4Gamer is showing that the next DLC pack for Gundam Musou 3, that’s released tomorrow, will feature the NZ-666 Kshatriya from Gundam Unicorn. This suit is a successor of sorts to the NZ-000 Quin Mantha and the ORX-013 Gundam Mark V (with the latter forming the basis for the AMX-014 Doven-Wolf). However, much like with many of the ill-fated designs in Gundam ZZ, the Neo Zeon mantra of “more power” rarely seems to work out for them, as the lighter and nimbler mobile suits often take them to the cleaners. As with many of the Unicorn mecha, there is a strong ZZ connection though. Especially as the pilot of the Kshatriya, Marida Cruz, is actually a grown up clone of Elpeo Puru. The DLC pack will cost 600 yen (PS3) and 480 MSP (360) respectively .

Not that long after the release of Oratan in the arcades, rumours of a four player version surfaced. Considering the breakneck speed at which Oratan operated, a four player version sounded suitably insane. However, it wasn’t long until a new Virtual On game graced Japanese arcades running on the then somewhat notorious Hikaru board and sporting the rumoured four player setup. Titled Virtual On Force, with a massive “4” in its logo to denote to the less astute that there were more than two players now, the game was to be the last of the Virtual On arcade lineage.

There is good reason for this finale though and much of it was, and still is, attributable to the decision to make the game accommodate two extra players. Many thought that the red-headed stepchild of the Virtual On series would never see a home release, especially after the pretty catastrophic Virtual On Marz, yet in commemorating the 15th Anniversary of the series we seem to be faced with a painstakingly faithful port of the game.

What with the Macross Triangle Frontier’s release around the corner, we’ve been treated to a new promo video for the game. Voiced by Ranka and Sheryl, it spends an unnerving amount of time enthusing about the new Academy Mode. Where the player will be able to live the life of heady student in the Macross Frontier fleet. 4Gamer also has a slew of brand new screenshots too, showing off a variety of new variable fighters for the player to use. We’re just happy to see the VF-9 Cutlass (pictured above) and the VA-1SS Metal Siren in game. The game is still set for a February 3rd release in Japan and you can pre-order it here.

The upcoming Super Robot Wars Z 2 has received it’s first promo video, shown below. This is comprised of the game’s opening cinematic, so nothing gameplay related but it looks very cool nonetheless. 4Gamer also has some coverage regarding the fact that this game will be part of the 20th Anniversary of SRW (as the first game was released on the GameBoy way back in 1991). To commemorate this announcement, three PSone SRW games will be released on the 26th January via the Japanese PSN store. These are SRW2, SRW3 and SRW EX. For those that want to pre-order SRWZ 2 then you can do so here, in advance of its April 14th release.

What with Nintendo in the throes of a somewhat epic PR campaign for the upcoming release of their latest handheld, the Nintendo 3DS. It turns out that Bandai Namco haven’t exactly been idle. Whilst we reported a good while ago that a Gundam game was planned for the launch of the system, not much was known as to what type of game it would be. Well, now it seems the aptly titled Gundam The 3D Battle will be something in the same vein as Artdink’s Gundam Battle series, but with the apparent improvement that the 3D will allow players to gauge enemy distances more accurately (though whether that’s actually the case remains to be seen obviously). Whilst the approach they’ve taken is not a bad one, we were more hoping for something cockpit based like the old Blue Destiny games on the Saturn as well as the more recent and suitably panoramic Senjou no Kizuna, as this would have intensified the field of view. The game will feature the narratives from Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam and Char’s Counterattack (the latter being pictured above). All said and done though, the game does remind us an awful lot of the PSone games that Bandai did back in the day for Zeta Gundam and Char’s Counterattack. In any case, the game will be released in Japan on March 24th for 6090 yen.

The next episode of Gundam Unicorn is around the corner, with its PlayStation Network airing occurring in early March (again in advance of the DVD and Blu Ray release in April). The episode is called “Laplace no Boumei” (or the “Ghost of Laplace”) and features a new song by Chemistry called “merry-go-round”. The promo video is shown below and for those that have been fans of the NZ-666 Kshatriya then you may want to avert your eyes.

4Gamer has a piece on the recent interview with Juro Watari where, apart from drinking beer, he does talk about various aspects regarding the series’ history. Notable points are further information as to why Hajime Katoki was chosen to design the mecha, as V Gundam was also airing around that time, to the almost perennial question about an all new Virtual On game.

Unsurprisingly, Watari is pretty cagey in terms of information for a new game but tries his best to say some positive (though non-committal) things. There have been rumours that G.rev are working on a new Virtual On game, which would make sense as their Senko no Ronde games are very similar in some ways, but Watari has yet to confirm or deny this. The fact that Watari didn’t outright deny the fact a game is in development is reassuring anyway.

It’s also no big secret that post the arcade version of Force, there were at least two attempts to do a new game (once on NAOMI 2 and another on Lindbergh). In many ways Border Break, and the Ring Edge board, were a result of this unnamed sequel’s pre-production. Either way, what with the recently released port of Force and the massive success of the Oratan 5.66 port there’s reason to be hopeful that we might get a new game.

In any case, the piece also has a rather cool gallery of fan collected Virtual On memorabilia too.

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Banpresto have announced a sequel to the successful PS2 game Super Robot Wars Z (a game we liked quite a bit too in case you’re wondering). Entitled “Super Robot Wars Z II: Hakai-Hen” the game will be exclusively released on the PSP on April 14th. Naturally, the big part to these announcements is the introduction of new mecha series to the fold. Well, SRWZ2 doesn’t look to disappoint as it not only includes the likes of Gurren Lagann but also VOTOMS too. So both ends of the mecha spectrum, super and real, have been thoroughly catered for it seems. Interestingly, this will be the first of two games with this entry covering the first half or season for the respective series (with the second game to cover the latter half). Apparently the game has also been in production since March 2009, so at least Banpresto have properly invested their time into this one. The new game will also feature Dancougar again, so we’re naturally pretty happy about that. The full list of series are linked below.

Update: Famitsu has updated their site with some coverage of the game and the official site has also been launched too.

The upcoming DLC pack for Gundam Musou 3 featuring the GNX-Y901TW Susanowo (as piloted by the anachronistically titled MISTAH BUSHIDO) and a new mission called “For the Future” will hit this Thursday. 4Gamer has some nice screenshots of the new mobile suit too. The pack will cost 600 yen (PS3) and 480 MSP (360) respectively.

Over at Anime News Network they’ve got a cool little story of an unknown cosplayer donning a full blown GN-0000 00 Gundam from Gundam 00 at Melbourne’s Manifest. This being the base unit from the second season before it later combined with the GNR-010 0 Raiser. You don’t normally get the 00 Gundam on its own very often in game, instead most games opt for the beefier 00 Raiser. However, the Yuke’s developed Gundam Meisters on the PS2 did feature the 00 Gundam as an unlockable unit. Still, it’s pretty impressive work on the part of the cosplayer and we tip our steel rimmed hat to them.