The Frontier PSP trilogy games. From left to right: Ace Frontier, Ultimate Frontier and Triangle Frontier.
Macross New Generation
Speed Technic Variable Fighter
New Challengers Ready?
FLIGHT!
— Macross: Ultimate Frontiers opening
The Macross Frontier Trilogy games is a trilogy of games set in the Macross universe that consists of Ace, Ultimate, and Triangle Frontier. They were developed by Artdink with Bandai Namco being the official publisher for the PlayStation Portable. It uses the game engine used by the various Gundam Battle games. Each game allows the player to play in single player or in multiplayer mode via the PSP's Ad Hoc feature.
The games do not have any story or plot to follow. Instead, players will assume the role of several Original Generation pilots created specifically for the game trilogy as they get involved in all of the Macross series from Macross Zero to Macross II.
- Macross: Ace Frontier: The first game of the Frontier PSP trilogy released on October 9, 2008, it first introduced the Original Generation characters alongside characters, mechs, missions and music taken from Super Dimension Fortress Macross, the Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie adaptation, Macross Plus, Macross 7 and the first half of Macross Frontier. Some of the original characters available for either a pilot/operator include Yu Akimizu, Claire Stanford, Itsuki Yamashiro, Yuto Kagura, Gary Murdock, Hilda V. Bergen and Miyuki Shirakawa. Features included consist of color edits, replay mode and song systems for certain characters who mainly attack by using music.
- Macross: Ultimate Frontier: The second game of the Frontier PSP trilogy released on October 1, 2010, it keeps the Original Generation and canon characters, mechs and missions with more characters, mechs, missions and music from Macross Flashback 2012, Macross II: Lovers Again, Macross Zero, Macross 7 Dynamite, Macross VF-X2 and Macross M3. More Original Generation characters were added, including the naming of some of the other OG characters, with Pinon Collete, Luis Fernando and Yui Hoshimura. Some of the new features include support characters, auto skills, missile alert warnings and the use of a real flight option so that players can use VFs in the same manner of a flight simulator.
- Macross: Triangle Frontier: The last game of the Frontier PSP trilogy released on February 3, 2011, it keeps all the features from the first two games with the addition of Academy Mode, which is a Visual Novel game in where players assume the role of a male or female character living in the Frontier colony who can interact with both Original Generation and Macross Frontier characters. Playing the game allows players to build their character's stats and transfer them to single player mode.
The website for Ace
, Ultimate and Triangle Frontier are available for viewing.
The series contains examples of the following tropes:
- Action Duo: Players can fight enemies alongside an AI-controlled character who serves as your partner.
- All There in the Manual: Macross Ultimate Frontier-related info mentions that all the original characters made for the game are recruited to work in a NUNS Special Forces unit known as the Moon Island Platoon.
- Alternate Universe: Academy Mode is one where the Vajra never got involved in Frontier. Therefore, it's a slice-of-life game.
- Alpha Strike: The usual Limit Break for most units (including the F-14 and MIG-29), which usually involves a gun and missile barrage.
- Attack Drone: One of the sub-weapons you can use, which will result in summoning Ghost drones to help you out.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Klan Klan, with both her human-sized and giant Zentradi forms being available as pilots. Starting from Ultimate Frontier, you can use her Zentradi form as your unit.
- Cool Plane: Played with in the games. You'll see even those that only were previously seen in design concept or in the movies.
- Deflector Shields: Pinpoint barriers can be used to help you survive, but only for a short time.
- Do Well, But Not Perfect: How you can get some of the unlockable characters and mechs (either in the gallery or as a selectable character/mech).
- Enemy Mine: Once you're able to play with characters in other eras (assuming that you unlocked the needed mode/s), you can create two-man teams who are known to be enemies in series canon.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Unless you're playing as a character that really took part in a level's story or pair them with characters that knew him or her, your character is simply referred to as a Captain within the squad.
- Fighter-Launching Sequence: You see your mech (usually Variable Fighters) launch before you play a scenario.
