Best "Mech" Games.

[cheesystick]

Recently while playing Gungriffon for the Saturn, I realized what a fan I am of the "mech" genre. There are the obvious factors that make the genre appealing: big explosions, tons of action, and the feeling of operating 40 million tons of moving steel. There are certainly there are many different styles of Mech games, (1st person, 3rd person, side scrollers, overhead stradegy, shmups, ect...), But i seem to enjoy them all just simply for the fact that they involve standing tanks.
But what are some of your favorites?

I really enjoyed the "assault suit" series, which I belive embodied:
-Target Earth for Genny
-Cybernator for SNES
-Metal Warriors for SNES
-Assult Suit Leynos 2 for Jap Saturn.
These other awesome titles are listed as "Title/System/Game type":
-Cyberbots, Jap Saturn, Fighting
-Gun Griffon, Saturn, 1st person
-Mechassult, Xbox, 3rd person
-Metal Combat: Falcons revenge, SNES, 1st person shooter.
-Spectre, Old Mac, 1st or 3rd person.
-Virtual On, Saturn, 3rd person.

And of coarse, Steel Battlion rocks the casbah! As soon as I saw a pic of that controller, I nearly creamed my jeans.
Thanks,
-crispy

[petewhitley]

100%, A #1, the best mech game ever is "Robot Alchemic Drive" on PS2. (At least in my opinion). That game sucks you in and doesn't let go. It's got the most unique interface of any mech game I've played, and a cool anime-rip-off style to boot.

[josekortez]

I would add Phantom Crash for Xbox where you can buy parts for your mech, upgrade it, and then fight in these small arenas. Some have called it the Gran Turismo of mech games. Also, Gungriffon Blaze for PS2 is a great game. Probably not much different than the Saturn game, but good nonetheless. I like Gundam Side Story 0079 for Dreamcast, but the first escort mission bored me enough to turn it off.

Honorable mention goes to Iron Soldier 3 for PS1 because the graphics were good and it was cheap.

[WiseSalesman]

My favorite mech game that I've personally played is MechWarrior 2 for PC. it's an oldie but goodie.

Runner-up would be Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (DC), although it's in a completely different style.

Of course, these both completely pale in comparison to the Battletech setup at the local Dave and Buster's, with 12 interlinked, fully functional cockpits. ONly two more months until I can go there without having to sneak in....

Oh, and I did like RAD, but I've only played the demo.

[Ze_ro]

-Assult Suit Leynos 2 for Jap Saturn.

The first time I read this, I thought it said "Assault Suit Larry"... boy, would that ever be an odd game!

Although it's really not a mech game, I very much enjoyed One Must Fall 2097, the old PC fighting game. Apparently, the sequel (One Must Fall: Battlegrounds) will be out Real Soon Now... despite being under development about as long as Duke Nukem Forever.

--Zero

[WiseSalesman]

Although it's really not a mech game, I very much enjoyed One Must Fall 2097, the old PC fighting game.

Oh hell yes. I picked that up at a computer show bacj in the day BY ACCIDENT. Regardless of what others say, this might still be my favorite fighting game of all time. I LOVED the career mode.

[tom]

My best ever Mech game has to be:

Battletech: The Cresent Hawk's Inception from Infocm on C-64. I played that game to the very end, even found the 'secret' Mech.

Battletech 2 (Revenge), on the other hand, was awful.

My other fave is: Activision Mechwarrior 2 on PC

[zmweasel]

100%, A #1, the best mech game ever is "Robot Alchemic Drive" on PS2. (At least in my opinion). That game sucks you in and doesn't let go. It's got the most unique interface of any mech game I've played, and a cool anime-rip-off style to boot.

Amen, brother. If you can play PS1 imports, you might wanna look for Remote Control Dandy, the Japan-only prequel to RAD. Rougher graphics, but the same control scheme and visual style.

-- Z.

[Sotenga]

My favorite mech game would have to be MUSHA for the Genesis. I believe it does legally qualify, since you pilot a mech, not a spaceship. It's the greatest top-down shoot-em-up I've ever played on the Gen, that's for sure.

If we're not counting shmups here, then my favorite mech game would be Assualt Suits Valken. We know it better over on the western hemisphere as "Cybernator."

[Zubiac666]

I've played LOTS of mech-games for next-gen consoles in the last couple of weeks but none of these were better than

Mechwarrior for the SNES.

It contains awesome graphics (for snes game) and best controlls of a mech-game EVER.

http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/snes01/01/mechwarrior.html

@_@

[Ed Oscuro]

My best ever Mech game has to be:

Battletech: The Cresent Hawk's Inception from Infocm on C-64. I played that game to the very end, even found the 'secret' Mech.

