In UC 0079, the war between the Earth Federation Forces and the Principality of Zeon begins to take a turn when the EFF introduces its own mobile suits. In space, the soul of Marion Welch cries out for someone to destroy a blue mobile suit. On Earth, Yuu Kajima, Philip Hughes and Summona Fulis prepare to launch in their GMs from a Medea transport plane. After being briefed by operator Maureen Kitamura, the three drop from the Medea and open fire at Zeon gun turrets and Zaku II mobile suits. A Zaku suddenly attacks Yuu, but Philip rushes in and destroys it. Yuu warns Philip about being so reckless, but he’s interrupted when Summona calls for help. Knocked to the ground, Summona is about to be destroyed by a Zaku when Yuu saves him at the last second. Together, the three begin clearing the base of Zakus as they encounter them. Nearby, a test pilot uses the Blue Destiny Unit 1 under the supervision of Alph Kamra. The test pilot hears Marion’s voice and tells Kamra that he thinks the cockpit doesn’t like him. He asks if he needs to join the battle, but Kamra tells him their orders are simply to wait. Yuu’s team continues to destroy Zakus, and Philip tells Summona he wants to fight against a skilled opponent like the Red Comet. A ground soldier fires a bazooka at Summona, and Summona returns fire. Yuu orders Summona to stop and says their orders aren’t to commit genocide. A Zaku suddenly rushes into Summona’s GM, causing him to fall back and crush the soldier. At the test site, the test pilot’s helmet is overloaded with strange images, and the Blue Destiny begins moving on its own and dragging along Kamra’s truck. The EXAM system activates, and Kamra cuts the cable connecting the truck to the Blue Destiny. An assistant asks Kamra if he should shut down the Blue Destiny, but Kamra tells him he’s been waiting for it to go out of control. Yuu’s team completes its mission, and Yuu tells Summona not to worry about the crushed soldier. A group of GMs close by sends out a distress signal as the Blue Destiny attacks them. The Blue Destiny destroys both GMs and then rushes toward Yuu’s team. It smashes the head of Summona’s GM and rips the left arm off Philip’s unit. Yuu fires at the chest to hit the cockpit, but the Blue Destiny protects its head from his fire. The research assistant asks Kamra if the Blue Destiny, but Kamra is sure it won’t lose. With the test pilot dead, Kamra thinks to himself that he’ll need to find another pilot. The Blue Destiny damages part of Yuu’s head, and Yuu wonders if the pilot is even human. Philip grabs the Blue Destiny by the leg, and Yuu uses a Zaku’s heat hawk to slice into the Blue Destiny’s cockpit. Yuu sees strange images of Marion, and he snaps out of it when Philip and Summona open his cockpit. They tell him that the Blue Destiny escaped after Yuu attacked it. Elsewhere, Zeon pilot Nimbus Schterzen is brought photos that show Zeon scientist Chlust Moses developing the Blue Destiny for the EFF. He returns to his Gallop and tells his men they’ll be hunting down the traitor Moses.
Kamra examines the damage to the Blue Destiny and can’t believe it took such a beating. He wonders if he made a mistake in his calculations, and a technician tells him the damage to the cockpit was from a heat hawk. Kamra laughs maniacally and says he wants to find the person who damaged the Blue Destiny because they’d be the perfect pilot for it. Marion calls out to Yuu and tells him she will judge him and free his heart. Yuu asks her who she is because she’s the one asking for help. He wakes up on the Medea, and Maureen asks him if he’s ok. Kamra returns to a EFF base with the Blue Destiny and notices Yuu’s team unloading their units from the Medea. He asks as soldier if they’re assigned to the base, and the soldier tells him they’re an experimental unit. Yuu reports the Blue Destiny in a video conference to Colonel Park, and he asks for permission to investigate. Park is hesitant, but Yuu promises to provide him data by the end of the day. Yuu then orders Maureen to find as much data as she can because they only have three hours. On a nearby hilltop, a Zeon soldier named Abraham and his two wingmen perform surveillance on the EFF base. Nimbus arrives in a jeep and asks for a status report, and Abraham tells him the base is receiving new GMs. He asks if they should deploy and attack, but Nimbus decides to leave it to the sea forces. Yuu signs off on the receipt of three new GM Cold District Types and tells Philip and Summona that he wants to test them immediately. Two other pilots complain about not having new suits and say they wish they were guinea pigs. Yuu holds back Philip and tells the pilots his team had a 55 percent turnover rate yesterday. Yuu returns to the computer room and is informed by Maureen that their files have been hacked. Someone on the outside deleted all data relating to their observation of the Blue Destiny. Yuu realizes his team was used as guinea pigs twice over, but he’s interrupted when a battle alert is sounded. Several Hy-Goggs emerge from the ocean and attack the GM forces. Yuu wants to sortie, but Philip says their new units haven’t been properly tested. Yuu insists on deploying and receives a call stating that if the Hy-Goggs destroy the fuel tank, the entire base will blow up. As the team moves out, Philip asks Yuu if he has a death wish to fight the Blue Destiny again. The team begins a frontal attack on the Hy-Goggs, and Abraham ‘s men are impressed by Yuu’s team. With the Hy-Goggs destroyed, only one Gogg remains. Yuu closes in to destroy it, but Philip fires a missile at it. Yuu then slices into the Gogg with his beam saber and criticizes Philip for firing the missile at close range. Nearby, Abraham and his men prep their Doms for attack.
