Chronocidal

We should also point out to them that Yamato has been selling some of their web exclusives through HLJ for international customers, and I don't think it's hurt them any.

See... really, that is what pissed me off the most, and made me want to strangle the devs. I want blood and guts in my flying games just as much as I want to play a game where I wipe out zombies from an orbital gunnery platform. They just don't fit the genres, or cater to anything that people generally like about them. When I say "realistic" about AC, I mean the flight controls alone. I don't care about the other stuff, because those are limits that make a sim harder to get into, and limit what you can do. Crazy amounts of weapons can be fun. Being forced to use built in gimmicks that no one asked for in order to kill boss enemies is taking a very free-form combat game, and turning into "do it this way, or you fail." Throwing people into a rails mode that forces you to use gimmicky controls and lets you pull impossible flight manevuers via the push of a button is just everything I absolutely loathe about modern games all rolled into one system. I dunno about anyone else, but I like the hour long white knuckle dogfights where you have to outgun a boss enemy by your own wits and developing your own tactics. Locking me onto his tail for free and making me suddenly much more maneuverable so I can keep up is just too gimmicky. The blood and guts view was just the crap frosting on the gimmick cake. I get that some people like it, and that's fine, but it feels like a slap in the face to their old fanbase saying, "Screw you, this is what sells now, so we're changing it all." It's their game, and they can do it if they want, but I hope it fails as an experiment, and they go back to what I used to enjoy.

I'd say it depends on the shade used. The colors on the Hi-metal VF-19S were downright fugly, because they put a bright yellow on a light-ish blue. This? The darker blue makes all the difference, and the yellow markings look good now. They're not so big that they're terrible looking, and they remind me of the Blue Angels, so whee. In fact.. if I find myself with the spare money for another, I might customize one into that scheme. But a VF-19P will take priority over that. Funny though, I really can't think of any reason for the intake covers to be yellow. In fact, I wonder if that's just a mistake that managed to make it into the actual animation, as if they redrew the Fire Valk line art to make Emerald Force, and forgot to recolor that part. They were that way on the Fire Valk sure, but the standard VF-19s all had most of the yellow bits turn to either black or gray. In fact, aside from customized paint schemes, I think every valk has had gray intake covers (or perhaps ones that matched the valk's base color, like the YF-21/VF-27). Really.. I might be tempted to repaint mine to a deep gunship gray, even on the VF-19F.. or at least come up with removable copies of them.

point taken. But you have to admit, outside of the weapons mechanics, AC used to be pretty realistic.

The gimmicky counter maneuvering is what makes me want to slap the developers. I mean, besides the fact that aircraft cannot do that, it's exactly like starfox 64. Not to say I didn't enjoy the duels with my brother where we were constantly looping to get behind each other (all the way across the map), but like I said, if I wanted to do that, I'd go hook up the N64 again. Automated maneuvers just go against everything I like(d) about these games. They're not starfox, they're supposed to be more realistic than that. Ace Combat has never been about "press A to culbit," and I think it severely detracts from the idea that you need any kind of skill to play the game well. Oh well. I'll just hope and pray that the developers come to their senses, stop trying to appease the blood and guts CoD fans, and get back to what made AC fun to play.

Honestly.. I can't believe they stuck that splatter cam crap in multiplayer. Is there even an option to disallow that? That, and the counter maneuvers.. if I wanted to be turning backflips at the push of a button, I'd go play Starfox. I mean, I understand why some people enjoy it, but I generally stay far away from any game that caters to that type of player, and I'd rather have to shake people off with something called skill.

