Another Centuries Episode 2

[jwinges]

Sorry mods but the search function isn't finding the old threads on this. If you can find the old threads please just move this there.

For those looking forward to A.C.E. 2 it is out on the usual torrent sites. Time for some valkyrie vs. gundam action!

[ychanus]

Anyone get a chance to play it? I'm annoyed from ACE 1 that the Right or Left turn of the mech is inverted. I wonder if they change the control this time, or let player to re-map the control.

[jwinges]

Anyone get a chance to play it? I'm annoyed from ACE 1 that the Right or Left turn of the mech is inverted.  I wonder if they change the control this time, or let player to re-map the control.

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I've only played for about 2 minutes but it looks like the controls are better than I remember on the old game. I'll wait on control judgement until I've played more. I must say though that the opening animation is incredible. I can't think of too many opening animations to games that are better. Holy crap. The one thing I found a little odd though is seeing more qua-ru action than valkyrie action in the opening animation. You also get to see some Qua-Ru's get wasted by some bug looking mech (grey mech with clear dragonfly wings) with a female pilot.

Edited March 31, 2006 by jwinges

[mikeszekely]

A.C.E. 2 it is out on the usual torrent sites.

Really? I've only been able to find one, and that one gives me a "rejected by tracker" message.

[ychanus]

Please come back with more impression.

I've only played for about 2 minutes but it looks like the controls are better than I remember on the old game.  I'll wait on control judgement until I've played more.  I must say though that the opening animation is incredible.  I can't think of too many opening animations to games that are better.  Holy crap.  The one thing I found a little odd though is seeing more qua-ru action than valkyrie action in the opening animation.  You also get to see some Qua-Ru's get wasted by some bug looking mech (grey mech with clear dragonfly wings) with a female pilot.

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[promethuem5]

What kind of game is this? Never heard of it, but it shounds awesome.

[mikeszekely]

What kind of game is this?  Never heard of it, but it shounds awesome.

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I don't know how the new one is, but I played through a chunk of the first one. The premise is something like an amalgamation of different anime universes allows for mecha from different shows to pound on each other. The story is a little hard to follow (my rusty Japanese likely has a lot to do with it). I mean, it starts off very Gundamish... you're stationed on the Ra Calium (from Char's Counterattack), complete with Capitain Bright Noa. I'm not sure who Londo Bell works for, but a lot of the missions involved fighting with factions that were not part of the Gundam universe.

[promethuem5]

Platform?

[ychanus]

Playstation2 (JAP)

Platform?

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[Veritas]

I've been meaning to ask somebody about this and i guess this is just about a good as place as any, is this game playable if you can't read/understand Japanese? The menus in the Japanese Front Mission games for example are all spelled out in English, but the storyline is Japanese Text. Although you miss the storyline if you can't read Japanese, at least the game is playable. Is this game anything like that? I've been meaning to take a look at this... that is if i can get past the main menu. My Japanese comprehension aint what it used to be.

Edited April 1, 2006 by Veritas

[ychanus]

It is not 100% playable like a import fighting game, but a little trial and error/ FAQ reading should get you through the game easily. With that said, I meant some custumization required between levels like SRW series.

I've been meaning to ask somebody about this and i guess this is just about a good as place as any, is this game playable if you can't read/understand Japanese?  The menus in the Japanese Front Mission games for example are all spelled out in English, but the storyline is Japanese Text.  Although you miss the storyline if you can't read Japanese, at least the game is playable.  Is this game anything like that?  I've been meaning to take a look at this... that is if i can get past the main menu.  My Japanese comprehension aint what it used to be.

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[jwinges]

It is not 100% playable like a import fighting game, but a little trial and error/ FAQ reading should get you through the game easily. With that said, I meant some custumization required between levels like SRW series.

