Seto Kaiba

None that I've seen, but it's still early days...

Eh... there's a little unwarranted/unnecessary bashing of other Macross titles to be had in here too, but we could all stand to take a step back and remember that our enjoyment (or lack thereof) of a series is purely subjective. After all, there's only the one actually objectively terrible title connected to Macross... its quasi-illegitimate creatively bankrupt counterpart Robotech. In a franchise as prone to reinventing itself as Macross is, it feels a little like missing the point to take a "They changed it, now it sucks" stance. I mean, it's odds-on that whatever we get from Kawamori and company in the near future won't rigorously follow the footsteps of what came before. They like to mix it up.

I don't think that's something we have to worry about... Kawamori doesn't seem to be all that fond of treading old ground.

Thank goodness for context... otherwise there's no end of amusing interpretations we could ascribe to Basara being trained by a "Pink Pecker", especially since this is Japan we're talking about. To be fair, I think Gamlin's got a right to be a little PO'd about Basara poking his oar in... the Fire Valkyrie may be a UN Forces black project, but nobody bothered to actually tell the defense forces to look the other way. That it's flown by a civilian, and its conspicuous lack of success against the enemy, would lead most upstanding soldiers to think "We really oughta get that crazy civvie outta here before he gets his dumb ass killed and the brass get on our tits about it." Seriously though, do we need to keep [harping on / militantly defending] Macross 7? This is about the new series, not a twenty year old one.

's it just me, or does that mean Macross Dynamite 7 is Double Zeta?

You tell him from me that if he sticks to what they said in Re:Fire about Basara never coming back to City-7 and makes the story about Mylene, he can go ahead and do that with my full support and blessing.

Same here. S'long as we've got a show of substance to go with our merchandising, I'm A-OK with it. Though I've always been more of an art books and magazines guy than a toy collector, which kind of puts me in some kind of minority on here. When the DX YF-30 goes on sale it'll be my fourth-ever Macross purchase in that category.

<.< >.> MAKE IT HAPPEN. As nice as the revenue from figure sales is, I just hope Macross never sinks low enough to attempt something like the Gundam Build Fighters series. It doesn't have much of a story, it just feels like Bandai airing out a bunch of unused toy designs. At least Sunrise did a similar airing-out more tastefully when they threw every MSV and its dog at Gundam Unicorn. I know merchandising is inevitable, but I'd like them to at least make an effort to produce a series that's more than just a toy commercial, y'know?

Eh... if their presentation was something more akin to what we see in Macross the First, I could maybe get behind that if it were a short OVA. The problem I see with it is that, unlike Mobile Suits in Mobile Suit Gundam, Macross's destroids are big stompy man-tanks that are all built for very specialized roles. We don't really have a jack-of-all-trades destroid with the operational versatility you'd find in a Mobile Suit, which would kind of limit what could be done with them as the core of a series. The more runny-jumpy low gravity action depicted in Macross the First's fight between Max and Kamjin might make for some interesting combat scenes though. Eh... would it cheer you up any if I told you that, after years as a member of the "I HATE M7" demographic, I've actually warmed to the series a little? It'll never be my favorite, and somet things could've been done better, but it's not that bad. Not sure why Macross 7 would be relevant though... I don't think the tone of the industry right now is right for Kawamori to revisit the themes and tone of Macross 7. I expect what we'll get will be something more akin to Macross Frontier in terms of its overall presentation. Something lighthearted, but not exuberantly so the way 7 was. I greatly enjoyed Macross Frontier, so more of the same style of storytelling won't hurt my feelings one bit. As I see it, a new Macross series is win-win for everyone. Either Kawamori and company will knock it out of the park with another pleasing romp through the fields of awesome-est aerial combat, love comedy, and music, or, failing that, we'll get a show that will still be better than 90% of what's coming out anyway. Wherever Kawamori wants to take the story, it's bound to be an interesting ride, if nothing else. (Just so long as it doesn't turn out to be a shallow cash-grab 22 minute toy commercial like Gundam Build Fighters.)

