Over at 4Gamer we have a new update on the forthcoming Gundam Side Stories collection of games. First though, let’s talk about the above screenshot. As it basically shows the Blue Destiny GM kicking the Efreet Kai, now this is not something that really happened in the original games and is another instance where it seems the “remake” is deviating from the host material. We only hope that the other games in the collection are more faithful functionally speaking. That aside, in addition to the main games there will also be a VR mission mode that allows you to build a custom team of mobile suits. This gives credence to our theory that the games would crossover in terms of units somehow. It also harks back to the Tactics Battle mode we saw in Journey to Jaburo (which was pretty much the best part of the game and in turn created the setup seen in Lost War Chronicles, which is also getting remade in this collection). Bar that we also now have some nice shots of the RX-80 Pale Rider, the unique mobile suit that has been introduced for the game. The game is still on course for its May 29th release and you can pre-order the standard edition here.

We now have the second extended promo for Super Robot Wars Z 3, this being the one that will be shown in shops across Japan to curious punters. It shows pretty much all the new aspects of the game, from the team system as well as Maximum Break. There’s also a lot of battle animation eye candy, with the the RX-93 Nu Gundam looking especially lovely. We’re still bummed by the lack of Final Dancouga but there’s a lot of other cool series afoot here, so that should be good at least. The game is still on track for its April 10th release and you can pre-order it accordingly here (PS3) and here (Vita).

Famitsu has the latest scoop on the next three DLC units to come to Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost on March 5th. The units are Roux Louka’s Zeta Gundam (2000 Cost), Haman’s Acguy (2000 Cost), and Shiro’s Ground Gundam (1000 Cost). Like previous DLC units that were recommissioned clones of existing units, these three will have similar movesets with minor additions and omissions. For example, Haman’s Acguy jumps up a cost grade from 1000 to 2000, giving the unit 580 HP and Newtype pressure as its burst attack versus the original rolling Acguy army. Like before, these units will cost 400 yen each.

Today, Tecmo Koei Publishing revealed they will be bringing Shin Gundam Musou to the US and EU as Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn in Summer 2014. Another interesting thing to note is that it has only been listed for the PS3. The Vita version is currently absent from the press release so there is a possibility it will not come over.

So we now have the first promo for the Gundam Side Stories collection and it’s featuring Blue Destiny. There’s quite a lot of gameplay footage in this trailer and it’s clear now that these “HD remakes” are basically classic missions from the older games in the new Missing Link engine. This is a pretty big deal, as what made games like Blue Destiny so special was their claustrophobic first person view (something that seems to be entirely absent now). We’re actually pretty disappointed now about this new collection, as it seems very clear that Bandai are just going down the cheap and nasty route for this. Oh well, we’ll be picking this up in May but our reaction has now dropped to below “meh”. The other weird thing is that this version of Blue Destiny looks like it’s referencing the manga narrative rather than the original games (as the trailer talks about about letting down Marion after the Blue Destiny GM’s head is blown off by a Dom). This is because the manga ends on Earth between the Blue Destiny GM and Efreet Kai, whereas the games finish in space between two EXAM system Gundams. Anyway, this collection seems to be comprised of a whole ball of weird. The trailer is shown below.

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Bandai Namco have announced something wondrous. Specifically that of HD remakes for 5 classic Gundam gaiden games. These games being Blue Destiny, Rise from the Ashes, Space To the End of a Flash, Zeonic Front and the first Senki. All of these will be bundled with Missing Link and use the new engine. What’s not clear is whether the first person view that was key to the Saturn and Dreamcast games has been preserved (as from the screenshots it looks that the updated versions have gone third person in terms of the camera). Still, the fact this is happening at all is pretty damn great. In addition, there will be a limited edition of the game that will come with a kit of the new RX-80 “Pale Rider” as well as a soundtrack and artbook. Though at 14,893 yen it’s a tad pricey. We also have a release date for the games of May 29th. Considering how good many of these older games were, we really hope they don’t mess them up in terms of the new HD remakes.

Not long after the first game was released on console, Bandai Namco announced a new arcade game would follow. That was nearly three years ago and in that time Full Boost has been a huge success in the Japanese arcades. Since coming back to Japan we’ve availed ourselves of the omnipresent arcades and naturally played a large amount of Full Boost too.

As we come from a game development background, primarily that of design, it’s interesting to see how much work went into Full Boost. To look at, the game doesn’t appear to be doing all that much new and could even be regarded as just a shallow cash-in. In reality though, that is a painfully inaccurate appraisal. There’s an enormous amount of improvement across how the game operates, consequently this is one of the most engrossing and rewarding versus games we’ve played in a long time.

Three more mobile suits will be added to the PS3 version of Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost on February 19, according to the latest Famitsu. The suits that will be added for 400 yen each are the Patrick Colasour’s GN-XIII, Kamille’s Gundam Mk-II (Titan’s ver.), and Lunamaria’s Impulse Gundam. Each of these units will respectively have unit costs of 1000, 1000, and 2000. Aside from the GN-XIII, the other units are essentially clones of existing units with certain omissions and cost adjustments, like the Quatre Wing Zero TV. For those of you who were expecting completely new units or hand-me downs from the upcoming Maxi Boost sequel, you will be rather disappointed. Granted these units may have been added to be geared towards fans of the overarching Gundam series, the unit additions feel rather redundant due to the fact that there aren’t that many changes to the units themselves aside from the removal of certain movesets. On top of that, it does feel like there hasn’t been much effort to truly differentiate the clone versions over their original versions aside from the voice acting, cost adjustments, and color changes. If new animations and major gameplay changes were added to them instead of copying and pasting existing animations, that in itself would go a long way in legitimizing a purchase for many people. Don’t get me wrong, there is always the valid argument of the simply not purchasing the DLC since the game already provides a plethora of units to choose from. In fact nearly 100 in total are available, not including the free DLC to begin with! Perhaps the expectations are too high considering the previous DLC offerings for the vanilla version of Gundam Extreme Versus, but I tend to be part of the problem as I’ll get them anyway to keep my game roster “complete.” We’ll update you more as new units are announced.

Famitsu has a nice new breakdown on Super Robot Wars Z 3’s game system, specifically that of the Maximum Break. This allows units in a group to combine their attacks to increase their range and potency, as well as nullifying the avoidance and defense abilities of their enemies. This will use a new tension bar and deplete it entirely once completed. In addition, there’s also a D-Trader setup that requires Z-Chips taken from downed enemies in order to purchase special items. Though, you’ll also need to fulfil other requirements too in order to successfully purchase said parts. That aside, we’re happy to see Chirico back in the fold again and that Shining Heresy is getting featured. Hopefully the Burglary Dog will make an appearance too.

In the week from January 27th to February 2nd Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost managed to top the Japanese charts by selling 269,940 copies. Now, to clarify this a bit, the game was released on January 30th. So what you’re seeing there is actually just three days sales. That aside, we also wrote a piece for Kotaku about the launch (to help get the word out at least). Sadly it also seems that the online pass cannot be shared, which sucks a big fat one quite frankly. In any case we’ll be reviewing this glorious puppy pretty soon, so look out for that.