Change in Direction....

From here on out, I'll focus more on Mecha anime itself, and I won't update on game scans and stuff. I guess it's best to change things early on, and yeah well.

Please move on this site instead!
http://mechw.wordpress.com/

Mecha Weekend - Dunbine

Dunbine, is one of the "Aura Battlers" from the series Aura Battler Dunbine back in 1983. It was definitely one of Tomino's best work. It has a Tomino-style depressing ending, and a unique setting world with many notable character and mecha. But I'm not here to talk about the series itself.

Dunbine was known as the first "Hybrid Robot" series, a third classification of Robot-types. For some reason, I have never heard of that term again after this, and usual fans classify them simply as a Real Robot.

Dunbine(s) are small fast, and also mass-produced. They are powered by a mysterious magic-ish power "Aura"(you could say they're kinda like Getter-rays, just not as strong). Swords are their main weapon, or you could say their only weapon.

Since I'm posting this here, let's talking about their SRW counterpart. Dunbine is a very, very strong unit and one of the fasting thing around. In Alpha, we could pull off some around 20,000+ with the Hyper Aura Guri(their final attack). In F/Final(and the other classic titles), they're extremely fast and could survive the battlefield without much support. Their last appearance was at Compact 3 back in 2003.

That's pretty much it, be sure to check out next week!

New Gundam Manga, Gundam EX Ace

In celebration of Gundam Ace Magazine's 10th year anniversary, a new Gundam has been annouced. In summary, this is kinda like Kamen Rider Decade where the main character travel through worlds and meet each Gundam show's character. Check out the source link for longer infos.

(Source)

Mecha Weekend - Scopedogs

To keep this blog alive, and to maybe interact more with you guys(if there's any...), I'll be reviewing certain interesting Mech from various series over the weekend. Starting off, with the Scopedogs.

Good ol' Scopedogs get their debut in the VOTOMS series back in 1983, as a mid-class standard Armored Trooper. These "tin can with machine gun" finally got their room in the new SRW, Z2. With the simple and tiny design, Scopedogs can be use as both for combat and maneuver purpose. Their base-body are capable of equiping several pieces of optional equipment and weapons.

Most common equipment are their Arm punch, Machineguns, and rocket laucher. Different color camera on their eye act as lens which are interchangable when required for certain weapons.

Like the Zakus in the Gundam series, there are Custom-made version of these guy. But let's save that for later and end this here.

New Full Metal Panic!

From source link below,

Kadokawa's Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint will launch a new Full Metal Panic! spinoff novel project this summer. The previously revealed collection of Full Metal Panic! short stories will also be published in the same timeframe. The story of the new novel project is set over a decade after the story in the original light novel series.

Interesting enough. Check the source link for more info!

(Source)

Dimension Holes...Everywhere, Z2 Hakai-Hen Review

As soon as this game was annouced back in January as the first 20th aniversary game of SRW, everyone was hyped up to the limit and we all can't wait for this masterpiece. The hype was understandable, considering that there isn't any "major" titles for the past 2 years or so.

Hakai-Hen is the first of the planned two-part of Z2, to make up for the lack of space on a PSP's UMD, and it sure is since most new series that appeared didn't recieve their major upgrade quite yet. This two-part format was never used since F/Final back in the early days of the PS1 and the Sega Saturn(with maybe an exception of the Compact 2 series, which was a three-part).

Branpresto made the return of Z as epic as they could. Introducing an awesome brand new series namely Shin Mazinger, Gundam OO, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, Daiguard, VOTOMS, Eureka Seven movie, and the Macross Frontier movie. All of Z's cast return with an exception of Grendizer. The rest of the cast are some neat series that we haven't seen in a while like Gundam Wing(TV Series), Shin Getter Armageddon, Dancougar/Nova and Godmars. Some characters are replaced by their new counterparts like Kouji, the Getter Team, and the Eureka Seven people.

I won't go into details of the battle system and stuff, I will focus more on my impression in these reviews. So after finishing the game twice, I believe I'm ready to summarize my feelings.

Sound(9.5/10)

The BGM, are beautifully done and arranged. Though some might say that certain ones like Triangular and Tori no Uta are worst than their L's counterpart. I think they're all awesome, not to mention everyone in the new cast are treated with an extra song or two.

The returning cast, of course, are stuck with their old themes. It's not big deal, really, and it's good that they focused more on the new cast.

Graphic(9/10)

While the music might not seems like a huge step-up from A Portable. The graphic here is Z-tier level. Hell, the animation are all longer and possibly better than Z's if you could ignore the fact that it's on a PSP screen. Like in L, some details are added to the returning cast, mainly on the Gundams since Branpresto have just recently got the right to use a Full-size cut-ins on the Gundams. Of course, there are some disappointing parts, I won't mention it here but overall, it's amazing.

Storyline(10/10) 

Like the Graphic, the storyline and crossovers in this game is just what you expect from Branpresto. Even someone from different series has an alternate quotes when fighting each other. Even grunts got some neat lines. The story itself is something you just gotta read for youself, many translators are working on this game on summarize and translating the dialouges. Check out the Gamefaqs board for futher updates.


