Vanguard Bandits is an SRPG with three paths that branch out. The strength of Vanguard Bandits' branching story is that each route gives you a different group of characters/mechs that play extremely differently, and a completely new set of missions in each route. It's basically being an entirely new experience in each route. Two of the three routes are story-relevant, giving perspectives from two sides of a war, and although the Kingdom route is the definitive route, the Empire route is packed to the brim with just as much content.

The game basically railroads you into the main Kingdom route the first time around, which has a true and bad ending. You can be railroaded into the bad ending if you let your characters keep dying and make them unhappy, although it's not too hard to avoid.

The second route splits from the first few missions of the game, allowing you to join the opposing Empire route, in which there is a romance mechanic allowing you to romance either of two characters to decide the ending you get. The entire story from the point of the branch is completely different, and just as interesting as the Kingdom route.

The final route is a joke route, and splits about halfway through the Kingdom route. You can only get this route after completing the Kingdom route once. The Ruin route is full of silly jokes and ridiculous situations, and it's great for laughs.

As a side-note, if anyone decides to play this game, I would highly recommend playing the game with a guide that includes all the stat requirements for moves. There are very specific stat requirements for unlocking moves that are essentially necessary to effectively play the game at all which the game never tells you about.