I've played the PC version. Likewise an awesome game! I need to find a boxed copy someday :D

[spoon]

I enjoyed one for the Genny that I can't remember the name of at the moment. It was like Streets of Rage, only not as good. At the begining of the game you customized your Mech. You could pick the torso, legs, and arms. You could also pick up the parts of the enemy robots you destroyed and replace your own missing parts or beat an enemy robot with them. My brother and I had a blast with that game back in the day. Cyborg something or other. To lazy to check.

I also enjoyed Tech Romancer and Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram for the DC.

[Half Japanese]

I'd have to say it's a tie between Phantom Crash (Xbox) and RAD (ps2). RAD's unique approach and control scheme give it an edge over most of the competition, while Phantom Crash' sheer number of available configutarions for your mech will have you working on the "perfect mech" for a long time. I highly recommend both.

[sisko]

Not exactly retro, but my favorites:

Steel Battallion - XBox
Armored Core Series PSX/PS2
Gungriffon Blaze for PS2
Gundam Side Stories: 0079 for Dreamcast

[digitalpress]

I'm glad to see as many people mention RAD as already have. That game didn't seem to get much attention when it was released late last year but I really dig that "operate via remote" scheme in the game. Reminded me right away of the Gigantor cartoon series. Very slick game.

I like Iron Soldier too, for it's retro-plodding mech style. It looks pretty awful by today's standards but it's still a "blast" to play :)

[zmweasel]

I'm glad to see as many people mention RAD as already have. That game didn't seem to get much attention when it was released late last year but I really dig that "operate via remote" scheme in the game.

RAD didn't get ANY attention, alas, despite positive reviews (including my own write-ups for GameSpy and PSE2) and a healthy promotional campaign, including an appearance on the OPM demo disc. I'll have to harass my ex-WD cohort Justin, who worked for Enix America in its final year, and find out just how poorly it sold.

-- Z.

[Zaxxon]

Gun Griffon 2 Saturn JPN, supports the VO twin sticks and the Saturn link cable!

WiseSalesman wrote:

Of course, these both completely pale in comparison to the Battletech setup at the local Dave and Buster's, with 12 interlinked, fully functional cockpits. ONly two more months until I can go there without having to sneak in....

There's an age limit restriction at D&B's? What is it? I thought I saw kids in there before.

[Goodwill Hunter]

If you like Mech games, as well as turn-based strategy games, you can't do much better than Front Mission 3 on the PS1. I hear it's only one of a series of such games released in Japan, but it stands on its own as a great title. Decent story with tolerable characters, but what makes this game is blowing your enemies apart, piece by piece, until there's nothing left but a smoking torso to topple over at your feet. I seem to recall hearing about another FM game coming to the PS2 eventually, but if you haven't yet played FM3, pick it up (cheap!) today!

Rich

[petewhitley]

Amen, brother. If you can play PS1 imports, you might wanna look for Remote Control Dandy, the Japan-only prequel to RAD. Rougher graphics, but the same control scheme and visual style.

-- Z.

Sweet, thanks for the heads up, I'd never heard of it. I'm on the prowl... And if anyone happens to have it FS, they can let me know.

[Bighab]

I love "Mech" games too. Some personal favs are:
Battletech(Genesis)-Very cool action game that played like the EA "strike" games.
Metal Marines(Snes)-Strategy game with Mechs
Front Mission(SFC)-1st game in the series. Very cool strategy/rpg thats import friendly.

[ubersaurus]

I really enjoyed the Gundam game on the Dreamcast. It was pretty simple and easy to go through, but it was alot of fun while it lasted.

[jaydubnb]

Front Mission 3 OWNED on PS1. It's the only mech game that I really, really dug.

I guess you can toss Robotech: Battlecry into the mix, too. If you were a fan of the TV series, it's a must have. My only gripe is that when in fighter mode, your Valk feels like it likes too slowly, even when using the boosters.

[Dire 51]

I enjoyed one for the Genny that I can't remember the name of at the moment. It was like Streets of Rage, only not as good. At the begining of the game you customized your Mech. You could pick the torso, legs, and arms. You could also pick up the parts of the enemy robots you destroyed and replace your own missing parts or beat an enemy robot with them. My brother and I had a blast with that game back in the day. Cyborg something or other. To lazy to check.

Sounds like Cyborg Justice to me. Played it several times, but I didn't like it.

[hamburgler]

MechWarrior 4 for PC. You get to buy teammates,mechs,Planets,parts for mechs, and a whole lot of other stuff which would make this a great game to play all the time next to MechAssault. :D

[spoon]

@Dire51- Yep that would be the game. I was actually going to edit my post to include the name. The game isn't that good,. It is a very run of the mill beat 'em up. My brother and I just had a blast playing it when we were younger. I miss those days.

[Scoots]

I haven't played the others in the series but Armored Core 2 is pretty cool (especially at like $14.99 used). Ridiculously customizable Mechs.

[gwaine]

My friends and I had a great time playing "Black Hole Assault" on the Sega CD. I remember the graphics and sound/music were so impressive back then. It's a mech fighting game.