Latest news with #ShojiKawamori
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is adding a card game as the mecha sequel targets an increasingly specific type of guy
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Daemon X Machina wasn't a perfect game, as our 2020 review will tell you. But with former Armored Core producer Kenichiro Tsukuda, designs from Macross creator Shoji Kawamori, and the voice actors of Gundam's original anime rivals, it had a compelling pedigree for meeting the particular tastes and expectations of the modern mecha enthusiast. Now, its follow-up, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, is appealing to an even more specific brand of sicko. Titanic Scion isn't just for mecha freaks. Titanic Scion is for mecha freaks who are also into card games. In gameplay demos at IGN Live earlier this month (via RPG Site), developer Marvelous showed off a bit more of what we can expect from the sequel this September. While it trades the first game's Gundam-sized mech suits for smaller Arsenals in the style of Iron Man armor, Titanic Scion is expanding the scale of its environments by adopting large, freely explorable biomes. That exploration is just as important between excursions, however, because it's back at base where you might find cards for Overbullet, Titanic Scion's very own Gwent competitor. Demo players weren't able to play Overbullet with the cards they found, but those cards seemed to be based on Arsenal weaponry and individual components. The cards have attack and defense stats, but it's unclear whether they'll be played directly or used to assemble an Arsenal of component cards for battling your opponents. Whatever the case is, I just hope it's feasible to fund your actual Arsenal customization purely from Overbullet winnings. After all, it's probably better for everyone involved if I'm minimizing my time in the actual robot. If mecha anime has taught me anything, it's that mechanized humanoid killing machines don't really tend to solve problems very well. Mostly the cool robots just make people build more cool robots to fight with. Weird! Even if you're not into videogames with card games inside them, Titanic Scion is bringing other welcome additions. Arsenal aesthetics will be fully customizable down to individual components, and the sequel's rectifying the dearth of basic PC features and settings that the first Daemon X Machina suffered. From the sounds of it, there are dozens of settings to adjust in the gameplay section alone. It'll even have a mouse cursor this time. The future grows ever brighter. Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion launches on Steam on September 5.
Forbes
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion' Shows Off Its Customization Setup
'Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion' is released this September. Following the reveal of Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion coming to Switch 2 this September, we have a breakdown on the game's customization setup. Now, back in April, when I covered the Switch 2 news, a bunch of videos were released alongside explaining how the game worked. These videos were in Japanese, but it was pretty clear how the game operated. What's a little bit odd is that Marvelous USA is just re-releasing these videos every few weeks in English, with the latest customization one shown below. We already had something similar for the combat basics a few weeks back, so I'm not really sure what kind of promotion strategy this is, but it's nice to know that Marvelous is at least aware that the game exists within their sizable software library. Anyway, as for this customization breakdown, you can really see the Armored Core lineage at work here, as much of this team came from those games. I'm still digging the newer, more compact power armor approach, and the mecha design work by Shoji Kawamori is as great as it always is. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder In the videos, they also show a lot of ground movement and interactions that are very human-scaled, the latter being a corollary of the power armor setup. The reason I am a tad wary of this is that the first Daemon X Machina was more airborne and closer to the functionality seen in Armored Core 4 and Armored Core For Answer. Whether they are downplaying this aspect or the game is genuinely like this is hard to tell for sure at present, but if this is another promotion strategy, it does feel a tad odd. Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is released for Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on September 5. Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Macross Zero' Blu-Ray Review: Absolutely Worth The Wait
