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Plamo Review

Review: MG Gouf Ver. 2.0

MG Gouf-030

Of the many virtues of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, its memorable antagonists always held a special place in my heart. After running away from the White Base with the Gundam, the young Amuro Ray meets the charismatic Zeon lieutenant Ramba Ral and his lover Crowley Hamon – arguably a pair of parental figures in Amuro’s troubled emotional life. However, as fate would have it, Amuro and Ramba Ral soon discover each other’s identities as the ace pilots of opposing camps while locked in deadly mobile suit combat. While Amuro respects the skilled veteran, his obligations to the crew of the White Base (as well as his concern for his own survival) demands him to exercise his duties as a soldier, making for another tragic chapter in his odyssey.

Of course, this review isn’t about Rambal Ral, but rather his big blue bruiser – the MS-07B Gouf. As Ramba Ral himself puts it: “This is no Zaku, boy, no Zaku!” Caught between the Zaku II and the Dom, this land-oriented mobile suit was never produced in significant numbers during the One Year War. However, as a bigger, faster, and stronger brother to the Zaku II, the formidable close-range capabilities of the Gouf were demonstrated plentifully in Ramba Ral’s assaults on the White Base. However, as the 2.0 version of the MG Gouf was released after a string of Zaku II variants based on the new 2.0 frame, the suspicion of a rehash inevitably hovers around this new take on the Gouf. Well, rest assured – while the MG Gouf Ver. 2.0 does share a number of traits with the MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0 kits, it sufficiently sets itself apart from the pack.