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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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.

Bandai have previewed their upcoming VB-6 König Monster toy from Macross Frontier. The VB-6 is actually an interesting design though as it’s based upon the frame of an early destroid, specifically the HWR-00-Mk.II Monster, and was originally created for the PlayStation game Macross VF-X 2. Over the years it’s been rendered in toy form at least once and it seems that Bandai want to make their mark too (so much so that Shoji Kawamori supervised this toy’s production, which helps explains why it’s using a lot of diecast). Interestingly, this toy is also a collaboration between the DX Chogokin and Robot Damashii line, which could birth some pretty epic articulation. There’s also a special Sheryl Nome variant in the works, which will feature a variety of moe tranfsers to sully this great design. In any case the toy will be released in September for the eye watering price of 16,000 yen. Still, we thought it worth finishing off with the FMV intro from Macross VF-X 2 in all its robot stompy tank crushing action!

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Those indomitable people over at FrontMission.info are in the process of finally translating one of the most interesting entries into the Front Mission saga. Specifically, the far more RTS focused Front Mission Alternative. Unlike most other Front Mission games, Alternative didn’t use the fixed turn based approach to strategy, instead it opted for a real time command system using a form of waypoints. In terms of development Alternative was actually meant as a means for Square Enix to recoup the very large development costs for Front Mission 2 at the time, as it shared much of its core technology. As a consequence, the game was released less than three months after Front Mission 2 (a game that the above translation team are also studiously working upon). In any case, it will be wonderful to think that more people will be able to appreciate Front Mission Alternative in the not too far off future, especially with the far more action focused Front Mission Evolved around the corner. The team have also been kind enough to put together a trailer for their upcoming release, which we’ve linked below.

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The classic run and gun shooter, Wolf Fang, was recently released on the Japanese PSN. This was an arcade game from the early 90′s in the same vein as Assault Suits Leynos and Valken, it also received both a PlayStation and Sega Saturn port (though the version on PSN is obviously the former). Wolf Fang has also been getting a bit of a resurgence as of late, as we reported the release of the Video Game Robotics gashapon not that long ago and it featured one of the mecha from the game. In any case, we’re big fans of Wolf Fang and the ability to play it on our PSP is most welcome.

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Play Asia currently have a fair few interesting mecha games going at a discount at the moment. First up is Treasure’s classic Bangai-O on the Dreamcast, this is also the Japanese version in case you’re wondering. Like many, we hold the Bangai-O games in very high regard and we’ve written a pretty lengthy feature on the series too (as many of the functional influences stem from from renowned anime shows). Interestingly, the Dreamcast version of the game (as there was also an N64 release before it) was one of the few games that didn’t support VGA output. The recent DS game, Bangai-O Spirits, is also still at a discount if you want to nab that too.

Next up is the classic Dreamcast port of Virtual On Oratorio Tangram. Now, what with the XBLA port of MSBS 5.66 already available why would you buy this? Despite the lovely Hajime Katoki artwork on the cover, it’s also going very cheaply and it features a very different balancing setup as the port also affords access to MSBS 5.45 and 5.2 (the latter being the first release of the game, when it was being run on Model 3 hardware). The XBLA port only has the option to play via the 5.66 setup. In addition, getting hold of Dreamcast TwinSticks is still relatively easy and inexpensive, compared to the HORI 360 effort, and more importantly the game works fine with them. The HORI sticks have a deadzone at the base of each stick, which considering the rather steep price tag is a bit unfortunate. Again, we have a rather thorough feature on the Virtual On games in case you’re at all curious about the series.

Then there’s Macross Plus Game Edition and
Real Robots Final Attack, both on the PlayStation. The Macross Plus game is an interesting attempt at dealing with the disparate modes of the various variable fighters, as it literally separates the game out via fighter and battroid focused levels. Whereas Real Robots Final Attack is a full on and quite competent Virtual On clone using a variety of classic real robot shows as a base (it’s basically the spiritual precursor to the Another Century’s Episode games in a way).

Finally, we have the Rise from the Ashes collection release on the Dreamcast; which packages both the premium disc and the original game together along with a new third person camera mode. We like this game a lot and the development team responsible for this now go by the Team White Dingo moniker that was coined by the player’s platoon in the game. In any case, there’s plenty to choose from at the moment and that’s no bad thing at all!

A lesser known Hong Kong toy manufacturer by the name of threeA are releasing a Metal Gear Rex toy as penned by the suitably under appreciated Yoji Shinkawa. Rex was the climactic Metal Gear in Metal Gear Solid, though it also made a functional cameo in the recent Metal Gear Solid 4. threeA don’t normally handle licensed mecha designs, instead creating their own, so this choice on the part of Konami and Hideo Kojima is an interesting one. Early photos have leaked online and the detailing does look mightily impressive but this looks more like a collector’s statuette than toy. In any case, no word on price or release date has been announced as yet.