Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story

Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story
Cover art for the The Blue Destiny compilation pack.
Developer(s)	Bandai
Publisher(s)	Bandai
Series	Gundam
Platform(s)	Sega Saturn
Release date(s)	JP September 20, 1996 (Vol. 1) JP December 6, 1996 (Vol. 2) JP March 7, 1997 (Vol 3.) JP August 29, 1997 (compilation)
Genre(s)	Action

Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story is a trilogy of Sega Saturn video games set in the fictional universe of Gundam, released between 1996 to 1997. On 27 August 1997, three games were re-released into a compilation package as Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story THE BLUE DESTINY.

The three MSGSS video games were published between September 1996 and March 1997, together forming the complete Blue Destiny story. Later, manga author Mizuho Takayama penned an adaptation of the games in Haoh Magazine, titled Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story THE BLUE DESTINY, but the publisher folded before the story could be completed. Though it is mostly faithful to the video games, the manga's unique elements, including new characters, are viewed as non-canon. TOKYOPOP released a translation of the manga in America, titled Mobile Suit Gundam Blue Destiny.

Characters and Gundams from The Blue Destiny manga were also featured in various games from the series "SD Gundam G Generation".

On 15 October 2002, the novelized version by Yuka Minakawa was published by Kodansha.

Story

Blue Destiny takes place in Universal Century 0079, during the latter part of the One Year War. The central characters are part of the Earth Federation's experimental corps, who test new technologies before they're mass produced and distributed to the Federation Forces as a whole. Yu Kajima is the leader of the Marmot Team, a subdivision of the experimental corps, along with his friends Philip Hughes and Samana Ferris. During a sortie, the team encounters a blue GM attacking enemy and ally alike. When the GM comes after them, Philip and Samana are quickly defeated, and Yu only barely drives it off. Later, the team is attacked by a Zeon mobile suit that fights similarly to the blue GM. Just as things look their worst, the blue GM appears and drives the enemy off.

Back at the base, Yu is assigned to pilot the blue GM, codenamed Blue Destiny 1. He becomes highly proficient with it, despite the fact that its EXAM System has a severe impact on his mind. Later, Yu and his team participate in the Federation's drive to recapture California Base. Using Blue Destiny, Yu is able to stop the Zeons from launching a nuclear missile. However, he is soon attacked by the blue Zeon MS, piloted by Zeon ace Nimbus Schterzen. As they fight, the voice of the EXAM System reveals itself as a young Newtype girl named Marion Welch. She explains to Yu that she was originally an assistant to EXAM creator Chlust Morses, but an experiment gone wrong put her in a coma and made an imprint of her soul on the machine. As a result, the EXAM System gives any pilot who uses it surrogate Newtype powers, but most have been driven insane by Marion's attempts to contact them. Marion begs Yu to destroy EXAM and free her spirit. During their duel, Yu and Nimbus cut each other down simultaneously and destroying their EXAM Systems.

However, Yu's work is not yet done. Soon after, he meets Professor Chlust Morses himself and learns that the old man is an insane xenophobe, paranoid with the fear that Newtypes will take over. Morses justifies EXAM as a necessary step in ensuring that non-Newtypes remain dominant. As they look over the newly completed Blue Destiny 2 and 3, Zeon special forces attack, allowing Nimbus to hijack Unit 2 and kill Morses, ensuring that he won't be able to make EXAM anymore. Nimbus escapes to space, with Yu and his friends in hot pursuit using Blue Destiny 3. The group chases Nimbus to Side 5, where EXAM was first made, and a final showdown begins. Nimbus declares that he's the only one worthy of using EXAM and attempts to kill Yu. Once more, the two strike each other down in unison, but this time Nimbus is killed, while Yu drifts in space, where he is later picked up by his team. Later it is revealed that Yu was one of the Jegan pilots who assisted in pushing Axis back at the end of Char's Counterattack.

Characters

Earth Federation Forces

Yu Kajima

An Earth Federation pilot, Yu is the leader of the Marmot Team, one of the Federation's experimental corps. He was in the Federation from the very beginning, participating in the Battle of Loum. In late U.C. 0078, he found a mostly intact Zaku in a colony; this discovery would be a great benefit to the Federation's V Project. After the events of the games, Yu continued on as a Federation soldier for the rest of the One Year War. He remained with the Federation during the Gryps Conflict and first Neo Zeon movement, eventually ending up as a member of Londo Bell during the second Neo Zeon movement. Though the manga portrays him as a kind-hearted leader with a tendency towards hot-blooded action in battle, the video games show him to be a silent loner type, similar to Gundam Wing's Heero Yuy; the latter characterization seems to be accepted as Yu's "true" personality. His actions while piloting Blue Destiny 1 earned Yu the nickname "Blue Death". Yu pilots an RGM-79 GM, a RGM-79D GM Cold Climate Type, an RX-79BD1 Blue Destiny 1, and an RX-79BD3 Blue Destiny 3. Outside of the Blue Destiny games, Yu piloted an FF-3S Saberfish at the Battle of Loum, and an RGM-89 Jegan during the second Neo Zeon movement. The 2003 video game Encounters in Space shows Yu with an RGM-79G GM Command, painted blue instead of red. Yu Kajima is voiced by Kōichi Yamadera in Japanese and Michael Adamthwaite in English.

