To commemorate the release of Armored Core V today and courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent the Nineball (Armored Core Ver.) kit from the original Armored Core. Our review is also of the kit in its unpainted form. In addition, to help give the kit some context, we’ve also included some video footage of it from the original PSone and PS2 games at the end of the review.

The original Nineball was a very interesting antagonist in the original Armored Core. You spent some of the game hearing about his exploits and that he was the highest ranked Raven around. It wasn’t until you faced him in the heart of the Raven’s Nest that you found out the truth. Nineball was merely a shell AC for a vast AI that controlled the world. So when you faced off against two of them, the AC itself became something of a terror symbol.

Nineball wasn’t just left there though, as it was the primary enemy in Armored Core Master of Arena and in similar fashion was revealed to be yet another shell for the same AI that had survived the first game. You also faced Nineball three times in the final mission and then its ultimate incarnation, that of Nineball Seraph (which is also available in kit form).

In one manner or other, Nineball pervades almost every Armored Core game there is. Whilst he was absent in Armored Core 2, the term “Ninebreaker” was coined as a nickname for top-ranking Ravens. It even appeared in Armored Core 2 Another Age too, as a rather tricky and nimble opponent. The Ninebreaker term would also spawn another Armored Core game that also had a new and updated Nineball (again also available in kit form with an action figure on the way too).

In some ways Nineball defines much of Armored Core’s inherent identity, both functionally and narratively. So this kit is a bit of a big deal and doubly so as this is the first traditional PSone era AC to grace Kotobukiya’s Variable Infinity model kit line (Seraph doesn’t count as that’s a custom built unit).

Kit: Nineball (Armored Core Ver.)
Price: 4,320 yen
Size/Weight: 31.2 x 19.2 x 10.9 cm / 580g

Like with all other Kotobukiya AC kits, the emphasis is still on the quality of the sculpt. In this case, that’s a little odd as the original PSone games barely had enough polygons to render Kawamori’s designs properly. As such, this kit is more in line with Kawamori’s line-art for Nineball than what you see in game (though it also bears a great resemblance to the Nineball model seen in Master of Arena’s opening FMV). As this is also a traditional AC, left arm weapons are pretty much housed laser blades only. This is pretty much the kit’s only gimmick; the laser blade pops out nicely and you attach the beam part accordingly. The grenade launcher also folds out too, athough we didn’t have the kit kneel in the photos it can perform this action just fine. Kotobukiya haven’t cut corners at all though and have included a wonderful pre-painted Nineball emblem on the left shoulder, just like in the games. The articulation isn’t bad either, with poly capped joints throughout.

If you love the original Armored Core games as much as we do, then this is a must have kit. It’s such an iconic design and one that represents one of the finest mecha gaming villains ever.

We first saw threeA‘s gorgeous looking Metal Gear Rex exactly two years ago today. But virtually nothing been said or seen ever since. To the point that those who still remember it have naturally assumed that the statue was quietly cancelled. Then earlier this year, threeA passed along a blog post of what looked to be a rail gun, one similar to what Rex was sporting, but which also lights up. A feature that no one knew about, at least based upon the prototype pics.

No further information was given, but at least it was evidence that Rex was still alive. And just a few days ago, another update was provided, with concrete info at long last. Aside from looking better than ever, we can also see that the cockpit and its “eyes” also lights up. A timeframe in which all interested parties was also given: this upcoming January. No word how much it will weigh, but it sure looks heavy, especially since we do know its height: 42 cm, or 16.5 inches.

And according to Ashley Wood, who is not only Hideo Kokjima’s go to illustrator for all things Metal Gear these days (aside from Yoji Shinkawa, of course), but is one of folks who runs the threeA empire: because every part is ABS and requires injection molds, the price tag will be steep. It’s also worth noting that he still considers Rex a toy and simply a statue, which given its size and cost is what most of us were viewing it as. The rumoured price is somewhere between $400-500.

The forthcoming 1/60 scale VF-17S Nightmare from Macross 7 has been previewed over at Amiami. Considering that Bandai made some pretty decent toys back when the show aired, we’re still pretty stoked to see this being re-done by Yamato. The variable fighter has had a bit of mixed gaming history though, as the PSone era versions packed beam weapons by default. The recent PSP iterations were subsequently far more faithful. The toy is out in November and you can pre-order it here.

In development for almost two years, the game had a substantial engine overhaul as well as some of the most revolutionary aspects the series had then seen. It was also a truly massive game and aptly named, as one whole disc (out of two) was solely dedicated to a new arena setup that had been introduced in the prior title, Project Phantasma. In short, it is simply one of the finest and best entries into the Armored Core series.

Following on from the previous games, especially the first, Master of Arena’s narrative was based around the resurgence of a Raven known as Hustler One who piloted the terrifying Nineball. Now at the end of the first game, this was revealed to be an AI controlled unit that did the bidding of an unseen but positively deified intelligence. Naturally, being a mecha pilot you riddled said AI avatar full of holes and, supposedly, brought an end to the machine god that pulled all the strings of future human society. Turns out, things weren’t that simple and pulling the plug did very little to undermine the plans of whatever was still in power.

