Hi, Just Wondering Where Are You Watching Urdr Hunt?

hi, just wondering where are you watching urdr hunt?

There’s a YouTuber, Trafalgar Log, who’s translated and uploaded all the game cutscenes (and a little gameplay).

YouTube

Trafalgar Log

Mobile game cutscene translator apparently, I also translate manga elsewhere!

The entire series thus far can be watched on their channel, and it also includes translations of the sidestories from the game.

The AMX-017 Gigantic was a planned nuclear-capable mobile suit designed by Axis Zeon for use in their Invasion of Earth, being one of multiple competing plans designed to tip the balance in Axis’ favour. The Gigantic was based on data recovered from the stolen Gundam Gp02 “Physalis” during Operation Stardust memory by the Axis Technical Fleet, and was designed for much the same purpose: the deployment of Tactical Nuclear Weapons. To this end it was armed with an Atomic Bazooka, for deployment of the nuke itself, and a beam saber, for the suit’s own protection. Presumably, it was intended to be deployed with an escort to cover for its lack of armaments (either that or the Axis engineers took the Gp02’s limited armament to be a feature, not a bug). The Gigantic was ultimately passed over in favour of the Dublin Colony Drop, which was ultimately successful for the Axis Forces, inflicting heavy casualties on Karaba and the AEUG, while resulting in the Earth Federation Government ceding Side 3 to Axis, returning the Republic of Zeon to their forces. Though the Delaz Fleets’ attack at Konpei Island (/Confeito/Solomon) demonstrated the power of nuclear weapons, the Axis forces lacked any nukes which could be utilised by the Gigantic. Following their failure to seize the federation asteroid base Luna II and the nuclear arsenal held there, the Gigantic was then mothballed, as it was unable to carry out its assigned task.

I do like the Gigantic’s design, you see the GP02 Influence, and yet there’s an obvious Zeon flair to the design. I like the white and purple colour scheme, it converts the same sense of danger as Haman’s Qubeley, and the art’s lovely of course. The large thrusters on the design also imply a speed, again analogous to those on the Gp02. The cockpit’s reinforced, suitable to survive a nuclear blast, and I love how beefy the head is. Sleek, yet armoured, designed to funnel blast waves around the body. The feet remind me of the Don, another Zeonic influence. It’s just rather nice. That said, I’m just now noticing that the elbows can’t bend, which is a choice.

Interestingly, in SD Gundam G Generation FIF, there’s a non-canon scenario where the Gigantic is Piloted by Karius, a surviving wingmate of Anavel Gato, the pilot of the Gp02, which is neat.

Kycilia is a really cool and fascinating character.

Just a little on the Gundam Asmoday/Asmodeus today (it apparently could’ve been called the Ashmodai, which is neat).

Okay, so the ASW-G-32 Gundam Asmoday is found by Wistario the Erda II crew (specifically Sinister) inside an Aridne Cocoon in the Debris zone. It’s specifically noted to be essentially brand new, with no records of it fighting in the calamity war, and a full complement of weapons ready to go. Based on this, and the fact that it seems to have its reactor hooked up to the cocoon, we can gauge one of two things. Either;

The Gundam wasn’t completed until either very late in the Calamity War, or just after, and thus didn’t have an opportunity to fight against the mobile armours.

This Cocoon relay station was apparently important enough to dedicate a Gundam frame just to keep it operational.

Based on the assumption that a bunch of regular ahab reactors would probably have done the job just fine, I think it’s more likely to be a case of it being completed late.

What makes this interesting is that we only know of one other Gundam frame that was completed late in the calamity war:

The ASW-G-71 Gundam Dantalion.

Now, because this is both at the end of the series (71/72) and because it’s stated that the Dantalion had been completed late, I had previously assumed that the Gundam Frames were completed sequentially. So, the ever-elusive ASW-G-70 Gundam Seere would have been completed just prior to the Dantalion, and the 72nd Gundam would have been completed after, possibly even being completed postwar (At a guess, either the Gundam Andromalius or Gundam Pruflas/Bufas - I’d be very interested in know what happened to it, since it’s be the most likely source as to any clue to the end of the calamity war and it’s immediate aftermath). But the Asmodeus implies something quite different. Unless its deployment was delayed for whatever reason, then it’s evidence that the Gundam frames may not have been built sequentially. (I’m not sure which it would be - it doesn’t seem to have any equipment that’d be too difficult to work with, being structured as a fairly direct combatant - gigant javelin as a sort of whip-sword to attack from a distance, smoke grenades and then grand tonfa’s up close, but then there’s plenty of other reasons for it to not have seen combat).

We do, however, know that Bael was the first. Add to that the seeming increase in complexity as the numbers climb (Dantalion appears simple but it has a bunch of add-on equipment not shown above, a lot of the 50’s and 60’s-series Gundams have fancy designs or systems, especially compared to the relative simplicity of the 00’s and 10’s), and we can guess that they were at least designed sequentially, with Asmoday’s presumed delay being an exception.