Actually, it's entirely intentional... that free-floating hip is something the YF-30 was designed to do. It can twist at the "waist" in GERWALK as well as in Battroid mode, giving the mecha a greater range of motion. (It's described this way in a couple of very brief articles about the design.)

Yeah... I'm not even a toy/model collector, and I'm impatient for this one to come out. The only other time that's happened for me was the WAVE 1/5000 SDF-1 Macross. I like the YF-30's aesthetics, and I fully intend to preorder one as soon as they open the preorders.

From the pictures posted above, it looks like August 2014.

Damn... I've NEVER had that happen. Is your PS3 an older model? I'm wondering the reason I've never experienced a freeze on Macross 30 is because my PS3 is the very latest hardware variant.

Would you hate me terribly if I pointed out that Todo's notes are usually outside the ruins that they ask you to search? Like RIGHT outside? The MW guide we have here is pretty reliable when it comes to your objective in each quest. Quests are a great way for quick cash or EXP.

Ah... yeah, the vanilla VF-171 Nightmare Plus doesn't have any. The VF-171EX Nightmare Plus and VF-171EX Nightmare Plus (Alto ver.) can use the Armored Pack which Alto uses in the Macross Frontier TV series. After you get the VF-171EX blueprints (Level 1) from the Find the Rare Metal Coin 3 quest in Vrlitwhai City's Hunter Guild, the blueprints for the VF-171EX's Armored Pack are available for 22,000G in Ramad, the city in the northwestern corner of the Sierra desert. Some fighter blueprints and FAST packs are only available by doing Quests or by winning Vanquish races. A lot of the Level 2 blueprints for the earlier fighters are only available as quest rewards, as are some of the character versions of the fighters, like the VF-0S Skull type, the VF-1J Ichijo type, the VF-1S Skull type, Mina's Level 2 VF-11C, or Luca's RVF-171EX. The Vanquish race FAST packs are the worst to get... at least for me, because I stink at the time trials. Here's a rundown of FAST packs that are only available via quests or races: VF-0 FAST Pack - Quest: Leopold City SV-51 Twin Booster - Vanquish Race: Yue Race 3 VF-1 Strike Pack - Vanquish Race: Yui Race 8 VF-1 Double Strike Pack - Quest: Daoren VF-11C Super Pack - Quest: Ramad YF-19 FAST Pack - Vanquish Race: Jurgen Race 6 YF-21 FAST Pack - Vanquish Race: Yue Race 10 VF-25 Super Pack - Vanquish Race: Urthr Race 2 VF-25 Armored Pack - Quest: Skuld VF-25 Tornado Pack - Quest: Urthr VF-27 Super Pack - Vanquish Race: Urthur Race 6 YF-29 Super Pack - Quest: Cleef Town The only ones I've not yet managed to get myself are the YF-19, YF-21, and YF-29 packs. I'm going for 100% completion by getting every fighter to Level 3 blueprints and every pack. A couple of fighters don't have any packs... the VF-171, VF-19, and VF-22 don't get any.

You don't need to actually use parts that match the blueprint you're trying to build... you can literally use any parts you have s'long as you don't go over the cap on the number of parts in total. The higher level and higher-numbered-VF parts confer more points toward build requirements per part. My advice would be to lurk around the few areas of the map where really high-level enemies show up (the east side of the Sierra desert where the VF-25 shows up and you get swamped by VF-22s is a good one) and just cruise all the way north, then all the way south and clear the area out each time. Once you get to the Madis Glacier, there's a lovely spot just west of the Gefion where big swarms of Vajra show up where you can get some really high-level parts.

Hrm... you're right. There is some kind of pack over the VF-11's BLCS intakes...

