Macross 30

[UN Spacy]

That was FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC!!!

[VF-15 Banshee]

Holy crap.... it's like getting a whole new Macross animu!!

[Renato]

Looking on the official site, I just noticed that Mylene doesn't actually have her VF11MAXL, but uses Millia's VF-1J instead... I hope the MAXL is unlockable later..

[Chronocidal]

Holy crap... do they seriously go back to SW1? Or is it just a flashback? (hah)

[VF-15 Banshee]

As for Mylene's MAXL, I would say there's a possibility. The character page shows Leon with his YF-25 but after he crashes, he has to use the old VF-0. Then again....still no word on the VF-4...

Holy frak,there's a ton of stuff here. Let's see here--

Image 1: Somebody get that man a fire extinguisher!!

Image 2: Looks like Max and Milia's VF-22s, the YF-30, Hikaru's (presumably) VF-1J, Alto's VF-25F, Ozma's VF-25S, Michel's VF-25G, a YF-29 that might be Isamu's and the YF-21?

Image 3: Let's see, search-and-replace Leon with Alto, Mina with Ranka/Sheryl and I think this is the same scene from Frontier.

Image 4 and 5: Deculture! I don't know who to root for; it's just like Sheryl and Ranka!! Although something tells me there's going to be lots of squeezing, jostling, bouncing and jiggling where Aisha's concerned.

Image 6: Why must the haters hate Ranka-chan?

Image 7: I'm GunSight One dammit! Do what I say!

Image 8: Passing of the torch between Minmay and Mina? I think Minmay said, "Now, you will carry the/our song to the future." Or words to that effect.

Image 9: They're not being too subtle with some of their plot points, are they?

Image 10: Did Rod say that this girl's name was Meya or Maya or something?

Image 11 and 12: Why do I get this feeling I was right and the YF-30 is a CHAR... er, I mean a Flux Capacitor?

Image 13: Wonder who Aisha's gonna bust a cap in?

Image 14: GET. ME. COFFEE. Seriously, I'm becoming more convinced that Mina is a preserved member of the Protoculture. Or perhaps not.

Image 15: I figured out what the eyeglasses are for. They're to draw your eye to Aisha's cleavage.

Image 16: I feel the need... the need... for SPEED!!!

Image 17: Uh oh, looks like Isamu is in for it now. :0

Image 18: Oh Quamzin, don't you ever learn?

Image 19: JARVIS, deploy flares!

Image 20: Er, what does all this say?

[Tochiro]

Image 8: Passing of the torch between Minmay and Mina? I think Minmay said, "Now, you will carry the/our song to the future." Or words to that effect.

Open a path to the future with your song. Its being played up as Minmays key phrase in the game (have heard some fans quoting it from the last trailer already) and is supposed to be passing the torch to Mina (Sheryl leads her to the stage, Minmay hands her the mic - pretty easy to become a legendary songstress these days when the old ones do everything for ya!). Incidentally, thats the shot of Minmay the sketch I got last weekend was based on ;-)

Image 10: Did Rod say that this girl's name was Meya or Maya or something?

Sounded like Mira to me but hard to make out. No doubt its a reference to the 'incident' in his and Leons past that the original plot description referred to (I swear they just put Plus and Musiculture in a blender to get this plot ^^

Image 13: Wonder who Aisha's gonna bust a cap in?

If I had to guess I'd say Joji Nakata. Which is a shame because I'm really enjoying his take on Volf Flagen in Yamato 2199 at the moment.

Image 20: Er, what does all this say?

Staff names. The biggest block of text in the middle of the screen? ALL voice actors. Hell yes.

What does this one mean specifically?

Similar to the PSP games, theres a feature to use your own music thats stored locally on the PS3 in the game. Who is up for flying around the world map with 'Nekokoshan' on repeat?

Negative points:...

3. this i don't get.. it sounds a little nit picky at this point.

Not to sound fanboyish, but these sound like very minor issues.

Keep in mind that the points are surmised from 4 different reviewers. Hence theres some overlap. Basically they are trying to say it may be a little tricky at first for beginners. This is probably why the auto-battle option is there.

That said, I tend not to take Famitsu scores with a pinch of salt, as they seem to mainly give high scores to companies that advertise with them.

