Mechs and Pilots

[SleepyNin]

There are many different kinds of robots in eastern and western fiction, many different archetypes for the pilots as well. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I would like to know. What kind of robot do you like? Style wise, weapon wise, anything wise. Also, the pilot kind that you like. Some like the old mentor, some like the sensitive newbie. I would like to learn your opinions on this stuff if you wouldn't mind. I'll start off.

Mech, my favorite mech, has always been the Gundam kind. Humanoid, in nature. Two arms, two legs, one head, upper torso, and lower torso kind of deal. I used to like for the head to have two separate eyes. Though lately, I've been heading downward to the style of the Zaku single eye. I like my mechs to look like mechs, I want them smooth, with few angles unlike the gundams that show up in newer series.

Weapon wise, I've always enjoyed having missiles. Macross Missile Massacre if you know what I mean(Thank you TVtropes.) A single beam weapon of some kind for when I run out of missles (like I'd ever let that happen, lol.)

As for my pilot, I've always had man crushes on the Hotblooded. People who didn't step out of the way of a bullet, instead ran straight at the bullet, punched it, and continued on to the person who fired the bullet.

Not exactly the best example of what I'm asking from this thread, but hopefully you can get the idea. So tell me, I like to hear other's opinions on this kind of stuff.

 

[grant]

I prefer the more conventional types of mecha, 08th MS and the like. For pilots I'd prefer someone who had actually been in battle before and was somewhat logical.

 

[trevelyan1983]

Hm. Tough one. Like SleepyNin, I started off liking Gundams and have grown to appreciate the more sinister Monoeye. As for mecha types, I like me a Real Robot. Difficult to determine which I like most, but I tend to go for transforming types like Zeta, or attack-drone types like Nu or Qubeley. I love Hybrids most of all, though - Reals with Super level power in a more defined universe. Jehuty, Granzon, et cetera.

As for pilots, I come down firmly on the side of talented noobs like Amuro, Kamille or Garrod. <s>Except when confident veterans like Char are involved - then I get confused</s>. I most appreciate the Kamille-Quattro mentor style, though. That said, Hot Blooded pilots can be awesome - Kamina, Garrod, Ryusei. Especially if they're genre-savvy.

 

[Shaderic]

My personal favorites are Wing Zero, with Heero Yui (sp?), and DeathScythe, with Duo Maxwell.

The smooth humanoid look of Gundams is the major reason I prefer them. They're elegant weapons. And the beam weapons are awesome.

I like the 'tactical cold fish' pilots, just for the whole 'mission' mindset. Part of the fun, is seeing them mellow out. Another reason why I like Sousuke Sagara.

On the exact opposite side of the scales, we have the jokers, like Duo. Anyone who not only laughs, but laughs maniacaly in the face of danger is awesome. They just have to be able to take things seriously every once in a while. See Kurz for another example.

 

[drakensis]

I must confess to having more fondness for dakka than I have for missiles. Rapid-firing weapons - high rate of fire beams as well as conventional cannon - are a preference.

 

[Mea Nihil]

As far as pilots go, Sanger Zonvolt takes the cake, even over Ramba Ral.

For mecha... eh, I actually prefer Front Mission style Wanzers to Gundams. Although Driscoll's Type11-DS was badass.

 

[nick012000]

For mecha, tanks. Like, for instance, BOLOs. BOLOs are awesome.

 

[GenocideHeart]

As far as pilots go, Sanger Zonvolt takes the cake, even over Ramba Ral.

For mecha... eh, I actually prefer Front Mission style Wanzers to Gundams. Although Driscoll's Type11-DS was badass.

Hey you. Was wondering when you'd start using your account again, since you changed the password and all. So, I take it this means I won't be able to use it again?

 

[Mea Nihil]

Eh? Check your private messages. I remember warning you about it a while back.

 

[GenocideHeart]

*checks*

...dur, so you did. Never mind then.

 

[A Curious Stranger]

I enjoy grunt designs a lot. Zakus, Goufs... Zeon had some awesome designs like the Kampfer as well.

I also like almost organic looking mechs. It's why I like the Exia so much along with Jehuty and Anubis. The sleek movements look really good in action.

Pilotwise... eh I don't really care. Wuss, manly, something in between, the pilot is in a giant robot and thus gets automatically +1000 awesome points.

 

[Mereo Flere]

Valsione. Fairlions. The GN Archer...

And whatever Fasalina piloted during Gun X Sword.



