The term mecha may refer to both scientific ideas and science-fiction genres that center on giant robots or machines (mechs) controlled by people. Mechas are typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese: 'mecha', 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.
Mega Man, known as Rockman in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man". The original game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, and spawned a franchise that expanded to over 50 games on multiple systems. As of July 26, 2022, the series has sold 38 million units worldwide.
Robot Wars was a robot combat competition that was broadcast on British television from 1998 to 2004 and from 2016 to 2018. Each series involves teams of amateur and professional roboteers operating their own constructed remote controlled robots to fight against each other in an arena formed of steel and bullet proof glass fitted with arena hazards and containing areas occupied by hostile and heavier "House Robots". Earlier series included assault and trial courses for competing robots.
Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series Alias, Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest, Revolution, and Westworld alongside the feature-length films Cloverfield, Star Trek, Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Star Wars Episodes VII and IX, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Star Trek Beyond, The Cloverfield Paradox, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Overlord.
Super Robot Wars, known in Japan as Super Robot Taisen, is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Banpresto. Starting out as a spinoff of the Compati Hero series, the main feature of the franchise is having a story that crosses over several popular mecha anime, manga and video games, allowing characters and mecha from different titles to team up or battle one another. The first game in the franchise was released for the Game Boy on April 20, 1991. Later spawning numerous games that were released on various consoles and handhelds. Due to the nature of crossover games and licensing involved, only a few games have been released outside Japan, and in English. The franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016, and its 30th anniversary in 2021.
One Must Fall: 2097 is a fighting video game for all IBM-compatible computers on DOS, programmed by Diversions Entertainment, published by Epic MegaGames and released in October 1994. The game was later patched to include multiplayer support. On February 10, 1999, the game was declared freeware by the developers. A sequel titled One Must Fall: Battlegrounds was released in 2003.
WCW Mayhem is a professional wrestling video game published by Electronic Arts, based on the American promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The first WCW game produced by EA, it was released for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation in 1999 and for the Game Boy Color the following year.
Robot Alchemic Drive, also known as R.A.D., and known in Japan as Gigantic Drive, is a PlayStation 2 video game developed by Sandlot and published by Enix. It was released in Japan and North America.
Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals is a 1999 versus styled fighting game based on the Beast Wars cartoon series and toy-line for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. The Nintendo 64 version was a Blockbuster Video exclusive and was initially only available for rental.
Robot Wars: Arenas Of Destruction is a 2001 action game published by BBC Multimedia and released for the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows, based on the BBC television series, Robot Wars.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a 2013 action hack and slash game co-developed by PlatinumGames and Kojima Productions and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. Released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nvidia Shield TV, and Microsoft Windows, it is a spin-off in the Metal Gear series, and is set four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. In the game, players control Raiden, a cyborg who confronts the private military company Desperado Enforcement, with the gameplay focusing on fighting enemies using a sword and other weapons to perform combos and counterattacks. Through the use of Blade Mode, Raiden can cut cyborgs in slow motion and steal parts stored in their bodies. The series' usual stealth elements are also optional to reduce combat.
Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction is an action game developed by Climax Development and published by BBC Multimedia under their game development label Gamezlab in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows and Xbox. It was given a release in the run-up to Christmas to build on the success of the three previous games, which had sold over 250,000 copies.
Sonic Free Riders is a motion controlled racing video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game requires the use of Microsoft's Kinect peripheral and was a Kinect launch title in November 2010.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! is a 2010 puzzle video game developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 and released in North America on 14 November 2010. It is the fourth game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.
Transformers: Beast Wars is an entertainment franchise from Hasbro, and is part of the larger Transformers franchise. The franchise directly follows the Transformers: Generation 1 continuity established by the 1984 series and animated film. It ignores the continuity established by the Japanese Transformers series, though this franchise would have two exclusive Japanese series of its own. Previous to Beast Wars, Hasbro had attempted to relaunch the original toys and animation as Transformers: Generation 2. Hasbro intended another franchise titled Transtech to follow, combining Beast Wars and Generation 1 characters and aesthetics, but this was cancelled. Instead the franchise began a series of reboots, beginning with the Japanese-produced Transformers: Car Robot series, internationally known as Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction is the third video game based on the British game show Robot Wars. It was the third of four games based on the show, with the first three selling over 250,000 copies. It was developed by Crawfish Interactive and published by BBC Multimedia and was released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. It was also released in the US by Vivendi Universal Games. The game is based on Series 4 of Robot Wars.
Super Robot Wars XO is a 2006 tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Banpresto for the Xbox 360 in Japan. Part of the company's Super Robot Wars series, it is an updated version of the GameCube installment Super Robot Wars GC (2004). Players control a fleet of mechas from a variety of super robot anime series, including Mobile Suit Gundam and Getter Robo, to defeat opponents on a grid-based map. XO combines tactical role-playing game mechanics with action sequences, which use stylized anime-esque cutscenes unique for each character.
