First off I want to say I'm biased, I like Science Fiction games, I love spaceship games and I love the Star Blazers/Yamato setting. That being said this is my attempt at a somewhat objective review of Star Blazers Fleet Battle System.

First off, the rules. Star Blazers falls into the complex rules category, while it's no where near as complex as, say, Star Fleet Battles, or Advanced Squad Leader it is much more complex then your Battlefleet Gothics and Babylon 5 games that are out there.

Star Blazers gives you all the ships from the 1st, 2nd seasons of the Star Blazers TV show as well as ships from the movies, " New Voyage and Be forever Yamato." So you get the Earth Defense fleet across three different generations of ships, the Gamilons, the White Comet Empire and the Dark Nebula.

Ships are represented by Ship Display sheets, each big ship, like a battleship, gets it's own sheet, while escorts, like destroyers, squeeze three or four ships to a sheet. Information is presented nicely with almost everything you need and this cuts down on refering back to the rulebook quite as much. Fighters are handled as flights of six. (And there can be lots of fighters in this game!)

Game Turns are I go, you go. Movement and firing is pretty simple, missiles add complexity and lengthen the game but become the primary weapons of most races. (Missile salvos can reach into the hundreds)

You can play on a hex map. (Not provided) with miniatures, (More on them later)or with ship counters provided in the back of the rulebook. I'd suggest photocopying and gluing to something sturdy, like card stock.

So, sure I could go on and on about the rules but instead I'll talk about the atmosphere. Does this game capture the setting it attempts to portray?

I'd have to say yes. Missiles fly, shock cannons fire, Attack craft everyever...games come down to Wave Motion Guns (Which are thankfully not the all powerful uber weapon like in the anime) and other special weapons. All in all the universe feels distinct and different from other Sci-fi space games.

The only downside, if you consider this a downside, might be that the Yamato herself is not the all powerful ship she is in the anime. She is one of the best battleships in the game but far from the best, and her distinction as the star of the show means she will often get a lot of enemy attention right off the bat. I don't recall more then a game or two where the Yamato survives a battle. This, however, is easy to remedy is you want with your own house rules.

The Miniatures Line

I love the Designs of the Star Blazers ships, they are some of my all time favorites. The miniature line doesn't disapoint. You get relatively small miniatures, which makes sense as the ships in the show start to get bigger and bigger as the series progresses. But they are highly detailed and include a photo-etch frame of Antennas, and other goodies. The range is almost complete with more ships coming out even now. The only down side are the Battlecraft, it will break your pocket to equip enough fighter miniatures since you only get about six of any one type per Blister pack! ouch. Otherwise the prices of the miniatures seem to match pretty well with other systems out there. Even if you don't play the game the miniatures are worth looking into.

Overall Star Blazers is a fun game but not a simple one, It's full of tactical depth, captures the source material well and plays well. If you like the setting and like Star Ship games definately look this one up. If you are looking at for more simple fare then this game might not be for you, however the miniatures are little gems, don't pass them by.