mikeszekely

I'm sure, when first Gundam came out, there were only supposed to be three Gundam prototypes. In Kunio Okawara's MS Design Collection, the RX-78-1 is a prototype built at Jaburo, and the back story for the RX-78-3 is that it was built at Jaburo from the remains of the two Gundams destroyed during the Side-07 raid. Also, supposedly all three of the Gundams at Side-07 were RX-78-2s. No back story is given for the RX-78-4, the RX-78-5, or the RX-78-7. The RX-78-6 got some back story for being included in Zeonic Front. Who knows, that means we might get back story for the 4 and 5, since they're both going to be in Encounters In Space. Abombz!!, the aquatic Gundam is the RAG-79-G1. I don't know if that's considered Gundam G-1 or if the RX-78-1 is. Probably the RX-78-1, since the G-2, G-3, G-4 are all in the RX-78 line, and RX-79 implies that it came later. No back story is given for it, but it's part of KO's MS Design Collection, too. And I couldn't find anything that said that Alex is G-8, but if G-6 rolled out in November, and Alex was testing in December, it could very well be. Despite being the "official" explaination, the idea that the RX-79[G]s were built from spare RX-78 parts is still a pretty weak attempt to explain why there are yet more new Gundams in another One Year War story.

It's more odd when you think about the other GG and Zentraedi ties. Like how GG built the VA-14 as a VF-14 variant especially for Zentraedi pilots. Or how much Q-rau tech went into the YF-21/VF-22.

As far as I can tell, the VF-17 Brando flies is an S type. From Macross 7, you can see that the VF-17 has a regular gunpod. In an earlier discussion we had at the old forums, we decided that the laser was an optional weapon that the Ravens happened to use, possibly developed after Macross 7, that works with the same gunpod, in place of a traditional magazine. This is all the Compendiums says, "One multipurpose seven-barrelled gatling gun pod (with retractable handle and fore grip, folding stock, muzzle sensors, and strap) mounted with an exit port and stealth covers in lower main fuselage in all modes or ejectible from lower leg section into manipulator in Battroid mode (one spare gun pod magazine or one gunpod beam adaptor stored in lower main fuselage in Fighter mode or in opposite lower leg section in Battroid mode)." It also goes on to say, "(Internal standard equipment capable of being exchanged for other weapon packs.)" I have no idea what kind of VF-1 Maria used. Since Maria seemed like a very Millia rip off, I always kind of thought of it as a VF-1J. As for the VF-1X-Plus, I'd quote the Compendium again, but there's just too much info. You can check it all out here. To summarize, though, the older regular VF-1s have the control stick in the middle, ala the TV series, older engines, HUDs on display panels, and different avionics. The VF-1X-Plus has the control stick on the right, throttle on the left (like the YF-19 in Macross Plus), improved avionics for space, a better cockpit with a different ejection seat, HUDs that display right on the canopy, and newer engines that give the VF-1X-Plus all-around better performance. There's a theory going around that, since DYRL is supposed to be a movie within the Macross universe, that the VF-1's in DYRL are VF-1X-Plus models, and the ones from the TV series are the older kind. That would kind of make sense, if you catch the subtle differences between the TV series and DYRL, but personally I think that's just an afterthought, and the VF-X-Plus think was just a way to put the VF-1 more on the level with contemporary VFs so that you'd have a reason to be flying them in the VF-X games. Sorry, I get the black screen of death on my VF-X2. I never got to play as the armored VF-1 or VF-11.

Now granted, my UC Gundam experience so far has just been first Gundam and the One Year War OVAs, and all just this summer. But of those Gundams, I really have to say that 0083 wasn't that bad. A few things that didn't makes sense, a plot hole with a colony drop, but it was still an interesting bridge from the One Year stuff into what I know about Zeta and ZZ. The 08th MS Team was, in my opinion, the worst of the One Year War stories. I don't see how the plot hole that is the RX-79(G) can be explained at all, and even if you can get around that, that was by far the worst cast ever! Karen had no personality, Eledore was a fruit, Michel was an annoying complainer, Terry was a "Oh, I'm a jinx, woe to me!" gloom and doom kind of character. And while Shiro demonstrated some admirable qualities, he also showed that he had no business in the miliatary. The ONLY thing that the 08th MS Team deserves credit for is it's very realistic portrayal of war and combat. But even then, 0080 outshines the 08th MS for more powerfully showing the effects of war. Naturally, the best One Year War story is the original Gundam series.