- Gameplay Grading: The games have levels of grading when you complete a scenario. They consist of SS, S, A, B, C, D and F. Beating a scenario level with an SS or S rank allows you to get some of the harder characters/mechs to unlock.
- Rank Inflation: Getting a high-rank grade depends on how players fight if they don't get a lot of damage, kill all enemies including aces and complete the scenario within a short amount of time.
- High-Speed Missile Dodge: This is necessary if an enemy fires a lot of missiles at your direction.
- Idol Singer: Most of Macross' singers appear. And some of them serve as support characters in a non-combat capacity.
- Interface Screw: A skill you can use, and it affects your enemies. However, the AI ignores it.
- Macross Missile Massacre: A staple of the Macross series. This is how you can usually mop up the opposition, and makes up the majority of the Limit Break attacks.
- Magic Music: The skills involving music makes your unit perform better, your enemies perform worse, or both.
- In the last stage of Ace Frontier's Macross Plus, Sharon Apple starts singing and your unit gets affected by the song, which messes your controls up.
- Mecha Expansion Pack: Some of the mechs allow the option of installing add-ons to add more weapons or improve its versatility in battle. These packs also add an extra bar of health and change the mechs' weapons and Limit Break. They aren't perfect though, as some Packs make you unable to transform in certain environments (IE using the FAST Pack in-atmosphere), some of them slow you down (IE the Armor Packs), and all of them are automatically purged once you lose that extra health.
- Multinational Team: The Original Generation characters are made up of different national and ethnic backgrounds.
- So are most of the canon characters in the United Nations Spacy or New United Nations Spacy forces.
- Original Generation: The only characters you can play as first until you clear out most of the scenarios.
- Real Robot Genre: It is one, like all of the Macross series involved.
- Rock Beats Laser: You can play old generation mechs and still win against the latest mechs in battle, provided that you don't die. You can also take this trope further with the F-14 and MiG-29 atmospheric fighters.
- Also, you can use your musical mechs that have barely any weapons to take down enemies with the Power of Rock.
- Sound Test: The games have a sound test mode where you can listen to all Macross-related BGM music.
- Spam Attack: Most units whose Limit Break isn't an Alpha Strike will be an extended melee combo.
- Spectacular Spinning: The Defender's special attack is best described as a Rolling Beam Cannon attack.
- Super Prototype: Some of the mechs are this and they can be selected as your main mech in battle.
- Theme Music Power-Up: Some support skills do this. Depending on who is involved, some of the singers in battle can instill effects to help the player gain an edge in battle such as increasing attack power, reload your ammo quickly and lower enemy stats.
- Additionally, the theme of the series you are playing in might be played in difficult stages.
- The Power of Rock: Multiple support skills are this. Depending on who is involved, some of the singers in battle can instill effects to help the player gain an edge in battle such as increasing attack power, reload your ammo quickly and lower enemy stats.
- The mechs from Macross7 and one custom from Macross Frontier are based entirely around the trope: Your machine gun ammo is replaced with speaker pods that do no actual damage, and two of your special attacks are changed to songs. Shoot speaker pods and play the songs, and the enemies will lose the will to fight and go away. In fact, using missiles actually DECREASES your SP gauge, so using music is the best option with these mechs.
- Of course, if the scenario had any of these tropes happen, then it'll probably affect your mech too.
- Time Stands Still: A skill you can use, that prevents everyone but you from doing anything.
- Transforming Mecha: Most of the units are this, just like in the original series.
- Unlockable Content: The canon characters/mechs (mostly) are in this stage when you play a new game.
- Visual Novel: Available for those who play Academy Mode in Triangle Frontier.
- Wave-Motion Gun:
- The SDF-1 Macross can use this as a support skill. And so can the other Macross-class ships. Some of the normal sized mechs can do this as well (IE the VF-1 series when using the Strike Pack).
- When Macross7 mechs are equipped with a Sound Booster, they fire a Wave-Motion Gun OF ROCK.