Philip Hughes

One of Yu's best friends and teammates, Philip is arrogant, boisterous and cocksure. He tends to treat his teammates like brothers, though he almost constantly hits on Maureen. As a mark of victory, he takes the guns of enemy mobile suits he has defeated. Philip pilots an RGM-79 GM, RGM-79D GM Cold Climate Type, RGM-79G GM Command, MS-06F Zaku II and an RB-79 Ball. Philip Hughes is voiced by Norio Wakamoto.

Samana Ferris

The third member of the Marmot Team, Samana is quiet and nervous. He does not think much of his skill, but still tries his best. He is also skilled in computer operation. Samana pilots an RGM-79 GM, RGM-79D GM Cold Climate Type, RGM-79G GM Command, MS-06F Zaku II and an RB-79 Ball. Samana Ferris is voiced by Tomokazu Seki.

Maureen Kitamura

The Marmot Team's somewhat attractive operator, Maureen handles information gathering and combat coordination. She has a huge crush on Yu, but is too timid to do anything about it. She operates a Medea transport plane, Type 74 hovertruck, and a Federation transport ship. Maureen Kitamura is voiced by Miki Nagasawa in Japanese and Jocelyne Loewen in English.

Alph Kamra

A Federation engineer placed in charge of Blue Destiny 1, he was seeking out a suitable pilot when the machine went berserk and ran off. Seeing how badly it had been damaged, Kamra set out to find the pilot who had fought Blue so well, hoping to make him the mobile suit's new pilot. Alph Kamra is voiced by Houchu Ohtsuka.

Amy Bauer-Meister

Amy is a Federation Ace pilot who is good friends with Yu. She, Yu and her fiancé Frank attended the Federation academy together, but Frank was later killed in action, an event that Amy mourns to the present day. Amy showed her real skill during the Battle of Odessa, where she earned the nickname "Odessa Eagle". During Nimbus' first attack on Yu and friends, Amy attempted to drive him off, only to be shot down. However, this action caused Blue Destiny 1 to sense Yu's anguish and distress and activate, driving Nimbus off. Amy survived the battle, but was badly injured. Amy only appears in the manga adaptation.

Principality of Zeon

Nimbus Schterzen

Nimbus is a Zeon Ace pilot, known as the "Paladin of Zeon" because of his penchant for melee combat. After receiving the MS08TX(EXAM) Efreet Custom, Nimbus learned of Chulst Moses' defection and set about personally eliminating the traitor. To his chagrin, Moses had completed a Federation EXAM unit, the Blue Destiny. Believing himself to be the only one worthy to use EXAM, Nimbus set about destroying both the Blue Destiny and Moses. After the destruction of the Efreet, Nimbus stole the RX-79BD2 Blue Destiny 2 and took it to Side 4, where it was customized to suit his tastes. Nimbus was killed in battle with Yuu's Blue destiny 3 at Side 4. Earlier in the One Year War, Nimbus piloted an MS-06F Zaku II. His personal colors were dark blue and crimson. Nimbus Schterzen is voiced by Show Hayami (Japanese), Mark Oliver (English).

Chlust Moses

A Zeon engineer, he was an Oldtype in the strictest sense of the word; a paranoid who feared that Newtypes would dominate and subjugate "normal" humans. To that end, he began pursuing the EXAM Project as a way of levelling the playing field. The system originally only had a Newtype acting as a sort of navigator for a non-Newtype pilot, but an accident caused the navigator, Marion Welch, to lose her soul to the machine. For reasons unknown, Moses defected to the Federation, taking the EXAM technology along with him and producing the three Blue Destiny units. When Nimbus stole Blue Destiny 2, he made sure to kill Moses, lest he attempt to create more EXAM mobile suits. Chlust Moses is voiced by Motomu Kiyokawa.

Marion Welch

A Newtype candidate from the Flannigan Institute, Marion leapt at the chance to end the war and went along with the EXAM Project. However, she gradually learned of Professor Moses' fear and hatred of Newtypes. During one test run, an accident shut Marion's soul within the EXAM System, leaving her body comatose. As a result, the system would transfer Marion's Newtype abilities to anyone who used it. However, her attempts to contact the pilots and beg them for help led to most pilots going mad. Only two, Yuu Kajima and Nimbus Schterzen, remained sane. Understanding Marion's plight, Yuu eventually destroyed all four EXAM mobile suits; her fate afterwards remains unknown. The manga seems to suggest that Marion was already dead, and that the destruction of EXAM would allow her to move on to the afterlife. However, many video games (most notably the SD Gundam G-Generation series, suggest that destroying EXAM wakes Marion from her coma. Marion Welch is voice by Satsuki Yukino in the Blue Destiny games and Megumi Hayashibara in the G-Generation games.

External links

• Yuka Minakawa's home page (Japanese)