Gameplay/Battle System(10/10)

Unlike the last few games, Z2 went back to the classic style of only one-unit per...one sortie slot. There is no Partner System, or the Tri-System, or the Squad-System. Just you and the cute little head on the map.

There are some interesting ability to name, like Zero's Tactic command which boost our unit's stat on certain amount of range. Zero's ACE bonus increaseses the range by 2. Though it's a pain to get it since Zero isn't a fighter type.

Talking about ACE, Z2 brought back this system from like...AP? When your pilots' kill count reaches 70, he/she will receive a certain stat boost or a new skill. This make replayability higher and make you keep track of your pilots.

There's alot more to talk about, like the Sub-order, FUB bonuses, etc. I wanna focus more on my impression so let's end the system explanation here.

The difficulty is around not too high, but with the return of the Skill Point system(now called the SR point) you might need quite a bit of thinking.

While this game has only 50 stages, there are tons of route split, making this the longest handheld SRW up to date. Of course, also boosting the replay value.

                        

      

In conclusion, some might be dissapointed that there is no squad system to make up for the large list of units and it goes back to the single-unit like the old days. Also the fact that the map are just a plain background with head-spirit. But trust me, the actual gameplay are extremely smooth and the loading time is great, even without installing the game. Like in W, screenshots from the anime were added since there is no half-body portrait. I honestly prefer it this way, but again it's a matter of opinion.

I couldn't wait for part 2, and I bet you all couldn't to.

New Ideon?

In an interview in the May issue of Enterbrain's Otona Fami magazine on Friday, director Yoshiyuki Tomino revealed "for the first time" that he has plans for directing a new Ideon work. The topic came up after the interviewer discussed the restructuring that Tomino did when he turned the original 1980-1981 Densetsu Kyojin Ideon television anime series into The Ideon: A Contact (1982) and The Ideon: Be Invoked (1982). He mentioned the new Ideon plans when discussing how modern audiences would react to the starkly depicted death scenes in Ideon.

According to this (Link), it seems there is a chance we get to see a new Ideon animation. If you ask me, I hope it's not a sequel. Well, it's not quite possible anyway. I guess it will turn out to be a remake of some sort. Since many old-school Super Robot shows get remaked this recent years. Anyway, hope you look forward to this, and stay tune.

AQUARION EVOL, First PV!

What can I say? FRIGGIN GEN!!!! Anyway, I'm looking forward to this, and I think we all do. Mugen Punches never gets old.

(Credit)

Mazinkaiser SKL, Episode 2 Released!

Again, sticking this here for completion. Download links below!

Torrent:
http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=torrentinfo&tid=198440

DDL:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TYJFQSUB

Credit: Magnum sub, the uploader of both links :)

Gundam Unicorn, Episode 3 Released!

I haven't watch it yet, and I'm pretty sure most of you guys already have seen it. Let's just stick this in for completion.

Peww...

Finally, my account started working. There was some technical problems but let's get everything in place, again.

AQUARION EVOL, New TV Series!

New Aquarion TV series has recently receive a green light. There's nothing much on this yet, so stay tune!

http://aqevol.com/

I'm Back!

I went on tour for a bit, so I haven't been quite in touch.

It seems alot happened the past few days, I'll try and update them all today.

Oh....Aliens, -A wakening of the trailblazer- Quick Review

Wasn't Season 2's ending pretty awesome? I'm pretty sure it is. Oh well, a movie.

-A wakening of the Trailblazer- is set to be the grand finale of the successful Gundam series, Gundam OO. The hype began not long after the TV series have ended. I did say fans have high expectation on this after seeing the animation on the first few trailer. On that note, the movie does not disappoint as it offer an awesome explosive battle. Though overwhelming explosion and flashes can be too fast-pace and annoying to watch for some poeple, it serves as a good entertainment point needed for action scenes.

The Story, on the other hand, is a mixbag. While the climax scene are builded up pretty well. It is nothing more than a movie where Earth-race fight for peace against a certain lifeform. Which can be quite a downfall for nostalgic Gundam fans that loves having two races on opposite side going against each other.

Most Characters are just there and serves little-to-no purpose as far as the plot goes. The new character Descartes Shaman does nothing but a plot-device of...Okay, I won't spoil anything further. However some Character does get a neat development, so don't just drop the expectation.

The new Mobile Suit is what you should be expecting. They're what you just needed.

This is getting too long, so let's just end this. -A wakening of the Trailblazer- is a pretty good movie, but it isn't something you exactly want from a Gundam movie. Oh well, this isn't Char's Counterattack or Unicorn. Just get that off your mind and enjoy the show.

L, Not Just Another DS Game

Ever since the start of 2010, which is said to be the "Year of SRW", it turned out to be just another trolling from our beloved Terada-san. Though he did kept his promise and made more SRW than last year, it's all just a DS game and mostly OG-based. I thought by then that there's nothing much to expect.