But as I learned when studying different meteor impacts on the Earth and Moon, a shallow angel impact often does more damage than a head on impact. As for velocity, that would indeed make a difference... but we really don't have any info on how fast either of the colonies were falling. I think plot hole makes the most sense. I can overlook it, though. OT: Anyone catch the newspaper Al was reading at the end of 0080? The banner says "UN Spacy." Is that because Mikimoto was on the staff, like a nod to Macross?

0083 may have had it's plot issues, but c'mon, no series did more to wreck continuity than the 08th MS Team. I mean, wasn't the whole point of the original Gundam series that the Gundam was the only one of its kind? In 0080, you can kind of explain Alex as being that it was so late in the war, and it was just a test bed for new technology... but in the 08th MS Team we have a whole unit piloting Gundams! Yeah, my biggest issue with 0083 was really what they were really targeting.

DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS TOPIC, THE WHOLE THING WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0083 STARDUST MEMORY, AND YOU THINK YOU MIGHT, STOP READING! Okay, that said, I just finished watching Stardust Memory again. The first time I watched it, it was only the second Gundam series I'd ever seen, and I had no idea what was going on. Now, I'm trying to watch all the Gundam series by chronological order according to their story, not their release, so I've finished watching first Gundam, The 08th MS Team, War in the Pocket, and lastly Stardust Memory. The whole story makes a lot more sense to me now, but I still have some questions: I haven't watched Zeta yet, but do they mention the colony drop from 0083? In the last episode, Gato adjusts the colony's course and reveals that their intended target wasn't Jaburo. Later, after it's all over, the admiral is giving a speech about creating the Titans, he says something about it falling on a grain farm in North America. Why was the Delaz fleet more interested in attacking a farm than the Federation HQ? At the very very end, Kou goes to visit a farm, where he runs into Keith, Mora, and Nina. There's a big hunk of junk in the middle that might have been from the colony. Was that supposed to the farm? I thought colony drops were supposed to be more destructive (in the first episode, when the Albion is flying to Australia, they point out that the bay they were flying over was where Sydney used to be, and that it was now the largest man-made hole on the planet)?

I liked Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 4-6, Final Fantasy 8 and 9. I don't care what anyone else says, 7 and 10 were mediocre. Secret of Mana was fun, but I didn't really care for any of the other games in the Seiken Densetsu series. The SaGa series was pretty mediocre, although I did have some fun with the first PSX SaGa Frontier. Xenogears was a blast, and no, so far Xenosaga is not up to par with it. Bushido Blade and Bushido Blade 2 were alright, I wouldn't mind playing another. The Bouncer was pretty so-so. I kinda agree with what someone else said: if not for Final Fantasy fanboys and girls, I think Square would be done. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Square sucks... they've done quite a few good games, mostly RPGs. But I don't think they've done enough to be reguarded as highly in the industry as they are. Developers that deserve the real credit, IMHO, would be Capcom, Konami, Sega, and Nintendo.

Well, I know I got the Cowboy Bebop Movie about two weeks before its street date at a Fred Meyer department/grocery store in Springfield, Oregon. I don't know if my local Suncoast (in Torrance, CA -- the Del Amo Mall) had it that early, but he told me they'd never release it before the street date, for fear of the studio embargoing future releases. I don't know, maybe movies and CDs do get shipped early. But believe me on this one, a videogame can get canned the day before the street date, and we'd never see it in the store. I remember a bunch of stores were selling Mortal Kombat early. Well, I wasn't working for Gamestop then. I'm just saying what the case is now. Sometimes, we do get games early. An example is Madden 2004 was supposed to come out on a Tuesday, but we got it and started selling it at 8:00 on Monday night... not even a whole day early.

And at the rate they're going with this, many of us will have died of old age before part five comes out. <_< Seriously, about one every six months... so maybe end of next year?

I'm with you. The only one I have is D for the GBA, and I can't figure out jack.

This has come up before, and as far as I know, it doesn't matter if you're playing a copy on a modded system or the real thing on a Japanese console. A large number of the games are simply defective.