I've been meaning to ask somebody about this and i guess this is just about a good as place as any, is this game playable if you can't read/understand Japanese?  The menus in the Japanese Front Mission games for example are all spelled out in English, but the storyline is Japanese Text.  Although you miss the storyline if you can't read Japanese, at least the game is playable.  Is this game anything like that?  I've been meaning to take a look at this... that is if i can get past the main menu.  My Japanese comprehension aint what it used to be.

386536[/snapback]

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Also you can usually find a menu layout at either gamefaqs.com or playasia the online store. Playasia sometimes puts the menu up in the game description.

[ychanus]

There are some promo videos I found, it looks very awesome. Especially the Macross VF actions.

500k version:

http://www.b-ch.com/freemv/prom/ace_02_500k.asx

1m version:

http://www.b-ch.com/freemv/prom/ace_02_1m.asx

Also I found this 165M promo video from Emeraldo at GameFAQ.. It contains some of the opening sequence and tons of gameplay movie.

http://files.filefront.com/ace2promoavi/;4...;/fileinfo.html

Edited April 2, 2006 by ychanus

[mikeszekely]

Okay, but what the hell? At the start, it seems like you have several options to choose, one for each of the mecha series represented, right? So I picked the Macross one... next thing I know, I'm stationed on the Albion helping Kou take down the GP-02. Now I'm a couple of levels in (ReGZ!), and I haven't even SEEN any Macross mecha, let alone flown one.

I can say, the controls are definately a little different than the original A.C.E. In the first one, it seemed like almost every button was mapped to an attack, and you just happened to melee if you were close enough. Now you have one weapon button, one melee attack, and you can use L1 to toggle between whatever weapons your mecha is equiped with.

Is that Gun Ark that you start with an original? If it is, the original mecha look hella cooler than the originals in the first A.C.E.

[Boxer]

Just seeing the Macross with the Nadesico and Albion is enough for me to want to get this game.

But... as it means getting a Japanese PS2, in addition to the game and the import, I'm not sure it's directly worth the cost.

A shame the states could never be as creative or origional to produce something like this.

[UN Spacy]

Any more impressions fellas?

Does the Macross levels play like the game that was released a couple of years ago on the PS2?

[Wes]

Any more impressions fellas?

Does the Macross levels play like the game that was released a couple of years ago on the PS2?

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This is supposed to be a fighter-type game, not flight-sim.

[jwinges]

For those wanting and needing help and background from NCsx:

Another Century's Episode 2

Description

Update: March 30, 2006 2:12PM

Another Century's Episode 2 is sold out but we will restock by next week. Backorders will ship once new supplies arrive. Thanks.

Update: March 30, 2006

«©NCSX» A.C.E. hails from From Software and mixes the company's refined mech combat skills with well known franchises from Banpresto's Gundam stable and other properties such as Macrosss. A.C.E.2 features 180 mecha from 15 works with notables such as the VF-1S Strike Valkyrie, God Gundam, Tallgeese III, and Nanajin.

The battles are fast paced where a mech speeds on battlefields and targets enemy ranks for destruction. An auto-targeting feature (press TRIANGLE) may be used to lock onto an enemy unit and if you're close enough, a melee attack may be performed to smash it. However, if it's a formidable mech and not a peon, it will parry your blow and the two swords will sizzle in a close-up struggle for supremacy. Far away foes may be locked on and then fired upon with an arsenal of projectile weapons. There was one point during this morning's trial where our play tester sped towards a group of enemies and as they appeared in the horizon, he selected the missiles and launched two of them at the crowd. The projectiles weaved towards the targets with vapor trails streaming as the player's mech continued roaring towards the enemies.

A.C.E. 2 Controls

TRIANGLE / Auto-target

O Button / Weapon slash

X Button / Forward Thrust (Sustained propulsion)

SQUARE / Fire Weapon

R1 TRIGGER / Ascend higher

L1 TRIGGER / Descend lower

L-ANALOG / Movement

R-ANALOG / Camera Movement

View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.

