One of the best Mech games I have ever played!
I will start reviewing what i think is the best thing about this game:
The control configuration and user interface.
The reason this game is diferent to all others (in the genere), is because i think someone finally figure out how to command a gigantic robot that can transform, fly, shoot a lot of diferent wapons, walk arround, slide with thrusters through surfaces, and many other things, that make the controls interface of this type of games the most important thing. becaouse mechs can do many many diferent things and most of them at the same time, it can get really complicated to coordinate the usage of all the buttons and analog sticks. I have played Armored core, Gundam, Mech Assault, other Macross installments, and let me tell you none of thouse get it right. All tried diferent control configurations, and they are all to hard to control, some impossible like Gundam Cross Fire, some not that bad like Armored Core 4. What I am trying to tell you, is that for example, imagine playing a racing game that the challenge is to manage to accelerate the car, turn the wheel, and use the brake, and not the way you drive arround the track and beating the other pilots. Well, with a racing game its esear to make the control input becaouse the cars have existed for a century (the ford model T had a diferent set of controls, you accelerate and break with leavers and change gears with pedals, the clutch was a different leaver that was in an possition that make it very hard to use, thankfully that control configuration was drop when someone figure a proper way to control a car, the way we still do), but imagine driving your real modern car with a control configuration like the one on a Ford T, it would be a pain in the bottom just to park and you will need more than to arms to do so. The same thing happens with all the mech games but this one.
For me, that is why this was a break through that all developers shall have taken into account, to make this kind of games, all the Armored Core games are pretty close to this one but not as good, i wish the developers of Sega that make this AC series, took a time to try other games like this one before they try to invent the wheel again, and turn out with something that is almost as round but not that good.
Because of the way the controls work, playing the game is very easy, but that does not mean that the game is easy. (unlike Armored Core or Gundam Cross Fire witch playing is hard but the game is easy, what I mean is that you struggle with the controls not with the enemies you want to destroy). The game has different level configurations like any other, from easy to very hard, witch happens to be really hard to pass.
The story of the game took place in the original series of the TV show, witch devides into two campains, each of the arms of the extremelly gigantic robot-ship that give the name to the sereis, Macross, whose each arm functions like a aircraft carrier that fight to diferent fronts. You are a pilot of those aircraft that are named Valkyries, they look similar to F-14 but they transform into robots, and they can fire several missiles at the same time, making the shoot-em up fun part of the game, witch you can fire up lots and lots of guided missiles to several enemies making therapeutic alien massacres. You will be able to use several kinds of missiles, some low powered to some that can blow up a gigantic alien ship in one shoot. There are also several Valkirie models with different variations to adapt to different missions, and different weapons, and combine that with the transformation capabilities of the robot-aircrafts and you´ll have lot of fun.
The main thing about Macross or Robotech, is the transformation capabilities of the Valkiries, that change from fighter jet to a robot with arms and legs, passing through a combined stage of both, each configuration has different advantages in battle, depending to the enemy and the terrain. With the touch of a button the Valkirie transforms very quiclky from one to another, thats really awsome, because if in the fighter jet configuration youre going supersonic and you have an enemy on your tail, you can stop completely and turn arround in a matter of seconds and shoot your enemy down by transforming to the semi-robot configuration, and so on.
The thing i struggle more with this game, is the fact that is in japanesse, there is no american or european version.
After playing this game, all the other Macross or robotech games feell really crapy, and half finished.
I strongly recomend this game to thouse who like this genere, but mostly i recomend it to the game developers of all kinds of games, so maybe they can understand how a game shall be made so gammers can enjoy the chalenge of beating a quest or enemy, instead of suffering the challenge of beating the quest of learning to play a game. Not even the first-person shooters can agree in witch button shall be ussed for throwing a granade or changing your weapon. Developers haven´t understand why a typing keyboard uses the same ASDF configuration, regardless of where is it, like a cell phone, computer, etc. they haven´t realize that all the cars have the gas pedal at the right side of the brake pedal, in a F1 car and in a common family car. after more than a decade of gamming with the same controllers (regardlees of the console, they have both the same buttons) and haven´t get to the point all other input devices on all other products have.