However, what I also think is interesting is where it was found. Inside an Ariadne Network Cocoon, big enough to be used as a harbour, administrative and let’s face it defensive point, in the network. Administered by the Falk Family (presumably headed by either Kalf Falk or his immediate successor), who already possess a Gundam Frame to their name - the Gundam Gamigin (shown above).

So what was the Asmodeus, for all intents and purposes a “phantom machine”, which exists on paper but was never actually deployed, doing there? Each Seven Stars Family or similar organisation within Gjallarhorn has precisely one Gundam Frame to their name, with no evidence of one family using multiple frames. I find it particularly interesting that it’s the Falk’s of all people that seem to have this frame - they’re one of the two families we know the absolute least about, the other being the Baklazan’s. Even then, most of the information we do know is what can be inferred from their Urdr Hunt point and their Gundam Frame. The only real supposition we can make is that they’re probably the oldest out of the Seven Stars - assuming no family got multiple Gundam Frames during the calamity war (which feels a fair assumption to make, given that we know absolutely nothing about any frames that were destroyed, implying no-ones really around to keep those records), then the ASW-G-04 Gamigin Gundam was likely deployed the earliest out of all the Seven Stars Gundam Frames, shortly after Bael (again, assuming sequential deployment). So it’s possible that the Falks were the longest surviving active participants in the Calamity war, besides Agnika Kaeru himself, of course. But it’s unclear why they would end up with another Gundam frame, and then not use it. A few possibilities:

The Intended Pilot for the Asmoday was killed before it could reach them, and the Falk’s didn’t have another pilot on hand to use it.

There was a Cocoon was involved in transporting the Gundams to their pilots, and it was kept at the cocoon until it’s recipient could be sorted out.

The Falks wanted extra “insurance” of their position once the Calamity War was over, and arranged for a second Gundam frame to be assigned to them somehow.

The Asmoday had nothing to do with the Falks, and it was left at the Cocoon by N as prize for Urdr Hunt participants.

It was salvaged from its transport during the war, and restored by the Falks.

In short, I don’t know why it was there and we’re probably not going to find out anytime soon, but it’s fun to think about. I would also like to point out that the Asmoday was also just…. Left there, which feels like it must have been purposeful in some way, but also means that the Falk’s didn’t recover it in the intervening 300 years.

Gundam Requiem for Vengeance then. I don’t really have anything to say on the new trailer other than it reminds me of a trailer I once saw for Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children.

However, given that I did a post on the Gundams in the one year war last time, I figured I’d go over the Full Armour units that I skimmed over this time around.

First up, the PF-78-1 Perfect Gundam. Now I usually try to use fairly neutral pieces of art for these, so they best illustrate the mobile suit in general, but this thing…… well.

It’s a bit of an odd one. First originating in the 1982 Manga Plamo-Kyoshiro, it was built by Shiro Kyoda (the kid in the bottom left of the above picture). Note how I said built. This manga is essentially the earliest permutation of what would eventually become the build series, where the focus is shifted from War to Modelling. Now normally this is where I’d earmark it as a build kit, except that it’s canon to the Universal Century as well. It was apparently a planned upgrade plan for the original Gundam, but was never built, with its data being carried into the Full Armour Gundam, being canonised in MSV. Its armaments are much the same as the original, only adding a built-in 2-barrel beam gun to the arm, four drop mines to the shield and a Shoulder Cannon to the backpack. The shoulder cannon is notable because it’s nature is different in each work - it’s a high pressure water gun in Plamo-Kyoshiro, a 360mm Rocket Gun in MSV, and a high-output beam cannon in Build Fighters.

I admit I was looking forward to talking about the Full Armour Gundam here, but its position in canon is just difficult. Officially, it was never built and existed only as simulation data, because the excess armour and weaponry would have slowed it down too much. Unofficially, it shows up damn everywhere, typically as a foe of either Johnny Ridden or the Perfect Zeong. I’m going to call out two examples here and then move on, primarily because they actually name pilots of the thing. In the videogame Spirits of Zeon: Dual Stars of Carnage, a blue Full Armour Gundam is piloted by Earth Federation Fighter Ace Takashi Kitamoto during the Battle of Solomon. Meanwhile in the manga Mobile Suit Gundam MSV Battle Chronicle Johnny Ridden, a Full Armour Gundam is piloted by Heinz Baer against Johnny Ridden’s Full Bullet Zaku (honestly I mention this because I absolutely love Heinz Baer’s character design, shown below). Armament wise, the Full Armour Gundam retains the Vulcan Guns and Beam sabers of the original Gundam, but carries a twin beam rifle as opposed to the original’s single-barrelled model. In addition, it gains a 360mm Rocket Cannon on its back and four missile bays, built into the knees and clavicles. As a design, I really like the thing, but I’m unsure why. Maybe it’s the simplicity of it being an up-armed and armoured version of the original Gundam, or maybe it’s that there’s some really nice art of it, particularly it’s Debut in Mobile Suit Variation (MSV).

