In science fiction, mecha or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword 'mechanism' or 'mechanical', but the meaning in Japanese is more inclusive, and 'robot' or 'giant robot' is the narrower term.
Beatmania (ビートマニア) is a rhythm video game developed and distributed by Japanese game developer Konami and first released in December 1997. It contributed largely to the boom of music games in 1998, and the series expanded not only with arcade sequels, but also moved to home consoles and other portable devices, achieving a million unit sales. The Bemani line of music games from Konami is named after the series, was first adopted in the arcade release of Beatmania 3rdMix and kept ever since. The series came to an end with the last game being Beatmania The Final, released in 2002.
Zoids, is a Japanese science fiction media franchise created by Tomy that feature giant robots called Zoids, with designs being based on animals; including dinosaurs, mammals, insects, arachnids and mythological creatures.
Marvel vs. Capcom is a series of crossover fighting games developed and published by Capcom, featuring characters from their video game franchises and comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series originated as coin-operated arcade games; later releases were specifically developed for home consoles, handhelds, and personal computers.
Tennis is a tennis video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer (Famicom). It was originally released in Japan in 1984, with an arcade game version titled VS. Tennis released for the Nintendo VS. System the same year, becoming a hit at Japanese and American arcades that year; it was the sixth top-performing arcade game of 1984 in the United States. Tennis is one of 17 launch games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America and Europe. The game was re-released for the Game Boy as a launch game in North America.
Zoids: Chaotic Century, simply titled Zoids in Japan, is the first of five anime series based on the Zoids range of mecha model kits produced by TOMY. It is loosely adapted from the manga series Kiiju Shinseiki Zoido, which was created by Michiro Ueyama and published in CoroCoro Comic. The series was animated by Xebec, and aired from September 4, 1999, to December 23, 2000, on TBS and Network. Although the first series to be produced for the franchise in Japan, Chaotic Century was the second series to be dubbed and aired in Western nations, following Zoids: New Century. In August 2013, a Blu-ray box set of the series was released in Japan, it optionally came with a limited edition Blade Liger.
Cyber Troopers Virtual-On is a series of video games developed by Sega AM3/Hitmaker, and originally created by Juro Watari. The games feature fast, action-oriented gameplay requiring quick reflexes, featuring mecha called Virtuaroids or "VRs", that are large robots the player controls in battles against enemy VRs. The first game was Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (1995), which was released globally, while its following four installments in the series were mainly Japan exclusives where the series has retained high popularity.
Side Pocket is a pocket billiards simulation released as an arcade video game by Data East in 1986. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy, while an enhanced remake was later released on the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Game Gear. The game spawned two sequels, as well as arcade spin-off series titled Pocket Gal.
Zoids: Fuzors is an anime series, linked to the Zoids toy line of the same name. It is the third Zoids series, following Zoids: New Century Zero in order of production. The series is 26 episodes long, however, the show had an unsuccessful U.S. broadcast, and was eventually canceled after 13 episodes. Similar to Transformers: Armada, the show was first broadcast in the U.S. instead of Japan.
Zoids Saga is a series of Game Boy Advance games based on the Zoids franchise, primarily released in Japan. The series encompasses four games and one international adaptation; Zoids Saga, Zoids Saga II, Zoids Saga III: Fuzors, and Zoids Saga DS
Zoids Genesis is the fourth anime installment of the Zoids franchise. It tells the story of Ruuji Familon, a young boy who finds a Liger-type Zoid during a salvage mission. Initially, the village is attacked by Bio-Raptor Bio-Zoids, and later a Bio-Megaraptor. After the village generator is destroyed in combat, Ruuji takes the Murasame Liger Zoid and leaves the village alongside Ra-Kan and Rei Mii to find a generator mechanic or the village will be destroyed. Through his journey Ruuji learns he must fight against Digald. It aired on TV Tokyo from April 2005 to March 2006.
Zoids: New Century, or Zoids: New Century Slash Zero, is an anime television series created in 2001 by Shogakukan, Inc. It is the second Zoids series created, based on the range of mecha models produced by TOMY. The series was originally released in Western nations under the title Zoids, before being later rebranded as Zoids: New Century by Viz Media. It was the first Zoids series to be dubbed in English. In August 2014, a Blu-ray box set of the series was released in Japan. It optionally came with a limited-edition Liger Zero.
Gundam: The Battle Master, later known as Battle Assault, is a series of fighting games released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The series features mobile suits from several eras of the Gundam metaverse and some non-traditional fighting game elements. Every entry was developed by Bandai in co-operation with Japanese developer Natsume, who also made the 1996 Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel.
Cobra Command, known as Thunder Storm (サンダーストーム) in Japan, is an interactive movie shooter game originally released by Data East in 1984 as a LaserDisc-based arcade game. Released as an arcade conversion kit for Bega's Battle (1983), Cobra Command became one of the more successful laserdisc games in 1984. A Mega-CD port of Cobra Command developed by Wolf Team was released in 1992.
Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. is a third person arcade game based on the Gundam Seed franchise. It was developed in 2005 by Capcom and published by Banpresto, Bandai, and Namco Bandai Games in Japan. Similarly to Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam, the player can choose to ally themselves with either O.M.N.I., Z.A.F.T. or Blue Cosmos and fight against the other factions. The Arcade Mode has 9 stages plus a bonus Extra Stage.
Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed Destiny: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. II is a 2006 third person arcade game developed by Capcom and published by Namco Bandai Games. It is the sequel to Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. with a slightly revised fighting system, new units and characters, and updates to old characters. Playable characters and units are taken from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED as well its sequel Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Whereas the console version of its prequel had only a few units and playable characters from the beginning of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny such as the Impulse Gundam, RvZ2 includes characters and units from the entire series, such as the Strike Freedom Gundam and Infinite Justice Gundam
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, known in Japan as the Naruto: Narutimate Series, is a series of fighting video games, based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. It was developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai and later Bandai Namco Games. The first game was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, and was followed by four more titles for the system, as well as five spinoffs for the PlayStation Portable. A follow-up for the PlayStation 3, titled Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, was the first to feature three-dimensional battles, and began the long-running Storm sub-series. While starting out as a series exclusive to the PlayStation family of systems, the series has also been present on Xbox and PC platforms since the release of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 for the Xbox 360 and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst for Windows, respectively. Latest releases were also ported to the Nintendo Switch. The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series sold over 20 million copies worldwide as of December 2019.
Street Fighter is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six other main series games, various spin-offs and crossovers, and numerous appearances in other media. Its best-selling 1991 release Street Fighter II established many of the conventions of the one-on-one fighting genre.
Zoids Infinity is a series of sci-fi shooter arcade games that can be used in conjunction with special swipe cards to unlock new features. Originally debuting in 2004 as a System 246 coin-operated arcade game from Taito in Japan.
Zoids Wild is an anime series based on the Zoids model kits produced by Takara Tomy. The 5th Zoids anime, the anime is part of a cross-media relaunch of the franchise encompassing a new toy line, manga series, and video game for the Nintendo Switch, which were predominantly aimed at boys aged 10–12. Streamed from 7 July 2018 to 29 June 2019, this was the final series produced by Allspark Animation before being absorbed into Entertainment One on 9 October 2020.