NCS Game Notes

* In the intro to the game, green Zeon battle cruisers are serenely waltzing towards Earth and preparing for war. As they near the planet, hatches open up and Zaku mechs launch from the bays and rocket into battle against approaching Gundam warriors. Soon, the sounds and chaos of clashes wreck the peace as serenity turns into clanging skirmishes in space. Later, a Wing Gundam Zero wafts in the middle of a bunch of Gundam battleships and spin-shoots, wreaking massive havoc.

Scene shift to a sequence involving two Macross warriors who are flying acorss the skies and battling against enemies with streams of vapor-trailing missiles. The battle shifts back to the Gundam and a lengthy sequence shows off exciting Gundam action.

* Before each scenario, a voice over explains the background story which is accompanied by an animated sequence. Each introductory cinema is well done and detailed which will please fans of the various Gundam series and Macross featured in the game.

* When you're fairly close (about 300m) to an enemy mech and locked-on, pressing the "O" attack button sends your mech swooping in on the enemy for a violent killing stroke. Since you'll be up close, the camera catches the enemy mech being busted up into component pieces as it is destroyed.

* Gundam games sell very well. We're finding that A.C.E. and A.C.E. 2 are also commanding a good amount of attention with both games attracting interest.

Also some good help here:

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=929427

[Boxer]

And I suppose like with all good games, we won't see a stateside release?

If I ever get into the position of having an income again I think it might be woth saving up just for an import PS2 to get A.C.E. This game looks fantastic, and as a crossover author it's like a dream come true. Don't care of the dialouge's all in Japanese- just getting to fly Valkries with the Nadesico squad's enough.

[Boxer]

And does anyone have the name of the songs shown in the longer preview movie? It's driving me crazy....

[ychanus]

The name is Glorious

Do u like it? or hate it

And does anyone have the name of the songs shown in the longer preview movie? It's driving me crazy....

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[Boxer]

LIke it.

Actually I found the artist... Apparently she did some ACE songs and released them as a single

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GZCA-7069

[Graham]

Got to play ACE 2 for a few minutes yesterday. The Macross bits of the opening movie were great. It's a pity that the silly Turkey Gundam is featured in the movie though. That's one mecha I can't stand.

The set up of the game is confusing as hell if you don't read Japanese. There was several pages of text and options you had to click through before you could start and I had no idea what I was doing.

I thought I'd selected Macross mecha to play, but ended up piloting some sort of non-anime, original ACE2 mecha and fighting a bunch of Zakus and what looked like AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships in a desert environment!

Gameplay was OK, although there seemed to be no quick way to turn the mecha, but given that AFAIK, the game uses an engine from From Software (Armored Core), this is hardly surprizing, as the AC games are notorious for their slow turning mecha.

Got bored after a couple of minutes of flying around wasting Zakus, which seemed to have very stupid AI and basically stood still, ocassionally taking very inaccurate pot shots at me.

Don't think I'll be buying this, behaps if there was an international version with English text, I'd give it more of a chance, but these days I just can't be bothered with Japanese text-heavy games anymore, no matter how big a fan of a franchise I am.

Graham

[Black Valkyrie]

It's a pity that the silly Turkey Gundam is featured in the movie though. That's one mecha I can't stand.

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Because it isn`t from seed/seed destiny .

Edited April 10, 2006 by Black Valkyrie

[OverTechJunkie]

I didn't know this game was mentioned here.

Please look in my locked post for pics and some movies in the games section.

Sorry for not doing a search first.

[jwinges]

Ok below is what I've figured out of the menu's so far for those who need help. bare in mind that I don't read Japanese.

Also when you start the game picking the macross path doesn't mean that you'll get a valk right away. It just means that when you do the valks will be able to be built up more then they would in the other versions. Pick gundam and you'll build better gundams.

So far the first non ACE mech I received was a gundam and I'm playing within macross mode. BTW I've read that regardless of the path you choose the ACE mech can be upgraded the most.

