Following on from Hidetaka Tenjin’s previous Valkyrie themed book, it seems that we will be graced with yet another wonderful entry called Valkyries Second Sortie. As the cover suggests, it seems that this edition will also be more focused towards the recent Macross Frontier. As with all of Tenjin’s work, this will be a must buy on its release later this month. Make sure to pre-order it now!

A selection of well-known mecha designers have added their creative worth to the upcoming Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity. Specifically, these designers have crafted suits of armour that either gender can wear in the game. 4Gamer has the shots of their work in question and the five designers are: Kunio Okawara (with his design pictured above), Kanetake Ebikawa, Junya Ishigaki, Suzuhito Yasuda and huke. The first three are generally regarded as “classic” mecha designers, with Okawara being pretty much held responsible for the birth of real robot design (as he penned the mecha in Mobile Suit Gundam). Interestingly, Ebikawa has been a fan of the series since he played Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast. The new armour will be available as DLC from the Japanese PSN store at the end of February, when the full game is released. You can also pre-order the game here.

Over at Famitsu’s site, they’ve uploaded a bunch of new screenshots for Super Robot Wars Z 2. Again, everything is looking shiny we’re happy to see Getter 2 literally tearing an enemy a new one (shown above). It also seems that the previous game on the PS2 will be receiving a re-release under the “Best” label, with a suitably reduced price. In any case, the new PSP game looks to make its April 14th release and you can pre-order it here (or here if you’re in Europe).

What with Macross Triangle Frontier released tomorrow, 4Gamer have calmly reminded us on the sheer level of moe that we shall be doused with. Thankfully, they managed to include some actual gameplay screenshots of the beefy (and playable) Macross Quarter from Frontier. Whilst the Academy mode does worry us a bit, we’re still pretty excited to play this once it’s finally out. Naturally, our review will be forthcoming. For those that haven’t pre-ordered this already you can do so here (or here if you’re in Europe).

Considering the renaissance the PSP has had in Japan, it wasn’t going to be long until Banpresto cottoned onto porting the old PS2 Another Century’s Episode games to the PSP. The imaginatively titled Another Century’s Episode Portable consequently covers much of the same functional ground as the PS2 games did (rather than that of the PS3 release, which changed much of the how the core game worked).

For gamers that have played the older PS2 games, then this news will be a great relief. As the somewhat bizarre control choices in ACER definitely hampered the game. The fact that ACEP has eschewed much of what ACER offered has returned the series back to its former itself.

Ultimately, the regression has been a shrewd one as it has made the overall game far more cogent and manageable. Especially considering that any kind of functional inadequacy in terms of controls are normally magnified within the small confines of almost all hand-held consoles. What has resulted though, is a relatively mixed setup that works competently for the most part but at the expense of the production value the series has been known for.

The upcoming Super Robot Wars Z 2 is looking sweeter and sweeter with each succulent release of assets. 4Gamer has a selection of lovely shots from the game and it’s impressive how pristine they are, even over the PS2 original. Our attention, naturally, fixated itself upon the wondrous Final Dancouga. Although it partially bodes for a rather depressing situation; in that Final Dancouga is normally a secret version of the beastly super robot in SRW. The fact it’s so prominent already belies the fact that Dancouga’s narrative may be somewhat cursory in light of the far newer, though arguably crappier, Dancouga Nova. Thankfully, Ryoma’s screenshots redeem this situation with their pure unbridled awesomeness. The game is still set for it’s April 14th release and you can pre-order it here (or here if you’re in Europe).

With the PSP game around the corner, Anime News Network have found a cool promo for the Danball Senki anime set for release at the beginning of March. It seems that the anime will closely follow the events in the game and will act as a companion series of sorts. In any case, the production value from the promo alone is pretty damn impressive and many of the villains have a suitably Mitsuteru Yokoyama vibe to them (which is absolutely a good thing in our book).

From what we played at last year’s TGS, Danball Senki looks to be a spiritual successor to games like Custom Robo Battle Revolution and Gotcha Force. Whilst many gamers have already gone somewhat (and admittedly rightfully) batshit insane over the forthcoming Ni no Kuni, Danball Senki is still a pretty worthy title as far as we’re concerned. Plus this is Level 5 we’re talking about here, so it’s blatantly going to be awesome. The game is still set for its March 17th release and you can pre-order it here.

The recently released Another Century’s Episode Portable has topped the Japanese charts in its first week of release with over 70,000 sales, toppling Monster Hunter Portable 3rd in the process. Compared to the impressive sales of ACE R, the newer ACE P only sold a third as much by comparison. Some think this is the result of massive public disappointment with ACE R, as ACE R’s success has been attributed to the quality of three previous PS2 games, which built up the fanbase in the first place. Though it’s more likely that PSP shortages in Japan have affected the sales of the game too, on account of the Monster Hunter fervour that’s been gripping the nation as of late.

In any case, from what we’ve been playing the new ACE P is a vast improvement over ACE R and we’re happy to report that the original boosting setup from the PS2 games is definitely back. With any luck our review will be up over the weekend. In addition, you can still buy ACE P here.

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.