After ten years, it finally seems that Turn A Gundam is coming to the West. As Bandai Entertainment plan to bring the 50 episode anime series to Western shores in the coming future, whether this will encompass the two movies as well remains to be seen. Since its release in Japan Turn A has become a cult series, due in part to the somewhat bizarre and originally very controversial mecha design, penned by none other by Syd Mead. Over the years these designs have grown on the fanbase and many know appreciate the fact that series was very much ahead of its time. From the gorgeous score by Yoko Kanno to the deft characterisation and narrative from a calmer Yoshiyuki Tomino, Turn A is a series that is quite a mature and thoughtful work. The fact that it will finally receive a Western release is good news indeed, though arguably a tad overdue.

Unsurprisingly, Turn A has graced multiple games over the years. From Super Robot Wars Z to the Gundam Musou games as well as Another Century’s Episode 3 not to mention the Gundam Vs games, the SYSTEM ∀-99 (WD-M01) ∀ Gundam has made its mark on gaming in recent years. Due to the immense potency in the anime though, it’s a problematic unit in terms of games design; as an attack that can wipe out all technology via nano-machines is a bit tricky to implement in a functional sense. The gaming connections of this series also span to the character design too, as Yasuda Akira (or “Akiman”) was one of the original designers on Street Fighter II, amongst many other Capcom games. He went to work with Tomino again on the brilliant Overman King Gainer, which even featured a protagonist who was an ardent gamer.

The animated version of Gundam Unicorn is receiving its much anticipated second episode this November. Before then though, Bandai are showing off the new footage in a lovely long promo. Apart from looking wonderful in terms of the animation, it’s nice to hear ShÅ«ichi Ikeda’s dulcit tones again in Gundam. The promo even shows the glorious Sinanju in action finally, as well as the Unicorn too obviously. Considering that Gundam Extreme Versus is out in arcades at the end of the year, in Japan, the timing of the second episode’s release is fortuitous. For those that want their Unicorn Gundam fix before November, then the unit is fully playable in the brilliant Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus on the PSP. Alternatively, you could pick up the regal Metal Composite toy if you’re after something more tactile. Either way, enjoy the promo linked below.

We’ve been keeping an eye on the upcoming anime TV series Mokei Senshi Gunpla Builders Beginning G for a while now. Meant to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Gunpla, it features a model kit building protagonist flanked by his tubby hamburger eating friend (which is quite realistic) and his female love interest (obviously not very realistic). What’s interesting is that despite the vast amount of product placement at work here, the characters seem to play out their Gunpla differences via matches in Senjou no Kizuna. With the main villain piloting a custom coloured Hi-Nu Gundam it will be interesting to see how this series is received by the Japanese public. At the very least the series will highlight the broader pop-cultural context Gundam has created over the years and that gaming is still the means by which people can actually pilot a mobile suit.

4Gamer have managed to cover two new gameplay videos for Carnage Heart EXA. The first video shows the traditional AI controlled OKEs battling it out based of the programming they’ve been given, whereas the second video shows the manual control mode in action. It’s clear that Artdink’s recent mecha gaming expertise on the PSP has paid dividends with EXA. Whilst we were deeply disappointed with Gundam Assault Survive, it’s nice to see Artdink go back to their roots like this and it’s clear from this videos that EXA will be excellent.

SiliconEra has an interview with Shinji Hashimoto, producer of Front Mission Evolved, teasing some sort of cross-promotion with Hideo Kojima and his PlayStation Portable game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

This cross-promotion seems to be in addition to an already announced cross-promotion between the two games, where items unlocked in Peace Walker will be available in Front Mission Evolved, and/or vice versa. Considering the very different nature of the two games’ mecha, I’m wondering how this will actually work; if it’s robot-to-robot part swapping it could look awkward, albeit possibly interesting. The mecha in Peace Walker are heavy tank-like walkers and reworked versions of Metal Gear Solid 3’s Shagohod, while Front Mission Evolved’s mecha conform more to the Real Robot standard of quick-moving humanoid weapons, equipped with thrusters and ground rollers.