I'll probably have to elaborate more later, but off the top of my head, I definitely enjoyed the movie. Some things I really liked: 1. They explicitly stated this time around what the songs were doing to the Vajra: they were jamming their communications. It was a much less mystical/spiritia-ish treatment in the movie than the series. 2. Big Wednesday. Nuff said. 3. Sheryl and Ranka both had much better characters I think, as well as Alto. 4. Acapella Northern Cross. Just wow. That's already probably my favorite song from the entire series...well, either that or Diamond Crevasse, which I also prefer the acapella version of, for the same reason: the impact from the way those songs are used is just massive. I admit I didn't recognize it right off, because it was so slow, but I think that's absolutely the best usage I've ever seen of that song. I need to re-read the lyrics, but I don't think they've ever fit better than in that scene. I have to watch it again on my big screen for the full effect (once I get the encoding issues with the Commie release fixed), but I have to say I liked this one better than the first movie. The ending of the first one just never made sense to me at all (like, ok, you rescued Ranka.. now get to the shel-... WHY ARE YOU STILL SINGING?), and while the constant conspiracy plot twists were a bit disjointed, I think it was a solid story. I would say now we have to wait for a Flashback 2059 to show what happened later, but I think that already happened.. which reminds me, I need to find that and watch it.

Actually, that's fine for me.. maybe I'll preorder one after all then. The blue keeps getting darker, and it keeps pushing closer to "Blue Angels" than the blue on the YF-21.. which is kind of too bad since the YF-21 should've been that color, but it might make me buy this one. I never liked the yellow stripes that much, but they keep looking better as the blue gets darker.

It's a fancy plane no doubt, but I don't care much for the battroid. I got plenty of satisfaction out of the 1/100 kits, since I can paint them up any way I like. I do like the fighter, and while I'd like a bigger one, I don't mind having a few small ones for a few bucks each.

Well, if we do get a group buy going with someone who can get them from the shop, I don't think the prices will be near anything like the eventual prices of them on ebay. I don't know who has run those in the past, but I'd be very grateful for any volunteers.

I thought the announcement posted earlier confirmed that both Alto's super packs and Ozma's armor will be web exclusives? Unless it listed super packs for both, in which case, whoops. I really don't know why they would bother with Ozma super packs though, considering they're shown in the anime for all of a few minutes in one episode.

Preorder for the S is back up at HLJ! Just grabbed one, so I'll definitely be in for those group buys on the armor/super parts.

I kind of doubt they'll bother to revisit the VF-27, but I wish they would. Now, the VF-25 kind of puts it to shame, due to the better hip/crotch joint. I put the side by side earlier, and the VF-25 just looks much more stable/posable. It looks fine in fighter/gerwalk, but battroid doesn't compare too well. Sadly though, the shoulders on my VF-27 are limp as wet pasta now. It's been in the box in my closet for several months, always in fighter mode, and the joints are completely lifeless. The hips aren't so bad, but the arms are useless.

It's kind of strange actually, it seems those 4 valks never got a reissue at all. Well, maybe the VT-1, since I remember seeing it around for longer, and the initial run had shoulder problems. The VT-1 I'm really surprised at, since it plays such a large role in DYRL. But the others.. well, the VE-1 sadly had all of 5 seconds of screentime. Ever. It's iconic in it's own way, but it's also one of the most obscure craft from the movie, and has a pretty small but adoring fanbase. I don't get the feeling that it ever sold well really. It's also one of the rarest of the original Takatoku's, and I'd guess that's also because it didn't sell very well, and they never made that many. As for the M&Ms.. Either those don't sell well, or Yamato doesn't think they will sell well. I think they got the impression that they're shelf warmers from all the leftovers of the 1/48 bundles. Those were still on sale at HLJ clear into the v.2 1/60th release of the same valks I think. They were some of the last 1/48s made, and I think by the time they came out, interest had dwindled, and they just didn't sell. Come time for the new release, they just never made as many. Plus, with the M&Ms, they always come with their own fancy fast packs.. so the only way to get them is to shell out for the bundle, which may turn off some buyers.

I'm not actually sure this is an issue anymore.. I mean, sure if you go out of your way to make the hips collide with the swing bars, yes, they might rub.. but I actually spent a few minutes with mine today trying to make that happen, and it's not nearly as bad an issue this time. With the hip joints lower on this version, and the crotch angled out properly, you can actually spin the hips completely around without them ever touching the swing bars.

Klanata approves.