Here's the menu guide that will get you started. The damn site screwed up my bullets so each change in bullets should be tabbed in under the previous bullet.

Another Century Episode 2 Menu Guide

Main

• New

o Brings to Story choose screen

• Load

• Instant action?

• Vs mode

• Load

Post-Brief Menu

• Start

• Gallery and command lists

• News

• E-mail

• Past Missions Briefings

• Training sim Submenu

o Simulator

 Start

 Mech pick

 Mech upgrade

• Save/load

• Options Submenu

o Gameplay options

o Gameplay options

o Sound

o Effects

• Quit

Edited April 10, 2006 by jwinges

[mikeszekely]

By now, I've played a ton of missions. The game sometimes requires a bit of trial and error to figure out what is what in the menues, and the ability to read katakana helps too. But the menues aren't terribly difficult, and the gameplay itself is simple, and reminiscent of ZOE.

I still haven't got any mecha from Macross. The story seems to play out the same reguardless of which you pick at the beginning. If that's the case, Graham, you might be dissapointed to hear that you'll aquire that Turkey Gundam before a VF-1.

Although I haven't a Valkyrie, the Gun Ark (the A.C.E original mecha you start with) is variable, and the ReGZ launches with the backpack weapon system. In jet mode, your mecha is undwieldly and it can be difficult to line up shots. My advice is to avoid it if you can, and when I do get a Valkyrie, I'll probably keep it in Battroid mode.

Two games with the ReGZ in about a month... not too bad.

[Abombz!!]

I beat the game on saturday using Stardust Memory as the main story, and the Macross mechs don't show up untill the last stretch of the story (Max and Roy pop first, with Hikaru popping later on), with the last 3 missions being the Bodolza fight from DYRL. The VF1s are quit good, certainly in the top 5 mechs in this game (as far as use goes, they only lose to the evolved Gun Ark and the Nu Gundam), imo. The VFs do not control like fighters, nor does the game play like a sim. The fighter mode is mostly used as a quick interceptor in missions where you have to kill certain things before they leave the area. The Macross BGMs are a bit disapointing, btw.

IMO, the Macross bits play alot better then the Macross game released 2 years ago, and its worth it just to see the Macross transforming in real time in the middle of a mission.

As for the turkey Gundam, you are just being picky considering out of 60 something levels (counting operations and missions), you only have a single GGundam centric mission and its the detroy the Devil Gundam mission. You don't ever need to look at it, you can totally ignore him. Domon doesn't even have that many lines in the game.

The AI does get alot better later on. The first 10 missions I didn't drop HP lowert then 9000, but in the last few missions my HP was always lower then 5000. The enemies get smarter and alot stronger as well.

As for the menus, alot of trial and error helps, and all that stuff you choose before you start the game are the control methods. There is an on screen graphic representing each method so it doesn't take a Harvard grad to figure them out. And I've been told the shows you pick at the start represent different missions you get throughut the game, haven't gone through the game a second time so I can't confirm.

I was surprised by the game, I was expecting slow crap like the Armored core series but it turned out to be fast and fun. It has its problems, but its a really good game, certainly on the level of Mobile Suit Gundam: the One Year War for the PS2 (the very best Gundam game ever made).

The biggest gripe I have with the game (this applies to the other Macross game) is how everything is totally out of proportion. While the robots reflect their sizes the ships are way too small. The macross is way too tiny (not as tiny as the one in the Macross game or as ugly).

The name of the intro song is "Glorious" and the name of the ending song is "Precious Place" both sung by Rina Aiuchi, who also did the themes for the first ACE game.

EDIT: the game came with a DVD, I'm guessing some sort of making off, but my JP PS2 can't play it... anyone know what region it is?

Edited April 10, 2006 by Abombz!!

[mikeszekely]

As for the turkey Gundam, you are just being picky considering out of 60 something levels (counting operations and missions), you only have a single GGundam centric mission and its the detroy the Devil Gundam mission. You don't ever need to look at it, you can totally ignore him. Domon doesn't even have that many lines in the game.

