"Robotech tactical miniature game, worth getting into?" Topic

Has anyone played the Robotech tactical miniature game? I am seriously thinking about purchasing the game, however, no one in my gamming circle, has played the game or have even purchased it. I am a little surprised, at the lack of interest among my gamming cicle for the Robotech game, my buddies and I usually play quite a few science fiction based games at our sessions , right now All Quiet on the Martian Front and Mars Attacks are pretty popular along with standbys like Tie fighter and Battletech, however no else seems intrested in the game.

So before I pay out the cash and start getting into Robotech, and end up with a shelf game, I was wondering if any of my fellow TMP'ers, have tried the game, and what you thought about it? I have a good understanding of the Robotech/Macross backstory, so I am more interested in your opinions on overall playability, particularly with small groups 4 to 6 players, and if you enjoyed the playing the game or not?

Thanks in advance!

Although I would not touch any Palladium product with a 100' pole (much less 10) I did find the following video review of the game which is very even handed and goes into a good bit of detail on the mechanics. Hope this helps you make up your mind.

link

I bought a bunch of it at Cold Wars. I haven't played it yet and only skimmed through the rulebook. I have put together about a dozen of the figures so far and they aren't that bad to assemble.

I'll try to get a game in within a month and will post a battle report when I do.

This gentleman had a review of the mechanics
link

though he HATED assembling the figures, which were reviewed separately.

I like it myself. The UEDF mecha can be a pain to assemble, yes, but the end result is worth the effort and the game is a lot of fun to play. I ran it before Christmas with a group of Third Graders and they had fun with it. It has some crunchy detail like Battletech, but not as much and it's easy to pick up and learn. I could see several players running it, but it's best head to head. There's a lot going on and you're rarely standing around doing nothing as you have to make key decisions during your foe's turn.

Don't let the Palladium title turn you off. It's a great game.

I would also add that you don't HAVE to build three models for each Valkyrie. Purists will of course, but, strictly mechanically speaking, you don't need to. All three Valkyrie modes use the same mecha base so you could build a guardian and mark its modes with a clearly defined counter/marker. I would also add that in !most battles that I've fought that I tend to stick with battloid and guardian modes. Fighter mode is just too fast for ground based actions…. Space is a different matter!!

The game has a few problems:

1) The Valkyries are a absolute PITA to assemble
2) You use three different models to represent one game unit for the Valkyries, see #1
3) The game has two factions, one is the cooler of the two.

It actually has three: the Malcontents. That faction is a blend of UEDF and Zentraedi forces which allows you to field mecha from both sides together making for some interesting squadron configurations! I can't wait to see some Malcontent paint jobs!

See my comment above about building Valks.

Still haven't got my ks pledge so can't comment, but did buy a valk box at a local store. If you love putting together lots of complicated model kits, this game is for you.

There will be other faction if they ever decide to do the other generations of Robotech, which may not be likely.

It seems to me for this all they did was get to old molds for those Macross models and make them for this game. The other generations of Robotech have no models in that scale, so they'd have to make scale models from scratch. Which will cost them more.

As gamers you're not going to care, but this game is causing some bitterness among some groups of anime fans. To them it's just more money Harmony Gold gets and will hold on to the Macross license longer and kill the possibility of any other Macross titles from being licensed.

This is why you can't find DVDs of Macross II or Macross Plus in the US any more. HG threatened legal action, to protect and prolong their dieing Robotech franchise. I seriously don't know how they were able to make this game as Tatsunoko won't allow them to make any new animated or live films using the Macross material. Which is why the movie Robotech Shadow Chronicles used Mospeda settings.
So any Robotech live movie will not look anything like the Macross as we know it.

I don't think what you're saying is completely accurate Sargon.

The models are all new using CAD processes.. In fact it was the approval of these designs that slowed down production. That is quite will documented.