Yes and no. Famitsu rule the game PR landscape with an iron fist (you do NOT want to cross them when it comes to exclusive coverage) but reviews are often more of a 'scratch my back and Ill scratch yours' affair - but even this is only to a point. Truly bad games will still get low scores and their mid-range scores are still fairly accurate imo. Edited February 21, 2013 by Tochiro

[VF-15 Banshee]

Open a path to the future with your song. Its being played up as Minmays key phrase in the game (have heard some fans quoting it from the last trailer already) and is supposed to be passing the torch to Mina (Sheryl leads her to the stage, Minmay hands her the mic - pretty easy to become a legendary songstress these days when the old ones do everything for ya!).

It's like they're making her a Jedi Master or something.

[Renato]

Image 10: Did Rod say that this girl's name was Meya or Maya or something?

I think one's called Mena and the other one is Aisha. I don't remember which is which.

I stopped by a bookshop today and browsed through what I think is the new Famitsu. There were several pages on the game plus a two-page interview with Chisuga, but I did not see the score breakdown or anything approaching an analytical review anywhere. Did I just miss it??

[Tochiro]

I think one's called Mena and the other one is Aisha. I don't remember which is which.I stopped by a bookshop today and browsed through what I think is the new Famitsu. There were several pages on the game plus a two-page interview with Chisuga, but I did not see the score breakdown or anything approaching an analytical review anywhere. Did I just miss it??

I think you are thinking of Aisha and Mina, the main heroines of the game. We were talking about a reference to what appears to be Rods dead..lover? Sister? Childhood friend? .... Ie, someone different.

And yes, the only issue of Famitsu on new stands is the current one. Keep in mind that a Famitsu 'review' is a column that is a quarter of a page which is then split between 4 ppl.

[Chronocidal]

Given the resemblance, I'm tempted to assume it's going to be Aisha's older sister.

Though, the way that reddish scene is drawn, I half thought that was supposed to be Misa.

[TyrValein]

From what we've seen so far I think its safe to say that Isamu's YF-19 gets trashed somewhere since he has a YF-29 in most of the animation we've seen so far. Also, there's a scene in space since the YF-29 has its intakes covered with the Super Pack for once. His scene with Sharon looks like she reinvigorates him enough to get him going. But overall, that was an amazing PV. We'll have a hell of a lot of animation it seems. Even more than I thought there was. I'm really really hyped...ha..ha...hyperventilating...

[Kaldar5]

From what we've seen so far I think its safe to say that Isamu's YF-19

gets trashed somewhere since he has a YF-29 in most of the animation

we've seen so far.

Per Macross Frontier Sayonara no Tsubasa:

Isamu is alive and well in 2060.

Isamu is a test pilot for SMS.

While he was flying a YF-19 in that movie....

The newest SMS fighter prototype is the YF-29.... that he would likely be testing.

Not too surprising that he has access to one.

Heck he might have arrived in a YF-29 in the same "fold whatever the hell event" as Alto and Sheryl for all we know.

He might consider it an upgrade to get his hands on a YF-19 once he gets in contact with Aisha....

Oh god what did I just say.... Isamu... contact... Valkyrie designer Aisha... yeah he would totally contact that.

[TyrValein]

Per Macross Frontier Sayonara no Tsubasa:

Isamu is alive and well in 2060.

Isamu is a test pilot for SMS.

While he was flying a YF-19 in that movie....

The newest SMS fighter prototype is the YF-29.... that he would likely be testing.

Not too surprising that he has access to one.

Heck he might have arrived in a YF-29 in the same "fold whatever the hell event" as Alto and Sheryl for all we know.

He might consider it an upgrade to get his hands on a YF-19 once he gets in contact with Aisha....

Oh god what did I just say.... Isamu... contact... Valkyrie designer Aisha... yeah he would totally contact that.

Well, I knew that but all the game info up until recently, including the main site lists him as using a YF-19. And we know for a fact that this isn't the current Isamu but the one from Plus brought to the future.

But yeah, I agree that Aisha probably made one for him.

As a side note, I realize that the while the YF-29 is clearly in space with its Super Pack in the trailer while the YF-30 is being raised to the deck, the YF-30 doesn't have a Super/FAST Pack...which is probably my one and only disappointment with the entire game.

[Tochiro]

Someone prepares it for him once he winds up on Uroboros, but the trailer doesnt make it clear who. (ie, not necessarily the good guys).

As for the YF-30, well it was designed on a planet with a fold effect that wears down/damages mecha over time, so Im presuming that Aisha designed the YF-30 to perform in harsh conditions regardless of super/fast packs.

