Mini-Mecha: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Gall Force]]'' has the Bronze-D and Bronze-X versions of a mecha about 12–14 feet tall that the Solonoids use remote or piloted for ship to ship combat.

* ''[[Rideback]]'' takes place in a universe featuring motorcycles that transform into humanoid robots with their riders still riding on their backs.

* [[Ken Ishikawa|Ken Ishikawa's]] freeder bug features mecha smaller than the characters, which are controlled from a seat fixed to the back. They can also transform into neat little skimmers.

* Most Round Bucklers in ''[[Mars Daybreak]]'' are around 4–5 meters tall, Cordless (piloted, as opposed to the more conventional remotely controlled types) are a tad taller than that.

* The Stratos of ''[[Infinite Stratos]]'' are probably closest to this, albeit edging closer to [[Powered Armor]] territory than [[Humongous Mecha]].

 

* [[Marvel Comics|Marvel Comic's]] ''Spitfire and the Troubleshooters'' (later ''Codename: Spitfire'') featured a mini mecha known as the MAX.

* [[Iron Man|Iron Man's]] bulkier Hulkbuster armor has aspects of this.

* The Diggers from ''[[Spider-Man]]'' and ''Venom'' comics are obscure villains: mech-drivers who usually work for corrupt corporations in digging for resources in illegal areas.

 

* The AT-STs ("chicken walkers") from ''[[Star Wars]]''.

** ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Revenge of the Sith]]'' has the [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/AT-RT AT-RT], which amounts to a motorcycle with chicken legs.

* The [https://web.archive.org/web/20141003140745/http://www.pandorapedia.com/node/444 AMP suit] from ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'' also walks the line; the pilot's body is entirely within the torso cockpit, but he/she directly manipulates the legs with foot pedals and the arms with servo armatures, worn by the pilot so that the AMP's larger arms follow their exact movements.

 

* The ''Wyvern'' mecha-suits from [[John Ringo]] and [[Travis S. Taylor]]'s [[Into the Looking Glass|Looking Glass]] books are more like this than they are [[Powered Armor|powered armour]], despite their (roughly) humanoid shape.

* The warden of the titular prison has a combat exoskeleton in ''[[Matador Series|The Omega Cage]]''. Luckily for the people he's chasing, he's not very skilled with it.

 

* Unsurprisingly, ''[[Power Rangers]]'' has tried this on for size, as with every other mecha trope. The unpiloted Minizord (in ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm]]'') may or may not count: it seems to be intelligent-ish and basically controls the combining procedure. However, there is also the Transtech Armor (''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]''), an oversized-but-not-Zord-sized car that transforms into a robot mode.

* Kaixa's [[Transforming Mecha|Side Basshar]] from ''[[Kamen Rider Faiz]]'' changes from a motorcycle into a bipedal, open-cockpit walker with [[Macross Missile Massacre|tons of missiles]].

* ''[[Kamen Rider Fourze]]'' has the Power Dizer, which turns from a mobile launch pad into a humanoid walker, which relies a lot on the pilot's constitution - Kengo is critically ill and cannot bring out its full potential. When Shun, an American Football quarterback and perfect physical specimen, befriends the heroes he takes over piloting duties.

 

* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' uses the term Dreadnought to refer to bipedal war machines larger than [[Power Armor]] but smaller than [[Humongous Mecha|Titans]]. Like everything in the 40K universe, the trope is turned [[Up to Eleven]] so much that "Mini" is stretched to it's limits. Space Marine Dreadnoughts, standing [[Depending on the Writer|between 15 and 25 feet]] tall, are somewhere between walking tanks and venerated tombs, piloted by a mortally-wounded Space Marine in a life-sustaining sarcophagus. [[Our Orcs Are Different|Ork]] Deff Dreds and Killa Kans follow the Marines' example and have their Ork and [[Our Goblins Are Wickeder|Gretchin]] pilots crudely wired into the contraptions, while [[Space Elves|Eldar]] Wraithlords are graceful constructs "piloted" by the [[Soul Jar|soulstone]] of a mighty warrior.