I played Ace Combat 4. Played it several times, as it's still the best flying game on a console (Lethal Skies, both of them, sucked, as did Top Gun. Air Force Delta Storm waited to long and made you put up with too much crap before you got a cool plane. Didn't playe Aero Elite, though). But you know what? I don't think AC's game engine would work for a Macross game. You kinda need a more simplified one to free up controls for transforming. Also, a more versatile engine would make transitions between modes smoother. To tell the truth, Battlecry didn't have a bad engine... just really crappy missions combined with a really lame story.

I TOTALLY disagree. Sure, VF-X was bad, and VF-X2 takes some getting used to. I'll give one point to Battlecry for having better control, and another for having better graphics. But, VF-X2 has more VFs, a way better story, and more interesting missions. I mean, I haven't really played BC since it first came out, but what I remember the most was a truckload of enemies attacking the stadium from all sides, and only me to protect it... not fun. I mean, I like it when a game is challenging, but when I think I'd rather work part time at Wal-Mart (because at least I'd get paid for that), something needs to be done. Don't forget the unusual amount of baby sitting missions! Sure, but that one was by far the worst. I mean, yeah, VF-X2 didn't have the best controls or the prettiest graphics. But from what I can tell, the story is OVA quality, and I do love to fly the VF-17 and the VF-22.

Flying around in a Zeta or the Super Gundam with ZOE's controls... ::drools:: Is the Ball in it? EiS has TWO Balls. (That didn't come out good, did it?) The regular kind from the TV series, and then the one from the beginning of the 08th MS Team. AEUG vs. Titans doesn't have any Balls.

Well, I know I got the Cowboy Bebop Movie about two weeks before its street date at a Fred Meyer department/grocery store in Springfield, Oregon. I don't know if my local Suncoast (in Torrance, CA -- the Del Amo Mall) had it that early, but he told me they'd never release it before the street date, for fear of the studio embargoing future releases. I don't know, maybe movies and CDs do get shipped early. But believe me on this one, a videogame can get canned the day before the street date, and we'd never see it in the store.

I TOTALLY disagree. Sure, VF-X was bad, and VF-X2 takes some getting used to. I'll give one point to Battlecry for having better control, and another for having better graphics. But, VF-X2 has more VFs, a way better story, and more interesting missions. I mean, I haven't really played BC since it first came out, but what I remember the most was a truckload of enemies attacking the stadium from all sides, and only me to protect it... not fun. I mean, I like it when a game is challenging, but when I think I'd rather work part time at Wal-Mart (because at least I'd get paid for that), something needs to be done.

Um... Rockman and Forte was a Super Famicom game. But it's not going to be in the collection, probably because Capcom wants you to buy it for the GBA. Unless you meant you don't have a PS2, so you can't play the collection. But remember, they're making it for Gamecube too! And maybe the Cube will drop before Christmas... then you can get the Megaman Collection, a Gamecube, a GBA Player for the Gamecube, and Megaman and Bass (not the mention Megaman Zero and Megaman Zero 2). Of course, you'll still need to get a PS2 eventually to play Megaman X7, though... Actually, I forgot that I own a GBA player myself! I'm gonna go play Megaman and Bass on the 27" and wait for the Megaman collection.

Hey, Gobots kicked ass!

If I remember well... it was either the Saturn version or the PSX version that had serious glitches. Capcom took most copies back and said they would rerelease the fixed game... but never got around to it. Well hell, they can release the fixed version with a third Megaman collection! Hmm... this thread is starting to to look like this: Mike says something. Abombz!! replies. Mike replies to Abombz!! Abombz replies to Mike. Mike replies to Abombz!! Abombz replies to Mike. Mike replies to Abombz!! Abombz replies to Mike.

*giggles like a school girl* I'm keeping my figers crossed for that! I think Zeta had some really nice MS designs. Maybe even the best of the UC mobile suits, after Char's Counter Attack. Nu Gundam is still my favorite.

I don't remember if Capcom had any problems with Super Adventure Rockman or not... I just know that it's the only Rockman game I've never played, and the only one that I can't ever find for PlayStation on eBay. Cyber Mission was pretty remixed, but Soul Eraser no more than the other Gameboy Megamans (save 5). All of the levels were new and you could play as Zero, which was nice. Only the bosses were remixed.

Being a Capcom fan and a fan of Federation vs. Zeon, I'm halfway with you there, Keith. But since AEUG vs. Titans is only in the arcades, we gotta wait for them to get around to doing a Japanese console version, then the English version... EiS looks like enough fun to at least kill the wait for AEUG vs. Titans.