Sometimes? The first time it happened was with Macross 2036 and Macross: Eternal Love Song for the PC Engine, which were made to bridge the gap between DYRL?/FB2012 and Macross II: Lovers Again. The official Macross II-verse chronology which the staff published placed them on the timeline, and they were also featured in the Macross II Entertainment Bible. The Macross main chronology also places a few games on the timeline... including Macross M3, Macross Digital Mission VF-X, and Macross VF-X2. In light of what's been put on Macross Chronicle's Mechanic Sheet ALL 01C, it's looking like Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy might be joining that select fraternity now that the YF-30 is showing up on the VF "family tree". Sometimes, continuity material in art books like the The Lost Two Years thing in Macross Perfect Memory or Variable Fighter's Aero Report in This is Animation Special: Macross Plus sometimes makes it to official status as well. Yep... Macross 30 let ya do that, though it's not exactly unprecedented. There's occasional images in stuff like the old MAT: Sky Angels VF-1 tech manual or Variable Fighter Master File that seem to indicate a VF-1 COULD fly in atmosphere with the Super Pack on... though I imagine it'd handle pretty badly. Macross 7's PLUS segment "Top Gamlin" showed that the VF-11 could fly within an atmosphere with its FAST packs on, Macross Plus showed us the YF-19 and YF-21 could do it, Ozma operated that VF-25S of his with an Armored Pack inside the dome in Macross Frontier (both ver.), and Brera likewise operated his VF-27 with its Super Pack (actually a Ghost Booster of sorts) in the second movie. So... there's a fair amount of precedent to suggest that you actually CAN do it, and that it's probably just inadvisable. EDIT: Macross II's canon video game prequel Macross 2036 also depicted, both in cutscenes and in the regular gameplay, the VF-1AR/JR/SR operating in atmosphere with its Super Pack II system (AKA Attack Pack)... though that's a cut-down successor to the Strike Pack that foregoes the leg and forearm packs, and balances the boosters with a beam cannon and two missile launchers on each side.

Hell, if they give us a VF-2JA cover and a better-looking Metal Siren cover, I will be OVERJOYED. (Okay, so I might be easy to please...)

Bear in mind that my statement was, in fact, entirely accurate because I was talking about the two video game prequels from the Macross II: Lovers Again timeline, in which Kamjin is shown to be very much alive (albeit a little bit mangled). It's rather hard to argue otherwise, in light of Macross 2036 having Britai positively identify him and the fact that both games use him as the main antagonist of their respective stories. So, did you have an actual point to go with your visceral demonstration of "being misinformed"? Something actually relevant to the thread, perhaps? Oh, it's certainly possible with respect to the Macross 30 novelization. I haven't yet read it myself, the alternate designation of Aisha's VF-19E was something pointed out to me by a friend. That's why I said that it was something I was given to understand, rather than something I knew. However... the other information I cited is sound. You'll note that I did cite the source for the VF-19 having alternate wing types out of Master File. The remarks WRT the VF-19 Custom are sourced from Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B, which identifies the head from Basara's VF-19 Custom as an "exclusive" unit and a difference from the VF-19F base spec, along with the changes to the control system (guitar controller), while the Macross Compendium's VF-19 entry talks about the speakers and so on. That the VF-19EF and VF-19ACTIVE have canards and non-F/S type wings is obvious just from looking at their models and art in either Dengeki Hobby magazine or the Visual Books (I have the latter). The VF-19A differences from the YF-19 spec are listed, in brief, on ALL 01B, while the VF-19C is presented more or less identically in Master File and Macross the Ride as being the same type as the VF-19A (the only visible difference being the aforementioned pointy bits on the stabilizers on the VF-19C/MG21). The descriptions that indicate changes to airframe shape were carried out to improve stability, and the removal of some aerodynamic equipment from the -F type, are also on Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B. I think I did an OK job of sourcing what I'm saying here, all told. Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B does offer quite a few interesting insights into the VF-19's many variants... including apparently taking down the Master File concepts for the VF-19B and -E. I just wish it had included some of the ones from Macross the Ride as well. I'm quite fond of the Nothung.

