What if Garma Zabi wasn’t killed in action, and instead went on to rebel against his older brother Gihren and create a new, more just Zeon? That’s the setup for the Reborn Zeon campaign.
Reborn Zeon also appears as an enemy faction in the Zeon campaign if your alignment is too chaotic and Garma survives the battle in Seattle. In this scenario, however, you are tasked with fighting against the Earth Federation and a new enemy – Casval’s Neo Zeon.
As a side note, the game refers to Garma’s faction 新生ジオン as “New Zeon”. However, since we’ll be fighting Neo Zeon (and 新生 shinsei means rebirth), I’ll be using “Reborn Zeon” to avoid confusion.
Universal Century 0079, January 3rd
The battle that would later be called the One Year War began.
The war between the Earth Federation and Zeon forces was extremely fierce, and many lives were lost…
People were tired of the fighting and wanted it to end as soon as possible, but the battle was at a stalemate and it seemed impossible that their hopes would come true.
However, on this day, more than 10 months after the start of the war, things took an unexpected turn.
Garma Zabi, the youngest brother of the Zabi family, who was immensely popular among the Zeon people, raised an army with the aim of founding a new Zeon.
The sudden uprising of Garma, commander of the Earth Attack Force, shocked the whole world.
Furthermore, Garma’s actions were backed by Dozle Zabi, commander of the Space Attack Force.
The cooperation of these two Zabi commanders became a force that could greatly influence the course of the war.
The war in the Earth Sphere was about to enter a new phase.
The campaign begins with Garma stating his purpose for creating this new “Reborn” Zeon. He wants to take responsibility for the war that his family started and bring an end to the fighting, essentially attempting to right the wrongs committed by his older brother Gihren.
Garma: Soldiers of glorious Reborn Zeon! This war was caused by the Zabi family, and the deaths of your parents, siblings, and loved ones are the responsibility of my kin and I. However, I will not let these people’s deaths be in vain. That is why I stand here now. To put an end to this battle, I ask that you lend me your strength. And let us fight together for the future of humanity, and for the glory of Reborn Zeon.
Dozle: Uuu… That was a great speech, Garma…
Garma: I’m not as powerful as you, Dozle, but I just thought there was something even I could do.
Dozle: No, I always believed that you would be a general who could make great use of me. You were always capable of much greater things.
Garma: Haha, you think too highly of me. But I intend to do my best so as not to disappoint the people. I will show them that I’m not just riding on my family’s coattails!
Here’s the starting map. Our territory is green, Neo Zeon is red, the Federation is blue, and neutral territory is gray. Neutral territory can be claimed by any side moving at least one unit onto that space. Reborn Zeon’s main base is in New York.
Here’s a quick look at some of our starting pilots. A key trait of Garma’s forces is that there are no Newtype pilots, for reasons that will become more obvious as we learn about our enemies.
The star of Reborn Zeon’s fleet is the Big Zam, which we start with in this campaign, one piloted by Garma on Earth and the other by Dozle at Solomon in space. Our other MS and ships include some standard Zeon staples from the late One Year War, such as late model Zakus, Goggs, and Goufs.
Unlike the previous campaigns I’ve covered, you can approach Reborn Zeon’s pretty much however you want. There are no story events guiding you in one direction or another, and you can take the enemy bases in any order you choose (aside from the headquarters of course, which has to be saved for last).
Our strategy on Earth was to build up our forces in North America and progress towards California, then Hawaii, and then around to Asia. In space, move right towards Luna II and focus on capturing that as soon as possible, then clearing out the rest of the Federation’s territory there.
Since there is barely any story to speak of in this campaign, most screenshots will be of pilot dialogue with some notes about our progress and things we unlocked along the way.
Ramba Ral: Acous! Cozun! Are you ready?
Acous: Yes sir!
Cozun: Good to go!
Hamon: I like seeing you in battle more than you playing the role of a commander.
Ramba Ral: Me too, I think this suits me better.
As mentioned earlier, Garma starts with a Big Zam at his faction’s main base in New York. Despite only being used in space in the Mobile Suit Gundam anime, the Big Zam does work on Earth, albeit with a painfully slow movement speed. Its power, however, is basically unmatched at this point.
Garma: Father, please watch over me! I will fight as I shoulder the weight of a new Zeon!
