The first ever Original Generation focused Super Robot Wars game is getting ported to the Nintendo DS. Specifically, the Super Famicom entry of The Lord Of Elemental. This was an interesting SRW game on many counts, such as exclusively featuring OG mecha as well as rendering them at actual size (not in SD). Not to mention the oblique viewing angle, seen in many SRW games since. It’s also a game that many older Japanese gamers view with a fair amount of fondness, as the original game was released almost 15 years ago now. It seems that Banpresto are shrewd enough to cash in on nostalgia and port an already existing title to obviously fund the development of other projects. In any case, due to this being an OG title there’s an excellent chance it will receive a Western release. The game will be released in Japan on May 27th for 6,090 yen.

Over at 4Gamer there’s a new update on Gundam Assault Survive’s map system. As suspected, it does sound to be remarkably similar to how parts of the Dynasty Warriors games operate – in that maps are accessed in-game depending on completing criteria in a certain section, as well as both allies and enemies escaping to other maps as you’re playing.

There also seems to be hints of including the narrative from the original Gundam novels, as the G-3 Gundam seems to be part of a story mission and that was only ever used in the novels (though admittedly many other games have already used the G-3 as an unlockable). It’s worth pointing out that the finale in the novels is dramatically different when compared to the TV series and movies, so it will be interesting to see if it’s included or not.

Finally, we’re also happy to see the re-emergence of both the Xi Gundam and Hi-Nu Gundam from Gundam Battle Universe, again mobile suits featured in novels. Despite being wonderfully potent units to play with, both designs are suitably lovely in an aesthetic sense too.

The game is still scheduled for release on March 18th.

For those that like some mass produced spirit in their mecha, the recently HGUC kit of the D-50C Loto from Gundam Unicorn appears to have serious knee joint issues. Set at 1/144 scale the kit is also tiny, to the extent that it can double as one of the feet on the Soul of Chogokin Dancouga!

The Loto is also part of the wider canon, as it acts as the base for the Guntank R-44 seen in Gundam F-91. In any case, if you were thinking of buying this kit – then you might want to hold off until Bandai resolve this flaw.

The mecha from Gundam Unicorn were recently featured in Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus, though the Loto was absent from the roster there are rumours that it could be included in the upcoming DLC.

Thanks to our friends over at ACO, I’ve happened to stumble upon this neat Armored Core 3 Silent Line animation from around the game’s release back in 2003. It’s created by Mist Crown – a rather talented Japanese flash animator. Enjoy!

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A new trailer for the upcoming Lost Planet 2 was release a few days ago, so if you missed it we’ve linked it below. The wonderful vital suits are shown but in a somewhat limited capacity unfortunately, normally on account of the showboating giant Akrid. That aside, like the demo confirms, this could be just bloody amazing. The game is released on May 18th and don’t forget to pre-order either the 360 and PS3 versions!

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Whereas the iPhone has become the premier mobile platform to develop games for, Apple’s primary rival in that space, Google’s Android, has yet to catch on among developers despite promises of greater power and versatility. Mostly due to the fact that, upon the Android Native Development Kit’s release, the associated handsets were not up to snuff, though the current crop are more than up to the task at last. Yet the game dev scene seems relatively barren, though HyperDevbox might wake some folks up via their latest incarnation of Ex Zeus. The game was a mediocre at best on-rails shooter for the arcade and home systems (which went by a different name on the Wii, as Counter Force), but was a fairly impressive showcase of the iPhone’s graphical abilities, at least during it’s somewhat early days. This latest iteration supposedly makes full use of the NDK, can be launched from a micoSD card, and utilizes a custom sound driver.

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What do you get when you combine Sega’s Virtual On and generic anime babes? Why, you get Val Force of course, a doujin game from Yumesoft (it appears to be their one and only release thus far). I tried all morning in vain to get the demo to work on my end; after a lengthy download session… it always takes me forever to nab anything from Japan… the game simply wouldn’t run, and I’m not sure why, since I don’t understand Japanese. But I think it has something to do with me not having the latest DirectX installed, though being on a Mac via Bootcamp might be the real culprit. Anyhow, going by the video alone, it appears to be a thoroughly competent VO clone, provided if you don’t mind the extra dose of X chromosomes.

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Over at Game Watch there’s a nice update for G.rev’s upcoming 360 port of Senko no Ronde DUO. In addition to the screenshots there’s a lovely limited edition illustration also displayed, that looks suitably “art nouveau” in terms of aesthetic inspiration. It also seems that the limited edition release, at 9,240 yen, will also feature another drama CD (boasting of a cast of up to 60 characters). In any case, the game still seems set for it’s late April release. So don’t wait to pre-order your normal and limited editions!

As we previously posted, the online Armored Core Battle TV service is now live and hosting a selection of gameplay videos. This is currently hosting videos from the recently released Armored Core Last Raven Portable but there’s no reason why the same service couldn’t be offered for something like Armored Core 5. The videos themselves are also quite interesting and whilst it’s clear that the PSP controls do limit movement somewhat, the final result is a lot like the PS2 original. Naturally, a review of Last Raven Portable will be forthcoming.

Separately, the campaign code site for Armored Core 5 is also up and running. So if you have a copy of Last Raven Portable, then it’s time to collect your online trinkets!

Irem, the company mostly known for the long-lived horizontal shooter series R-Type, showed off a trailer for Bumpy Trot 2, a sequel to the game known in the US as Steambot Chronicles, all the way back at Tokyo Games Show 2006. Since TGS 2007, when they showed off a new trailer to coincide with the announcement to move the game to the PlayStation 3, there has been next to no information about the game’s release, and no new data has been added to the official website, which remains as just a basic splash page.

The original Steambot Chronicles was perhaps the most ambitious mecha game ever produced, being a kind of mecha-oriented Shenmue, an open-world mecha game where the player’s options included not just fighting in arena battles and against bosses, but also allowed the player to trade resources, play the stock market, explore ancient dungeons to find artefacts for a museum, play in a band, and talk to the many townspeople and learn their stories. While a true sequel to such a game would take a while because of such depth, especially for a company as small as Irem, we’d expect to hear at least something about the game’s development, especially from Irem, whose website tends to be updated in a timely manner (and whose April’s Fool joke always seems to impress). So was the game quietly cancelled?

Perhaps not. A fan of the game got tired of waiting and just straight up and asked Irem directly, with a vague answer given back that the game was still in development. Perhaps Steambot Chronicles 2 might be the mecha games version of Duke Nukem Forever, but at least there’s still hope of the game coming out.

While we have never received a true sequel, a PSP Bumpy Trot game was localized by Atlus as Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament, but that game was a mere shade of the PlayStation 2 original, and I, like a number of other fans, prefer to forget the game existed entirely.