Well... crap, now I've noticed that the paintjob isn't that far off the AV-98 Ingram's either. My mind's eye and ear are going to a bad place where some hapless soul has let Ohta into the cockpit. Ah well, it ain't gonna stop me from buying one... IMO it's a fine-looking fighter. It'll be my fourth-ever Macross toy purchase.

Well, on that front there is a potential (admittedly non-official) answer from Master File, which suggests that the VF-19's wings are modular, and that the F/S type actually has two different wing designs for various operating conditions. (See VFMF: VF-19 pg80) To me, that doesn't seem an unreasonable explanation for it, since the official line art and animation shows us that, in terms of its transformation, the VF-19's wings are only really held on at the one point. Swapping the short, stubby wings of the VF-19F/S out with the longer all-regime wing shouldn't be that arduous. Nor should installing the canards, when you consider that, while they're doing that they were also fitting the VF-19 Custom with a bunch of one-off and non-standard experimental hardware like that new, one-off monitor turret, the speaker and projector systems in the shoulders, the custom cockpit, swapping the engines, and so on. The VF-19P's not the only VF-19F/S type with canards or a non-standard wing design too... the VF-19EF and VF-19ACTIVE are both in that category as well. So? Appearances can be deceiving, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and all that rot. The VF-19A doesn't look any different from a YF-19, but there are "under the hood" changes to make the mass production type more stable and reliable. Likewise, from what we've seen of the VF-19C, that variant doesn't have much in the way of externally visible differences from the VF-19A (the VF-19C/MG21 just has some pointy bits on the stabilizers). There's little to distinguish the VF-11B from the VF-11C, or the game version VF-4G from the VF-4A. Admittedly, the description in Macross Chronicle's glossary sheets indicates that the VF-19E may not be entirely identical to a VF-19A externally... it mentions some refinements to the aerodynamics to improve control, and the VF-19F/S is mentioned as having removed/abolished some of the airframe's concessions to aerodynamics, presumably because they'd be unnecessary for what's essentially a space-optimized VF-19 variant. (I'm given to understand that the novelization of Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy identifies Aisha's VF-19E as yet another customized VF-19E variant, assigning it the name VF-19E/MF.)

Well, that's a sticky wicket... the VF-19E is not something we've seen in an "unaltered" state, barring the two candidates for VF-19E in Variable Fighter Master File: VF-19 Excalibur and Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy. My interpretation (and it is only an interpretation) of the available evidence would be that Macross 30 has the right version of it and Master File, which was never intended to be an official resource, is wide of the mark. Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B seems like it's implying that Basara's VF-19 Custom was customized from a VF-19F (which would be consistent with some of its older stats, which originally listed it as using the same engine as the -F type) instead of a VF-19E with a pseudo-kai head (Chronicle also described the Custom's head as a one-off or "exclusive" type). Isamu's VF-19 ADVANCE is described as a VF-19E with some parts borrowed from the VF-19A and YF-19, but mostly looks like a VF-19A/YF-19. The VF-19E Monkey Model from Macross the Ride has more VF-19F/S traits, but it's also supposed to be pretty heavily modified from the basic design. Aisha's VF-19E from Macross 30 is the only time we've had a source that is (apparently) in continuity say "This is a stock VF-19E".

As far as I am aware, having not read the Macross Frontier movie novelizations, it isn't... what Chronicle had to say about it was the underlying airframe is a VF-19E, with some (non-specific) parts exchanged for those from a VF-19A, the airframe control AI from the YF-19, and equipping the SPS-25 Super Pack booster units from the VF-25. (Source: Macross Chronicle Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B.)

Eh... depending on what sources you look at, there's a bit of variance in where the X lands... the VF-X-# is the most common, but we've also seen VFX-# and XVF-# on occasion. Also, once, VF-X#. If it helps, Macross Chronicle has also explicitly identified Isamu's VF-19 from Sayonara no Tsubasa as the VF-19ADVANCE on the ALL 01B mechanic sheet, so it appears that the novel designation has been adopted as the official one. A shame they didn't also print it as such in the Official Complete Book, which calls it only "VF-19 SMS Ver."