And for what it’s worth, a Big Zam won’t fit in a Gaw (or any other Earth carrier).
Garma: This victory… I dedicate it to my people of Reborn Zeon!
Since this is a three-way conflict, there are cases where the Federation and Neo Zeon fight just each other. These play out like any other battle, just without player input.
Continuing on…
Shin Matsunaga: I swear on the Matsunaga family name… I cannot lose this battle!
Yazan: I’m immortal! Even if I get killed, I won’t die!
(by this point in the campaign, we’ve captured Luna II, and bases on Earth through Australia)
In addition to enemy factions fighting each other, you can also join in and make it a three way battle. Everything works the same, but you get a neat triple logo overlay on the intro screen.
Once Luna II is under our control, it’s not as difficult to capture the rest of the Federation’s holdings in space. There were a few instances after this where they tried to escape back through the atmosphere over Jaburo, but that’s easy enough to stop.
Like with other campaigns, becoming more law-aligned* will grant you bonuses from the moon, Jupiter, and an unnamed tech/arms company.
*Your faction’s alignment is affected by your choices, such as choosing to take money from your territories by force, using nuclear weapons, or story events.
You can also steal technology from both enemy factions. Interestingly on this run, we ended up with multiple Newtype units, starting with the Braw Bro, a mobile armor piloted by Challia Bull in the anime.
By now, we’re ready to attack Neo Zeon’s first stronghold in space, A Baoa Qu.
Dozle: I’ll drag as many of you to hell as I can!
Tokwan: Damn! Is this the end for me?!
Lalah: I…I’m fighting for the person who saved me, so there’s no way I lose here!
Finally, Casval shows himself. He’s piloting his own custom MS, the RX-78/C.A. Casval’s Gundam, and is the toughest opponent we’ve faced thus far.
Casval: Ha! That machine is no match for me!
We’ll dive more into Casval’s faction during his campaign, but his army is made up of many pilots and officers from Zeon, and crucially all of the Newtypes, like Lalah Sune, Challia Bull, and Kuzco Al.
Dozle: Char! You… to think you were a child of Zeon! I’ll crush you!!
Casval: Heh, allow me to show you that fighting isn’t just about brute force!
Casval: So it seems human sacrifices run in my family…
Defeating Casval at A Baoa Qu leads us right into his other base at Side 3, but something unexpected happens.
Officer: Reporting that our forces have succeeded in taking control of the enemy special area.
Nobody is there. Neo Zeon surrenders Side 3 without a fight.
With Neo Zeon pinned at their base in Granada for now, we move back to Earth to continue the fight there.
Working our way across Asia and Europe eventually leads us to Kilimanjaro.
Amuro: This is what it means to fight… If I hadn’t done it, I would have been the one who was defeated…
One of the advantages the Federation has over both us and Neo Zeon is their number of pilots. As we’ll see in the final fight at Jaburo, we’re going to be heavily outnumbered.
Garma: Now that I’ve grown out of my naivety, nothing is impossible! Let’s go!
Another unexpected plan stolen from Neo Zeon, this time the Elmeth. Once again we can’t use it, though that will soon change…
Soon the Federation is pushed back to their base in Jaburo.
Officer: The Federal Force’s strength has been weakened, and it is now possible to capture their headquarters at Jaburo! We propose a plan to seize Jaburo!
As we mop up the rest of the remaining territory, including the Neo Zeon bases in Odessa and Belfast, a few events occur.
Thanks to our high law alignment, Kai and Hayato have defected to our side.
Dozle also comes to us with a proposal – he wants to upgrade his beloved Big Zam.
Dolze: Garma, if the symbol of Reborn Zeon, the Big Zam, becomes more powerful, our victory in battle will be assured. However, a huge budget is required for development. Do you accept investing half of our total funds?
[Choice: YES]
Dozle: Ok, I’ll give the orders to the development department to start designing a new Big Zam. I can’t wait to see it completed!
Agreeing to this choice costs 50,000 in funds, but we can construct this campaign’s most powerful unit, the Big Zam Zabi Family Custom.
The Family Zam is everything the Big Zam is, but better. It is more powerful, more accurate, and more mobile than its predecessor. Plus it has a dazzling gold trim to top it all off.
