We got the chance to check out Mecharashi, a promising new turn-based strategy RPG filled with big mechs and beautiful characters. This is a sponsored preview for the game, with a pre-release build. So how does Mecharashi play? Will it satisfy strategy RPG maniacs? Find out in our Mecharashi preview!
Mecharashi is set in a post-apocalyptic, fictional area called Milkhama Island, the result of an asteroid hitting earth and fracturing our tectonic plates. A new raw material “Arashium” was discovered on the island, creating an arms race with mech and weapons manufacturers.
This is a preview coupled with a supplemental video preview. You can watch the video preview or read the full preview of the game below:
One of the biggest takeaways from seeing Mecharashi now is that the game’s core strategy RPG mechanics are all still there. The game is an unadulterated and fun strategy RPG to its core, letting you level up your pilots, and your mechs, which are known as “STs” in the game.
From the beginnings of the game you get your initial crew of ST pilots and their basic mecha and go on missions doing things from clearing out enemies in an area to surviving for a certain number of turns, getting rewards. These rewards give you materials to upgrade your pilots and mechs.
The main gameplay loop in Mecharashi is clearing missions, sometimes repeating them, all to get more materials and cash to upgrade your pilots and mecha. The story campaign gets difficult quick and you need to level your pilots up fast, and buff up their mechs.
I love the attention to detail in Mecharashi. It’s clear this is a mecha strategy game made by fans of the genre, and fans of mecha in general. SRPG maniacs probably have Stockholm syndrome over battles only taking place on static, same-y environments regardless of where units engage each other.
Thankfully, Mecharashi not only avoids this, it actively presents your immediate battlefield location. This creates really fun and engaging moments in battles where your mechs will be shown on the actual beach from the main map, right down to the waterline.
It’s such a small touch but it helps make battles even more fun. I’ll never forget when I had two mechs duking it out and I saw a small, local shop in the background with a named store sign. Lo and behold, that shop actually exists in the main map. Noticing little details like this all over the environments is wonderful.
There is a main story campaign that is fully voiced, has cutscenes, and an overarching story that is set in the Milkhama wars. Honestly the story alone makes the game feel like a high quality strategy RPG, and it’s been very fun progressing through each mission.
Mission types vary greatly and aren’t simply “go out and kill all enemies.” There are regular clearing missions, intel-focused missions, survive for X number of turn missions, and even escort missions. The missions also have multiple phases and everything feels very well planned, and timed extremely well too.
The mech designs, which range from lightweight, mediumweight, and heavyweight, all look great and like the kind of mechs you’d see in popular genre franchises. There’s even different manufacturers in game, each with their own style for the various parts you can swap out and upgrade.
Yep, like any proper strategy RPG, you not only level up your characters, you can upgrade each and every part of their mechs. You’re able to change or upgrade your mech’s legs, arms, body (torso and head), and its right / left arm weapons, its right / left shoulder weapons, and a backpack that provides benefits.
The backpack part is very interesting because early on some enemies will smack you with EMP abilities, missile buffs, and even the ability to repair parts mid-battle. All of these can be obtained by the player, if they obtain or create the appropriate backpacks with those buffs or abilities.
Mecharashi also has environmental effects like when explosions or weapons leave the ground burning, causing damage to units that stand in the fire. There’s also buffs or debuffs to ranged attacks as mentioned, and your STs can also lose movement if their legs get damaged or destroyed.
Visually, Mecharashi looks great in motion and the environments, attack animations, and the 2D portraits for the pilots all look great. The game ran fine on my workstation laptop and the mechs look really fantastic in motion, whether its moving around or getting into battles.
Mecharashi has a very intricate damage system in which your STs can get each of their parts – torso, arms, and legs, all damage and eventually destroyed. Getting your arms destroyed means no more main weapons, your legs hinder your movement as mentioned, and your torso means that pilot is out of commission.
There’s a bit of RNG like any proper strategy RPG in which your attacks will generally hit random parts of your enemies and vice versa. The only surefire way to one hit K-O an enemy mech’s torso is with a sniper, and even then you sometimes get them knocking a leg out instead. It feels balanced, most importantly.
There’s six professions that each of the pilots are set to, each their own unique skills, positive traits, and negative traits. The professions range from the melee-focused “Fighter” to the deadly “Sniper.” If you want to repair your mechs mid-battle, you’ll need a Machinist, but you’ll also need to guard it’s fragile butt.
There’s definitely a nice mix of which mech type and pilot type is good against what, and it encourages player experimentation. From my time with the game it doesn’t seem as punishing as SRPG’s that have an emphasis on unit types. Instead, Mecharashi feels more like building your perfect mecha merc group.
Elite Battles get bionic computer upgrades, Clearance ops get new weapons, Frontier Trials get materials for ST upgrades, and so on. One note is that all these side missions to get new gear and materials are limited to your time currency. Though you have to wait for time to recharge, you can also boost it with in-game currency.
The in-game currency does lock you to upgrades and you can also get new ST mechs and new pilots from the in-game gacha, which also has a separate currency you can earn from doing other side-missions and you can earn for free. You’re also guaranteed a high rank ST or pilot every ten pulls, so it doesn’t feel unfair.
While some players may immediately be turned off by Mecharashi having gacha, underneath that and its in-game currency stuff is a really solid and fun strategy RPG. Mecharashi is clearly designed by fans of the genre, and it’s genuinely fun to play through its side missions and main story mode bits.
Mecharashi is set to launch globally on Windows PC (via Steam), iOS (via the App Store), and Android (via Google Play) on July 31st and has been available in China and Japan since 2024.