I wouldn’t mind the big secret being a face-off against the venerable Metal Gear REX from the original Metal Gear Solid. I’ve been waiting years to go mano-a-mano (well, mecha-to-mecha) against that monster without support from an insane cyborg ninja. Getting help from an insane cyborg ninja always felt like cheating.

Over at 4Gamer they’ve got a few updates regarding Artdink’s upcoming Carnage Heart EXA for the PSP. From nice new screenshots to a promo video, it seems that Artdink are keen to promote this game as being something of a genuine continuation for the series. What’s slightly odd about the promo video, shown below, is that the opening explosion montage is actually from the film Starman. Why they decided to choose that is somewhat of a mystery to us. In any case, seeing the new variety of OKEs the game will offer is rather encouraging and we can’t wait to get our hands on the game when it comes out in October.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent a toy from the original Macross TV series to review. Specifically, the VF Hi-Metal VF-1J in Hikaru Ichijyo’s colours. In addition, to give the toy some context, we’ve also linked some anime and gameplay footage of it in action in Macross Ultimate Frontier at the end of the review.

As part of Bandai’s increasingly infuriating Tamashii Web shop exclusives, they have finally announced that they’ll be releasing Soul of Chogokin Spec toys of both the Dragonar 2 and 3 units from Metal Armor Dragonar. Now, Dragonar has had somewhat of a resurgence since it was featured in all three of the PS2 Another Century’s Episode games (though it had obviously been featured in a multitude of Super Robot Wars games prior to that). Up and till this point however, Bandai had only released toys of the Dragonar 1, specifically two variants of the design; one with original proportions from the show and another that was stylised by Masami Obari. These new toys obviously seem to fall into the latter Obari stylised camp, not that we’re complaining. At present it’s not clear whether these toys will also sport the “lifters”, backpacks with wings on effectively, that were used in the show but we may see more options surface in the oncoming months. Both toys will be released in December, though you’ll obviously have needed to pre-order them online first. Personally, we’re holding out for the day when they finally release a Dragonar 1 Custom.

Famitsu have got the scoop on the new Carnage Heart EXA for the PSP that’s coming out in October. For those unfamiliar with the Carnage Heart games, these have historically had the player program the game’s mecha, called Overkill Engines (or OKEs), before sending them into battle to fight on their own. At the time of the original game’s release, this type of approach to mecha gaming was unique and Artdink have fashioned a unique niche for the series ever since.

EXA will be the second PSP game in the Carnage Heart series, as Portable was released a good few years ago now. Despite having an all new dating-sim-esque scenario mode, EXA will also allow the player to manually control their OKEs. Admittedly, the older games had this option available but it was only a cheat, whereas this will be actually a full fledged mode now. Naturally, what with all the Gundam Battle and Macross games Artdink have been making recently, this shift shouldn’t be too much of issue for them.

If the above sounds a bit familiar, then you may be thinking of Armored Core Formula Front as it was a game that used a similar setup to Carnage Heart’s and was released for the PSP’s launch back in 2004 (though it also got a rather cool PS2 port too). In any case, it’s nice to see that they’re still using some of Kow Yokoyama’s mecha designs for the OKEs in EXA. That makes us happy inside.

Bandai have previewed their upcoming VB-6 König Monster toy from Macross Frontier. The VB-6 is actually an interesting design though as it’s based upon the frame of an early destroid, specifically the HWR-00-Mk.II Monster, and was originally created for the PlayStation game Macross VF-X 2. Over the years it’s been rendered in toy form at least once and it seems that Bandai want to make their mark too (so much so that Shoji Kawamori supervised this toy’s production, which helps explains why it’s using a lot of diecast). Interestingly, this toy is also a collaboration between the DX Chogokin and Robot Damashii line, which could birth some pretty epic articulation. There’s also a special Sheryl Nome variant in the works, which will feature a variety of moe tranfsers to sully this great design. In any case the toy will be released in September for the eye watering price of 16,000 yen. Still, we thought it worth finishing off with the FMV intro from Macross VF-X 2 in all its robot stompy tank crushing action!