You know, it actually helps to read a post before replying to it: I suppose proofreading couldn't hurt either. I'm sorry, but that statement just doesn't make sense to me. Ames doesn't get games before the street date, but they *do* get games and music before the street date? I'm not trying to come off as the grammar police, but your misuse of punctuation and sentence order is very confusing. Anyways, back to the topic. The English version of VFX2 was complete and was scheduled for release on Sept. 9th 1999. That date got pushed back to Sept. 18th, then to October 18th, November 18th, and so forth. By December, everyone had already assumed the worst. Finally, in April of 2000, Bandai officially cancelled the game. Bandai cited prior commitments to other games such as Digimon World and Countdown Vampires. However, rumors indicated that problems were legal in nature and that "far too many companies want a piece of the profit from this game, and no reasonable agreement could be reached between them." Sources: AFM archives; IGN article 1 ; IGN article 2 My own comments on the matter: I don't believe Bandai's official statement is 100% true. Digimon World et al may have been extra work for Bandai, but VFX2 was already done, it's not like they had to spend any time coding it from scratch. Plus, Bandai is a corporate giant, but their official statement makes it sound like they are of limited resources. I think the legal mess was their biggest problem. Now, would Bandai go ahead and send the game into mass production before resolving the legal issue? Or, did the legal problems present themselves after the game went into mass production? As for any chance of a future release, Bandai would first have work out that long-standing legal mess. Yeah, I meant that at Ames we got CDs and DVDs somtimes a day or two before the street date. Sorry, I got games on the brain. Two weeks before the street date? At a music/DVD store? East coast or west? I'll ask my friend at Suncoast next time I see him, but I'm pretty sure they don't have anything sitting in their stock room for that long. But as I said, at Ames we sometimes got CDs or DVDs that had a Tuesday street date on our Monday morning truck. And at Gamestop, west coast stores get games on the street date, east coast stores get theirs that day or the day after. The only exceptions since I've been there were Vice City and Madden 2004, both of which we arrived in the store around 8:00pm the day before the street date, and we put those out for sale right away... in fact, we even stayed open late for them. So basically, if a game got canned the day before the street date, that's when we'd know at the store. Well, you've got the nice IGN article that says that it was officially canned in April. But as I remember, it was supposed to be released on 1-8-00, and I was at the airport that day seeing off my gf at the time. Now, I was already pretty upset that I was going to be in a long distance relationship, so it was a double kick in the ass when I stopped at the EB in the air mall to pick up the game and they didn't have it. Maybe Bandai hadn't made an official announcement, but the sales guy definately told me that it was canceled. I don't believe Bandai's statments completely either. I contacted Bandai to ask about the cancellation, and the response that I got was that they simply didn't feel that VF-X2 was quality enough to release in the US. Seemed odd to me that they'd cancel so late in the game, and now that I've read their official statement, it almost seems like they're changing their story. I stand by my earlier speculation, though. I think the game could have been completed and ready to go. The delays in release were probably due to Bandai trying to sort things out with HG, before deciding that it just wouldn't work out. But, since the PSone is a dead system, they might figure that they can ship it and sell it now without much fuss from HG. Yellowlightman, I don't think that VF-X2 would sell well, either, but don't write it off because of that. I don't know how other stores did, but at the Gamestop where I work, sales for DBZ were poor, Inu Yasha worse, and I think I bought the only copy we sold of Battle Assault 2. DBZ might be popular, but none of the Gundams aired on American TV seemed to enjoy the popularity that Wing did. I didn't even know that Inu Yasha was on American TV. I think that Bandai doesn't expect these games to be mega hits and sell well. I think they're just trying to make a quick buck on fans of the animes. If Bandai thinks that enough Macross fans and maybe some Robotech fans will buy VF-X2, especially if the game has already been produced.

Seems like just yesterday that we were talking about AEUG vs. Titans going to the arcades (and hoping for a console release). Seems that's not the only new Gundam game on the block... we've also got Encounters in Space coming. (Pardon me if this is old news in Japan... I just to see it in the new PSM.) The few screenshots I've seen looks like the gameplay could be similar to Federation vs. Zeon, but everything looks more detailed. mahq.net has a section for the mecha in the game... looks like another One Year War game, but at least there's a ton more mobile suits than in FvZ.