Filipino's Guide To Low Budget Macross/Robotech Toys

[boyarque]

LOL! I almost fall off my chair after seeing those...err....duh....

U all should come to malaysia, some shops are even selling KO's at premium prices!

[wolfx]

roy special edition! LMAO

How much for one of those?

I WANT A FRIKKIN RECAST!! Put it on sales forum!!

[fifbeat]

I'm too poor to buy those expensive toys

I want to see it with Strike Armour!! =)

[TheLoneWolf]

Still wouldn't mind getting the Dana doll though.

Speak of the devil, I was just browsing Yahoo Japan and look what I stumbled across.

http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w20672768

Edited May 16, 2008 by TheLoneWolf

[Morpheus]

OMG my eyes, you should put spoiler link at those dolls, it nearly raped my childhood.

[VFTF1]

Misa looks cute!!

Bring on the Filipino Matchbox reissues! NOWWWW!

VFTF1

[fifbeat]

PART II:

I'm accepting pre-orders for this toy. Please place orders by Mid-July. Your credit card won't be billed until a week before it's released. (www.Philipino-Balkrie-Shop.com)

Guys, I'm letting this go. I don't want to do it! But I'm so strapped for cash.

The condition is great! Still in package, no yellowing, parachute still in tact. $99 shipped. ** Willing to trade for the "Masterpiece Collection Shadow Chronicles Movie Bookends."

The above toy was made from Takatoku tooling, presumably by one of TT's manufacturing subcontractors to settle on debt TT left behind. So they're not actually bootlegs, just 'repurposed' product.

Look buddy. If you're gonna do the job, do it right. I don't remember Rick Hunter wearing Vans®. And those low budget pants are too baggy. Decent job on the helmet tho... But, lose the gun because it looks like your about to change printer toner. Matter in fact, lose everything and go home.

I never liked the red or blue valkyries. Yeah, yeah, cool characters piloted them. Big deal. Anyways, what I really dislike, is the Yamato Angel Valkyrie. Was that thing even in the Macross DYRL? IT's the worse variation ever released by Yamato. Please, PLEASE, all you guys who own this, please tell me you got it just to make your Yamato collection more complete. It looks fruity. I don't get it. But there are worse things...

This Toynami valk (any of their MPC Valks for the matter) is low budget -- not that it's any surprise to anyone. The folks at Toynami were so used to producing Morphers all day long that they lost all sense of proportion, design and respect towards any living male who thought Valkyries were badass. Look how ugly that thing is. That, that thing.... that's not a valkyrie.

Actually, I take it back, I'd rather have this sitting on my shelf than a Yamato Angel valk. Anyone who sees it will still think it's cool. If anyone sees the Angel, they'll be wondering why they used that color "softy" scheme/design.

All in fun. =)

Edited May 17, 2008 by fifbeat

[polidread]

Old Virra Mall was made of win and awesome! Still, most of the old specialty geek shops survived, although they carry more expensive stuff these days.

Speaking of knock offs, does anyone (especially the Flips) remember coming across some badly made toy Valks that for some reason came with built in pencil sharpeners?

yes, man. they're called "Schoolbots" the VF that had shapeners at its backpack, a sword pencil, and eraser shields and missiles.

perfectly transformable and a plastic body brittle as raw pasta.

[fifbeat]

Wow. I thought for sure I'd get crucified for talking crap about the Angel Valkyrie.... =)

[fifbeat]

Here's some more low budget wannabe valkyrie stuff:

Anyone remember this computer game? When I played it back in 1987 (on my low budget MS DOS PC w/amber monitor) it always reminded me of the VF: It transformed and everything... same exact mechanics as a valk... just look at the picture:

From wiki:

Thexder (テグザー Teguzar) is a classic action-arcade game from Game Arts. The player is a fighter robot, but is able to transform into a jet. Originally released in 1985 for the NEC PC-8801 platform in Japan, the game quickly became a huge hit selling over 500,000 copies.

Later that same year, Game Arts licensed Thexder to Square in order to develop a conversion for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game console. In 1987, Game Arts also developed a Thexder conversion for the MSX platform.

