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.

The animated version of Gundam Unicorn is receiving its much anticipated second episode this November. Before then though, Bandai are showing off the new footage in a lovely long promo. Apart from looking wonderful in terms of the animation, it’s nice to hear Shūichi Ikeda’s dulcit tones again in Gundam. The promo even shows the glorious Sinanju in action finally, as well as the Unicorn too obviously. Considering that Gundam Extreme Versus is out in arcades at the end of the year, in Japan, the timing of the second episode’s release is fortuitous. For those that want their Unicorn Gundam fix before November, then the unit is fully playable in the brilliant Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus on the PSP. Alternatively, you could pick up the regal Metal Composite toy if you’re after something more tactile. Either way, enjoy the promo linked below.

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We’ve been keeping an eye on the upcoming anime TV series Mokei Senshi Gunpla Builders Beginning G for a while now. Meant to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Gunpla, it features a model kit building protagonist flanked by his tubby hamburger eating friend (which is quite realistic) and his female love interest (obviously not very realistic). What’s interesting is that despite the vast amount of product placement at work here, the characters seem to play out their Gunpla differences via matches in Senjou no Kizuna. With the main villain piloting a custom coloured Hi-Nu Gundam it will be interesting to see how this series is received by the Japanese public. At the very least the series will highlight the broader pop-cultural context Gundam has created over the years and that gaming is still the means by which people can actually pilot a mobile suit.

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4Gamer have managed to cover two new gameplay videos for Carnage Heart EXA. The first video shows the traditional AI controlled OKEs battling it out based of the programming they’ve been given, whereas the second video shows the manual control mode in action. It’s clear that Artdink’s recent mecha gaming expertise on the PSP has paid dividends with EXA. Whilst we were deeply disappointed with Gundam Assault Survive, it’s nice to see Artdink go back to their roots like this and it’s clear from this videos that EXA will be excellent.

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SiliconEra has an interview with Shinji Hashimoto, producer of Front Mission Evolved, teasing some sort of cross-promotion with Hideo Kojima and his PlayStation Portable game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

This cross-promotion seems to be in addition to an already announced cross-promotion between the two games, where items unlocked in Peace Walker will be available in Front Mission Evolved, and/or vice versa. Considering the very different nature of the two games’ mecha, I’m wondering how this will actually work; if it’s robot-to-robot part swapping it could look awkward, albeit possibly interesting. The mecha in Peace Walker are heavy tank-like walkers and reworked versions of Metal Gear Solid 3′s Shagohod, while Front Mission Evolved’s mecha conform more to the Real Robot standard of quick-moving humanoid weapons, equipped with thrusters and ground rollers.

I wouldn’t mind the big secret being a face-off against the venerable Metal Gear REX from the original Metal Gear Solid. I’ve been waiting years to go mano-a-mano (well, mecha-to-mecha) against that monster without support from an insane cyborg ninja. Getting help from an insane cyborg ninja always felt like cheating.

Over at 4Gamer they’ve got a few updates regarding Artdink’s upcoming Carnage Heart EXA for the PSP. From nice new screenshots to a promo video, it seems that Artdink are keen to promote this game as being something of a genuine continuation for the series. What’s slightly odd about the promo video, shown below, is that the opening explosion montage is actually from the film Starman. Why they decided to choose that is somewhat of a mystery to us. In any case, seeing the new variety of OKEs the game will offer is rather encouraging and we can’t wait to get our hands on the game when it comes out in October.

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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.

There are few variable fighter designs in Macross that are quite as iconic as Hikaru’s VF-1J. With the simple white colours and red highlights, the design is instantly recognisable not only in terms of the series that birthed it but also the character that pilots it. Unsurprisingly, this VF-1J has been featured in multiple games over the years from some of the earlier Alpha iterations of Super Robot Wars to more recently in Artdink’s Macross PSP games.

This particular toy is very interesting on several counts though. From it helping to re-boot the old Hi-Metal Macross toyline from the 80′s to the curious hand parts that are available, though more of that later. Compared to the recent Fire Valkyrie toy that was released not that long ago, the VF-1J sports far less parts swapping in terms of the transformation. Except for the cockpit canopy and hands it is pretty much “good to go” out of the box.

Bandai have also been making more of a shift towards smaller more cost effective toys in the past year or so and this is very much a culmination of that in terms of the engineering. Despite the “Hi-Metal” moniker though, there are pretty sparse amounts of diecast in the toy with it only really being used for important joints as well as the transformations “backbone” if you will.

Due to the transformation aspect of this toy, we will be covering the three distinct modes separately; that of fighter, GERWALK and battroid.

Toy: VF Hi-Metal VF-1J
Price: 5500 yen
Size/Weight: 29.0 x 20.1 x 6.7 cm / 400g

The fighter mode is very clean in terms of the sculpt and the toy comes with two wing types as well; one for affixing the missile parts and another for just plain display. You can even swap out the jet intakes and landing gear. Unfortunately, the GU-11 Gun Pod doesn’t affix underneath the fighter like with the Yamato toys and instead needs an additional part to hold it in place (and then only with one of the Tamashii stands, sold separately). Unlike the Fire Valkyrie though, you can open the cockpit but this is meant for the transformation as the battroid “cover” is a parts swap.

Like with the other recent Bandai Macross toys, GERWALK can be a bit tricky to pose but much of that is down how they’ve handled the feet in this toy. Specifically, the forward facing “toe” is actually on a polycap joint of sorts. In theory this means you can pivot the foot for better posturing but it causes issues when you use GERWALK, as it doesn’t support the mode quite as well as it would have otherwise. Once posed though the mode is striking in its accuracy. Again, you get the feeling that this would look more dynamic with the Tamashii stand.

As a toy it’s very much meant to be played with and the price point is also very competitive. If you’ve always wanted one of the larger Yamato toys, or even any of the classic 80′s toys, but lacked the funds then this will more than easily satiate that desire. It’s clear that Bandai want to take the Macross throne away from Yamato and, whilst they’re not there yet, they aren’t far off. It will be interesting to see what more variable fighters Bandai decide to make after this and we’re partially hoping they may even try the much maligned VF-4.

Overall then, this is a fitting tribute to one of the most recognisable mecha in anime history. It’s also sad to think that Hikaru’s voice actor Arihiro Hase, who tragically committed suicide in 1996, is no longer with us. That fact alone makes this design really quite poignant in terms of its significance.

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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Famitsu have got the scoop on the new Carnage Heart EXA for the PSP that’s coming out in October. For those unfamiliar with the Carnage Heart games, these have historically had the player program the game’s mecha, called Overkill Engines (or OKEs), before sending them into battle to fight on their own. At the time of the original game’s release, this type of approach to mecha gaming was unique and Artdink have fashioned a unique niche for the series ever since.

EXA will be the second PSP game in the Carnage Heart series, as Portable was released a good few years ago now. Despite having an all new dating-sim-esque scenario mode, EXA will also allow the player to manually control their OKEs. Admittedly, the older games had this option available but it was only a cheat, whereas this will be actually a full fledged mode now. Naturally, what with all the Gundam Battle and Macross games Artdink have been making recently, this shift shouldn’t be too much of issue for them.

If the above sounds a bit familiar, then you may be thinking of Armored Core Formula Front as it was a game that used a similar setup to Carnage Heart’s and was released for the PSP’s launch back in 2004 (though it also got a rather cool PS2 port too). In any case, it’s nice to see that they’re still using some of Kow Yokoyama’s mecha designs for the OKEs in EXA. That makes us happy inside.