Over at this year’s C3xHOBBY show, all manner of new kits and toys have been displayed. Of note are the figures made by Griffon Enterprises, as they will feature prominent mecha from various Armored Core games. The first of which will be the updated Nineball as seen in Armored Core Ninebreaker in the spring of next year, shortly followed by Dual Face from Armored Core Nexus. Both of these will be around 12cm tall and made from PVC. It must be said though that even in prototype form, the Nineball toy has a wonderful sculpt to it and it also seems the grenade launcher will be articulated as well.

One of the most terrifying opponents in From Software’s series of Armored Core games is the ultimate incarnation of Nineball, that of Nineball Seraph. First introduced as the final boss in Armored Core Master of Arena, it was one of the first transforming antagonists seen in the series. However when Seraph reappeared in Armored Core 2 Another Age, as a secret boss, this was when its reputation as a brutal opponent surfaced. Colloquially known as “jetboy” amongst the Western gaming throng, Seraph would obliterate almost everyone that tried to face it in combat.

It seems that Nineball Seraph has finally made it into the just released Another Century’s Episode R, though with a few minor modifications admittedly (with the shoulders being notable). This would be the first time, since the original Another Century’s Episode, that a From Software mecha made it into the series (as the last was a Cloudbreaker from the Xbox game Murakumo). Whether this is a playable unit remains to be seen though. In other news, the wonderful Hi-Nu Gundam has been confirmed as a secret unlock in the game as well, this would mark the unit’s current generation debut in an action game. In any case, we’ve linked the video of Seraph’s introduction below as well as its appearances in Armored Core.

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The next in Kotobukiya’s very successful Variable Infinity range will be the Oracle from Last Raven. This was an AC piloted by a Raven called Evangel and whilst he was also prominent in Armored Core Nexus, he even adorned the game’s cover, it wasn’t until Last Raven that his role in the corporate/Raven conflict came to a head. Very much on the side of the corporations, Evangel was a noble and disciplined opponent, but also suffered from a bit of an inferiority complex. This isn’t the first time Evangel’s Oracle has been given kit form as one of the very first Variable Infinity kits was his AC from Nexus. This new kit will be released in December this year.

Update: Dengeki has shots of the Oracle kit, as well as the Sunshine, at Wonder Festival.

After ten years, it finally seems that Turn A Gundam is coming to the West. As Bandai Entertainment plan to bring the 50 episode anime series to Western shores in the coming future, whether this will encompass the two movies as well remains to be seen. Since its release in Japan Turn A has become a cult series, due in part to the somewhat bizarre and originally very controversial mecha design, penned by none other by Syd Mead. Over the years these designs have grown on the fanbase and many know appreciate the fact that series was very much ahead of its time. From the gorgeous score by Yoko Kanno to the deft characterisation and narrative from a calmer Yoshiyuki Tomino, Turn A is a series that is quite a mature and thoughtful work. The fact that it will finally receive a Western release is good news indeed, though arguably a tad overdue.

Unsurprisingly, Turn A has graced multiple games over the years. From Super Robot Wars Z to the Gundam Musou games as well as Another Century’s Episode 3 not to mention the Gundam Vs games, the SYSTEM ∀-99 (WD-M01) ∀ Gundam has made its mark on gaming in recent years. Due to the immense potency in the anime though, it’s a problematic unit in terms of games design; as an attack that can wipe out all technology via nano-machines is a bit tricky to implement in a functional sense. The gaming connections of this series also span to the character design too, as Yasuda Akira (or “Akiman”) was one of the original designers on Street Fighter II, amongst many other Capcom games. He went to work with Tomino again on the brilliant Overman King Gainer, which even featured a protagonist who was an ardent gamer.

Over at Tokyo Hunter they’re preparing for this summer’s Wonder Festival. From a lovely Arcee kit, including dat ass, to an amazing rendition of Samus. However, our favourite is the SD version of Dancouga from God Bless Dancouga, pictured above, that was used in Super Robot Wars Alpha 3. Whilst Gigabrain released the God Bless variant a while ago, along with a much more limited Final, this is the first SD version as inspired by the game. Anyway, if you want to pick any of these up place your orders now. Bear in mind though that these are meant for experienced garage kit builders only. In any case, enjoy the montage of Dancouga attacks from Alpha 3 shown below, as well as its somewhat epic final attack as seen in God Bless.

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A fair few places are covering this year’s Tokyo Toy Show, with Dengeki Online’s contribution being pretty thorough. From the upcoming Super Robot Chogokin Cybuster, pictured above and featured in the recent Nintendo DS port of The Lord of Elemental, to the Composite Ver. Ka Temjin, it’s clear that mecha gaming has had quite the impact on the Japanese toy community in recent years.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent a toy from the original Macross TV series to review. Specifically, the VF Hi-Metal VF-1J in Hikaru Ichijyo’s colours. In addition, to give the toy some context, we’ve also linked some anime and gameplay footage of it in action in Macross Ultimate Frontier at the end of the review.

Over at Gpara they’ve covered the news that an old Temjin statue will go on tour around three Japanese art museums in the coming months. Specifically the Aomori Museum of Art, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art and the Iwami Art Museum. This is also part of a robot art festival but it nicely ties into the upcoming release for the Virtual On Force port coming later this year. This specific Temjin statue, the MZV-747-J, was actually used at the 2002 Tokyo Game Show to announce Virtual On Marz’s release. The problem is that the 747 series of Temjins in Force sport a different and more subdued colour scheme, so this statue is a bit out of date with that really. This Temjin from Marz also featured in Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 on the PS2 and the recent Super Robot Wars K on the DS.

As part of Bandai’s increasingly infuriating Tamashii Web shop exclusives, they have finally announced that they’ll be releasing Soul of Chogokin Spec toys of both the Dragonar 2 and 3 units from Metal Armor Dragonar. Now, Dragonar has had somewhat of a resurgence since it was featured in all three of the PS2 Another Century’s Episode games (though it had obviously been featured in a multitude of Super Robot Wars games prior to that). Up and till this point however, Bandai had only released toys of the Dragonar 1, specifically two variants of the design; one with original proportions from the show and another that was stylised by Masami Ōbari. These new toys obviously seem to fall into the latter Ōbari stylised camp, not that we’re complaining. At present it’s not clear whether these toys will also sport the “lifters”, backpacks with wings on effectively, that were used in the show but we may see more options surface in the oncoming months. Both toys will be released in December, though you’ll obviously have needed to pre-order them online first. Personally, we’re holding out for the day when they finally release a Dragonar 1 Custom.

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The iconic PTX-003C Alteisen has finally been previewed in its new Super Robot Chogokin form over at GA Graphic. This design was one of Banpresto’s earlier original generation or “OG” efforts for Super Robot Wars and was apparently meant as a riposte to Capcom’s Blodia from Powered Gear and Cyberbots (though that information remains largely apocryphal). It was first featured in the second Compact game on the Wonderswan and then went on to reappear numerous times after that in both games and anime. This new toy, out in October, looks to capture the design rather magnificently and for the price of 5,040 yen it’s a bargain too. Considering that Bandai are using their prior Chogokin expertise on this new toy line, these toys could end up being rather special indeed.