The NEC PC8801 and MSX platforms were only popular in Japan and Thexder garnered little attention abroad. That all changed, however, when Sierra Entertainment licensed Thexder for release in the United States. In 1987, Sierra ported the game to multiple platforms including the IBM PC, Commodore Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Apple Macintosh, and Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo3). Thexder continued its track record of success and became a best-seller for Sierra.

The two Game Arts developers responsible for creating Thexder were Hibiki Godai and Satoshi Uesaka. In 1986, they developed another action-arcade game called Silpheed and in 1989 they wrote a Thexder sequel named Fire Hawk: Thexder The Second Contact. As with the original, FireHawk sold extremely well in Japan and the United States. Today, Thexder is still remembered by many as a classic action-arcade game.

[fifbeat]

Yet another low budget copycat, this time by sega. Just look at those screen shots on the game box and you'll know what I'm talking about.

[dreamweaver13]

Old Virra Mall was made of win and awesome! Still, most of the old specialty geek shops survived, although they carry more expensive stuff these days.

Speaking of knock offs, does anyone (especially the Flips) remember coming across some badly made toy Valks that for some reason came with built in pencil sharpeners?

haha. YES! I remember that one. and i particularly remember that i had at least two of them. one in gerwalk. one in battroid. sadly, they were not reconfigurable. Brought them to school everyday.

of course i lost them already.

[UN_MARINE]

...and what about those 2 inch tall mini-kits that came in different neon colors?

free inside a bag of chips/cheese puffs/cheese rings!

they came in the following models:

-Battroid Vf 1J

-Gerwalk VF 1A

-Destroid Tomahawk

-Destroid Spartan

[Vermillion21]

Slightly off topic, but since video games were brought up, I remember playing Zillion II on my Sega Master System (it's in my parents' basement somewhere) the low-budget version of Mospeada!! Even though it was based on an anime called Zillion.

Zillion II had the cool Tri-formation transformable cycle armour!!!

:lol:

[fifbeat]

That's right! I forgot about Zillion II and the "ride armor" in that game.

I actually played Zillion I... but never part II. Good one, man. You're just as low budget as I am. =)

[taksraven]

My eyes! My eyes! It hurts!!!

Here in Brazil, it comes from China like a plague!

But it's the new winner:

OMG! The person who made it doesn't had mother! o.0

By the way, when I was 9 years old I earned a toy like that:

http://www.cityonfire.com/quickimages/lowb...270_N-Front.jpg

I love the way that his arms are so long that they can reach down to his knees.

Taksraven

[taksraven]

PART II:

Look buddy. If you're gonna do the job, do it right. I don't remember Rick Hunter wearing Vans®. And those low budget pants are too baggy. Decent job on the helmet tho... But, lose the gun because it looks like your about to change printer toner. Matter in fact, lose everything and go home.

All in fun. =)

Actually, the guns pretty accurate, isn't it.

Taksraven

[Vermillion21]

That's right! I forgot about Zillion II and the "ride armor" in that game.

I actually played Zillion I... but never part II. Good one, man. You're just as low budget as I am. =)

Both were fun games for the early 90s ....

Edited May 24, 2008 by Vermillion21

[RichterX]

Haven't posted Maladroid and his brother something of the convertors?

[areaseven]

Seriously low budget. I'm not sure what's worse: The packaging or the toy. The packaging says everything from Macross, Robotech: The Masters, and a burst which reads "New! In Hot"... at least the toy gets Strike Armor (well, 1/3 of it). I'm thinking about getting it just for the BP8 hinge...

Hey, I didn't know Toynami made Robotech figures. Rick looks more like Speed Racer's corpse than Rick Hunter. I know this is Matchbox, but it still very much belongs on this low budget list.

Okay, enough Toynami bashing. They make good dolls and the above Matchbox product supports that fact. I don't think they got anything right with this product. Since when does Rick Hunter look like he's part Tommy Yune and part Linda Blair on crack? This doll scares me.

Is that Rick doll sporting an afro? If so, I sooooo want it!!!

OO

Fixed.