Back when the Macross rights were mostly resolved, I was looking forward to all the classic Macross anime coming Westward. Well, here we are, and it feels great. While we already had the excellent Blu-ray release for Macross Plus a while back, that was already released in the West back in the 90s, so much so that Bryan Cranston voiced one of the main characters. However, there have been a slew of classic Macross anime that were previously landlocked to Japan until very recently, and Macross Zero is one of those series. Originally released in 2002, Macross Zero acts as a prequel to the events in the original Macross TV series. Dealing with the Unification Wars that had only ever been mentioned in passing, Macross Zero was meant to show how these wars were fought and, more importantly, what for. This is because when the Macross spaceship crash landed in the Pacific, it brought with it huge technological advances. How these advances were used and, crucially, who benefitted from them were, in part, the reason behind the Unification Wars. However, the Macross was by no means the only Protoculture relic left on Earth, and a mysterious Bird Human becomes the source of a new conflict at the end of the Unification Wars. Compared to previous modern Macross anime, such as Macross Plus, Macross Zero took a new approach to how it dealt with the mecha. While the characters were still drawn in 2D, the mecha were rendered as textured 3D models. At the time, Gonzo were the masters of this approach, and their Yukikaze anime, also released in 2002, had set an incredibly high benchmark for this 'hybrid' animation approach. So, when Macross Zero rocked up, it had its work cut out for it. Put simply, Macross Zero was and is a watershed moment in modern animation. It took the complicated transforming mecha of variable fighters and made them fit into a modern anime setting. 'Macross Zero' is now finally available on Blu-ray outside of Japan. I actually remember seeing the first episode of Macross Zero at a cinematic screening in Shibuya, Tokyo, literally just as the first episode's master had been finished. Shoji Kawamori ran up on stage, waving the master tape with a fair degree of jubilation. Like then, seeing Macross Zero again on Blu-ray is wondrous. The visual and audio quality is amazing, especially as Kuniaki Haishima's score was not typical for Macross at the time, and really stands out as a result. Seeing how the warring variable fighters square off against one another was and is amazing. The only minor quibble was that Macross Zero is meant as a prequel, and yet some of the variable fighters feel strangely overpowered, but I think the 'rule of cool' takes care of that one. As for this box set, there's not much on the disc, but that's made up for by a very thorough 128-page booklet containing all manner of interviews and background on the series. I honestly never thought we'd see Macross Zero ever get a proper Western release in my lifetime. After watching it that night in Shibuya, I knew that the then-current rights situation with Macross internationally was a mess. The fact that this box set even exists feels oddly fantastical, but it absolutely delivers on what I think is one of the finest entries in the Macross saga. Yes, Macross Plus has the bombastic plot and pacing, but Macross Zero had the nuanced spiritual take that underpinned almost every other entry of the Macross saga. In many ways, it ratified this cultural foundation. In short, Macross Zero holds up very well, and the fact it even exists officially outside of Japan is a cause for celebration. The Macross Zero Limited Edition Blu-ray box set is available from Crunchyroll's online store for $89.99. Disclosure: Crunchyroll sent me this Blu-ray set for the purposes of this review. Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
Forbes
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion' On Switch 2 Embraces Power Armor
'Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion' will be released this September. It's been a while since we heard anything about Titanic Scion, but we now know it's not only a Switch 2 game but it is also based around power armor. The original Daemon X Machina, which was a decent mecha game, had you pilot mecha called Arsenals. They were still pretty small, but they were definitely bigger than most power armor. This time around, the Arsenals have gotten smaller, are more form-fitted to the pilot, and are effectively power armor. Functionally, this will make targeting more straightforward, as the relative speed issue will be less overt. In that the larger and faster the vehicle you pilot, the greater the relative speed between targets. As the original Daemon X Machina used a more manual approach to targeting, the shift in size down to power armor should make targeting enemies easier for newcomers. The mecha design is still clearly penned by Shoji Kawamori and looks great, something that is refreshingly confirmed on the official Japanese site for the game. Apart from the new trailer (shown below) on the Japanese side of things, we also have three other videos covering the game's action, weapon types and customization. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Most of it looks similar to the first game, but the different weapon types will impact certain enemies differently. This is a similar setup, albeit simplified, to the one used in Armored Core V and Verdict Day. The other big thing here is that Titanic Scion won't just be a Switch 2 game, as it's planned to also be released on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. However, it is handy seeing the game run on the Switch 2, as that gives us a good indication of how the new console will handle Unreal Engine games. All that aside, I am just glad that Titanic Scion is still actually happening. The first Daemon X Machina was a solid mecha game, and it's nice that the genre is getting more attention finally. Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion will be released for Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on September 5. Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