...seriously, though, it mostly depends on how they fight that gets me to love a mech. I love the IGPX machines, simply because of the fight scenes I saw them in.

Naturally, of course, it's awesome to see a grunt overcome any power gaps and succeed against a superior opponent, so its easier for them to find a place in my heart.

 

[Rai-kun]

Strangely enough I enjoy rather plain and underpowered mass production type of units. For example, in Gundam it would be the Jimmy (GM-units) and for Robotech/Macross it would be something like the VF-1A. I like minimalist designs that make the unit rather lean and without bulk.

I like the thought of someone taking a unit that isn't buffed out and beam spamming and still being able to kick butt just as effectively with actual piloting skills, tactics, and cunning traps. So the savvy, veteran mentor is the archetype that I like.

"You have to make do with what you've got" and "It's not the machine, it's your lack of ability" are the type of mindsets I enjoy. There's some odd pleasure I derive from the thought of someone like Kira Yamato and his Rainbow Beam Unit being taken down by say a Strike Dagger because the pilot know just where to shoot you in the joints of your high powered machine, how to set you up to take advantage of system limitations, etc.

 

[trevelyan1983]

"You have to make do with what you've got" and "It's not the machine, it's your lack of ability" are the type of mindsets I enjoy.

Zaku kick.

Ever since Char handed Amuro his ass in a Zaku II S, this has been a particularly effective mech trope. I certainly squee when it's done properly. On the other hand, when it's done wrong [ie, Gundam Wing, SEED, etc] it's a particularly jarring deal breaker.

 

[knight_of_ni]

Eh, I like visually appealing mechs and grunt mechs are okay for that sometimes, but I would be lying if I said I preferred them. I just like higher end mechs like The-O, Baund-Doc, or Kampfer better. This might be because I have taken down characters in games who were far superior to me in ability by using a mech that takes advantage of their weaknesses and the environment.

EDIT:Basically, all the ability in the world doesn't mean shit if you end up getting stuck and your enemy just so happened to plan for that.

Pilots, well, I tend to judge individually, but I seem to have a preference for cold blooded pilots.

 

[AkinaAE86]

I've always liked the Gundam series and thier mechanics. Though I'll put the Evangelion series above simply because I have yet understand how they actually work.

Pilots...

You really can't dump them in a group. All of them have their indivdual traits.

 

[decibels]

I prefer pilots who while may not be the best at piloting the machine they have such a cunning and tactical mindset that by the end of the fight you're wondering just what the hell happened(ie: Lelouch and the like).

As for the machines themselves i'm more partial to the pocketknife brand of design. A machine chock full of gadgets that can get you out of just about any sticky situation.

Example:
MBF-P01-Re2<AMATU> Gundam Astray Gold Frame Amatu Mina Custom
(Okitsu-no-Kagami Equipment Type)

Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor; Mirage Colloid
Armament: "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS x 2, "Maga-no-Ikutachi" energy absorption blade x 1, "Magashira-no-Hoko" shot lancer x 2, "Trikeros" offense/defense system (mounts: 50mm high-energy beam rifle x 1, beam saber x 1, lancer dars x 3), Okitsu-no-Kagami beam shield equipment x 1

Shamelessly ripped from MAHQ

 

[Tsukino_kage]

I have a fondness for Dakka too. It's a fact that in combat, you can never have too many missiles. If I can swing it, I'd like an onboard missile replicator but that might be too fantastic for a 'Real' robot. Beam spam is a must. With attack drones for maximum vector coverage and the ability to converge for greater penetration in a single area. Easy to handle controls for faster movements and reflexes, and the occasional odd weapon to balance out against whatever I can fight, like railguns, swords, and some defense as well like a fast and manueverable frame with energy shields. To quote Jackie Fisher "Speed is Armor" the best defense, despite having shields as a backup, is to NOT BE HIT. In short, I want an untouchable death machine carrying enough firepower to knock out a fleet single handed. A stealth or cloak or ECM suite is also a nice touch. Means less missiles to dodge. Finally, a compact power source is needed for all these power hungry systems. Say what you will of the Strike Freedom, yes it was an unbelievably unbalanced overpowered machine, but it was a powerful one that any general would love to have in their arsenal. And it hits most of these points dead on.

As for pilots, first let's go over who I WILL not pick: Shinn Asuka. And while Kira was a Gary Stu, let's be honest. If you had a war on, wouldn't you love to have someone like him on your side?