[Kaldar5]

What I wouldn't give for Hikaru to instead show up in a VF-4 saying "This is flight Commander Ichijo Hikaru, Megaroad one, we sure are glad to see you"

And discover the entire Megaroad One stuck on Orboros after the fold fault accident.

(And find out ex-captain Misa is in the ship's brig for incompetent space folding heh heh)

Oh well, we can hardly ever have plot continuation with Macross, just redo similar events over and over with movies.

[TyrValein]

Someone prepares it for him once he winds up on Uroboros, but the trailer doesnt make it clear who. (ie, not necessarily the good guys).

As for the YF-30, well it was designed on a planet with a fold effect that wears down/damages mecha over time, so Im presuming that Aisha designed the YF-30 to perform in harsh conditions regardless of super/fast packs.

Interesting that they're showing Isamu so much love. That certainly makes sense though. Though I'd imagine that extra fuel would be needed in space since it shares roughly the same body shape as the YF-24 family...though it certainly doesn't need the extra munitions with the missile pod! There's only one of it in existence though and I'm doubting they leave the planet more than once or twice so perhaps one wasn't necessary. I was hoping for it though since all other valks get to use their packs in atmosphere. Though some, like the YF-29 change their packs (removing the inlet covers) for atmospheric use.

Also...something that occurred to me. Considering we have multiple endings (that I hope depend on a variety of choices instead of one choice made at the very end), the gameplay could end up being longer still.

Edited February 21, 2013 by TyrValein

[Renato]

Also, there's a scene in space since the YF-29 has its intakes covered with the Super Pack for once.

Those Fast Packs are atmospheric.

[TyrValein]

Those Fast Packs are atmospheric.

Well yeah, I knew that but there are rounded covers (that I assume are filled with fuel) over the wing engine intakes that it jettisons inside of the atmosphere. Alto jettisoned his right before re-entering with the Quarter and the game shots of the YF-29 so far show it without it. That's why I'm assuming the part shown in the new PV takes place in space.

Edited February 22, 2013 by TyrValein

[Renato]

Interesting that they're showing Isamu so much love.

I think it's a marketing tactic. YF-30 notwithstanding, the YF-29 is the newest, hottest valk right now thanks to the popularity of Sayonara no Tsubasa and this is the fifth variant. I'm quite sure they made it an "Isamu Special" because MacPlus, being an OVA, has little exposure within the young folk in Japan, so it would give an opportunity for them to say "so, who is this Isamu guy?" and get interested in the Plus story.... Just in time for the Macross Plus Blu-ray later this year! I think the timing of these releases is very carefully planned out.

[TyrValein]

I think it's a marketing tactic. YF-30 notwithstanding, the YF-29 is the newest, hottest valk right now thanks to the popularity of Sayonara no Tsubasa and this is the fifth variant. I'm quite sure they made it an "Isamu Special" because MacPlus, being an OVA, has little exposure within the young folk in Japan, so it would give an opportunity for them to say "so, who is this Isamu guy?" and get interested in the Plus story.... Just in time for the Macross Plus Blu-ray later this year! I think the timing of these releases is very carefully planned out.

That's...actually a very sound theory. Since Isamu is one of the few protagonists to not be spirited away and we know for certain he works for SMS and has been active with the development of new valks, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were showing us all this love for a new OVA or series (re)starring or featuring Isamu somewhere.

[VF-15 Banshee]

Since Isamu is one of the few protagonists to not be spirited away

I dunno, I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be the 2040 AD version of Isamu.

Someone prepares it for him once he winds up on Uroboros, but the trailer doesnt make it clear who. (ie, not necessarily the good guys).

As for the YF-30, well it was designed on a planet with a fold effect that wears down/damages mecha over time, so Im presuming that Aisha designed the YF-30 to perform in harsh conditions regardless of super/fast packs.

OK, here's my crazy theory. Since we've seen a screenshot of Isamu paling around with some NUNS pilots, I'm assuming that initially he's with HAVAMAL, who gives him a YF-29 to replace his -19 for whatever reason. But then he finds out that HAVAMAL has control of Sharon Apple and is kidnapping all the songstresses. Well, Isamu being Isamu, he tries to liberate the girls but is only able to spring Sara Nome.

As for the fold effects damaging the mecha, that's very interesting, I hadn't heard that before.

[TyrValein]

I dunno, I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be the 2040 AD version of Isamu.

Okay we need to slow down haha because we're getting our responses mixed up!

