One may recall my review of the Robotech RPG. I wanted to run a grand campaign to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the release of Macross. To do this, I went out and bought a handful of the RPG books by Palladium. The giant Zentraedi race is the subject of Robotech RPG book three: "Zentraedi."
The Palladium online catalog, www.palladiumbooks.com/catalog.htm, describes "Zentraedi" as, "An in depth look at the Zentraedi warriors and their...spaceships and weapons..." It does have weapons and ships. What it doesn't have is depth. Without the record sheets, stats, and rules, the book would be approximately 4 pages long. Much of that is retread. We know that the average life span of a warrior Zentraedi is 3 years and that they are destroyers. The rest is about how one "micronizes" one of the giants and what sort of security clearance they're given.
After reading through the book, one can't honestly feel any more enlightened about the Zentraedi race. What about culture and habits? So they're bred for war, does that mean that they do nothing interesting besides fighting? If they're that dull, why make a book about them? Apparently the point was just to give us ship stats and floor plans. A bit more mecha and stats for several major Zentraedi characters got tossed in as well.
The art and layout were unattractive. There is filler art. There are 4 different views of two battle helmets. The deck plans are drab and unpleasant. None of it is extremely professional looking. In 1988 it may have been acceptable, but ten years later, it's just shabby.
Information gleaned from this did nothing to further my understanding of the Zentraedi beyond what was presented in the first book, which was, not coincidentally, what could have been gathered from watching the series. No attempt was made at extrapolating and making them interesting. The art didn't do much to add to the appeal. Basically, the only draw would be for GMs desirous of Zentraedi warship deck plans. Sure it was cheap, but at eight bucks, one
still doesn't get much for his or her money.
Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)
