Renato

Oh yeah, that was it. Ranka and Alto are already friends. But the opening concert's location is changed from the Tenkuumon to the Seidoukan (that's probably why we see Sheryl next to Alto when the first Vajra attacks in the new magazine scans). So Kawamori says that if the story begins in the Tenkuumon, you get the TV show, but if it starts in teh Seidoukan, you get the movie. Other than that, a rough cut (animated storyboard) of a new shot from the movie was shown, it was of Ranka on her segway speeding through San Francisco.

Hey, what's this thread doing all the way down here? OK, full versions of Bruning Fire and Dangan Soul are "out"! http://nicosound.anyap.info/sound/sm8393379 Also, the "video" for Burning Fire on the Ultimate Frontier Limited UMD-Video is pretty damn cool, especially for those who enjoyed "All That VF". Lastly, guess what I bought the other day for ONE YEN (that's right, 1 yen!)? "Confusion", by Chie Kajiura!! Great album. OK, I will post images and stuff probably next week, I will be out of town from tomorrow. By that time, Re.Fire might be out!

Hidetaka Tenjin is interviewed in the "Super Dimensional Disc" included with the special edition of Macross Ultimate Frontier for the PSP. He reveals that the Macross Quarter has been redesigned in some way (no images shown) and "will give off a totally different impression". There were a few more "revelations", I will post them here as soon as I remember them.

Those "VS Ace" missions are nigh-on impossible unless you play with friends connected. And no, I don't know anyone who would ever want to do that. The Kakizaki mission was funny though. One hit and he's dead, end of mission!

Wow. I feel your pain, man. Anyway, I'm really glad to hear this news, more Macross 7 means more chance of a Fire Valkyrie, and I would like that with all the fix-ins, please. I hear lots of good things about this mold but I still won't be able to afford it for a while. Now I'm kind of spoilt for choice. If I do get one, it'll probably be the C-type, since I already have two Bs, the old 1/72 with FPs and one without. I agree about the white looking really plain, though. And before anyone makes the joke, let's get the "ugh, it's so plane, haha" jokes out of the way.

Also: the top of the intakes and the placement of the tailfins on the VF-19kai appear to be identical to that of the YF-19, when in fact they should be different. In fact, apart from the head and shoulders, the models for both 19's seem identical, which they should not be. From the screenshots I saw in magazines, this hasn't been fixed in Ultimate Frontier.

This guy has already gotten pretty far in one day. http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8392654 Tutorial:

Wha? No-one's posted in 8 hours?? I guess you're all busy playing the game! Well, guess what, I came back home tonight to find a package with the LE on my table. I can confirm you need FIRMWARE 5.55 to play this game. So I'm not allowed to touch this thing. However, I've seen a bit of the material on the UMD-Video and although the OP and ED collection is kind of pointless, the Kawamori interviews are good and insightful, especially when he's talking with Miyatake about the old days. Also, we see the full transformation of the Lego VF-25. In many ways, it's better than the DX Chogokin. Anyway, the only other thing I had time to watch was the Fire Bomber "comment" which is basically just Fukuyama (with Chie Kajiura beside him) incredibly obviously reading off cue cards saying "Yeah, PSP Macross Ultimate... Er.. Frontier!! Er... Burning Fire! Anyway, come watch our show later this year. Screw this, I'm outta here." There's supposed to be two hours worth of stuff on this disc, but I suspect a large part of that is the OPs and stuff. What's intriguing is the "over 15" rating this has been awarded -- for sexual content, no less, judging by the symbol on the back of the package. If Klan or Alto have anything to do with this, I swear I'm going to destroy the UMD, 'cause ain't that sheet be havin' no place in my house. Ishtar, I can forgive.

Gameplay footage with the Cheyenne II. Haven't seen any others uploaded yet, but they will come... http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8384864

And your health. Sorry about what happened, but at least you're OK.

PM'd you about 2D work, Chillyche. BTW, I never knew the movie version of the Nousjadeul-Ger was by Yuu Debuchi. I thought Miyatake did all of the Zentradi/Metltrandi stuff. Interesting.

Does anyone remember Sunwards? Before Yamato USA came into being, Yamato set up a whole new proxy to distribute the 1/60 VF-1 Macross toys (the old ver.1's) after the whole Toycom fiasco. If I remember correctly, they got the merchandising rights directly from BigWest themselves and made a big deal about it, PLUS they did NOT ever advertise the products as "Macross", just "Transforming robot planes" or something, although they retained the VF-1S etc. designations, and the kite logo. They even advertised in Toyfare. That ended up in the scrapper, though. Before the whole site and everything disappeared, I asked them by email if there was any issue with HG that was causing the delays, and they said yeah, HG blocked them. So it looks like all/most of the loopholes we've been trying to find have already been acted upon and been shot down immediately by HG since 2000.

Wrong answer, McFly! Pshh. Screw that. I got all excited for nothing.

Masta, looks like your edit found its way over to Nico: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8340986

I think the main reason people like to have discussions in the general news thread is because it is all "new" news, as opposed to the way the Toy News thread works, which is basically links or pics referring to existing products and threads thereof. If there is a new toy announced, then a new thread is started immediately for discussion, and the News thread is updated with that reference. "All other News" is just too much of a large scope to deal in the same way. Let's say that Family Mart bring out Frontier milkshakes, like their other sweet products last year. I don't see the need to have a thread for each thing. I understand that too much discussion is a problem, because people end up posting the same news over and over, though. I'm just saying it cannot be expected to work in exactly the same way as it does in the Toy forum.

As posted by Kresphy in the News thread, here is the song list for "Re.Fire!!", this time with added translations for the Japanese titles: 1.弾丸ソウル (Dangan Soul =Bullet Soul) 2.Burning Fire 3.DAIMON 4.LOVE IT -A.D.2060- 5.ビッグバン (Big Bang) 6.Ready GO. 7.Song Of Eternity 8.星屑ハイウェイ (Hoshikuzu Highway = Star Trash Highway) 9.PLASTICS 10.突撃ラブハート -A.D.2060- (Totsugeki Love Heart AD 2060) 11.MAGIC RHAPSODY 12.Waiting for you I have to say, "Re.Fire" is a stupid title, though. Why not Ultimate Fire or something? Only reason I can think is that "Ultimate" sounds too much like "Ultra" which already exists, but still...

The head and the hands need to be swapped/removed, though.

I own both CDs and I would like to rip them, but using TurboRip does not work. Not sure why, I just get a TOC file but no other files, then the program window just disappears. I think it worked for another game, but not for the two Macross titles. I have a couple of versions of Mac2036 CD rips, one I downloaded from Macrosshare and the other, I cannot remember. For one of them, I managed to get the ISO to run on PSP-Hugo, but only the introduction with no sound. The screen goes black just before the game is about to begin properly, and you have to exit the emulator. I also tried running the Toc file on PSP Hugo and the whole console crashes to pieces, in fact it screwed up the whole thing for an entire weekend. I have not tried this with Eternal Love Song, because it just seems too much of a hassle. Also, I read a long time ago that certain versions of the online rips of Mac2036 seem to have messed up TOC files or something, like the track lengths are wrong, I'm not sure, so that you have to manually edit every line. I will try to find that forum when I have time. I wonder why PC Engine CD games are so problematic when it comes to emulation, when PS1 games seem to be easy to rip and run smoothly in comparison. EDIT -- Found it: I hope this helps somebody, it is way too technical for me! http://www.emuasylum.com/forums/archive/in...hp/t-34053.html EDIT 2 -- Some youtube vids of the cutscenes in the 2036 game. Funny, they were uploaded the day after I bought my copy!

Holy crap, it just gets better and BETTER...... According to Dengeki Playstation magazine, Ultimate Frontier will have a "custom soundtrack" option, which apparently means you can replace ANY of the 70 BGM tracks in the game with any song on your Memory Stick. Now, when I managed to find the time, I was planning to go through extravagant procedures to hack Ace Frontier so I could put other Fire Bomber/Fukuyama tracks instead of Totsugeki etc, and replace some of the instrumentals with other songs, because apparently you can do that by changing some of the codes around. But now, I have NO complaints whatsoever with what songs they did or did not include in the game, because you can have any song you want!! Ranka can even be singing "Stage Fright" if you so wish!! Awesome.

Hey, look what I found! It's my old website, still hangin' in there... http://www.geocities.com/gunsight_one/humming.htm This is the Hummingbird section, with a run-down of the main albums. There are of course, a few more but I hadn't bought them yet! All of this is really old, like from at least ten years ago. Plus I hear that Geocities will shut down on October 29th, so you have about one month to check it out. Enjoy!

I usually buy Fukuyama's solo albums as soon as they come out, but for some reason, the last two, "Yellow House" and "Rebirthday" slipped by and on both occassions I ordered them through Amazon when I noticed them on the site, after they had been out for a good few weeks."Allegory" and "Yellow House", to be honest, I got lazy and only really heard them all the way through a couple of times before I ripped the MP3s of the songs I liked and put them on my mp3 player, that's probably why they left less of an impression as albums. I have to agree, though, that Isshuukan and Help Me are great, and I kept them on my player for a good year or so. As for CDs... hey, I was hardcore and bought most of the Hummingbird stuff back in 1999-2000, and when you import Japanese CDs in the UK you are expected to pay double.... I think every last Hummingbird album was totally worth it, though (yeah, even "A Piece of Cake", which is the weakest of the lot). I'm listening to Unsweet as I type this, and every song is perfect on it. They were really at their performing peak here. If you want to "try before you buy", there are sources... and there is a nice guy called Markcell.... Gubaba, yeah, I haven't talked so much about Chie Kajiura yet. I read a few comments from the Japanese users at Amazon and many of them think that she was definitely ahead of her time. A big act who made her debut last year is Superfly, and she is basically Chie Kajiura with a great set of pipes, belting out all these 60s-70s-inspired rock songs Joplin-style. It's a shame that the Japanese market just wasn't ready for Kajiura at the time, or that she wasn't supported any stronger. The past couple of years has seen her come out of "retirement"/"hiatus"/"child-upbringing?", she is touring again, and from the looks of things she has been involved in photography, painting, and short films, etc. I actually own a couple of her singles and I have that "Love It gero-geroo version" B-side. It's pretty smooth. I'm sure I put the mp3 somewhere, when I find it I will let you know.

Makka na Chikai is excellent. I haven't seen the show either, except for a few seconds when I turned on the TV and it just happened to be on. The song is really one of those that gets your blood pumping, then you're like, alright bring it on!! Allegory and Yellow House both seem to gel into one entity in my mind... Except for Makka na Chikai and Hoshizora no Requiem, there aren't really many exceptional tracks. Don't Worry is quite a good ballad on Allegory... but I prefer the album Jungle Lady, with anthem songs like "Na na na" and the randomness of "Jealousy" (starts off cheery, then gets angry, then cute again, then insane..), so I would recommend that one. "Rebirthday" might be worth checking out, too. It just came out a few months ago, DVD and CD set, it's basically a collection of re-worked re-recorded, re-written songs which are either old B-sides or songs Fukuyama wrote for other artists. Again, mostly ballads, but there are some gems like the extended version of "Fukugan" and "Kami no DNA, Majo no DNA". I prefer the original (now out-of-print) version of "Kaze to ki to hikari no machi de" to the one that's on here, though. The DVD has an awesome lengthy version of "Kimi ga Konai", showcasing some smart guitar moves.

Kresphy posted this in the News thread: Sounds pretty cool so far! Edit -- OK I had only listened to half of it as I typed that... It was a huge understatement, it sounds absolutely fantastic. Song of Eternity and Magic Rhapsody in particular stand out as freaking epic. Damn, I can't wait for this. IMO Fukuyama's albums have had too many soft ballads in recent years, and this powerhouse seems to want to make up for that.

I noticed there wasn't a thread to discuss the many songs (despite the fact most of them aren't in the show ) of Fire Bomber, and by association, the other music by artists like Hummingbird, post-Humming Yoshiki Fukuyama, and also the elusive Chie Kajiura. So I figured I would start one since we have just a few weeks to the release of the fourth album heralding Fire's triumphant return. So let's use this thread to discuss the new song, "Burning Fire", which we can hear on Youtube and whatnot, or to reminisce about our favourite classics from the FB repertoire, or even to talk about alternate versions of Fire Bomber songs released over the years, such as the a capella version of Angel Voice on "Fukuyama Fire", or what I consider to be Fukuyama's masterpiece, the epic "Fukugan", a 9-minute long B-side on his last single (It's like if you cross Basara with Bohemian Rhapsody ). I'll start the ball rolling by bringing up some stuff I've not heard mentioned before. The basics: Hummingbird were a three-piece band -- Yoshiki Fukuyama (composer, guitarist, vocals), Toshiyuki Furuya (composer, bassist, vocalist) and Shoichiro Aso (drummer) -- active from 1990 or so until 2000. In 1994, band member Fukuyama was selected as the singing voice for Nekki Basara in M7. Chie Kajiura was NOT and never has been a member of Hummingbird, by the way. Although my favourite Hummingbird albums are the first (self-titled) and second ("Timeless") ones, they actually came before Macross 7 and the Victor contract and therefore are less well-known. Thus, the Hummingbird albums, "1,2,3" and "Unsweet" might be more interesting for Fire Bomber fans. The latter in particular is interesting because one of the songs ("Sakana-tsuri no uta" -- "The Fishing Song") features none other than Peter Frampton as guest guitarist! The song ends with an epic four-way jam. Also on these albums are alternate versions of "Power to the Dream" ("Mada ma ni au sa"), "Dynamite Explosion", "My Soul For You", "I Call Your Name" (as "Bye-bye, O-jou-sama"), "Love Song" ("To Heart") and many more. Most of the Hummingbird tracks sound much more "natural" and "raw" than the Fire Bomber versions of the songs, because the FB tracks are really over-produced. I mean, they sound good, but the HB versions just sound like three guys getting together and rocking out, and that's what it's all about. Over the past couple of years we have seen both Fukuyama and Chie Kajiura go back and re-do Macross 7 songs in their own distinct styles, giving new life to those old classics. I think we should also take a look back at their own non-Macross material. Anyway, this is a pretty messy post, but I hope the discussion will bring in FB fans into other related areas they never knew about. And we can discuss the new album as soon as it comes out (Yes, I am rushing out to buy it on the day of release!). May be I should close with "BOMBAA!" or something, but I don't wanna get flamed for not using the correct font or shade of scarlet. So, I guess.... "Yippee!"..? Edit -- The new FB album is the fourth, not the fifth. I think..

Looks good so far! You're obviously putting a lot of effort into this. Wish you all the best.