 

[Mea Nihil]

I would rather have Shinn than Kira on my side. Kira's treehugging personality nearly got him and a lot more people killed in several occasions, and he only got out of messy situations through godmoding, whereas for all that he made a Face Heel Turn, Shinn always placed his convictions above all else, even if that meant doing distasteful things.

Plus, at least Shinn has a female sidekick that can fight. Is Lacus useless eyecandy or what? At least Lunamaria threw her weight around...

 

[okais]

Alt Eisen got my vote as a preferred vanguard mech in combat.

It does have decent mid range weapons (a humble autogun) and good melee capabilities (Revolver stakes and Heat horn are serious business when they are in front of a mech pilots head). The ability to give foes a very nasty surprise with its Heavy Claymores is a good trick. Plus its sturdy enough to survive a OHKO without falling to pieces instantly.

Zeta Gundam and ZZ Gundam are my prefered Shooters mechs.

lol their Hyper-Mega-Launcher and head mounted High Mega Cannon respectively gives them powerful ranged capabilities. Zeta Gundam is more of a sniper mech while ZZ gundam as a Frontline rifleman type mech.

VF-1 Valkyrie is my prefered versatile mech.

High speed in both atmosphere and space combat. Capable of battling in Urban terrain in Battroid mode plus good maneuverability in GERWALK mode . Though the trade off for its agility is its endurance. A couple of well placed shots would down the mech. Capable of wielding different types of weapon depending on its upgrades. Too bad this model cant be used for naval or underwater combat.

Personal preference for pilots would be Sosuke Sagara (Full Metal Panic), Alto Saotome (Macross Frontier) and Kyosuke Nanbu (Super Robot Wars OG)

 

[Mea Nihil]

To be absolutely fair, Alto wouldn't have gotten very far without Klan's assistance in the last few battles, either with cover fire or by delivering him a weapon...

 

[nekoboy]

My fav Mech is Wing Zero from Gundam, there's just something about a M.S. that will drive the pilot insane that also happens to be be equipped with a colony destroying cannon. I hated Endless Waltz for the simple fact that they took away its bird-mode and slapped feathered wings on it.

For pilots I'd have to say Heero Yuy in psycho emo killing machine mode, Mu La Flaga, or Rau Le Crueset.

Sometimes I like to imagine Rau Le Crueset in Wing Zero then think of the death toll that would come after.

 

[trevelyan1983]

I hated Endless Waltz for the simple fact that they took away its bird-mode and slapped feathered wings on it.

I used to think that way as well, until I stumbled upon a fan theory at MAHQ that suggested that the wings were designed to offer 360 degree thrust vectoring. Since then, I've been a lot more tolerant of the Zero Custom.

Wing Zero Custom propulsion

That said, there was this one Wing Gundam (Katoki) that was put together as an Amuro custom. It was pretty badass.

Wing Gundam Ver. Ka Amuro Ray Custom.

That said, my own preferences for the various Gundam continuity mobile suits run to Nu Gundam, or the Qubeley. Best examples of Newtype weaponry systems in the first case, and integrated weaponry in the second case. <s>And it doesn't take much imagination to picture Puru Two's Qubeley as a Char custom. I certainly used it in DW:G for that purpose, and prefer it to Sazabi in DWG:2.</s>

And as far as Wing suits go, I like Zech's versions of Tallgeese, mostly because they haven't been min-maxed as badly as the After Colony Gundams.

 

[okais]

To be absolutely fair, Alto wouldn't have gotten very far without Klan's assistance in the last few battles, either with cover fire or by delivering him a weapon...

Haha! Cheers to the Ultimate Power of Teamwork!

I never did claim Saotome was like some SRW pilots who are capable of taking on Super Robots alone. He is sorta like the VF-1 Valkyrie who can take on most mechs with a team backing them up and knowing how to maximize their advantages.

 

[GenocideHeart]

Haha! Cheers to the Ultimate Power of Teamwork!

I never did claim Saotome was like some SRW pilots who are capable of taking on Super Robots alone. He is sorta like the VF-1 Valkyrie who can take on most mechs with a team backing them up and knowing how to maximize their advantages.

okais pretty much hits the nail in the head. For all that I think the entirety of Frontier is lame compared to the original, teamwork is a big part of its setting - besides singing, which I couldn't care less about lol - and it's done pretty well.

Also, gargh tired. Stages suck, it's more school MkII than a job.