Basically, a couple posts up I was pointing out that the Macross 30 Isamu IS the 2040 AD Isamu, so I agree with you.

For the part of what I said that you quoted, I was responding to Renato's theory that they're trying to re-publicize Macross Plus as much as possible for a new audience. I was suggesting that maybe they're getting ready for a new series that will feature Isamu since he's one of the few protagonists to not disappear mysteriously.

[VF-15 Banshee]

OK, I get what you mean, sorry about that.

[Tochiro]

First up - Superdimentional Seminar Ep. 7 - 'Let's Enjoy macross 30!' (yes, LETS!)

Hmmmm... 'Ending will change based on player actions'... sounds promising!

Apart from that though, this ep is a total tease.. what IF SDFM Hikaru met M7 Max? What IF Ozuma met Basra? etc...

BTW, some new pictures (previously see in Famitsu scan) have gone up on the official website. Scroll down to NEW:

http://b.bngi-channel.jp/macross30/about/

;)Holy crap... do they seriously go back to SW1? Or is it just a flashback? (hah)

Just conjecture here, but someone probably has to explain what happened to the earth to Shin, right?

Also...something that occurred to me. Considering we have multiple endings (that I hope depend on a variety of choices instead of one choice made at the very end), the gameplay could end up being longer still.

And thats not even taking into account the fact that players can't freely choose their pilot until theyve cleared the game once. Which means that the game wont truly start until the 2nd playthrough for some people.

I think it's a marketing tactic...... Just in time for the Macross Plus Blu-ray later this year! I think the timing of these releases is very carefully planned out.

An interesting theory and while it would make sense, knowing the time it takes to develop a game, I'd say....no. If the handling of the 30th Anniversary made anything blatantly clear it was the fact that there's no-one at Big West or Bandai overseeing high level brand management for Macross. But its an interesting theory nonetheless.

As for the fold effects damaging the mecha, that's very interesting, I hadn't heard that before.

Actually, I might be misquoting myself. I couldve sworn I'd heard that the fold phenomenon was harmful to mecha but I cant find evidence of that now that i've gone through my old posts. I might have been thinking of the way the fold phenomenon adversely affects the supply chain, resulting in older valks needing to be used, parts needing to be recycled, etc (this much at least is known). Also, Basara's Fire valk seems pretty much in one piece...nay, it's positively shining!

As for a new Plus anime - well, it's nice to want things, but given the extent to which Plus apparently bombed in Japan, Kawamori's dislike of direct sequels, as well as Yoko Kanno saying that she is done with Macross for now...yeah, i'd say that's highly highly unlikely, sorry.

A couple of things from both the trailer and in general that have come to mind:

-Voice samples: This is really really odd, but several of the voice clips used in the latest trailer seem to be placeholders. They have an audible drop in sound quality and almost sound like rehersal versions. Leon's call for assistance when he is attacked by an 'unknown enemy' is one example of this. Compare his voice in the latest trailer to his voice in the previous one and the difference is night and day (meaning the previous version was much much better). Some of Mylene's lines have a similar hollow ring to them. What can this mean?

My best educated guest would be that theres something in the background of these scenes that we arent supposed to hear yet. For example, given that Sharon Apple is a known villain, it could be that her songs are being used in the background during the scene where Leon is shot down. I wonder if this is what happens to Aisha since there was footage played at Wonderfest that showed her being (temporarily?) mind controlled and attempting to kidnap Mina during some point of the game. That would also explain how she ended up firing a pistol at someone in what appears to be enemy territory.

-Valk variety: I admit to being a bit concerned that valks will be limited to a few key varieties. Bandai has said that they will be unlockable/buildable in chronological order, yet the development chart shown in trailers and other footage to date shows progression from the 0 to the 19 with no visible sign of the 4.

Having said this, theres a HUGE dead space in the middle of the valk development screen, so maybe certain branching mecha/variations have to be made in order to access particular dev lines. Which would make sense i suppose, so maybe I'm just worried about nothing here. (Or maybe they are saving something for potential sequels? hmmmm.....).

-Animation: It definately looks like we are in for a bunch of new animated scenes (yay!) but while most of the new characters are fully animated, most of the legacy characters seem to be almost flash-animation - still shots with a few limited moving elements (ie, eyes, etc) and lots of special effects.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Tochiro

[Graham]

Damn, I hope Bandai releases a repaint of the YF-29 in the Macross 30 Isamu colours. I think I want that just as much as the YF-30.

