Border Break

, is a third-person mecha action arcade game developed by Sega. It is the first title to run on Sega's RingEdge arcade system board, and was released on September 9, 2009 in Japan, in Hong Kong on January 25, 2010, and in Taiwan on April 1, 2010. A PlayStation 4 version was released in Japan on August 2, 2018.

Within one month by the end of September 2009, at least 2,436 Border Break machines were sold to arcade operators, which increased to nearly 3,000 machines by the end of 2009. As of March 2012, the game has grossed ¥8.1 billion from arcade machine sales, equivalent to more than $100 million.

Gameplay
The game focuses on robot battles through network connectivity between arcade cabinets. Two teams of ten robots battle across different landscapes, which include cities, towns, and facilities. In each map, each team's goal is to destroy the opposing team's energy reactor core, marked in red and blue respectively. At the end of each match, Class Points will be given to the player to level up their current rank.

The class point also affects the rank of the player. Generally, players who have just started the game will start playing in a series of cooperative battles against a computer-controlled "bots" team. The player will start facing actual opponents once when they have attained the rank of D4.

Development

Operating support of RingEdge arcade system EOL at the end of 2018. The arcade version of Border Break may end the service, but no official announcement has been made.

PlayStation 4 port 
In January 2018, Sega announced that it would port Border Break to PlayStation 4. A beta test was conducted a few times in February, and the final release was done in Japan in August. The port is free-to-play.

Merchandise
Kotobukiya released a series of model kits featuring the mecha from the game. The nine were the Cougar I, released in January 2010, the Heavy Guard II, released in March 2010, the Shrike I, released in May 2010, the Cougar I(A class color) with heavy armament, released in June 2010, the Shrike I with assault armament, released in July 2010, the Zebra 41, released in September 2010, the Cougar S (S class color), released in November 2010, the Saber II, released in January 2011, and the Shrike V, released in March 2011.

A model kit of the mecha, Yaksha Rei released by Wave in July 2016.

A CD soundtrack was released in November 2009 in Japan. The majority of music from Border Break is a fusion between electronica and rock. A CD single by Japanese pop artist Mechanical Panda, was released separately and contains the opening theme song, "Last Brave~Go To Zero". A second CD soundtrack titled, "Border Break Airburst", was released on 12/22/10. The music contained on this release is from the 2.0 upgraded version of the game. A third soundtrack titled "Border Break Airburst 2", was released on 10/03/12. This expanded soundtrack was a digital only release. A fourth and fifth soundtrack, titled "Border Break Union GRF" and "Border Break Union EUST" were released on 11/21/12. These expanded soundtracks were digital only. A fifth soundtrack, titled "Border Break Scramble" was released on 5/14/14 in Japan. The release was again digital only and contained music from the latest version of the game.

Four walkthrough guides and an artbook have been released. The Border Break Art Book was translated in English by Udon Entertainment, and released in 2015.

Two novels have been released, Border Break Nemesis Day (2012) and Border Break Historica (2014). A manga began in 2012.

References

External links
ボーダーブレイク オフィシャルウェブサイト Official Website 
Border Break gameplay video

Category:2009 video games
Category:Arcade games
Category:Sega arcade games
Category:Video games about mecha
Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games
Category:PlayStation 4 games
Category:Video games about revenge
Category:Video games developed in Japan
Category:Video games featuring female protagonists