SD Gundam G Generation[a] is a series of strategy-RPG video games that focus on the Gundam anime franchise.
The G Generation series is a follow-up series to six games released by Bandai for their Nintendo Super Famicom Sufami Turbo add-on. A Generation focused on the One Year War, B Generation focused on the Gryps Conflict, and so forth up to F Generation, which covered the plot of G Gundam. Instead of making a G Generation game themed about Gundam Wing, Bandai optioned the title for its new series of games, using the same gameplay. Since "G" was often used as an abbreviation for "Gundam", it was decided that G Generation would represent the series as a whole. When it was finally released in 1998 for the PlayStation, G Generation covered the plot for Mobile Suit Gundam through Char's Counterattack and featured characters from the remaining Universal Century series, as well as G Gundam, Gundam Wing and Gundam X.
The series typically has two kinds of plots: some games faithfully adapt the plot of a series that game is based on, while others feature an original, crossover storyline, focusing on the new relationships between characters of different series. In addition to the familiar cast of Gundam characters, G Generation games often feature brand-new characters. Most of the time, the original characters have no plot impact on the game. However, the game Monoeye Gundams features a new group of characters with their own storyline, supported by the events of the One Year War and the Gryps Conflict.
Most of the G Generation games feature brand-new mobile suits and armors designed exclusively for the game. All of the machines are given a backstory that ties them into the canon Gundam storyline, with most being incomplete or rejected prototypes. A vast majority of the original machines represent the Universal Century, but every universe except Cosmic Era has received at least one original machine.
Unlike the popular Super Robot Wars series, G Generation does not limit characters to only piloting machines from their own universe. For example, Amuro Ray could pilot XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero. However, some restrictions still exist, and some machines can only be piloted by characters who belong to certain categories. Other restrictions are plot-based.
Like Super Robot Wars, G Generation lets the player recruit certain enemy characters. Most of the time, you are able to save sympathetic characters who were on the losing side of the conflict, such as Gundam 0080's Bernard Wiseman and Zeta Gundam's Four Murasame. Other times, the player can convince characters who would never join the heroes.
Most G Generation games allow capturing enemy machines, adding them to their own roster. Some games allow the player to capture enemy machines after their Mothership is destroyed, while some handheld games allow capture of damaged machines if they are surrounded by three or more player units.
Featured only in the handheld G Generation games, ID Commands act in a similar fashion to spells in traditional role-playing games, but are based around a character's memorable lines from the Gundam series.
Usually linked to ID Commands, the handheld G Generation games often feature Hyper Modes for characters from all series. Earned through unique circumstances and activated by special ID Commands, Hyper Modes typically represent the peak of a character's power while piloting the mobile suit their most famous mobile suit. Universal Century characters' Hyper Modes are typically a representation of their Newtype power reaching its peak, while the Alternate Universe series characters' Hyper Modes are usually linked to their Gundams' special systems. In console, and some PSP G Generation games like G Generation Overworld, a few units, like Gundam F91, will activate Hyper Mode when pilot has max morale, while pocket games, such as G Generation DS, will let a pilot activate the Mobile Suit's Hyper Mode when a certain SP is reached.
These games also feature Databases, containing information about every character featured in that game.
WS = Wonder Swan, WSC = Wonder Swan Color
The following titles have very little official English information, and chart data is completely based on the JP Wikipedia page using google translate.