Over the course of the game, the player would learn what Nineball truly was and that there were in fact scarier monsters lurking in the depths of our world. The missions themselves were subsequently quite polished and lean, making great pains to help bookend the narrative that had started in the first game. The missions were also substantially more of a challenge than those in the previous games.

The name of the game wasn’t just for show either, as most missions ended with an AC encounter and progressing further through the game meant you had to beat a certain number of separate arena opponents first. The big addition was the Ex Arena on the second disc, which featured a dizzying number of opponents. Many of which were tournament winners recreated in AI form. Compared to the relative walkover of the arena opponents in the previous game, the new Ex Arena antagonists were a lot tougher.

However, the most intriguing and ultimately quite revolutionary feature that facilitated all this arena based arse kicking was the all new Ranker Mk mode. This basically allowed you to build your own AI AC from the ground up, using the same tools that were available to the development team.

So on top of having a very polished set of missions, a vast number of arena opponents you also had the ability to create your own roster of opponents. Despite the delay in its development, with the amount of game on offer it was worth the wait. This is not to say that all the core customisation and balancing hadn’t been reworked extensively either, as Master of Arena was one of the most visceral entries into the PSone saga.

Master of Arena’s legacy is then an important one. It took a risk in extending the development cycle to polish its core content, something that hasn’t really happened since, as well introducing a near limitless almost Carnage Heart-esque AI creation framework. In the case of the latter, this new AI setup fed into numerous games in the series since. All these reasons aside though, we still love Master of Arena for its reveal of Nineball Seraph and the subsequent squaring off against the player. Whilst Seraph has appeared in a fair few games since, we still have very fond memories of finally reaching the end of the mission with barely enough AP to take it down.

In summation, Master of Arena is one of the few defining mecha games that have shaped the genre. It’s also one of the few PSone games that have stood the test of time, remaining as playable today as it did when it was originally released. As such it is one of the few true mecha gaming classics and comes thoroughly recommended to the discerning gamer.

Tamashii: 10/10

In truth this is not the first time we’ve reviewed this game, as back near its release we also penned a similarly glowing review.

The classic Capcom mecha based2D beat-em-up Cyberbots has finally hit the PlayStation Network yesterday in the game archives, at the very reasonable sum of $5.99. This then is the PSone version, though it can also be run on your PSP to along with your PS3. This game was the pseudo follow on to Armored Warriors and in turn fed into Kikaioh, the latter even had the Blodia II from Cyberbots as an unlockable unit within the game. We have lots of fond memories for Cyberbots and to have it on PSN is nice, though as yet whilst it is available in North America there is no news of a European (PAL) release.

Over at the Kotobukiya site, the next Armored Core kit on the way finally got a listing. The kit being that of the first Nineball, not to be confused with the version from Ninebreaker or even the epic Nineball Seraph (the latter you can still nab here). We still have fond memories of taking on Nineball in the first Armored Core game, and this kit looks amazing. It will be released in December this year for 5,670 yen, you can pre-order it here.

The current Wonder Festival coverage has recently surfaced and there is a veritable panoply of mecha gaming related kits that have been displayed. From the the wonderful Kotobukiya stall showing the first Nineball from the original Armored Core games as well as the Sobrero from Armored Core For Answer. In addition, their Jehuty kit also finally reared its head too. However, the most impressive kits shown are from PLUM’s stall with the suspected Valken kit shown as well as an amazingly intricate Cloudbreaker 01 from Murakumo, the latter was originally shown at this year’s Winter event.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent the 1/18 DMZ-02 Strikedog with Ypsilon toy from Armored Trooper VOTOMS that’s currently on sale. To help give the toy some context we’ve also included some videos of it from the original anime and a few games it has been featured in over the years at the end of the review.

It goes without saying that Ryosuke Takahashi’s affect on mecha gaming has been suitably profound over the years. Armored Trooper VOTOMS is probably one of his most influential works, with games like Heavy Gear and even Armored Core heavily borrowing from franchise. Notably on how the AT’s are customisable factory fresh mass produced units that have effectively powered roller skates housed within their feet.

We’re also big fans of VOTOMS anyway and what with the recent Phantom Arc and Alone Again OVA’s, we’ve fallen back in love with Takara’s amazing DMZ toy range. This is actually a follow on toy line to the original and much smaller “dual model” toys from the 80′s. The newer dual model “zwei” (hence DMZ) toys are considerably bigger (at 1/18 scale) and feature proper pilots based on Takara’s Microman toyline. Unlike Yamato’s slightly larger VOTOMS toys, the DMZ range are much more impressive. Not only in terms of the overall production quality, with amazing paintwork and detailing, but also in the way that the joints are super sturdy. Plus the fact that the DMZ toys feature their own pilots and a slew of additional parts, compared to Yamato’s far stingier approach, means they are great value for money.