Oh holy crap that hurts to see. This is why I really don't care for metal. Plastic at least warns you when it's about to break. Metal? Nope, it can just snap from casting flaws, and you'll have no idea before hand. While on the subject of that piece though... I realized something about the VF-25, or at least something that I might be doing wrong. The hips on many versions seem to get loose pretty easily.. could it be because you pretty much have to rotate the hip a full 360 every time you transform it? I mean.. I don't know of any other valks that require the hip hinge to spin completely around. With this design, you have to rotate the metal clip piece 180, and also flip the crotch plate in the same direction for another 180. It can't be good for the wear and tear on the ball joints.

Mine definitely had the feet pulled out a little in the packaging, and I had to push them in further before the cuffs sat nicely against the bottom of the leg. The ankle extension joints on mine were pretty stiff, so you might need to just work them back and forth a little to loosen them up. Oh by the way.. nit-pick time.. they still didn't put the black stripe on the lower surface of the wing glove. I don't think the 1/72 kits even have that though, and I'm not sure it was consistently marked in the animation. On the subject of paint though, I noticed all the red markings are a nice gloss, but the black is mostly flat. Kind of weird, but I wonder if they did that to help one or the other color ahere to the surface better.

I think the v.2 VF-1 was supposed to have wing indents, but something got lost along the way, and the nubs on the wings don't do any good locking into the notched track on the lower backplate. The VF-25 has 4 now instead of the three on the v.1: full forward, even with leading edge of the wing glove, even with the leading edge of the upper aux intakes (about like the above pictures of them parked in the hangar), and full back for battroid mode (sort of like an over-sweep). I have noticed that the fully swept battroid position tends to interfere with the leg panels in fighter mode. It causes the rear of the wing glove to flex up a little, and might rub against the black stripe on the leg panel, so I wouldn't recommend using that position in fighter mode. One other note for those of you worried about scratching the paint. It is very likely that the tip of the nose lip (the black point present when the nose is folded) will lose paint on the tip. This tip presses up against the underside of the head mounting plate in battroid mode, and is very prone to rubbing back and forth against it. Note, the color is not pure flat black, it's more like a rubber tone. If you don't lose too much paint there, a sharpie will work, but sharpies are more purple tinted, as are many permanent markers. I'd recommend some true flat black paint to touch that spot up if it rubs more than just the tip. Also, for those of you worried about stressing joints, one bit of transformation can be risky if you aren't careful. It's been a potential problem for every Frontier valk due to the design choices involved, but the way the backplate is connected to the chestplate could cause damage if handled carelessly. The problem is that the two shoulder plates are not directly connected in any way, and there's nothing to keep you from pushing one farther than the other, which could cause the entire hinge system holding the backplate on to shear off if it's stressed enough. I think the joints are better built than the v.1, but there's still the potential to subject the entire system to undue stress if you don't rotate the shoulder plates evenly. Mine don't like to bend evenly because one is a bit stiffer than the other (I might disassemble the backplate and work those joints back and for a bit to loosen them up so they move easier). A key thing to look at is whether the tip of the backplate is centered on the canopy in battroid mode. If the prong that attaches to the shield in fighter mode is pushed off to one side or the other, it means the shoulders aren't even, and the hinges are having to absorb the shearing stress involved. I should say, this is nothing new, and nothing to worry about. It's just something to be aware of when going to battroid. I can't remember for sure, but I think I do remember some people having these hinges fail on the v.1. Just be careful to push down the shoulder plates evenly, and it shouldn't be a problem. I think there is a callout in the instructions that might specifically say this, but the image doesn't really convey the idea, and a lot of us can't read Japanese. Anywho, all that aside, this thing is a real beauty. I did notice that the nose seems a bit more drooped in fighter mode than on the 1/72 kits, but I think that's to address the stupidly long nose gear on the models, and help achieve a better gear-down stance once the super and armor packs are equipped. Also, for those of you with a VF-27, the legless Ranka for the back seat does fit nicely in the VF-25's rear cockpit, and stays put decently as long as you keep the canopy closed. One of my favorite scenes in the show is Alto's sunset flight with Ranka on Gallia IV, so I'll probably be displaying mine that way, and I'll even be able to put the wings straight out.

