mikeszekely

You... don't know Kratos? If you own a PS2, march into wherever you buy your PS2 games at, and pick up God of War. Now. I'll wait. Seriously, the first one's a Greatest Hits game, so it's only $20 (or less... I bought it when it came out, sold it after I beat it, and bought it back for $10 used). If you like action-platformers... heck, if you like games, you owe it to yourself to play God of War, as it's easily one of the best games available for the PS2.

The newer Slim models do, yeah. Cable sold separately, of course.

Nope, I've (sadly) always been in PA, although I tried to get a job in Cleveland last summer. I think it's David that's in Iowa.

I didn't. I really liked AiA's subs. Well, best wishes with your endeavors in Japan.

The world's a little less funny without him. 2008 hasn't been a very good year, has it? Awful lot or RIP threads so far this year.

So it looks like a lot of people in this thread are starting to find Voyager Prime. I hope that means that he'll start turning up in stores around here soon. I swung by Target and Wal-Mart today. Target looks the same as it did last week before the street date, and the only change to Wal-Mart's stock is that they put out some Lugnuts.

I'm sure that the 11 and either the 17 or the 171 will appear (more likely the 17, but I'd say good odds on both). Like I said, Artdink was really good about finding obscure Mobile Suits for the Gundam Battle game. They definitely got all the major ones. And I want to drive a Regult.

I forgive the lateness of your reply. We don't have Shopko's in Western PA anyway.

*regrets again that parents gave away all his old Transformers when I was a teen* Without a G1 reference handy, would you say that they are or are not suitable for the Animated toys?

Sorry to hear, David. I know how much it sucks when an expensive Transformer breaks (my MP Starscream's left wing fell off). I know I said I was going to hold off, but Toys R' Us had a coupon for $5 of if you spent $25 or more, so I bought Animated Starscream and Bumblebee. Starscream, I like a lot. It's a toss up between him and Grimlock for favorite Animated toy so far. Bumblebee, well... I want to like him. Alt mode's pretty good, and I love that he has an interesting and very different Transformation than Classics, despite the fact that their alt modes have very similar. But he's so plagued with issues. Kibble on his back, shoulders, and the back of his legs really limits his posability. And while this might be unique to mine, his arms are prone to popping off when his shoulders get caught on his back kibble. I hate that his stingers don't fold onto his arms well, which further limits his posability (although Jin Saotome posted a fix for that, I don't have a dremel). I'd also like to know what's with the half-assed paint job. I'm lousy with paints (I've got a few 1/144 Gundam models to prove it), so I haven't dared to paint any of my Transformers ever. I was tempted to finish the black around Voyager Megatron's wrists, but I held off on even that. But I'm definitely going to have to paint Bumblebee. He's completely missing the black stripe on his leg (the stripe that flows into his foot, his faux windshield keeps popping off so I'm tempted to just paint one on, he could use some black on his hands, and while it looks like they put some kind of shiny paint where his headlights are, it's really not noticeable unless you're holding it under a light. I suspect that it's so they don't show on his feet too much, as they don't really show on his animated counterpart. Frankly, his bot mode suffers enough that I'd rather they went all out on making his alt mode look great. Which actually brings me back to David. You mentioned paint markers? On my Gundams, I've used those little jars of Testors and a small brush, and like I said, I'm not happy with my skill there. A marker sounds a lot easier to keep in the lines, so to speak. Although you've used your brand with much success for everything until your Prime, your Prime still has me leery of said brand. So can anyone else suggest some good paints/paint markers? Oh, yeah, and does anyone know if the Miniature Silver Symbols from Reprolables are a good fit for the Animated toys? I really don't know why Hasbro opted to slap silver and gold-painted logos on characters who appear in the cartoon with bright red and purple faction symbols.

I'll second the desire for an updated VF-X2, or at least a VF-X OAV. VF-X3 sounds good, but given Artdink's work on the Gundam Battle games, Ace Frontier could very well be what I want in a new Macross game. Just stick it on a console, have campaigns running from Macross Zero through Macross Frontier, allow for the ability to capture enemy units, make every canon mecha playable (all VF's, included obscure ones like the VF-3000 and the Variable Glaug, all Destroids, Zentraedi mecha from the Regult up, the Varauta mecha, and the Anti-UN mecha from both Zero and the VF-X games), and put it on the PS3 instead of the PSP.

So you're saying that this does fit with the usual Macross mecha? Or this? Or this? They all share more design aesthetics than the Gjagravan-Va and the Vajra. As for where it came from, I'm Black Rainbow was using it, so I assume it's a new design of Zentraedi technology. The name certainly appears Zentraedi. We only know that the Vajra destroyed the research fleet in 2048, but how much the UN knew about the Vajra prior to 2048 or even after that encounter is speculation, as well as who in the UN even had access to that information, as it's obviously still classified in 2059. It's a stretch to assume that Critical Path's contacts in the UN even knew about the Vajra, let alone leaked information about the Vajra to them. And two years isn't much time to build a weapon that's modeled after what the UN seemed to assume was a life form (they all seemed shocked when bad haircut guy suggested that the Vajra was lacking in higher brain functions), and for that weapon to fall into Black Rainbow's hands. Finally, you're asking me to believe that either Kawamori had Frontier in mind when he worked on VF-X2 a decade ago, or that he thought enough of the Gjagravan-Va to model the Vajra off of it with the intention to retcon a UN info leak to retroactively explain the Gjagravan-Va's design? I'm sorry, but neither scenario seems likely to me. Again, I would love to be wrong. VF-X2 was a fantastic piece of Macross fiction, and I would love for Frontier to reference it more directly. But without any solid reference in Frontier your perceived connections are just speculation.

