Since I’m not overly fond of this game seeing as I haven’t played it, the information about it will be purely based on what others have said. The game isn’t nearly as popular as the series, but the character, Mana, seems to be rather popular among fans. My opinion of her will be given at the end of the information.
The Basic Stats Of The Game
Type: Adventure
Language: Japanese
System: Windows 95, Macintosh, Sega Saturn and Playstation.
Availability: Only in Japan
Girlfriend of Steel (aka Iron Maiden) is an interactive game that is a side-story to the original series. Not to worry, most of our favourite characters are still involved!
The Plot: On the night of a full moon a mysterious bombardment strikes Tokyo-3. However, NERV does not scramble to get the Evangelions out to battle. Is there a new enemy that is different from the Angels? The next morning, a new girl shows up in the class of the three Eva pilots. She is introduced as Mana Kirishima, and she wastes no time in attaching herself to Shinji. When told to sit beside him, she is immediately fascinated by him, and calls him kawaii (cute). Between lessons, she stuck to him as if they were already a couple, even daring to follow him to NERV. Asuka, being jealous, immediately suspects her of being a spy, attempting to get information about NERV and the Evangelions. She does her best to separate the two at any chance. But Shinji doesn’t see it her way as his heart starts to respond to Mana’s romantic approach….
Laterm Shinji, having no experience with girls, seeks Kaji’s help and advice. The advice he sought? To be true to his feelings, and to not deny his love for Mana, even if he was afraid of it. As time passes, Shinji and Mana decide to try a date on the weekend, whil Asuka desperately tries to find evidence to prove her thesis that Mana was a spy. Asuka spends much time quarreling jealously with a “in-love” Shinji, attempting to break his relationship with Mana.
Meanwhile, a wreck of a robot is found near Mount Fuji, and is brought in to be examined by NERV. The critically wounded pilot, a fourteen year-old boy, turns out to be a friend of Mana’s. When the injured boy disappears without a trace, Mana, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei visit the hospital to investigate. Arrivng at the hospital, they barely escaped an attack by men in black suits and called Misato to help them escape. After the run-in with the men in black, everyone demanded an explanation from Mana, who finally revealed her real identity. Mana and two outer boys were part of a military project to creat robots similar to the Evangelions. Obviously, they are the pilots. However, it seemed that the three disliked the hard training and had jokingly discussed escaping with the robots. Despite the fact that she hated it, Mana had assented to be a spy, assigned to follow Shinji around and get information on the Eva piloting system, whereas the two boys had actually escaped. One of these boys had crashed his robot, and had been retrieved from the hospital by military agents. Mana was suspected be part of the treachery, which was the cause for the attack at the hospital. The whereabouts of the third boy, however, were unknown.
Immediately, Misato wanted to hide Mana at NERV, but Gendo decided to deliver Mana right to the military, ignoring Shinji’s please to save her. More conflicts arise as Kaji blames Misato for not being able to save the girl. Shinji, not wanting to give up (for once in his life! Oh, my good little Shinji-kun’s learning!), manages to find Mana imprisoned in a huge cage on top of a military trailer, with the help of his faithful friends Toji and Kensuke. The military was attempting to lure the third pilot out of hiding by taking mana hostage. Eventually, the third robot made an appearance, attempting to rescue Mana. When the military finally realizes that it’s too weak to stop the robot, they call NERV for help. The plea is recognized and the Evangelions were launched to intercept the robot. Shinji feared he would injure Mana and failed to attack the robot, giving it the opportunity to escape. But when Gendo ordered a retreat because the military was about to drop a N2-bomb on the robot, Shinji frantically chased after Mana and her friend. Thinking quickly, he ejected his entry plug and ran out to meet Mana and Musashi, the pilot of the robot. Mana then tells Shinji that she loves him, but she couldn’t let her friend die. She had decided that she had to go with him, and she was sorry that it had to end. As Shinji disgests this, Asuka snatches Shinji into her entry plug before the bomb impacts, and both survive the explosion inside Unit-02. When the were finally able to leave the entry plug, they discovered nothing was left except a molten robot. There were no sign of Mana or Musashi.
At this point, the player has to choose one of three choices. The outcome for each will be slightly different, but Shinji and Mana’s last time together will end with the words “matte iru yo”. (“I will wait for you”)
Basically, this game is just a little love story in Shinji’s life. Mana has been said to be vivacious and direct, yet self-conscious as well. The game was popular, though not as much as the series, and the animation is high quality.
mikomi’s Opinion
The game sounds interesting, it really does. I hear that it’s mostly you watching the characters, making a few decisions to play the game. Still, it intrigues me that I might be interested enough to actually sit down and play the game, just to see all the animation. I’ve heard it’s really good, and the pictures seem to prove it. However, I’m a big supporter of a Asuka and Shinji pairing, because they’re just so wrong that it’s right! Lol, they just seem really cute together. So the introduction of this new girl who seems to be the happy medium between Asuka and Rei bugs me just a tiny bit. Alright, it bugs me a big bit. She’s like a Mary-Sue for goodness’ sake! Perfect in every way, making the lead character blissfully happy. And let me tell you, I am NOT a fan of those types of Mary-Sues. Mary-Sues with flaws and strong points I do like, if they’re well developed and written. But Mana strikes me as the overly perfect type. (I know, I know, mikomi’s prejudiced! If I actually ever play the game I’ll try and give her a chance.) Many pictures from Girlfriend of Steel (pretty as they are) really make my blood boil. But a few other pictures make up for it. Very few, might I add… I’m just biased, I’ll admit it. If anyone ever writes a nice fic about Mana and Shinji together, I wouldn’t bash it just because it’s Mana and Shinji. But I’ll always prefer Asuka and Shinji. Always. Below are a collection of pictures that either make me mad, or make me happy! Lol. And, if I ever have the chance to get my hands on this game, I believe I’ll give it a try. |