Wait.. ok, nit-picky mode on, and it's stupid because I really shouldn't care.. but do they realize the sparrow has been out of service for a while now? But yeah.. this can't hit the bargain bin fast enough, if only because I want the development team to get a face full of "what the hell were you thinking??" from their higher ups. I mean.. I can understand adding fancy content. But the trend of neverending DLC needs to die. I'm so sick of it, I may have to go back to hawx, just to see what's become of it. Honestly.. I might do just that. It's been out long enough, the pc modding community might have made something worthwhile out of the engine. Really, that whole charlie-foxtrot on the Ubisoft forums when the pc community figured out how to unlock the DLC was hilarious. The dev team had to be sitting there with a mile-wide omelette on their face. I guess the fun thing to think about now.. when people finally develop emulators of the current gen consoles, I wonder how hard the DLC will be to unlock?

Indeed.. I might have to go try and find a pre-order of Ozma anyway if that gets going. I still want the complete set this time though, so I hope they bundle Michael's and Luca's, or at least find a way to offer their packs as a non-exclusive. One thing that kind of surprises me is that a few of the old super parts actually seem to fit on this one. The boosters use a similar clip-on joint, and a few of the back armor plates still line up with the new peg holes. They don't stay on tightly, but the pieces still fit where they need to. It looks like the old parts might still work with a few minimal mods to the attachment pegs... except for the legs. Those will need to be new I think. Actually.. ok.. trying this.. and it fits. Not well, but the original leg packs line up nearly perfectly with the pegs under the wing gloves.. if you first put the legs down one click at the thigh, and up one at the knee. The attachment points are all extremely loose, and the piece for the back of the leg doesn't line up right, but the main leg packs nearly fit. The main change needed is for them to add a place for the ventral fin to fold into, since it sticks out the top of the leg now. But yeah.. the boosters, back armor, and side leg packs fit almost exactly like they did on the v.1.

Ok, have to say... that has to be a new record for shipping.. I got my VF-25 60 hours or so after the shipment was initialized. Whee! And it's awesome. Really ticked to hear about their freaking webshop addiction though. I can't believe they'd do that, after how stupidly popular the first run was despite its flaws. Meh. Maybe there will be a chance for a group buy somewhere along the way, but I may hold out for an armored Ozma bundle anyway. Selling it alone doesn't mean it won't be bundled later. They're probably trying to cash in on the people who can't wait for a standalone Ozma, but don't want to piss them off by releasing a bundle later and making them rebuy the VF-25. Hopefully patience will be rewarded. I almost wouldn't regret buying a second Ozma later though, this thing is a quantum leap above the old VF-25.

That's what I would bet as well. On the models, there was a separate piece you had to swap in on the crotch to make the Super/Armored versions. The Version 1 VF-25 used a clip on piece of crotch armor, and I remember some folks saying they had trouble transforming to fighter without removing it, because it kept the legs from attaching correctly. I'll have to wait til I see it, but every sign is pointing to the idea that they planned out the super/armor parts for this version from the start, so this is probably something we'll see the genius of later on. One thing I'm anxious to see is how the shoulder launchers attach this time. While I do see the holes to attach the various armor pieces on the backplate, I don't see any spots to plug the launchers into like last time. I'll be very happy if they did away with those tiny ball joints from V.1 though, those things were just too easy to break unless you were incredibly careful. Anyone see any hint of clips or joints to hold the launchers on? For something like those, I actually wouldn't mind if we just had to swap out the shoulder plates like they did with the hip panels, since it would make a much stronger joint.

Holy crap... Do want. Even being a flywheel blaster. Though I've never cared much for the whole "always on" functionality of flywheels. I saw someone make a mod to activate it with trigger pull, but it takes a couple seconds to bring the wheels up to speed.

Wohoo, just got my shipping notice from HLJ. Should be getting mine sometime in the latter half of this week.