[gerwalk25]

Here's some more low budget wannabe valkyrie stuff:

Anyone remember this computer game? When I played it back in 1987 (on my low budget MS DOS PC w/amber monitor) it always reminded me of the VF: It transformed and everything... same exact mechanics as a valk... just look at the picture:

From wiki:

Thexder (テグザー Teguzar) is a classic action-arcade game from Game Arts. The player is a fighter robot, but is able to transform into a jet. Originally released in 1985 for the NEC PC-8801 platform in Japan, the game quickly became a huge hit selling over 500,000 copies.

Later that same year, Game Arts licensed Thexder to Square in order to develop a conversion for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game console. In 1987, Game Arts also developed a Thexder conversion for the MSX platform.

The NEC PC8801 and MSX platforms were only popular in Japan and Thexder garnered little attention abroad. That all changed, however, when Sierra Entertainment licensed Thexder for release in the United States. In 1987, Sierra ported the game to multiple platforms including the IBM PC, Commodore Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Apple Macintosh, and Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo3). Thexder continued its track record of success and became a best-seller for Sierra.

The two Game Arts developers responsible for creating Thexder were Hibiki Godai and Satoshi Uesaka. In 1986, they developed another action-arcade game called Silpheed and in 1989 they wrote a Thexder sequel named Fire Hawk: Thexder The Second Contact. As with the original, FireHawk sold extremely well in Japan and the United States. Today, Thexder is still remembered by many as a classic action-arcade game.

I actually own the Famicom version of Thexder. It's a pretty interesting early take on a Henkei-Mecha side scroller. I'll post a pic soon.

Edited May 25, 2008 by gerwalk25

[fifbeat]

"Chicken Adobo" Color type GBP.

Edited May 25, 2008 by fifbeat

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I had a pencil sharpener valk. Horrible horrible toy. Even as a kid I thought it sucked.

I always preferred buying model kits and stuff of macross, but the problem with those is they also had limits. I now understand why the chunky monkey was the holy grail of toys back then. If I had owned one I would have had a really happy childhood as a kid! The smart fan who couldn't afford a proper macross toy would try to make their own valks with lego. Too bad I wasn't that patient..

You know, if we never get toys made of things like the vf-4, or the variable glaug or whatever valk that isn't made by these toy companies, I would love to see instructions on how to make those with lego. I don't want to die before someone makes those things you know what I am saying?

Not that I hate the vf-1, it's one of my favorite valks. But we get vf-1 after vf-1 after Vf-1. When are the toy companies going to focus on other valks?? It would be like if hasbro only made G1 optimus prime and that was it!

Edited May 25, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[areaseven]

Here's some more low budget wannabe valkyrie stuff:

Anyone remember this computer game? When I played it back in 1987 (on my low budget MS DOS PC w/amber monitor) it always reminded me of the VF: It transformed and everything... same exact mechanics as a valk... just look at the picture:

From wiki:

Thexder (テグザー Teguzar) is a classic action-arcade game from Game Arts. The player is a fighter robot, but is able to transform into a jet. Originally released in 1985 for the NEC PC-8801 platform in Japan, the game quickly became a huge hit selling over 500,000 copies.

Later that same year, Game Arts licensed Thexder to Square in order to develop a conversion for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game console. In 1987, Game Arts also developed a Thexder conversion for the MSX platform.

The NEC PC8801 and MSX platforms were only popular in Japan and Thexder garnered little attention abroad. That all changed, however, when Sierra Entertainment licensed Thexder for release in the United States. In 1987, Sierra ported the game to multiple platforms including the IBM PC, Commodore Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Apple Macintosh, and Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo3). Thexder continued its track record of success and became a best-seller for Sierra.

The two Game Arts developers responsible for creating Thexder were Hibiki Godai and Satoshi Uesaka. In 1986, they developed another action-arcade game called Silpheed and in 1989 they wrote a Thexder sequel named Fire Hawk: Thexder The Second Contact. As with the original, FireHawk sold extremely well in Japan and the United States. Today, Thexder is still remembered by many as a classic action-arcade game.

I actually own the Famicom version of Thexder. It's a pretty interesting early take on a Henkei-Mecha side scroller. I'll post a pic soon.

