Macross is by no means an anime series to be taken functionally for granted. Dealing with the three disparate modes of each variable fighter has meant that the developer has to somehow craft three separate games that can all interact instantly with one another. Purely from a logistical standpoint, implementing a functionally coherent Macross game is an immense task.

This is often why many of these games aren’t very good. Either down to real world budgetary constraints or lack of time, trying to tackle the raft of very genuine issues has meant that the final game has suffered. Yet some get lucky and are allowed to tackle parts of the problem and simplify other aspects to make the overall package gel more convincingly. SEGA AM2 and From Software managed to do just that in their attempts and now Artdink have joined their ranks.

For those that played the original Armored Core back in 1997, they may remember with trepidation the final mission their Raven’s mecha had to undertake. For those that don’t, it was a massive level, so big in fact that it had to be split in half and have the player restocked and repaired mid-mission. It also had the trickiest level design in the entire game, with the player having to negotiate floating platforms in a never-ending tower of guaranteed death to those that lacked the necessary AC piloting skills. Then there was Nineball.

Nineball, and its pilot Hustler One, were listed as the top ranking AC and Raven combo and from the various e-mails received from enemy Ravens and greedy corporations, Nineball was a terrifying and truly formidable opponent. In the last mission you faced him, twice. Many who have played Armored Core will know the significance of Nineball and that of defeating the bugger. Thus in Armored Core 2 a new term was introduced into the world setting, given to pilots of exceptional skill and design prowess; Ninebreaker. It is this terminology, this legacy, even, that From Software has built their latest traditional Armored Core game around. The term is also fitting to the fact that this is the ninth iteration in the series.

Back in the mid-80′s Hibiki Godai helmed a new type of game for the NEC PC-8801, it featured a transforming robot that could fire lasers. The game was called Thexder. Considering the technical limitations of the hardware compared to today’s gaming devices, games like Thexder espouse the benefits of focused simplicity when it comes to crafting games. The whole point of the game was to get Thexder from one side of the level to the other, whilst navigating tricky maze-like corridors as well as preserving its energy in order for the player to proceed. Very simple but deeply compelling.

Thexder received numerous ports over the years, released in all manner of countries and a few sequels to boot as well. Yet, despite its global success, not many seem to remember the game even existed at all. To correct such an injustice, Square Enix recently funded the publishing of a Thexder update called Thexder Neo to be released on the PSP. This was done via Game Arts, the original developer of the first game, and Zereo. The game is fundamentally a very well wrought remake though and is for the money is an incredible bargain for any gamer.

To the uninitiated the Super Robot Wars games appear to be a terrifying endeavour. Language barrier aside there is an immense cultural chasm present for anyone that didn’t grow up watching anime in Japan as a child. Half a century of mechanical nuance to be exact. All this has very interesting functional ramifications as Super Robot Wars Z is a turn based strategy game, much like chess in fact. Except it’s chess with close to a thousand possible pieces, almost all of which are unique, with gaming idiosyncrasies borne out of the parent anime series that birthed them. Daunting doesn’t quite cover it really.

Super Robot Wars Z is the final PlayStation 2 game in the series and unlike the Original Generation (or OG) games, Z is very much a continuation of the premise where disparate mecha from various anime series effectively high five for the win. However, despite being a follow on from the engorged excess that was Alpha 3, Z is very much a crafted game; from the pristine battle animations to the deeply layered strategy.

When the PlayStation 3 launched in Japan back in 2006, one of the available games was that of Gundam Target in Sight. Put simply, it was pretty awful. It ran at a hugely inconsistent framerate and was deeply unbalanced in the initial part of the game’s learning curve, often pitting you in sub-standard hardware against well armoured foes that could kill you with one shot. Couple that with the framerate and you rarely saw the shot that actually killed you. Unsurprisingly the game was wholly panned upon release and didn’t exactly do the PlayStation 3 many favours, as it was a platform exclusive.

Now fast forward to the recent Japanese release of the PlayStation 3 Silm and again another exclusive Gundam game has been bundled with it; that of Gundam Senki. However, despite using Target in Sight’s engine as a base it’s a completely new game and much like the PlayStation 2′s Lost War Chronicles (which we’ve also reviewed) this title has a lot more going for it than many may appreciate or initially realise.