By the near end of last year Branpresto annouced SRWL which again is on the DS, but this time, it is finally a usual SRW with lots of mecha crossover. Featuring epic new cast namely, Linebarrel, Macross Frontier, Dancougar Nova, and Iczer. With the return of the V Brother, Evagelion, and Mazinkaiser. Even then, I didn't expect much of this since K disappointed me so badly. Also from the early famitsu scan which contain animation that looked exactly like K's. Still, the PV2 hit me by the ass that the animation has been adjusted so much and gotten many cool touches.

Finally, by late November, this game is released and I get my hand on it as early as possible. Once I turn the game on, not only has the graphic been improved, but also the music which is completely new and awesome. It start off with Macross Frontier's storyline which is pretty much what everybody wanted.  The music, of course, is epic.


That's all of my impression, well, let's get to some reviews.

Music(10/10)

As mentioned many time above, the BGM and Sound Effects are awesome. It fully represent the sound quality of the DS. Original BGMs are brand new and not one of them are recycled from older games. The music from returning series also got a remix treatment which sounded just as good as any Frontier's BGM. Even though I gave this a 10, I should honestly say that sound effects are kinda lacking at certain point, especially Dancougar. But oh well, the BGM are good enough to cover it up.

Graphic(8/10)

Like the music, Graphic is one of a huge step up in this game. While it seems like it looked pretty like K's, the animation is alot smoother, I would say as smooth as any PS2 SRWs. It also contains Animated Cut-ins which is pretty cool. Still, the Graphic are really mostly recycled from K. New touches are only mostly shots from the actual anime. The Cut-ins are also mostly from the anime. Well, when it comes to SRW, graphic aren't everything, and Branpresto has proven that they aren't all that lazy.

Story(9.5/10)

Before anything else, I would like to point out that. W, the first SRW on the DS has a "HOLYMOTHEROFGODTHISISEPIC" storyline. Yeah, it's that good. W contains epic crossover in every stage possible. This is one of the main reason that I hated K, it doesn't have much crossvoer...I mean none.

So well, when L was out, Crossover are threw at me since the first stage. Which put a big smile on my face. It may be because K is bad, but I would say Crossovers in this game are pretty epic.

Now for the actual story, I have to be honest here, I'm not a fluent Japanese speaker. Crossover is all I care in SRW. Nuffsaid, Crossover alone gave this section a 9.5.

Original(8.5/10)

When it comes to SRW, original is what we can't ignore. The Protagonist in L is a young teenager who happen to be friend with a scientist that created his robot, the Rishbird. Which also has a cute android subpilot. Pretty Cliche, yeah.

Right off the bat, what everyone complains about is there are no Dynamic Kill scene from him. Got a admit I was a little pissed off. Later in the game, we also get to meet around with Straybird, which to my knowledge is a stolen robot. I have to say, Straybird's theme is "HOLYMOTHEROFGODTHISISEPIC". Seriously, it's one of the best I have heard in any game. Spoiler alerd right here, but it's something you would expect or probably know by now anyway. Later on they gain combination attack and stuff, Rushbird didn't get any upgrade form. Not that I'm complaining but damn, didn't expect that from Branpresto.

Gameplay(9/10)

L's gameplay is not much difference from K's, but it many way a whole lot better. L's gameplay system is an upgraded version of K's Partner System(which is very bad). Now you could choose which unit you want to attack or defense. It's hard to explain, but you'll get it once you start playing.

That's the system, you would probably learn all those when you play anyway. So now that's out of the way, let's get into something you would wanna hear.

I'm avoid spoiler as much as possible, probably there's none, but well to be safe.

Let's start off with the difficulty. Again, let's look back into K and W. W is an awesome game, but I should say it is pretty easy. Since you got a pretty broken Original and GGGG. K's partner system is fu*ked up and the game is pretty bad, I didn't bother getting into any detail. All I can say is that Strike Freedom alone could solo the whole game. My point is those 2 games has a pretty broken unit and in the end made the game quite easy. This is where L start shining. IMO, L is one of the most balanced SRW up to date. Probably the most too. Many of your mechs are strong, but not to the point that it could solo. Also with the upgraded PU system, some unit that you never thought of using can come in handy.

One thing I did like to mention, although the game seems short, the stages are pretty long. I actually have alot to say, but that would ruins the game for you. Let just wrap this up.

Replayability is pretty high. Like any SRW, there is lots of secrets and route splits. If you really liked the game, it would get you playing for 2+ rounds.

In conclusion, this game is alot better the K. Branpresto has express in many way that they aren't lazy. So I did say buy the game.

That's it for my first review, good or bad, just leave it in the comment.

Beginning!

As you might have guess, this is the start of another Mecha Blog.

Since SRW Hotnews and Daitrombe has been shutted down, I decided to create this blog to fill in some information to you guys. So tune in for many cool Mechs detail, news, or review.

Bookmark and check in often!