Bandai have announced that one of the next Robot Damashii toys will be that of the original XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero. Whilst we’re not fans of the anime that much really, we do like the designs a fair bit (barring the mecha chicken variant of the Wing Zero in Endless Waltz obviously). This release has been hinted at for a fair while now as well but we’re glad it’s finally going to happen. Released this June for a very reasonable 4,410 yen, the toy even transforms.

It seems that Bandai have decided to produce what looks to be a very nice 1/60 scale DX Chogokin of the VF-171EX Nightmare Plus in Alto Saotome’s colours. Priced at 14,700 yen and out this June, it will apparently be using much of the newer engineering that has been spearheaded by the VF-25 “Renewal” toys. From the site it’s not clear whether the full weapon set seen in the anime will be present, as the current gunpod in the shots is only that of the standard MC-17A rather than the AVPAGC/MEDC30-EX-A Anti-Vajra MDE anti-gravity particle cannon. Hopefully, the super parts will also become available at a later date too. Either way, this is an interesting choice on the part of Bandai as the design, whilst obviously very nice, is pretty short-lived in the anime and it would have also required them to create all new moulds for the toy too.

Whilst there’s no game footage to see here, Ichiro Mizuki has been wheeled out to promote Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen. It’s a nice little advert, as it has him prepare for a concert by using the series’ well-known seishin. The ones he uses, in order, are Concentration (集中), Hot Blood (熱血) and Soul (魂). Normally Hot Blood (2 x damage) and Soul (2.5 x damage) can’t be stacked (as that was the case in Super Robot Wars J) but this is Mizuki we’re talking about, so he’s allowed license to do whatever he pleases really. That said, we like the fact they used the in-game sound effects and so overall this gets a very nerdy thumbs up from us.

Watch Video »

For those that played the last game on the PSP, there are some link bonuses to be had in the forthcoming Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen. The first is a bonus for a single playthrough on Hakai-hen, followed by a bonus based on how many times you did a playthrough (maxing out at 10) and the final is if you completed all the scenarios. These will net you a variety of upgrade points as well as parts. So whilst you can pre-order Saisei-hen here, you may want to go back and pick up a copy of Hakai-hen (also here) so you can squeeze out a good head start when Saisei-hen arrives on your doorstep.

As promised, the first promo video for Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen went up over the weekend. It’s a glorious 5 minute showreel with lots of very shiny battle animations. Interestingly, Bandai Namco are hosting the trailer on their official YouTube channel as well (so the encoding is actually decent). Overall, this game looks as lush as the first one (which we adored) so we can’t wait to play this too. Don’t forget that this is also out at the beginning of April and you can nab your copy here.

Watch Video »

The official Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen site is now open for business. Whilst there are no promo videos as yet, it does collate all the new series featured and their respective screenshots (which are also duplicated over at Game Watch, minus the flash leprosy obviously). We’re just glad that Final Dancouga is still present and correct. That said, seeing the mighty Shin Mazinger Z sporting its God Scrander (pictured above) brings warmth to our heart. This being the same God Scrander that in its post-modernist brilliance actually transforms Mazinger Z into a giant rocket propelled fist. We can also highly recommend the Soul of Chogokin toy too, if you can find it. Anyway, the game is still set for its April 5th release and you can pre-order it here.

Despite a somewhat unfortunate release date, sharing it with Armored Core V of all things, Gundam Mokubo no Kiseki will be gracing Japanese shops sometime today (as it’s already “tomorrow” in Japan due to the time difference). 4Gamer commemorates this brave release date with yet another update about the game. We’re definitely interested in picking this game up eventually and review it but we’re going to be pretty busy with Armored Core V for a good while. In the meantine you can still pre-order the game here.

As expected, we now have the second part to the awesome Super Robot Wars Z 2. Titled Saisai-hen, it will continue the narratives of the multitude of mecha series featured in the first game (which we utterly adored). However, there is one new addition to the roster that has caught our eye, specifically that of Taiyo no Shisha Tetsujin 28-go from 1980 (pictured above). It’s an interesting choice and one we wholeheartedly approve of. Though to be fair, we’re more excited to play with the ATM-09-DD Burglary Dog from Shining Heresy, as many of the series involved will receive the latter part of their mechanical menu in the game. In terms of the game’s release, it’s still on the PSP and will be out on 5th April for the pretty steep price of 7,330 yen. For those that pre-order the game, they’ll also receive a lovely digest book for their trouble. In addition, your save data from Hakai-hen will net you more cash and other bonuses in Saisei-hen. Depending on your clear count of the first game, those bonuses will change too apparently. Considering that Banpresto are still pushing the whole 20th Anniversary of SRW (despite the fact that it was actually last year), expect big things for this release. For us though, April can’t come soon enough.

We’re now but a few days away from the release of Lord of Elemental II: Revelation of Evil God. There have also been a few recent updates over at 4Gamer too, showing that the intermission screens will have characters talking to you (which is nice) and the ability to rank up your upgrades for your weapons. The latter basically seems to work after you’ve maxed out an attack, so you can make it even more uber. More importantly the game is release this Thursday and you can buy it here. Don’t forget that you can also get the boxset, also sold here, that features the first Lord of Elemental game too.

4Gamer has the news that both Super Robot Wars Alpha and Alpha Gaiden hit the PSN store yesterday for 1,500 yen a piece. The Alpha series was a shift for the SRW series in terms of the difficulty (as in not fascistically impossible) and used more elaborate battle animations. It was also one of the first SRW games to feature the mighty variable fighters from Macross. As with the other SRW archived games on PSN these can also be played on your PSP. Annoyingly, the PS Vita doesn’t do PSone archived games as yet (though weirdly it does do the PC Engine games) but we’re pretty sure it won’t be long until they’re PS Vita compatible. Finally, the article also talks of a 20th Anniversary event on the 18th March next year. No details really on what the event will be but we’re assuming that JAM Project will be present to scream their awesome lungs out.