Today's post in my 2012 Robotech Experience is about the RDF's mecha from Robotech: The Macross Saga (the first 36 episodes).
I wanted to cover the mecha from the Macross saga because they are the most famous of all the mecha of the entire series (with the Cyclones coming in a close 2nd)... for me anyway. I am using the Robotech Role Playing book #1 (1986 Pallidum) for my refrence manual here.
As a side note the images I am using here were drawn by Kevin Long and have always been the standard art for the mecha of the Macross universe. I know that much of this art can be seen in its original form from the Japanese 'This is Animation' series of books but his reinterpretation of the designs are really great! Bravo!
Veritech/Guardian/Battloid
This jet/robot is ofcourse the main 'character' mecha of the series. Shoji Kawamori is credited for the majority of the design for the series Macross (which you all know is the first part of Roboteh here in the states).As I have stated before the roleplaying books were my first re-introduction to the world of Robotech when I was older and more appreciative of the work. When a ship is yours to control in the game you get to know it fairly well. Pouring over the different mecha in the book to choose the one you are going to use can take up some serious time. The Veritech was the standard since it could get you to all the places where the action was found. I spent time comparing the different abilities of the mecha as well as it's strengths and weaknesses. Mecha with missiles were always my favorites... the more the merrier. The Spartan was the go-to mecha for that but the Super Battloid wasn't far behind. Still, the abilitiy to go far distances made this the winner in the mecha wars (and rightly so).
Spartan
The Spartan has (according to the roleplaying book) has 22 missiles per 'arm'. If you wanted to waste some Zentraedi mecha this was way to do it. Of course you were defensless afterwards! The American writers (I don't know who named what) decided to confuse us by calling this mecha a Spartan which is the original Japanese name of the mecha we know as the Gladiator.
I always thought it was strange that the Veritech was the only transforming mecha in the series. All the other Destroids were non-transforming. The Veritech kinda sticks out like a sore thumb when you compare it to these other guys. It has made me wonder if Macross was built around already existing designs just waiting for the right story... It's possible that these guys were just generic robot designs shelved until a studio came along needing a selection of mecha.
Raidar X
The Raidar X was always the mecha that I skipped on. That and the Gladiator. Not much going on here.
In my youth the importance of the radar equipment on this Destroid was always lost on me. I was looking for something to do more damage than anything else. In the series and the comics the Raidar X is sometimes generically referred to as a Destroid (much to my confusion).
This design has a lot of role-playability if put in the right circumstances. Any of these mecha can be made the focal point of a great gaming session with the right game master running the show.
Excaliber
Not only do you get the massive cannon-arms but you also ge the shoulder missile pods, chest guns, and upper leg missiles too!
If you remember in one of the eariler episodes when Vermillion Squadron is new Ben has a
lot more missiles attached to his Veritech on the tail fins. This was a Veritech pilots need to have a punch similar to the Excaliber!
Gladiator
This is the least favorite Destroid for me. It's ugly and can't do too much. Infact I always found it strange that the Destroids didn't behave like the Veritechs. The Destroids were more like walking tanks that lacked the finess of the Veritechs (although they have the same technology). The Veritechs can do all sorts of smooth, human-like movements while the Destorids lumber along.
There are a couple of instances (in my mind) where I remeber seeing the Gladiator carrying a mace or club of some sort. I can't remeber if that is shown on the the TV show or something in the books or RPG. I always thought that was kinda strange too. I guess the designers already had a mecha with cannons, missiles, and lasers for arms so they decided to just have a mecha with normal type arms that could hold something.
Mac II Monster
If the Destroids in general seemed out of place along side the Veritechs, the MAC II Monster sticks out even further when compared to everything else. This was always a great mecha for really blasting someone with but it wasn't very action oriented. If you had a really good game master they could make this fun and exciting but for us teens (at the time) this was good only for blasting (or getting blasted apart).
What a massive Destoid! This thing is so much bigger than anything else out there. In a later episode Khyron is riding it like a cowboy. I think the scale was a little off there but never the less this thing towers over all the other mecha and does some devastating damage. It is also a sitting target. Luckily it can take a bit of beating before it is destroyed.
When the Sentinels came out we got some re-envisoned versions of these mecha that were awesome! I am not sure if they got Studio Nue to design them but they really capture the spirit of the originals. I think (just as with the characters) they couldn't use the original Macross designs so they comissioned new deisgns that looked similar to the originals without downright infringing on copyrights.
