look good so far, havent really had a chance to get into the systems though

I won't write a the detailed description since other people did it already. I will only add that this seems the perfect tool to reproduce mecha anime action in a fast and true-to-the-genre way. I am in the process of preparing a mecha sci-fi campaign based on the Universal Century timeline (Gundam), and I have been considering the options as to which game to use, the main contenders being Mekton Z and Jovian Chronicles. Well, if Mecha here will allow customisation of mecha and characters in a reasonably complete way, it will be my game of choice replacing those classics above. It's THAT good! Brilliant game.

Mecha is the best mecha RPG I have seen, hands down. I have struggled for years looking for or trying to shoe-horn other games to capture the feel of mecha anime, but too often they are either RPG's that get bogged down in the mechanical details of mecha construction, or tactical simulations with roleplaying elements tacked on. Not so in this product. Here we have a game that is built from the ground up to handle both roleplaying and tactical combat with simple, straightforward rules. Play is divided into episodes and each episode is broken into a "personal scene" and a "combat" scene. In Personal scenes each character has a spotlight scene doing something you are interested in. I particularly like how "success" in a roleplay scene gives you a bonus in a future combat scene. In combat scenes you put down a "bullseye" map and play out the tactical encounter. Rules such as "overdrive" and "cut scenes" mean that the cool action and description don't end when you put the map down though - when you roll really well you get another spotlight scene to describe the awesome thing your character just did! Overall, I am impressed; The personal scenes are very roleplay driven - there is only ever one die roll made, at the end of the scene, and players who don't have a character in the scene get to be the "npc's"; Combat is tactical but not overly complex (it concentrates on the important "scenes" and doesn't get bogged down); And the sample mecha are pretty damn cool! I am really looking forward to the full game - check out this quickstart NOW!

I've seen products which attempted to emulate the anime genre by taking some generic system and slapping the "anime" label on it. Yes, some systems do add in features which resemble anime elements...but there's still something missing. I was somewhat expecting more of the same from this product, but something in me was curious, and so I took a look. The cover alone was enough to grab my interest. That's one hardcore mecha.

In my mind, any system which attempts to emulate anime (when I say "anime", I'm using it as the standard American uses it, being the action-centered shounen variety of anime) should be quick and snappy, with plenty of room for cool, and the ever-essential "character berserk drive mode", where a character has a burst of intense action and epicness.

This system fulfills all of that. It's a dual-dimension dice pool mechanic. Stats give you dice to roll, skills give you a difficulty to roll against. The elegance of the system is stunning. There's also a resource called "Overdrive", which you get for rolling lots of successes at a time. Roll enough successes, and you actually get a "moment of awesome" to narrate, and some bonus oomph to boot. But that's not all...

The actual game structure is brilliant. It's divided up into episodes, just like any good anime. In the first part of each episode, characters roleplay character-interaction scenes. The characters do stuff, and in doing so gain resources which can be used in the second half of the episode, which is combat. So, you have character development first, and follow it with a conflict. This snap structure to episodes does a great job of emulating the feel of the anime genre. It's also a very short structure. The rules suggest that you could play through 6 to 8 episodes in a session, which means that over four sessions, you can play through a 26-episode plot arc.

As for Combat? Slick and streamlined. The game uses an abstract "Bullseye Battle Map" to mark battlefield position. I think that's very cool. It makes for tactical decisions, and lets you describe actions in a vague sort of manner, which befits a genre where giant robot suits are constantly maneuvering around one another. No bogging down in strict realism here! Total annihilation is also not required to win the conflict, another plus.

All in all, this looks to be a superb product. I can't wait to see what it looks like in its final form.