The short answer: two independent community sources confirm that Worlds you don't start in can still be played and cleared later — starting World isn't a permanent lock-out. Pick based on which franchise you want to see first, not fear of missing out.
The 6 Worlds
Each World is styled after a different era/sub-series of the mainline Super Robot Wars franchise, and headlines a different slice of the crossover cast. Rosters below are the franchises most commonly cited for each World — treat them as representative, not a complete list.
| World | Added | Styled after | Commonly cited franchises |
|---|---|---|---|
| World 1 | 2019.08 | Early SRW titles | Mazinger Z, Combattler V, Dunbine, Devilman |
| World 2 | 2019.08 | SRW α series | Zeta Gundam, Char's Counterattack, Gundam Unicorn, Evangelion 2.0, GaoGaiGar |
| World 3 | 2019.08 | SRW Z series | Gundam SEED, Full Metal Panic |
| World 4 | 2019.08 | DD's own original story | Valvrave, Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Layzner |
| World 5 | 2019.12 | Added later — publicly available detail on its roster is thin. We'd rather flag that than guess. | |
| World 6 | 2021.03 | Also added later — same caveat as World 5. | |
World 1's exact roster has minor disagreement between sources (some list Devilman as a starting series, others don't) — the franchises above are what's most consistently cited.
How to actually decide
Since starting World does determine which units you get access to first — this isn't purely cosmetic — two approaches are common:
- 1Favorite-franchise pick: just start wherever your favorite series is. Every source agrees any unit clears the game fine if you invest in it, so there's no wrong answer here.
- 2Efficiency pick: if you rerolled for a specific SSR special-attack part (see our Reroll Guide), start in whichever World contains a mobile suit that part can equip to, for a stronger opening few missions.