C’mon, Look at this guy. A flying ace who wears a sweater under his pilot suit.

Next up, the FA-78[G] Full Armour Gundam Ground Operations Type, originating in MSV-R. Nice and simple, now. It’s essentially a Full Armour Variant that’s designed for ground combat, using the RX-78-1 Prototype Gundam as a base. It was designed, but never built (whether due to costs, practicality or the lack of the RX-78-1). Design-wise, yeah, it’s nice. Critical areas are up-armoured, and some new weapons added, but it still looks fairly agile, and the Prototype Gundam features make it stand out a little more. It’s armed with Vulcans, Two Beam Sabers on the left arm, a twin beam rifle on the right arm, a 360mm Rocket Cannon on the backpack and a missile launcher. Not much more on this one, it’s just neat.

The FA-78-1B Full Armour Gundam (Type B). Oh, I love this thing. Also originating from MSV-R, it was developed from the G-3 Gundam, rounding out the three full armour units. It was designed primarily for anti-fleet combat, with the assumption that it would be piloted by a Newtype. MSV-R keeps things vague on the details, but given that it seems to have been developed in response to The Battle of a Baoa Qu, the general theme of Full Armour Units and that it was intended to be used with a Newtype Pilot (which the Federation really didn’t have a lot of), it feels a safe bet to say that it was probably never built (honestly, Zeon went big on Newtype research and even they only had about five combat-ready examples). Armament wise, the Full Armour Type B is rocking Vulcan guns, a 360mm Rocket Launcher, a Triple Beam Rifle, upgraded missile launchers in the knees and clavicles, two beam sabers mounted on the left arm and a large missile launcher on the back, which is loaded with two large anti-ship missiles on the front and twenty along the back of the launcher, designed to counter any anti-beam defences employed by its victi- targets. Employed by its targets. Design-wise, gorgeous, I love the patterns on its armour and the simplistic colour palette of blue, grey and golden-yellow for the details is just wonderful. It’s heavyset yes, but it doesn’t feel excessive since it’s designed for anti-fleet work in space. The box-style beam saber adds to this, since it gives the idea of a quick weapon primarily to block attacks, as opposed to its primary armament. I’m not typically a fan of the G-3, but the Full Armour Type B blends its aesthetic so wonderfully.

Next up, the FA-78-2 Heavy Gundam. Another simple one. Three-Four units built postwar, with at least one of them being piloted by one Den Berserk. Apparently one unit was lost during atmospheric entry tests. Essentially a second go-around at the full armour Gundam concept, only a brand new mobile suit as opposed to an add-on. It is armed with: A shoulder mounted Beam Cannon, a singular beam saber, a frame launcher (essentially a composite weapon combining a Gatling gun with a 4-tube missile launcher) and an optional Beam Rifle. Again, just a lovely design, really liking the added bulk on the chest and the visor emphasises its ranged speciality.

The second unit (right) is equipped identically to the regular Heavy Gundam and appears in the Manga MSV-R: the return of Johnny Ridden, where it’s repainted and piloted by Ingrid 0. Due to the series being set in U.C. 90, Unit 2 is somewhat upgraded when compared to the original, being equipped with a bio-sensor for use by newtypes and a set of Dummy Launchers not dissimilar to those found on suits around the time of Char’s Counterattack. These were pretty clearly later additions, however. It was also equipped with a bazooka, patterned off the original Hyper Bazooka used by Gundam units in the One Year War. EDIT: I’d like to note that we don’t know which unit was lost during atmospheric entry tests, so it’s possible that the “lost” unit was Unit 2, so it could be employed “off the books”, as it were.

The RX-78SP Gunner Gundam was designed shortly after the end of the One Year War, during a review of captured Zeon materials. It’s essentially a sniper Gundam, featuring an improved sensor pod and specialised beam rifle in addition to the standard Gundam armament of Vulcans and beam sabers. I say designed because it was never built, development began and a mock-up unit was built from a GM, but it was deemed that the G06 Mudrock Gundam was able to perform the same role. A Full Armour variant appears in the Shin Matsunaga Manga however (MSV-R: Legend of the Universal Century Heroes: Rainbow’s Shin Matsunaga).

Me when GB02 gives out free four-star Nu Gundam and Sazabi, Amuro and Char’s final suit’s respectively: Oh, neat I guess, might repaint those later. Pity we didn’t get the Nightingale.

Me when the GBO2 store has the Ga-Zowmn and Ram Z’gok available to buy, a villain of the week from ZZ and an MSV unit, respectively: Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOO