Renato

Kresphy scooped us all and posted this in the Movies and TV forum: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8183154 FIRE!!!

Dark Alex is retired....

The back cover of the Limited Edition pack, courtesy of Amazon. ......You gotta wonder if Sharon would actually cast a shadow, though.

Yeah, that might be good, but thinking about it, it might make the game less fun. I mean, who wants to start the game already ultra-powerful? And the way they keep everything secretive implies the "bonus" is something a little more... substantial? It might unlock some secret characters or something.

http://www.4gamer.net/games/094/G009441/20090827049/ More news. Apparently, if you have saved data from Ace Frontier on the memstick when you load up Ultimate Frontier, there will be some kind of bonus extra thing... No details yet though!

More news in this week's Famitsu, including pics of the Prototype Monster from MacZero, the Ravens scheme VF-19 and the VF-4. There was more, but I forgot.

Yipee! OK, thanks, that's what I needed to hear. Now I can sleep easy.

Sigh. For the third time, I wasn't talking about regional locks. I'm talking about the Firmware update (5.55?) that you will most likely need to perform when the game comes out. I wonder if the video disc needs a Firmware update to run, as well. I was asking if anyone had ever experienced that with a UMD-Video. I'm like you, I don't want to update just yet. Also, is that actually the SE cover? It might be just the Mikimoto illustration that they said would be included. I'm guessing it is a mini-poster. Very nice. I see Mao is there... is she featured in the game? I didn't notice her in any screenshots.

That's region locking. I'm talking about the "lock" on games, whenever you have to upgrade your Firmware to play the latest game ("unlock" it) or it won't run (Case in point: I had to upgrade to 4.something to play AceFrontier because I was on 3.something. Until I did, the game was "locked", as far as I am concerned). I was wondering if that was ever applicable to UMD-Video discs, too. I hope not.

Actually, I know quite a few Mexican restaurants in the Kansai area alone. There's one down my road, not 5 minutes from my house, even! And if you go to Okinawa, there are so many Taco places that there are many Japanese people who actually think "Taco-rice" is traditional Okinawan food, along with Goya and stuff. AAAAaaaanyway.. Ultimate Frontier. Other homepage updates include... The news that there is gonna be more than 130 minutes of footage on that UMD-Video that comes with the Special Edition!! Really looking forward to that. So.... Question: Will the UMD-Video also be "locked" unless you perform a Firmware update? I mean, yeah, no-one knows for sure, but has it ever happened before? Because I thought that lock thing was just for games. Has anyone who buy UMD-Videos ever experienced this? I really hope it's just the game itself that requires an update, not the video disc, because I really want to see it. I can (kind of) wait for some new CFW to work with my PSP before I play the game, since MAF is still keeping me busy. Also, check out the opening/theme song, you can hear it in Nico-doga and Youtube, the links are in the Scoopda thread. I prefer Get Free personally, but it's not bad, much better than if they had gone with something like Triangler.

Thanks Keith, for all the tips. I had actually tried that "switching target type" thing before, but for some reason it didn't work. It worked this time, though! So now I can get the bonus for beating Gigil AND get the bonus for collecting all the containers in the Spiritia Farm mission. I still cannot get higher than a B, though!! Argh. Maybe I'm taking too much time. I'm trying to melee (or "grapple") as much as possible, too. Graham, do you have the VF-171EX? That's one of the few I don't have. Not sure what you need to get it, though... Maybe complete all missions with S or something?? I got Battle Frontier and the 27 ages ago, but I'm only now attempting the Pine Salada EX mission, and Millia instantly kills me every damn time. I had totally forgotten about Max's special time-freezing power -- thanks for the heads up, I'll try that next time.

Latest issue of Newtype has an EVEN MORE BONDAGE-GALORE poster/calendar of Sheryl and Ranka. This time Sheryl is clearly not wearing any underwear and just riding the wind. Oh, and you can see a bit of a nipple, too. http://ameblo.jp/usagitaishi/image-1031676...0229027018.html Go! Buy it now! In fact, clear out the entire stock and get it out of my face!　

I'd like to know this too... And while we're running this mini support group, can I bring up the dreaded topic of the containers again? I still don't understand how you do these levels. I cannot get more than a B on the container missions. As soon as enemies show up, you can no longer lock on to the containers, so I thought the trick was to do them immediately, but it seems the enemies are always "triggered" when you are about to pick up the second or third box. Do you just have to ignore the mission directive and kill everyone? Also the Protect the Cats Eye mission... Can't get above a D. Yeah... I'm crap. I do have S or SS or A for all the other missions, though!!

Yep, this issue of premium content with DVDs is a good motivation for sales. But they are still expensive... As Sketchley said, though, you can often find plenty of bargains at second-hand places like Book-Off in Japan. Most of the few DVDs I have bought in recent years have been 2nd hand: the Steamboy special edition 4-disc set (3 or 4000 yen, originally like 10,000), the Akira special edition 2-disc set complete with full storyboard (I think that was 4000 yen too, probably 8000 yen or so originally), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 3-disc-plus-book-plus-random-phone-strap-thing-set (again, 4000 yen, 10,000 new), and the Aquarion DVD volume 1, complete with box and storyboard book (700 from like 5000 yen!). Most of those I bought because they were cheap. Downloaded, they would have been free, but as mentioned before, the tangible factor is very convincing for me. Hell, I haven't even finished watching all of the discs on the "Girl Who Leapt...". The only times I thought I must have it now was the DYRL remastered edition. Which I thought is still overpriced with the extras being odd... I mean, one entire DVD is wasted on having the same movie again, but in monaural audio. What the hell is the point, if you asolutely must put that in, why not have an alternate track on the first DVD? I don't want to pay a premium for that crap. I chose to buy it for the added 200+ page storyboard book. The actual DVD content left a lot to be desired. I guess Bandai Visual kind of won that battle though. The downloaders would be getting more or less nothing new, while the hardcore fans had to pay extra for loads of stuff they don't need, just to get the one or two things they do want. If they had included newly-filmed interviews and stuff, it would have been a lot more worthwhile to me, but they would need to recouperate more production costs, as that stuff can be downloaded easily. What was really odd was the "All that VF" promotion, though. They must have known that would not remain exclusive for long...

Does it?? So how much would an autographed one go for?? I'm just kidding, I would never sell it. To be honest, though, it was Y5000, and was only sold through the Seesonic Records site, so you could not get it cheaper anywhere else. The sound is OK I guess, but the visuals are terrible, it was obviously recorded on handycams, and this was before HD ones were on the market. Add to that the horribly chopped up songs (I think we all wanted the full set list, in its entirety, but half of the songs are "short edits") and you have a fairly poor product, I am sorry to say. The highlight was obviously the 10-minute epic rendition of "My Brother" (one of Fukuyama's greatest songs ever), where he totally loses it and ends up playing the guitar with his foot, etc. ... But still, that's a lot of money for essentially an amateurish product. It should have been an introduction to new fans of what he can do other than Fire Bomber stuff, but it falls flat. Not to mention, only old fans would buy it anyway. I bought it because this concert was held like just two days before I arrived in Japan and I was really, really annoyed that I couldn't make it. 4 hours of non-stop Fukuyama, and I had missed it... Well, this single-disc DVD doesn't really make up for it, despite it costing more than the ticket price. But it was better than nothing, and I would rather have it than not. The Fire Bomber 2005 DVD had high production value, and it shows. However, it is even more expensive than the Long Long Live one, even if it is two-discs. (Though the second one is only about 20 minutes at most). I felt I had to buy it because although I had gone to the concert this time, I wanted to re-live it in my home. A bit reluctantly, I paid the money again. The third, "Electric Fire", I ignored for a long time. They were mostly the same songs as the previous DVD! What happened was that this time Chie "Mylene" Kajiura was part of the programme, something that should have been there from the beginning if you're gonna have a "FIRE BOMBER" concert. Also, this time the disc went on general release, so Amazon, high street retailers, etc. all could take orders for it and stock it. So why didn't the price go down? Sure enough, Amazon had the best deal, but the RRP was still high. I had decided, no, I wasn't going to spend my money on essentially the same stuff again just because. A few months later I checked out youtube and some online clips and after considering for a while, ordered it from Amazon. And I am glad I did, because there are a few gems in that concert, as well as on the second disc with all the acoustic stuff ("Feel Universe", etc) and the interviews, etc. I have to agree that the price for DVDs and things in Japan is high, and careful consideration is needed. But then,　I'm sure they would be cheaper if the items in question weren't targeted to minor audiences in the first place. An average issue of Famitsu is 400+ yen, with over a hundred, maybe 200 pages, but Macross Chronicle has like 30 pages and is almost 700 yen. Getting the Fukuyama DVDs on the general market was a good move, but he is still not a mainstream act. Then again, even Southern All-Stars DVDs are priced highly too, so I guess, nothing would change either way, just like Taksraven said. At the end of the day, I don't regret buying any of the DVDs I bought (at least not the Macross / Fukuyama related ones). I got the Australian "Madman" release of the Macross SDF TV series because there was no way, no WAY, I was paying the ultra-extortionate prices for the DVDs here in Japan (where the bloody show was made). This was before the HD remaster, mind you. I watched all of Frontier on TV and that was enough. I don't think I want to watch it on the big screen because movies here are so expensive. But at the same time I had always dreamed of watching Macross on the big screen. I wish I had been here in 1984 or 1995 instead. THAT would've been money well spent. I also don't regret all the CDs, I bought, looking back now, at really ridiculous import prices. Mari Iijima, loads of albums for like 30 GBP each (200% markup). Man. I could never do that today, I have many other priorities. But at the same time you want to support the artist. Other reasons I buy stuff is for packaging. I have several vinyl Macross records which are displayed because they look fantastic, even though I have them all on CD (again, bought import with huge markup). But I only get those if they are cheap (500yen or so). Sorry for all the rambling. At the end of the day, in the last few years I feel -- like many of us, I'll bet -- that I've gotten more selective and won't buy everything with the word "Macross" on it. Thank you Frontier, with your inflated prices for shoddy and embarassing products for making that choice so much easier! (hey, I had to add something!!)

Looking (extreeemely) closely at the Wave 2 line-up pic, it appears that one of the new movie valks will be an SMS valk (I guess similar to that orangey Family Mart exclusive kit thing) and the other has a different logo, can't tell if it's Galaxy or NUNS. If it is NUNS it might mean that they have something other than the VF-171 as the main fighter. VF-19, maybe?

I have tons of vinyl in my house, I like the feel of it. Plus the packaging for the discs are usually works of art. I also like that the player is simple enough that I can take it apart and put it back together if I need to (and I did need to a couple of weeks ago when it rained so heavily while the window was open that EVERYTHING got completely soaked). On the go, though, there's so much background noise that whatever you're listening to will always get a high percentage of sound drowned right out of it, so it's cheapo tiny MP3 players all the way for me. And if I'm planning to ride a train, then it's the PSP. I listen to MP3s on the way to the station, then switch to movies or games while everyone else around me sleeps. I used to have lots of tapes and Walkmen/Walkmans, but seriously, changing discs/tapes on the go is just too impractical. All my tape players broke down, too. My 11/12-year old Panasonic portable CD player is still kickin', though. At the end of the day, the thing is what you are going to use it for, what do you want it for. This applies to both digital/analogue and Yamato/Bandai.

No, it's just a B1 size poster. Sold for over 30,000 yen. Wow. I'm sure you could pay Risa Ebata to draw you an original one for that price. Or, you know, buy food and stuff.

Exactly. Macross 7 was an excellent character-driven show, but hugely lacking in the action choreography department, and yet the little movie they made for that rocked, though (Ichiroh Itano was back for one time only as choreographer). Frontier was great for the action, but the story and characters were throwaway paper cut-outs. DYRL was a fan-service version of the series, and that might be what Frontier the Movie will turn out to be... Problem is, I don't think I'm a fan this time, so I'm wary. Plus a lot of people seem to agree that Kawamori as lone director = not good (Zero); Kawamori as co-director/general director = generally good (Plus/DYRL). Now if Kresphy's data is reliable, Kikuchi's "demotion" might be of concern. ANYWAY..... Since this is a NEWS thread, I thought you guys might be interested to hear that the movie tickets have gone on sale now. They will have gifts, and during the first period, you will get: "Crystal Artworks".. Well, it's just a print. It doesn't say how big it is, though.

I loved these. Everyone had them. And they were like the most bootlegged Valk toys ever. When those Banprestos came out, they really gave me an old-school buzz, reminding me of these guys. I guess that's why I like the Banprestos more than some of the other members here.

According to that article, that song list is the complete list... I'm not really satisfied until I get at least Angel Voice, and Arkan and HOROBI NO UTA cannot be omitted. Fingers crossed... I was trying to make some sense of this whole ANTI thing. Apparently, the numbers in the corner are how many seconds you have to shoot down the missiles on your tail. It seems the ones you manage to take out are recorded as "breaks". As for "Chronicle Mode"... They haven't mentioned any other features to the campaign mode, so does this mean that this is just one big game now where you have to go through everything chronologically? Also, it is supposed to be harder now because you cannot fly out with a wingman in this mode, apparently it's just you on your own.. I guess that's where Minmay and Ishtar etc. come in, though. As for the images, it appears that before every mission you get background info to the current mission just before it begins. The rescue thing is interesting, though. Apparently you can do it in multiplayer games, too. EDIT: Wait a second, VOICES isn't in the song list?? Whoa, whoa,who-ho-ho... hold on a second there, fella...

I'm trying to find the silver lining in these news, so here are the main points mixed with my comments: OK, so the first movie will be focusing on the events from eps. 1-7 only? Argh. (Just how many frickin' movies are we talkin' about here???) Brera will appear from the start? Argh. 60-70% new footage: OK, but if they make new character animation and recycle all the mecha action I'm not gonna be a happy bunny.. The characters will be more mature due to time constraints for character development: OK, I like what I hear... Alto will be more active, more like a protagonist: Good, because his TV incarnation was pointless. I'd rather they switch to another character, like... I dunno. Hell, even Docker from M7 is more interesting than that guy. Truly, Uncharismatic Hermaphrodite . Grace is 37... So? New mecha, new vajra.. Trying to revise the TV show by putting more atmospheric battles in. Good. Twice as many songs as DYRL in this first movie alone!! Fantastic!! .... Wait a second... is it?? Kikuchi has been relegated to "enshyutsu"*, from director. Dunno if that's a good thing. Kawamori directed Zero, which had awful pacing problems, I believe Frontier was a bit better in that department. *Enshutsu can be translated as "performance"... It is kind of like director in which they decide exactly how characters should act and react.

Revoltechs are way better value for money in my opinion. My GNU 19 is a complete floppy mess right now. Even at half-price I feel like I wasted my money.

More new images, link courtesy of Kresphy: http://www.4gamer.net/games/094/G009441/20090812026/ Pure awesomeness. This is just too cool for school. As for my wedding, I'm only legally married, the wedding itself will be later this year. And no, she doesn't look like Minmay, Ranka, Myung, Ishtar, Bobby, Alto, Brera, Michel or any of the other Macross females. PM'd you about plans to meet up in March.

Hey, shut up, man!