Actually, a little G Gundam action is okay. Graham and I were talking about the feathered monstrousity that is Wing Zero Custom.

[Abombz!!]

As for the turkey Gundam, you are just being picky considering out of 60 something levels (counting operations and missions), you only have a single GGundam centric mission and its the detroy the Devil Gundam mission. You don't ever need to look at it, you can totally ignore him. Domon doesn't even have that many lines in the game.

Actually, a little G Gundam action is okay. Graham and I were talking about the feathered monstrousity that is Wing Zero Custom.

389737[/snapback]

Its not that bad, really. Its actually quit useful once you evolve it to no limiter Wing Zero. But again, like the G Gundam there's a single mission for it, and you can ignore it completly.... I did. =/

[Graham]

Graham and I were talking about the feathered monstrousity that is Wing Zero Custom.

389737[/snapback]

Correct.

Graham

[mikeszekely]

As for the turkey Gundam, you are just being picky considering out of 60 something levels (counting operations and missions), you only have a single GGundam centric mission and its the detroy the Devil Gundam mission. You don't ever need to look at it, you can totally ignore him. Domon doesn't even have that many lines in the game.

Actually, a little G Gundam action is okay. Graham and I were talking about the feathered monstrousity that is Wing Zero Custom.

389737[/snapback]

Its not that bad, really. Its actually quit useful once you evolve it to no limiter Wing Zero. But again, like the G Gundam there's a single mission for it, and you can ignore it completly.... I did. =/

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Evolve? My mecha evolve? How do I go about that? Sounds like it might be useful, since I'm stuck on a mission. Let's see... it's the second mission where you have multiple ground targets to take out, all while some cannon is sometimes shooting you from off screen. I've gotten plenty good at ducking into the canyon to avoid the shots, but I ran out of time before I could eliminate all the targets.

[Abombz!!]

As for the turkey Gundam, you are just being picky considering out of 60 something levels (counting operations and missions), you only have a single GGundam centric mission and its the detroy the Devil Gundam mission. You don't ever need to look at it, you can totally ignore him. Domon doesn't even have that many lines in the game.

Actually, a little G Gundam action is okay. Graham and I were talking about the feathered monstrousity that is Wing Zero Custom.

389737[/snapback]

Its not that bad, really. Its actually quit useful once you evolve it to no limiter Wing Zero. But again, like the G Gundam there's a single mission for it, and you can ignore it completly.... I did. =/

389772[/snapback]

Evolve? My mecha evolve? How do I go about that? Sounds like it might be useful, since I'm stuck on a mission. Let's see... it's the second mission where you have multiple ground targets to take out, all while some cannon is sometimes shooting you from off screen. I've gotten plenty good at ducking into the canyon to avoid the shots, but I ran out of time before I could eliminate all the targets.

389877[/snapback]

Yes, certain mecha will evolve, the Gunark, Wind Zero and Bilbine are the ones I can think off the top of my head. All you have to do is keep upgrading and using them till you can buy the last upgrade on the list (usually the most expensive). If you don't have the points to do it just play Free Mission till you do. There are 2 sets of mission like that, one from Dragonar and one from Nadesico.

As for that mission, I remember both of them. The first one I didn't destroy all the targets and still passed, the second one I just rushed towards the cannon thingy. My suggestion is to choose a mech with strong armor (or upgrade the armor) and ignore the blasts all together. On the first mission, the Sandrock Kai did a good job at taking the shots and lasting till the end of the mission.

[Dervish]

Hey all

This game looks quite interesting. I enjoyed reading everyone's impressions, and I hope to get to play it sometime soon. I have one question;

The song on this preview movie; does anyone know the title and artist? It doesn't seem to be on that "Glorious" album. ;/

[Bob_Coffee]

That song is not in the glorious single for good reason, Its actually the A.C.E 1 opening song.

its called "garnet moon" or something like that.