 re-design: previous Super Robot Wars installments used the original Yutaka Izubuchi look from the Beltorchika's Children novel as the basis for its Super-Deformed sprites, the same design used for Hajime Katoki's "Master Grade" 2014 model kit release. The change is due to the Manga adaptation of Beltorchika's Children using this re-design, which followed a standard set by other video games and anime featuring the Hi-Nu since 2006.
  • New Story of Aura Battler Dunbine is featured in the series roster; like Super Robot Wars BX, Show and his Fairy Companion Cham Huau gain the use of the Sirbine. However, the two are also joined by Silky Mau, Shion Zaba's Fairy Companion from New Story.
  • While Marianne vi Britannia has appeared in prior Super Robot Wars entries via the Code Geass plot, this is the character's first time appearing as a boss by piloting the Mordred.
  • Of all the Secret Characters in X, the one nobody thought possible is Bizon Gerafil in the Nergal, given his intense hatred and jealously for the series protagonist of Buddy Complex. Adding to the surprise is B.B. Studio taking a page from the Buddy Complex smartphone game where Bizon resolves his issues, to the point where Evgeni Kedar, Bizon's future counterpart, is essentially treated as a separate character in X.
  • On another note for the Reconguista in G cast, Mask and Manny Ambassada were obvious Secret Characters, nor was Barara Peor really a far out example; even Kia Mbeki is, at least in the original series, an Anti-Villain. As an owner of a G-Series unit, the precedence of recruiting enemies like the latter with units similar to the protagonist's own, applies in the game. The standout for Reconguista? Rockpie Getty, a Psychopathic Manchild with an obsessive Blind Obedience to a Love Interest superior officer. To be fair, the latter is made more reasonable in X, who can be convinced that the Keepers of Order is a bigger threat to the Towasangans.