[1] The Robotech RPG uses a modified version of the Megaversal rule system used in the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game introduced several years earlier.

Robotech introduces the concept of mega-damage — "super" hit-points that are equivalent to 100 ordinary-person hit points — to simulate the toughness of the heavily armored mecha.

In 1982, Studio Nue and Artland created the Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix Macross (マクロス, Makurosu, English: /məˈkrɒs/).

This was translated and adapted into the American television series Robotech produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production in 1985.

[3] Over the next three years, Palladium published five sourcebooks written by Siembieda that added depth to the campaign setting, roughly following the Robotech television series.

The creators of Robotech originally lacked access to the complete source material, working against deadlines based on what could be gleaned from show footage and limited-scope translations.

Swan admitted that the combat rules might seem excessive, but pointed out that "they allow players to relish every smack, crunch, and spurt of a Mecha assault, which is what Robotech is all about."

[6] In 2013, Palladium Books ran a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to develop a new miniature wargaming system called Robotech RPG Tactics.