Abraham and his men begin their assault and hope they can lure out Yuu’s new GMs. Yuu’s team prepares to launch and is briefed by Maureen. Philip doesn’t think they need to sortie because only three units are attacking, but Yuu realizes they’re Doms. Rayburn stops moving for a moment, and his right arm is blown off by Philip’s 180mm cannon. The Doms spread out to attack, and Abraham knocks Philip down. Yuu jumps and attacks Abraham from behind, but a Dom on his right blasts him and knocks him into a building. Philip warns Yuu that Abraham is an ace, and Yuu orders him and Summona to attack the other Doms while he takes on Abraham. In the air, Amy Bauer-Meister escorts a Medea with her fighter plane. She hears that the base is under attack and decides to provide back up. On the ground, Philip and Summona continue to engage the Doms, but they’re running out of ammo. Yuu realizes how skilled a pilot Abraham is and pulls out his beam saber to counter Abraham’s heat saber. Abraham rushes in to attack Yuu, and the other Doms encircle Philip and Summona. Philip realizes that the Doms are also low on ammo, but their GMs are running low on fuel. They attack one of the Doms, but it tosses its weapon at them, and the explosion destroys Summona’s camera. The Doms prepare to attack with their heat sabers, but Rayburn’s unit is suddenly destroyed from behind by Amy’s fighter. Philip uses his beam saber to destroy the remaining Dom. Philip asks Maureen if Yuu is ok, but she says she can’t get a response. Amy overhears and wonders what Yuu is doing there, so she flies over to help him. Abraham slices off one of Yuu’s arms, but Yuu slices into the cockpit and destroys the Dom. At the Zeon base, Nimbus regrets Abraham’s death, but he prepares to launch his Efreet Custom. Nimbus recalls being shown the Efreet Custom by Moses, who told him it would make him powerful enough to defeat Char Aznable. Nimbus asks about Marion, and Moses explains that she will be the EXAM navigator and control the Efreet Custom’s limbs. Nimbus wondered how a girl like Marion could support him in battle, and she listed several emotions such as paranoia and egomania, saying that Nimbus was a sad man. Nimbus launches in the EXAM-equipped Efreet Custom and says he doesn’t want Marion to feel sorry for him.
A technician working on the Blue Destiny is frightened when he believes the suit’s eyes activated by themselves. Yuu examines the area where the battle was fought and finds a briefcase filled with photos of Abraham and his family. At the base’s hangar, the ground crew tell Amy she did a good job destroying the Doms, but she says she was only providing back up. Maureen asks who Amy is, and Philip tells her that Yuu knows Amy. Amy asks Yuu if he’s used to piloting a mobile suit and tells him she wrote him many letters. Yuu tells her she’s a liar and a bad actress, but he thanks her for saving Philip and Summona. Amy tells Yuu that she’s been lucky up to now, but she thinks she’s reached her limit. She says she understands why Yuu switched over to piloting mobile suits, and he tells her she should do the same. Amy says she loves flying because when she reaches a high speed, she feels as if Frank is up there with her. Kamra tells Park that he wants to have Yuu transferred under him, but Park is hesitant because losing Yuu will hurt the strength of his forces. He asks what he gets in return, and Kamra promises to give his soldiers the EXAM system once it’s completed. The next morning, Amy says goodbye to Yuu and takes off in her fighter. Kamra takes off in the Medea and says he has high hopes for Yuu piloting the Blue Destiny. Philip asks Yuu if he’s involved with Amy, but Yuu says they’re just friends. Maureen breaks in with news that Amy’s fighter has been shot down. Yuu’s team launches and heads for the coordinates where Amy’s fighter was shot down. Yuu halts their advance when he hears six Zakus in the area. The Zakus surround the crash site, and Amy enters the Medea and finds Kamra emerging from the Blue Destiny’s cockpit. She notes that the suit is blue, just like the enemy suit that shot her down. Kamra wonders if it’s the Zeon EXAM unit, and when Amy asks for more info, he tells her he can’t say anything. The Zakus spot the Blue Destiny and prepare to seize it. Nimbus hides behind a nearby dock and decides that he can’t let the Zaku pilots know about the Blue Destiny or Efreet Custom. Yuu destroys a Zaku from a distance with his 180mm cannon, and they move in to attack at close range. Yuu slices a Zaku Cannon apart, and Kamra tells Amy he’s impressed by Yuu’s abilities. He asks for her help activating the Blue Destiny, but Amy asks what the point is when Yuu’s team is destroying the Zakus. Kamra says the Blue Destiny is the only way for them to survive because the Zakus aren’t the real problem. Two Zakus and a Zaku Cannon escape and spot the Efreet Custom. Nimbus calls them cowards for running away and destroys them. Yuu is shocked that Nimbus would kill his own men and notices that the Efreet Custom is blue.
