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To begin with, as a matter of full disclosure, I am a freelance RPG writer and have written for the Mecha line. However, I did not in any way contribute to the Mecha core rulebook. Rather, it was the high quality of both the rules and the book itself that attracted me to writing for the line. Now, on to the review proper.

Heroic Journey Publishing's Mecha is an entry into a surprisingly uncrowded genre, Japanese-inspired mecha combat. Mecha is rightly billed as a rules-light system. The entire process of starting and playing a game of Mecha is very streamlined. Players and GMs will not find a complex mech construction system like Mekton's. In fact, a group of inexperienced players (even those new to RPGs) can dive right in, creating characters and their mecha ready to play in under five minutes.

Similarly, gameplay progresses swiftly and with few hiccups. A game session is comprised of "episodes," with each episode starting with a scene between the GM and a single player, although multiple players may play a single scene. The scene is your essential roleplay, but only a single roll is made for each participating player, with success granting a bonus in the coming battle. Following the scene a battle is joined.

Battle is a quick affair. The fights take place on a bullseye map, with players and NPCs free to move about and fire their weapons. There are two methods to win battles, and retreating is always possible, although a player may forfeit his right to withdraw and risk his character's life. Due to the high survivability, Mecha is ideal for new RPG players.

An episode takes roughly half an hour to play, so Mecha is ideal for those with little free time. Of course, the game also runs just fine playing half a dozen episodes in a session.

Mecha itself has no one "official" setting, but the core book features three full-fledged settings from all over the anime spectrum. GMs are free to choose from a surreal post-modern setting similar to The Big O, a standard Gundam-inspired setting or a somewhat humorous high school mecha setting. Even better than providing three full settings is that the designers have shown their work. Standard rules for creating settings are provided, and this includes the same formula for balance that the designers used.

The settings feature bare-bones campaigns, in that GMs are given a list of events and story milestones which they can present to players. The settings offer great depth, while the campaign portions deliberately unshackle the GM from a strict linear narrative. GMs are able to quickly excise what they don't want to bring to their campaign or introduce new elements.

As for production values, Mecha is quite strong, especially for a lesser-known indie company. Mecha features a full-color cover, with pen and ink drawings within. If purchasing the PDF, you should know that the interior artwork is actually superior to the cover art. Mecha uses clear, easy-to-read text and efficient interior design.

The book is available for 24.99 in printed form and 12.00 in PDF form. Heroic Journey Publications has announced future support for the game, so anyone purchasing the core book can be sure that their investment will bring great returns.