While doing a bit of research on the commercial version of Bootfighter Windom XP SP-2, a freeware mecha game similar to the Gundam Versus series of game with an English fan translation, I found that not only was the commercial version already out, but it had received an official English translation all the way back in July of last year. While it unfortunately falls into the massive gulf that exists between “free” and “not free”, with the $20 price tag not doing anything to close that gap, it’s a rare example of a Japanese doujin game seeing official release outside of Japan.

Looking around a bit more, though, led me to discover that CuriousFactory, the fellows involved with that English release, have brought over a few other mecha games in the past (link may not be entirely safe for work, depending on how your employer feels about little cartoon girls wearing only a belt for a shirt), specifically three different shmups.

I can’t speak to the actual quality of these games, because I’m not much of a shooting game aficionado, but what’s most interesting to me is that all three of the mecha shmups are from the same doujin circle, ASTRO PORT, and all three feature entirely different mecha art styles. Armed Seven has a distinctly Armored Core/Real Robot feel, Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser looks like it would have fit right in with the cartoonish 70s Super Robot animes, and Witch-bot Meglilo has a cute female robot girl as the protagonist.

The CuriousFactory games list has links to downloadable trials for all of the games mentioned above, so feel free to give them a whirl.

It turns out the next game in Capcom’s Gundam Versus series of arcade multiplayer games will be called Gundam Extreme Versus. The game will be using a System 357 board, basically a PlayStation 3 in an arcade cabinet, and will feature almost every Gundam series (along with Crossbone Gundam and MS IGLOO). The fundamental gameplay won’t be changing much from Gundam vs Gundam Next though. The game will be beta tested over the Summer for an Autumn release in Japan.

As for the rumour we reported about this game being Gundam Unicorn specific, well that turned out to be false. That said, we were originally told merely that a Unicorn specific arcade game was in development. We assumed that this meant the upcoming Gundam Versus iteration, but it seems that there is another Gundam arcade game in the wings (maybe an update to the hugely successful Senjou no Kizuna?). Considering that the series will start airing tomorrow it’s fairly obvious that Bandai Namco want to capitalise on Unicorn as best they can.

The somewhat under-appreciated Wave have finally previewed their upcoming 1/72 scale MBR-04-MkVI Tomahawk destroid kit from the original Macross. Despite Yamato already releasing a toy of this design, kit connoisseurs rightfully revere the workmanship of Wave. After all, they’ve been making Five Star Stories kits for years and those mecha designs are some of the most intricate and complex ever conceived.

However, the Tomahawk’s past is a chequered one in the annals of mecha gaming. Specifically, it was re-purposed in BattleTech to form the obviously derivative Warhammer (even the official BattleTech artwork inadvertently retained the UN Spacy logo). It wasn’t long until FASA were sued, as the Tomahawk was but one of a plethora of designs lifted from various notable anime series of the time. That said, the recent MechWarrior reboot also fell foul of this plagiarism as it re-used the Warhammer in its teaser trailer, kicking off a whole new legal mess in the proceedings.

The sad aspect about all this is that the legal steps being taken aren’t meant to recompense the original Japanese team who penned the designs, but instead the Western company that distributed them. In any case, this kit is released in June for 6,800 yen and you can pre-order it here.

Over at Game Watch there’s an interesting update about the additional designs being featured in Last Raven Portable. Much like the last two PSP ports getting designs from the more recent Brave New World narrative, it seems that this game will receive a series of designs from Armored Core Retribution, a similar but older Dengeki side story. In addition to the three new designs in the arena, each of them wield a new shield arm part. The game is still scheduled for an early March release.

Separately, Silent Line Portable also received its Western release at the beginning of this month. Available via the American PSN store (for $14.95), From Software are similarly publishing this entry too. Admittedly, we were very much disappointed with the first PSP port but after putting a lot of time into the Japanese release of Silent Line Portable we are far more impressed. It’s still flawed though and partially limited in terms of controls due to its host hardware but it is by no means the abject catastrophe that Armored Core 3 Portable was. Here’s hoping that Last Raven Portable builds on this to produce something more functionally cogent.

This is currently a rumour at present but it seems the next Gundam Versus game, that’s been hinted at on the official site, will be Gundam Unicorn focused. This would mark a return to the series specific approach that the games had prior to the Gundam vs Gundam shift a few years ago. This also means we’ll get to finally see both the Sinanju and Banshee in a game with any luck. In addition to this news, it also appears that the Unicorn Gundam will also make an appearance in Gundam Assault Survive and separately Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus will also receive some “Special Edition” DLC sometime in April. In any case, we’ll know for sure on these by the end of the week.

Update: It turns out that the next Gundam Versus game, Gundam Extreme Versus, isn’t series specific to Unicorn. However, there is still another Gundam arcade game in development that will tie into the series in some way.

The upcoming PSP game, Gundam Assault Survive, will receive a demo via the Japanese PSN store tomorrow. It will feature missions from the original Gundam, Seed and 00 campaigns (as well as limited AdHoc support). Interestingly, the demo will be limited to total of 10 million downloads – so be sure to move quickly once it’s available!

The insatiably iconic White Glint from Armored Core For Answer is getting yet another kit from Kotobukiya. In the form of a new “D-style” super deformed version to be exact. This also marks the first time any Armored Core designs have been rendered in kit form like this. The kit will be available in June for 2100 yen and it stands at a proud 10.5 cm in height. What this kit does potentially suggest, due to its new proportions, is that having AC’s featured in Super Robot Wars isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

As promised, Anime News Network our now streaming the entirety of the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series (along with Gundam Seed, but we’re not to fussed about that to be perfectly honest). Unfortunately, this is the English dubbed version but the sheer cultural importance of the series outweighs this slight loss of fidelity. It’s also worth noting that the official continuity in the Universal Century timeline actually follows the movies and not the TV series, that said the TV series pre-dates the movies and as such is still worth seeing as it forms the fundamental base to the entire Gundam mythos.

In terms of games, there are many that try to re-enact the original TV series narrative but probably the most competent is the Namco effort Kidou Senshi Gundam Ichinen Sensou on the PlayStation 2 (videos of it in action are shown below). As it seamlessly linked both ground and spaced based combat with a surprisingly tactile third-person camera control setup. The titular RX-78-2 Gundam is also featured in the excellent Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus.

Over at GA Graphic there is a lovely preview of the upcoming 1/72 scale TYPE-LAHIRE Stasis kit. Despite the somewhat erroneous header that states that this is a Ray Leonard frame, it’s actually made by Omer in the games (though it was meant to combat the high speed nature of Ray Leonard’s Aaliyah frame). The Stasis was exclusively featured in the recent Armored Core For Answer and was quite a nimble opponent. The design was also one of the few that wasn’t penned by a guest illustrator, but instead created in-house. This kit ships in April for 5,200 yen and you can pre-order it here.

Despite already being premièred in Hong Kong, Gundam Unicorn is still yet to receive its public release. Whilst the Blu-Ray and DVD versions are scheduled for release on March 12th, PS3 and PSP owners will be able to download the first episode on February 20th. To show their intent, a lovely HD trailer has been released via the PSN (shown below). Every single trailer trailer thus far just keeps on reaffirming our expectation that Gundam Unicorn will be a wonderfully special entry into the Universal Century timeline.

The titular mobile suit from the novels and the forthcoming anime, designed by the brilliantly bespectacled Hajime Katoki, was also featured in the recent PSP port of Gundam vs Gundam Next (a game we loved when we reviewed it and which you can buy here).

Update: The first 7 minutes of the opening episode have also been released online, we’ve linked that below as well.