Nimbus rushes in, slices off both of Philip’s legs and knocks Summona aside. Amy asks Kamra if the Blue Destiny is ready to launch, but Kamra thinks it’s refusing to activate. Amy runs off and tells Kamra she has to help Yuu. Nimbus attacks Yuu and notes that Yuu is a skilled pilot. Yuu jumps back and avoids a slash from Nimbus’ heat saber. He fires while jumping, but Nimbus attacks him from the side and slices off his left arm. Yuu fires his vulcans, but Nimbus presses the attack and knocks Yuu to the ground. Nimbus moves in to kill Yuu, but Amy attacks with her damaged fighter and rams Nimbus. Yuu shouts out Amy’s name, and flashes of memories about her activate the Blue Destiny. Nimbus again tries to kill Yuu, but the Blue Destiny fires its vulcans from inside the Medea and breaks out. The Blue Destiny attacks with its machine gun, forcing Nimbus to fall back. He realizes the Blue Destiny is the EFF’s EXAM machine, but he’s ordered back to base just as he’s about to engage it. Kamra realizes that the Blue Destiny was being remote controlled, and he wonders what Moses is up to. Yuu searches for Amy, but Philip doesn’t believe she could’ve survived the explosion. Maureen hates herself because she feels happy inside, but she finds Amy alive and injured. Amy is taken away in a medical chopper, and Kamra introduces himself to Yuu. Later, Yuu performs a test run inside the Blue Destiny’s cockpit, and Marion says she’s been waiting for him.
As the war continues, the EFF attacks Zeon’s California base to drive their forces off Earth. Yuu is participating in the battle with the Blue Destiny, and he wonders why he keeps seeing images of Marion. Kamra asks Yuu what he thinks of the Blue Destiny, and Yuu says he thinks it’s a perfect killing machine that would kill its own pilot. Kamra tells Yuu he can stop being the Blue Destiny’s pilot, but Yuu says he wants to push it to its limit. At the EFF’s staging ground, Maureen reports to Philip and Summona that Yuu destroyed a Zeon missile launcher. Philip tells Maureen he’s worried about Yuu because there’s something he doesn’t trust about the Blue Destiny. Their units join the battle, and Yuu destroys a Zaku that Philip was about to attack. Philip calls Yuu, but Yuu tells him and Summona to stay back because he might attack them. Philip asks Yuu what he’s talking about, and Yuu says the Blue Destiny is classifying them as enemies. Yuu hears Marion screaming that the enemy troops must be punished, but he says Philip and Summona aren’t enemies. Nimbus appears in his Efreet Custom at the top of the base’s mass driver and asks Yuu if he’s able to control the power of EXAM. Nimbus jumps down to attack and says that Yuu doesn’t deserve to have the power of EXAM. Yuu jumps back to avoid Nimbus’ heat sabers and fires his machine gun. Nimbus gets to his feet quickly and fires leg missiles, but Yuu destroys them. Nimbus attacks again with his heat sabers, but Yuu blocks with his beam saber. Yuu suddenly sees Marion’s memories, starting with Moses telling her that he needed her help to end the war. Marion believed in what he was doing, until she realized that he feared and hated Newtypes. Moses feared that Newtypes would dominate Oldtypes, so he wanted to exploit their power by locking Marion’s soul inside the EXAM system. Marion calls out to Yuu and asks him to destroy the EXAM systems, but he says her soul won’t survive. He comes to his senses and barely dodges a killing blow from Nimbus. Nimbus tells Yuu that he’s too stupid to appreciate EXAM and rushes in to attack. Marion calls out for Yuu to set her free, and he decides to fulfill her wish. Yuu slices into the Efreet Custom with his beam saber just as Nimbus fires a missile at the Blue Destiny. The damaged Efreet Custom is knocked away in the explosion, and Yuu’s damaged Blue Destiny falls into the water. Marion appears before Yuu and thanks him for destroying two EXAM units. Yuu tells Marion not to give up because he wants to find a way to save her. Yuu realizes that he has a reason to fight now because he has lots of work to do.
The Blue Destiny is one of many Gundam side story games to receive a manga adaptation. Unfortunately, the manga adaptation only covers the events of the first two games, which is why the story feels incomplete. In the third game, Nimbus goes on to steal Gundam Blue Destiny Unit 2, and Yuu follows him into space with Unit 3 for their final confrontation. Although it would be nice to see that game adapted, it’s been far too long for that to happen. The story is interesting as it is, but I would’ve liked for it to go into more detail about Yuu’s teammates, as well as his friendship with Amy. Her character is introduced, and it’s not too long before she’s already out of the story. The manga is a good read for fans of One Year War side stories.
Original Review: October 8, 2000
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