Graham

[Mommar]

Damn, I hope Bandai releases a repaint of the YF-29 in the Macross 30 Isamu colours. I think I want that just as much as the YF-30. Graham

That would be the first YF-29 color scheme I'd be interested in.

[David Hingtgen]

Hopefully it'd be a limited Tamashii exclusive---you know, so we can actually get one.

[Kaldar5]

A couple of things from both the trailer and in general that have come to mind:

-Voice samples: This is really really odd, but several of the voice clips used in the latest trailer seem to be placeholders. They have an audible drop in sound quality and almost sound like rehersal versions. Leon's call for assistance when he is attacked by an 'unknown enemy' is one example of this. Compare his voice in the latest trailer to his voice in the previous one and the difference is night and day (meaning the previous version was much much better). Some of Mylene's lines have a similar hollow ring to them. What can this mean?

The tinny/weak "bad voice" clips seemed to me to be every time the character speaking is wearing a helmet.

If so, that is a very extreme helmet effect. Overdone if so.

[xrentonx]

Damn, I hope Bandai releases a repaint of the YF-29 in the Macross 30 Isamu colours. I think I want that just as much as the YF-30.

Graham

I would absolutely love one...after the Ozma version with the proper head of course Edited February 22, 2013 by xrentonx

[Graham]

I notice that the VF-1's gunpod in the battroid mode pics still has the stock retracted.

Graham

[Renato]

I would absolutely love one...after the Ozma version with the proper head of course

Yeah, this is the only one I would be interested in.

[Graham]

The Ozma version does nothing for me. Far prefer the iconic Isamu scheme, it looks so good in the screen shots we've seen.

Graham

[Kaldar5]

I notice that the VF-1's gunpod in the battroid mode pics still has the stock retracted.

Graham

Sharp eye!

The thing that bugged me was ovbiously some sort of power up attack. (was during that cheesy propganda "interview" program with game footage where they drool on whatever they are paid to drool for.)

Was flying along, Leon yelled something, transformed to Battleoid, and spammed missiles. The problem I have is that it was mid air, the Valk Battleoid completely stopped forward momentum, stood in mid air solid as ground with no foot thrust as the attack/power went off.

After the attack was done, it started to decend and foot thrust. Kinda like a Wil. E. Cyotoe "gravity forgot about you" moment.

Just slightly dissapointed. Part of the reason I love Valk/Battleoid so much is the twichy foot thrusters, convincingly trying to keep balance as it hovers in place. Breaks my suspension of disbelief to see the thrusters completely stop.

[Renato]

Sharp eye!

The thing that bugged me was ovbiously some sort of power up attack. (was during that cheesy propganda "interview" program with game footage where they drool on whatever they are paid to drool for.)

Was flying along, Leon yelled something, transformed to Battleoid, and spammed missiles. The problem I have is that it was mid air, the Valk Battleoid completely stopped forward momentum, stood in mid air solid as ground with no foot thrust as the attack/power went off.

After the attack was done, it started to decend and foot thrust. Kinda like a Wil. E. Cyotoe "gravity forgot about you" moment.

Just slightly dissapointed. Part of the reason I love Valk/Battleoid so much is the twichy foot thrusters, convincingly trying to keep balance as it hovers in place. Breaks my suspension of disbelief to see the thrusters completely stop.

Well, that's unfortunately not going to change since the special move system has been like that since the very first PSP game, and it has remained so for 6 games including the PS3 ones. It is mildly annoying because you cannot control the valk during the duration of the special move (although you can switch targets), either. But I'm OK with that, it would be too easy otherwise, since this way you have to get in position and time your moves just right.

[TyrValein]

You know, when I was looking through my pic folder I realized that since we HAVE to play as Leon through the first playthrough, we probably won't get most of the other characters' valkyrie variants. In one of the first trailers, it showed most of the custom variants unlocked. In last Tuesday's seminar, it showed almost only the base models unlocked. Since we can use the same parts as the basic ones to build variants we won't have to grind for parts for them and they'll probably be very strong at the start. But we'll still have to get TP for them like in the PSP Frontier games. That's assuming you get the highest possibly ranked parts for your valkyries (they go from 1(I)-5(V)) on your first playthrough. Its also assuming that the drop rate for said parts isn't skyscraper high. To max out your favorite valkyrie(s) could end up taking an awful lot of time. And if you try to max out all of them like me, you'll be at it forever. Just like the PSP Frontier games, I think I'm going to get WELL more than my money's worth on this one.