See, I prefer the smaller toys, because they're cheaper. Except in this case. If Hasbro brings Alternity to the States at a reasonable price, I'm all for a new Prime toy. But I'm not paying$40-$50 for a Deluxe size toy, even if it does have die-cast and a licensed alt mode. No, you're not the only one, although my complaints are less that it takes the fun out of transforming the toy and more that it made a lot of the movie toys somewhat broken. Old Camaro Bumblebee, Blackout, and Barricade all have seams that just won't line up, and I transformed Concept Camaro Bumblebee one to bot mode and never changed him back for fear of breaking him because his chest does something goofy. Honestly, I bought movie toys because I was pumped over the movie, but even then I limited them to just characters that were actually in the movie, and even then I don't like the majority of them.

Actually, no, I actually own a copy. One of the Japanese exchange students picked it up for me when I was in college. AFAIK, the problem wasn't a bad rip, but an actual defective game. I would LOVE an ISO image of one that doesn't lock up, but I never found one. I assume you mean this? The thing has four limb-like thrusters and a particle cannon on its back, but it's a stretch to think there's a Vajra connection. By your own admission, speculation. I'm not saying that the events of VF-X2 didn't have any impact on Frontier or the future of the Macross Universe. Indeed, VF-X2 had a solid story worthy of on OAV, and since it is part of Macross canon I would love to see Frontier acknowledge the events of VF-X2. With tenuous links and speculation at best, though, until something happens in Frontier with a more direct link I'd say it's more likely you're overestimating it. But hey, I'd love to be wrong.

It should go without saying that this thread is going to have spoilers, so I'm not going to bother to tag them. VF-X: Light on plot, basically you're some kind of elite pilot on a mission to rescue a pop group, the Milky Dolls, from some Zentraedi faction. VF-X2: I might be missing some details, but here goes. You're Aegis Focker, and you've been selected to join an elite unite, the VF-X Ravens. At first, your enemy appears to be an Anti-UN faction called Black Rainbow. During one mission, your mentor/squad leader is MIA after fighting a Zentraedi ace that he apparently knew, and you're promoted to the new team leader. You wind up meeting and fighting with Manfred Brando, the leader of the Critical Path Corporation, although aside from developing some kind of sound barrier, I'm not sure what his role is. Late in the game, you wind up finding you old mentor, only now he's flying with Black Rainbow. To get the good ending (and I presume the canon ending), you decide to go along with him, and it turns out that some UN guy who's been giving the Ravens their missions is the real bad guy and he's been manipulating things all along. After a fight with him, he launches the Macross 13, with one of Brando's sound barriers. You take it out (after taking down one of your former underlings), and I'm not really sure what happens after that, because I got one of the copies that locks up at the ending. M3: Not 100% sure, since I never played it. Has something to do with Max and Milia's time in the Dancing Skulls, which is in the period between Flashback 2012 and Macross Plus. They adopt some kid (as if they didn't have enough of their own), and shoot down some Variable Glaugs. Of the three, VF-X2 would be the most likely to have any influence on Frontier, as it's both the plottiest as well as occurring closest to it (2050, or 9 years before), but aside from introducing the Konig Monster, it doesn't appear to have any serious influence. There's been some speculation that the corrupt officer and the Black Rainbow/UN conflict might have had some influence on the transition from the UN to the NUN government, but that's still just speculation. I'm not sure about M3, but the VF-X games both have Kawamori's blessings and are both canon.

Looks like Sentinel Prime is going to be a Deluxe, not a Voyager. I might be a minority, but I'm happy to hear that. At $10 a pop, I'll pick up Voyagers on a whim, whereas I have to think about it a bit more before buying a Voyager, and I almost never buy Leaders.

It's possible. The Gundam Battle games have included some obscure Mobile Suits from various manga and side stories including Blue Destiny, MSV, and Sentinel, and now they're even set to use Hathaway's Flash and Beltorchika's Children. If not Ace Frontier, perhaps a sequel?

I was just thinking that a Nissan GT-R Convoy would be stupid after the Dodge Ram Prime, but I actually kinda like the prototype. It looks like Super Fire Convoy.

Wouldn't hold your breath. I've been hoping for a console port (PS2 or PS3) of the Gundam Battle games, and we're going on the fourth PSP version there.

Nah, I can deal with the gap below her neck. I don't like that her hands show on her spider legs, but I could even live with that. What I really don't like is her feet. The way they fold out means that she's leaning if her legs are straight, and she doesn't balance well. I have her kinda squating, like she might be taking a dump (maybe that's why she doesn't like her organic half?).

I didn't even know you could do that. I'll probably check back later in the week.

Megaman 9? Somebody pinch me and tell me I'm not dreaming...

Megaman 9? Somebody pinch me and tell me I'm not dreaming...

Yeah, the ACE games were pretty good, but I was thinking of the purely Macross games (VF-X, M3, the Sega one). But I still like the Gundam Battle games better than the ACE games, so either way, I'm psyched. Between this and Megaman 9, I'm pretty psyched to be a gamer.

I know what you mean. I was just going to collect a few, but now that they're starting to hit stores, they're all looking mighty tempting... I wasn't going to go out again today, but a friend wanted to do lunch, so I went back to Target again. The endcap was there! It just had movie Deep Space Starscream, Grimlock, and Lugnut, though. No Voyager Primes. Picked up Grimlock, went to Wal-Mart, and picked up Blackarachnia and Ratchet. Blackarachnia I like less than I thought I would, Grimlock is fantastic, and Ratchet is solid. I like how he transforms, and it makes me long for Universe Ironhide. The only thing I don't really like is how they did his electromagnets... it's like they're only half there. I'm going to try to stop until I find a Voyager Prime, but I'm sorely tempted to get the rest of the Autobots. Prowl's easier to resist, since I know they're coming out with another, and Bulkhead I might want in the Leader size.