With the added power of the Family Zam, we take over the rest of Earth, including Neo Zeon’s remaining bases. This grants us the ability to attack their headquarters at Granada on the moon.
Officer: It is possible to capture Granada, the headquarters of Neo Zeon! We propose a strategy to seize Granada!
By this point, our law alignment reached max, and Amuro and Bright join us. This grants us our first and only Newtype pilot, meaning Amuro can actually make use of the Elmeth we stole earlier.
Here are the starting stats of all four former White Base members.
The final battle with the Federation awaits at Jaburo.
Garma: Our forces will now begin the assault on Jaburo, the headquarters of the Federation Forces! I look forward to your efforts!
It’s no exaggeration to say the entire Federation Army is at Jaburo. The numbers speak for themselves.
Shiro: I can’t give up! I just have to think about surviving…
Kai: For something like war, b-being a coward is perfectly fine!
Chris: Sorry! I may have gone a bit too far…
Sayla: Aah, big brother! Big brother Casval!
Ryu: What a pitiful body… With only a wound like this…
With the Federation defeated, all that remains is the final battle with Casval’s Neo Zeon.
Garma: Our forces will now begin the assault on Neo Zeon’s headquarters, Granada! I look forward to your efforts!
Kuzco: It’s okay if you hate me. This is a battle after all!
Challia Bull: So I suppose being a Newtype…isn’t so useful…
Amuro: Kai-san… I don’t like everything about you, but we’re friends, aren’t we? Let’s do our best together!
Kai: I like the way you put it, Amuro! Let’s get along!
Hayato: Amuro… I won’t lose to you!
Amuro: What are you talking about… Hayato, let’s work together!
Bright: Port side, your barrage is weak! Gunner! What are you doing!?
Bernie: It’s war, after all… I won’t hold a grudge…
Since Amuro is on our side and Lalah is on Casval’s, it’s possible to trigger their battle interactions in this campaign too.
Amuro: ..!?
Lalah: Who…who is it?
Amuro: Who…? Who is watching me?
(after Amuro defeats Lalah)
Amuro: La, Lalah!!
Lalah: Aah!
Lalah: People will change, just like we have…
Amuro: That’s right… It’s just as you say.
Lalah: Do you really believe that?
Amuro: I do… Look how we’ve come to understand each other. Someday, people will even be able to control time…
Lalah: Aah, Amuro… I can see time…!
Garma shares an ally interaction with his brother, different from his younger self’s.
Dozle: Garma! I’ll hold them off here! You stay back!
Garma: No, I can’t let you be the only one putting yourself in danger. I’ll fight too!
Dozle: This is a battlefield! Don’t think of me as your brother, treat me as your subordinate! Otherwise you will never win this battle!
Perhaps foreshadowing the possibilities of his campaign, Casval and Amuro have an interaction as well.
Casval: A Newtype of your calibur…you should be able to realize who the real enemy is! Become my comrade! Amuro-kun!!
Amuro: Are you serious…?! Your comrade… the real enemy… Are you saying we can understand each other as Newtypes…?
And of course, the interaction you’ve probably been waiting for…
Garma: I never thought I’d end up fighting you… But there’s still time, maybe I can do something. Surrender, Char!
Casval: That’s why I call you a spoiled kid! You and I were good friends… but now we’re enemies, don’t forget that!
Family Zam vs. Gelgoog (I have no idea why he isn’t in his custom Gundam)
Casval: I must save… humanity… and the Earth!
With Casval’s Neo Zeon defeated, onto the ending.
一Reborn Zeon Army: Victory一
Reborn Zeon won the battle.
Garma Zabi demonstrated that he did not owe his current position solely to his family’s influence.
Seeing Garma achieve this amazing feat, his aide Dozle is said to have cried manly tears, without any regard for the people around him.
Following the victory, Garma seeks to take responsibility for the war that the Zabi family started and begins taking action to provide relief to those who were exhausted by it.
The world that had been devastated by war gradually began to recover, and peace was being restored.
But this time of peace will not last forever.
This was due to the childish sense of justice that Reborn Zeon had, that it would restore peace to the world.
This is because the nation was born out of Garma’s desire for honor and recognition from the people.
A nation without ideology cannot win the hearts and minds of its people.
Will Garma be able to overcome the impending crisis that is soon to come to the nation?
That will be the time when Garma’s true worth will be tested.
