Big robots!
Mecha
Let's be real—huge piloted robots are cool. Are they practical in any realistic scenario? Not really. Are 10ft tall humanoid machines dancing with laser and fire sexy and awesome? God yes.
My first awakening to the mecha genre was on the Windows 95 Sampler CD-Rom, with a Mechwarrior 2 demo.
I also played a good amount of an old-school gem, One Must Fall 2097. A fighting game with a surprisingly neat campaign mode.
The first console my family owned was an original Xbox, and with it came another mecha game: Mechassault (what a creative name). This one was especially fun as multiplayer with my brothers and friends.
My biggest mecha revelation came in the form of an old, then-obscure license: Armored Core. I discovered it through its amazing OSTs by Kota Hoshino, who basically became my favourite composer. I then played Formula Front Extreme Battle on PSP, which has a really cool-looking intro.
Like One Must Fall 2097, this opus uses the concept of non-lethal arena show fights, which is always a refreshing break from heavier war narratives!
HAWKEN was a wonderful, fast-paced mecha shooter that sadly suffered from repeated, terrible business decisions. It looked and felt amazing to play, and the mech designs were great.
Around that time I experienced one of the most famous mecha franchises, Evangelion. I watched the anime with my best friend—also a mecha enjoyer—but the manga remains my favourite piece of media in the series. It's really good, and I recommend reading it!
My best friend also introduced me to the other big name in japanese mecha: Gundam. I never felt interested in it before, mostly because I'm not a fan of mechs with a human face, but she convinced me to watch a really great anime: Iron Blooded Orphans. Endearing characters, political intrigue, colonialism, kids being shoved into the horrors of war... A classic Gundam show, and my favourite out of the franchise.
She also made me discover the joys of model kits, and offered me a custom-painted MG Zaku, a precious gift. I also got three more kits, including one from her and one from my partner...
In 2024 I started playing another game that rewired my brain: Armored Core 6 - Fires of Rubicon. Epic storylines, exhilarating battles, varied playstyles, subdued storytelling that hints at complex characters and worldbuilding... I immediately went on reading several novels worth of fanfiction, and Armored Core once again lives rent free in my head. That one is definitely among my favourite games of all times.