Cool.

[promethuem5]

I remember Thexder, and being soooooo mad I couldn't get it to run on my DOS computer >.<

[fifbeat]

I remember Thexder, and being soooooo mad I couldn't get it to run on my DOS computer

Never had that trouble. Not on Thexder at least. =)

But I remember playing Leisure Suit Larry, getting really far into the game, then finding out that disk 5 of 6 is unreadable! lol

=) Computers have come a long way.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

The old leisure suit larry games were way better than the crap ones of today though, ironically.

Edited May 25, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[fifbeat]

WAY better. I'm not sure if it was just my age, but damn, you really felt like you were in an alternate world playing some of those Sierra games. Police Quest, LSL and stuff like that.

Come to think of it, back in the day when freeware/shareware was still mail-order (before the internet), I remember playing a "homemade" Mospeada game called REFLEX POINT. It was basically a side-scroller where each level had you as a bike or Legioss fighting off invid.

I doubt there are pictures of it anywhere because it was totally obscure freeware.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

No it wasn't just your age.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I remember

transbot - crap (all sega master system shooters were except for r-type imo)

zillion (this is like metroid in a way. But duuuude so much sprite flicker. )

zillion II (more action focused. I won the game. Didn't mind it. I thought all 8 bit games sucked in the 80s though because back then arcades offerred the real fun. Home systems couldn't compete unless they were handled by game developers who knew what they were doing. Ie pretty much all the inhouse nintendo software developers)

If anyone should make a macross or mospeada side scrolling shooter in 2d, it should be Treasure. Have you played a game called Bangai-o? Itano circus micromissile swarms are the order of the day in that. Can't wait for the ds release. I had this on dreamcast. Just substitute your character for a Qrau and there's your macross shooter.

Incidentally treasure also made the GBA Astro Boy game. Very good game. They are one of the few companies that don't stuff up games with movie licenses out there because they understand how to make the gameplay fun. Also check out the Gradius V game on ps2 by them if you love side scrolling shooters.

Edited May 25, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[fifbeat]

That Gradius game looks cool. I never even owned a PS2 though!! I know they're super cheap now. I've played the others... you know, Life Force, etc.

I'm not familiar with the company Treasure, though I trust your judgement.

I've never been satisfied with any Macross/Robotech game (I haven't played all, but most).

Macross: DYRL (Playstation Import): Great graphics. Great audio. You'd think it would be the ultimate side-scrolling game, but the game play and overall execution is kinda generic. Not challenging at all. It's as if you're just guiding a game that plays itself.

VF games for PS or whatever: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I never played the sequel. Why bother.

Robotech: Invasion: What a load of crap. lol! I'm getting sick of any product affiliated with "Robotech". There's a reason this game is found used for $5 at your local filipino mart.

Robotech: Whatever the title was to the first one (with the valks). You know, I never really played it. I think I played it for 5 minutes and just lost interest. Like I really wanna play some made up character from the mind of some Korean guy from Robotech.com.

Macross Game of PS2: I still haven't played this. How is it? Honestly. Get your Macross fan mentality out of the gutter and tell me how this game really is... someone?

Robotech game for GBA: From what I remember, it was okay, but... too hard! (in a, "these guys don't know what they're doing" kind of way) I love challenging games... but this one just got on your nerves. It's just tedious. Like, you couldn't build yourself to get better at it; at one point, enemy bullets are flying everywhere on the muther fking screen! Another "Robotech" quality product. :/

Great attitude I have, eh?

That new Larry game, is it for xbox/xbox 360? That's the only console i own!

[yellowlightman]

Come to think of it, back in the day when freeware/shareware was still mail-order (before the internet), I remember playing a "homemade" Mospeada game called REFLEX POINT. It was basically a side-scroller where each level had you as a bike or Legioss fighting off invid.

I doubt there are pictures of it anywhere because it was totally obscure freeware.

Man, I remember reading about this or seeing a screen shot or two a long time ago. Probably like 10 years ago.

[gerwalk25]

Here's pics of Thexder for the Famicom.