As for the last… Well, that sort of stopped Macross, but not really. You can get MACROSS but not the latest stuff. But for setting for the latest Robotech., err… Shadow Chronicle s was set post MOSPEDA because that is where Robotech ended, with MOSPEDA. So if you're doing what happened next then you have to pick up where you left off. I don't think licensing has much to do with that. Also, didn't Tatsunoko do Southern Cross and MOSPEDA? So if the blocked one of those propertied then it stands to reason that they would block the others too?

HG has the rights to use Macross designs in merchandising (comic books, games, etc…) but NOT for new animation. That is why you see Macross stuff everywhere but in new animation – not because New Generation is where the story ended up. That is also the reason why Rick Hunter looks so different in Shadow Chronicles. As for the change to the SDF3, I think the reason it was changed to be more Mospeada like was computer animating the original version from Sentinels would have been more than the budget allowed.

HG has full use of the New Generation (perhaps Masters stuff too but that stuff is butt ugly…) and that is why it gets used in new productions.

The reason you can get Macross stuff is that HG is allowed to sell the original Macross series here and they dropped the ball when Macross Plus came over.

Ruleswise, it's VERY cinematic. You get a number of command points per turn and can spend those to allow units to take additional actions.

Bigass box, too. It's about 8" deep. Good news is that it's big enough to hold the entire KS backer-pack of minis, and then some.

Plastic has pluses and minuses, my complaint about the models is that the parts are too close to the sprues. And then you need to actually paint all the things (I ended up with like 44 UEDF models and 53 Zents)

But I think the game really does justice to the actions you can see on-screen.

I went fairly big into the KS, and am hoping that Wave Two (with the specials and custom stuff) arrives before the end of the year, but I have to say I'm not holding my breath.

The rules are well crafted, though crafting an army wasn't made terribly clear in the rules. Since I will be playing mostly for fun making up my own scenarios, I won't miss it, but for people who want to run tournaments, it's a bit underdeveloped at the moment.

The models look good when you put them together, but they are terribly fiddly. They are completely new sculpts, which is why I'm a bit disappointed. I look at the amazing stuff that a company like Reaper or Privateer can do and I just shake my head. A Battleloid, which is really only slightly larger than a Battletech figure can have up to 21 individual pieces, and they are a bear to assemble. The sprues weren't well designed, so just getting the teeny tiny pieces off the sprue can be a challenge.

This isn't insurmountable. I haven't had a lot of time to mess with the figs, and I was able to put about dozen together over a weekend and figure it out. I'll get back to the rest and though I don't look forward to the sanding and cutting and filing required for each and every figure, it won't kill me.

It really is a tactical model game, and not a miniatures game. If you are up for that, then you won't have an issue. If you are the type that just wants to pull out the figures, paint them and go, then you should get a friend who loves assembly and have them do it for you.

The costs are surprisingly high for the stuff I've seen on shelves. I did the Kickstarter, which was, in my mind, a good value for what I got, but if I was buying off a shelf, I'd pause. The core set is definitely a good buy, but I think the cost of the add on packs is a bit much of them to ask for unassembled sprues in a box.

Good write up

HG dropped the ball over Macross Plus and Macross II, but you can't find those series any more. From what I've read HG is claiming total ownership of all things Macross in North America, thereby blocking any one from licensing Macross Frontier. I've been looking for more on this as everything is blurred.

A few years ago HG even sued Hasbro over the Transformer known as Jetfire, which is actually a Macross Valkyrie.

It's strange how licensing Macross so many years ago has created such a headache.

@Sargonarhes: The good news is that the animation studios now own the mecha rights after a fight in Japanese courts. So there is a chance to see US releases of Macross Plus, Macross Frontier, and Macross 7.

Macross 2 has been disowned by the creators, so I don't expect to see that one here in the states again. Besides, it's nowhere near as good as Macross Plus.

Scott,

Who was selling them at CW? Was it a dealer or a FM find?

Grimm