Normally, in the history of Armored Core, the subsequent releases within the numerical classification are broader in scope and obviously more polished. Master of Arena had a customisable AI setup called Ranker Mk, Silent Line had an organic learning AI and an enormous amount of parts. Yet all these improvements were off the base release that preceded it. Admittedly, I am selling the earlier games a tad short but compared to For Answer, the improvements were linearly obvious.

This cycle has been broken with the latest version as it’s evolved past its roots to a terrifying degree.

Set in a not too distant future, the planet has gone to hell in a hand basket. Global environmental catastrophe is very much a reality and warring corporations now pretty much run the planet, under the false pretences of Pax Economica. To meet the ruthless needs of profiteering corporations, mercenaries by the name of Nexts pilot massive and customisable war machines by the name of armored cores, or ACs for short.

Nexts are also a new type of human – they directly interface with their mechanical avatars via their brain stem and consequently have unparalleled control over their AC.

The focus of the game is to undertake missions in a third person action setting, which pay money for you to buy more parts and undertake more challenging though better paying sorties. Now that the player is a next level pilot, the emphasis is much more on refined control than in previous iterations.

How can anyone explain the satisfaction of creating a beautifully balanced mechanical avatar, taking it into the thick of combat and yet returning from the battlefield unscathed? Bathing in your freshly acquired and truly magnificent skill, you watch as charred wreckage surrounds your astounding creation. Gaming empowerment doesn’t really come any better than this.

Armored Core Nexus is the eighth game in a franchise that has lasted over seven years and survived two generations of console warfare. Moreover, it is a franchise that has endured purely on its own contextual merit. Nexus is, in many ways, a celebration of this series’ success.

There are particular anime heirlooms that require a certain type of respect and admiration, especially when licensed merchandising invariably raises its head. Choujikyuu Yosai Macross is such an heirloom. Originally aired in 1982 as a 36 episode TV series, then as an adapted movie in 1984, Studio Nue’s epic-yet-human space opera is greatly revered.

It also marked the creative debut of one Shouji Kawamori: a then meek mecha designer, he penned the timeless design of the VF-1 “Valkyrie”. Timeless in the way it looked like a contemporary F-14 fighter jet but also seamlessly transformed into a giant mecha to combat equally giant aliens out to destroy the human race. Unsurprisingly, there have been many Macross videogames over the 20-year period since Macross was created. Many have been utterly dire. A select few haven’t.

Normally, the mere mention of SEGA-AM2 indicates a project of austere quality, after all AM2 truly have an enviable gaming portfolio. Bandai realised this state of affairs after releasing the (pretty poor) Macross Digital Mission VF-X games developed by UNiT, not to mention the shocking Macross Plus Game Edition and Macross M3 created by Shoeisha, and they thankfully commissioned AM2 to make matters right.

In 1956, a certain Mitsuteru Yokoyama penned a manga by the name of “Tetsujin 28-go”. This manga portrayed the life of a young boy called Shotaro Haneda, remote controlling a huge military robot called Tetsujin 28-go to thwart the forces of evil and do good in the world. It wasn’t very long before this manga made the transition to anime, and then jumped the Pacific Ocean to mesmerise the US populace (under the new name of “Gigantor”). It’s important to clarify one thing from the start: Mitsuteru Yokoyama’s “Tetsujin 28-go” was single-handedly responsible for the creation of Japanese mecha pop-culture. His work has inspired generations of people. Some of these people happen to work at a Japanese developer called Sandlot.

Tetsujin 28-go is Sandlot’s third mecha game, and the first time they have been allowed to tackle possibly the most prestigious of mecha icons. Their first outing – Remote Controlled Dandy on the Psone – was impressive and unique, having the player control a huge mecha from ground level and having them position themselves accordingly – after all, you were the camera. The second attempt was Gigantic Drive (on PS2), which was essentially “Remote Control Dandy Deluxe”. Both of these games had an amazingly intricate control system where each limb was controlled individually. Whilst this was a comprehensive approach, it had an obviously steep learning curve.