What with the mysterious re-appearance of the X-ATH-02 Strike Dog in Phantom Ark, we felt compelled to review the toy of one of our favourite AT’s designs. Piloted by the egotistical “perfect soldier” Ypsilon, also included with the toy, the Strike Dog becomes a truly terrifying adversary for Chirico. Packing a X-SAT-01 50mm solid shooter bazooka and an in-built machine gun in the left arm claw, it’s one of the most potent AT’s in the series’ narrative (only really out performed by its upgrade, the equally fearsome Rabidly Dog). When featured in the variety of VOTOMS games over the years, the Strike Dog has always been a steep challenge (especially in the semi-recent PS2 game, which comes highly recommended). This toy then, like the rest in the DMZ range, is subsequently one with a presence and utterly meant to be played with.

Toy: 1/18 DMZ-02 Strikedog with Ypsilon
Price: 6,720 yen
Size/Weight: 36.5 x 27.1 x 15.0 cm / 1600g

The joints are almost all ratcheted and even those that aren’t still hold their positions well. This is impressive considering how big and beefy the toy is, as you’d expect the joints to sag under the weight. Both arms are also equipped with spring loaded arm punches, or a “claw” punch for the left arm. The latter is a little intimidating as the claw snaps shut on completion, rather cool though. The cockpit detailing and sculpt are also utterly amazing, with the supplied Ypsilon figure fitting snuggly within it. The paint job and overall sculpt of the design is also exemplary. In all honesty, it’s very hard to find any kind of fault with this toy really.

If you’re a fan of VOTOMS then this is an amazing find, especially at the reduced price point. To our minds the DMZ range of VOTOMS toys are pretty much the zenith for the franchise, especially considering that Takara have been involved with VOTOMS since the beginning shows that there is a real pedigree here. The Strike Dog is no exception and comes thoroughly recommended.

Unlike the first game, Project Phantasma shortened the main campaign quite drastically. To make the each mission more of challenge, the enemies themselves became suitably armored. Whilst not quite bullet sponges, the amount of ammunition required to take out the beefier MT’s did make the missions more of a resource management exercise in some instances. The missions themselves were more involved than the previous game too, with one memorable stealth level disallowing the player to go airborne in case they were detected by radar. Not to mention the microwave power receiver station mission, where flying above the structure resulted in the player getting fried. The slightly odd aspect to the game’s balancing though was how an all new arena mode pretty much undermined the increased challenge of the new missions.

Previously, the ranking Ravens were displayed in a simple leaderboard. As the player progressed through the first game, they inched their way up the Raven hierarchy. In Project Phantasma the leaderboard became an arena, where each rank had to be earned in one-on-one AC combat against another Raven. Naturally, the initial matches were very straightforward but the further the player went up the pecking order the more they ended up displaying the somewhat dreaded Human Plus ability set. That aside, each match netted large sums of cash but importantly eschewed any cost penalty in terms of armor and ammo lost. This meant that the harder missions were made far easier on account of the fact the player had a much larger bank account due to their arena winnings.

In some ways, this increase in player funding was taken into account (via the aforementioned increased enemy armor and finite player ammo) but the game was far less functionally considered than its progenitor. However, this was counter balanced against an all new approach to the game’s usage of characterisation. Specifically, that of two characters; Sumika and Stinger.

Sumika piloted a custom pink AC and was the player’s main financier. Subsequently, this resulted in Sumika being the player’s ally and rationalising the events happening around them. Juxtaposed to this was the very pompous antagonist Stinger, which in true anime fashion was overly enigmatic as to his real motives. Again, Stinger also initially had his own custom AC (dubbed “Stinger”) which he later swapped out for the titular experimental MT Phantasma.

In parts, the new characters did help the smaller number of missions make sense but on the other it did feel very odd. As the custom AC’s both characters piloted were obviously meant in place of character portraits. Leaving mecha the size of buildings to infer emotion, which can work in certain circumstances as long as it is done sparingly. Unfortunately, the entire game had this setup and it resulted in partially nullifying the sense that these were very large machines.

This wasn’t to say that Project Phantasma wasn’t fun. As it was in some ways deeply satisfying, with the overtly powerful weapons making the game very compelling. Admittedly this was in a more guilty pleasure sense rather than anything well wrought. The characterisation was a nice touch too, despite the fact the custom AC’s parts weren’t usable by the player (something that would be true until Nexus came along several years later).

Overall then, Project Phantasma was a somewhat experimental and clearly rushed game. Whilst it was a good romp and many of the new elements would grace future Armored Core games, it did still feel lacking. Interestingly, this wasn’t lost on the studio and the following games would receive far longer developmental cycles. So in that sense, Project Phantasma’s legacy was ultimately a positive one.

Tamashii: 7/10

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Over at GA Graphic they’ve uncovered that Kotobukiya are running a limited edition campaign for various Armored Core kit parts (molded in a gun metal colouring) as well as a clear version of Nineball Seraph. The campaign starts today and the items can only be acquired via their online shop. However, if you ask people like Tokyo Hunter to help out we’re sure they’ll be able to lend a hand. As a rule , Kotobukiya’s kits are normally excellent and each kit’s sculpt is often similarly exemplary.