Japan Retroactive (part1)

The next few posts are retroactive.  It was incredibly tough to manage video, photo and site content in the span of time we had to get things done.  That being said, on to the post!

Post-SBO what else is there to do in Japan?  After we caught SBO day 2 (we didn’t do day 3), we were left with about 4 days before Beast had to come back stateside.  Besides shopping and arcade crawling, we also went to check out the giant Gundam at Odaiba.  That thing is really impressive and it makes you wonder whether or not the Japanese are in true possession of an actual working Gundam.

The closest I will get to my own Gundam is the arcade game which has been going strong for about 2-3 years now.  I make a trip to this arcade every time I go to Japan and it is one of the few locales to have that honor.  How does it play?  It’s one part Armored Core, another part Virtua On, and a tiny bit of Steel Battalion.  The controls are 2 pedals and two levers.  The pedals are used for forward boost and upwards boost and are positioned like the gas and brake pedals in a car, respectively.  The two levers controls movement.  Pushing both levers forward will move you forward, back moves you back, and left and right allow you to side step.  Turning is a bit tricky but once you get used to it you’ll be a pro in no time.  Turning to the right involves moving the right lever back while moving the left lever forward.  To turn to the left, simply make the opposite motions.  There is also preset text chat, and there are is a headset in most of the pods.  The triggers control different weapons, each Gundam has its own unique weapon set.  The lock-on is automatic but it is possible to force the lock to remain on one target.  There are four weapons depending on the Gundam, but I haven’t figured out how to use the other two.

The  factions in the game are simple, either the Earth Federation (boo) or the Zeon (hail Zeon!).  I’m pretty sure you can tell which side I picked.  The side you pick determines your Gundam type.  You start out with a basic MS-05 Zaku if you choose Zeon.

I believe you get an RGM-79-GM if you choose the Earth Federation.  I wouldn’t know because I hate those Feddie bastards.

I do know that the Earth Federation does get RX-78-2′s and they have shields (that are  so cheap).

There are different maps, each with its own layout and strategic points.  Different events are organized for the Gundam arcades.  As of my last play they had organized eastern Japan vs western Japan depending on where the arcade was located.  I was in Tokyo most of this trip so I’ll leave it up to you to figure it out.  They also update the game with new Gundams you can use after you acquire the appropriate number of points.  You can save your points with a “pilot card” that costs 3 bucks.  It’s a pretty cool system that keeps track of your  kills and points.  I initially lost my first pilot card (the one that I had in 08), but here’s my newest one.

Combat is in real time and it operates on a basic mission, defeat the enemy.

What will we do in the days after Gundam?