One of the last, and subsequently most technically impressive,
SNES games.
I have never seen the series on which it is based (Cartoon Network in the UK at least never seems to show any anime AFAIK), so therefore don't know all the backstory to the game. However, I can conclude that this game is unique in several ways. Firstly, its presentation is flawless, with many effects such as bursts of static, seizure-inducing flashes, heat haze, and alpha channel based light flares and afterimages used all over the place.
The giant robots are all brilliantly drawn and animated, and the combat itself, although couched in the usual best-of-three, side-scrolling Street Fighter 2 trappings, feels substantially different to the usual chopsocky fare. Each attack is based around your mech's weapons or abilities, and is carried out with suitable pneumatic sound effects. It's a little like The Last Blade, as you have to time your attacks well to deal with the delay as they are carried out.
The strangest thing about the game is its homoerotic subtext. All the male mech pilots are slightly effeminate types that wouldn't look out of place in a shoujo manga comic. And the music that accompanies the intro sounds suspiciously like Erasure to me. Play this game and I guarantee you'll see giant robots in a completely different light...