** Similar to the ''[[Star Wars]]'' scout walker examples above are Imperial Sentinels and Eldar War Walkers, both of which are open-topped, though the former has an enclosed crew compartment in its heavier version while the latter's pilot is protected by a force field.

* [[Iron Kingdoms|Warjacks]] tend to be about this size, though being remote-controlled [[Magitek]] weapons, they lack the pilot.

 

* ''[[LEGO Exo-Force]]'' contained two of these each year to complement the predominant [[Humongous Mecha]], owing to the need to have sets available for a wide range of prices with these obviously fitting the "impulse" low-cost range.

* LEGO also had an example in ''[[Bionicle]]''; the Exo-Toa are the kind that are like [[Powered Armor]], but oversized.

** Likewise the Boxors, which were so compact that the pilots had to sit at the very front, completely exposed.

 

* The ''[[Custom Robo]]'' series. The highly destructive mecha are between ''eight to ten inches high'', but are still piloted by humans - ''psychically''.

* The Empire's MagiTek "armor" from [[Final Fantasy VI]]

*** Attacking Wanzers on foot isn't ''immediately'' suicide because the evasion rate is so high: bullets designed to punch giant holes in 25 foot tall mechs are extremely difficult to aim at a 5 foot human. Then again, the humans often not bother bringing the need of [[BFG|RPG/ Rocket Launcher]] into accounts (Justified in case of pilots).

** The height of the military wanzers range from 5.4 to 5.8 meters, only few [[Big Bad|of]] [[Giant Mook|them]] exceed this number. Fluff indeed indicates that Wanzer cockpit is so cramped, dark and uncomfortable that one pilot said [[Claustrophobia|he won't have a second try]].

*** Likely an in-universe case of [[Tech Marches On]], Cockpit in [[FM 3]] cutscenes are almost as spacious as the one shown in Evolved (in case of work loader/ construction wanzer, actually larger and spherical). The Statement that Wanzer cockpit is crampy and uncomfortable is from [[Front Mission]] 4 novel -Elsa-, which is set in 2090s. [[FM 3]] is set in 2112 and Evolved is in 2173.

* The AGWS (pronounced "Eggs") of ''[[Xenosaga]] Episode I''—4 meter tall mechs designed to operate inside of starships. Their full scale cousins, AMWS (pronounced "Aims") and ES appear in ''Episodes II & III''.

* [[Pac-Man]] pilots one as a [[Guest Fighter]] in ''[[Street Fighter X Tekken]]''.

* ''[[Kid Icarus]]'' Uprising features a few different models, called "Cherubots".

* In ''[[League of Legends]]'', The champion named Rumble pilots one, which, according to his lore, he built out of junk after mysteriously disappearing.

* Cerberus ATLAS mechs in ''[[Mass Effect 3]]''. Shepard can drive them either by finding an unmanned one or shooting out the cockpit and gundam-jacking it.

* Worn by the [[Giant Mook]]s on the third planet in ''[[Alien Hallway]]''.

 

* Several mechs found in ''[[Girl Genius]]'', such as the one {{spoiler|Dr. Silas Merlot}} used to try and kill Agatha in Castle Heterodyne.

** [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120314 The mantis walker] built by Gil (when he was a kid) and piloted by Zoing. Inscribed with "Arthropodi rule!" and "[[Who's Laughing Now?|Who's the lab rat now?]]"

* 4mb3r, in ''[[Sequential Art (webcomic)|Sequential Art]]'', pilots one starting [http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=703 here].

 

* Dexter's backpack expands into one of these in ''[[Dexter's Laboratory|Dexters Laboratory]]''.

* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003]]'' series has several of these, the main one being Cody Jones' two Turtle X mecha. Others include the Foot's Shred-naught Units, and the core mecha used by Justice Force members Dr. Dome and Ananda. The Utrom Shredder himself uses what could be described as one in the episode, ''Exodus'', where after his main body is destroyed, he is placed into a much larger, more heavily armed (literally; he's got four of them in this thing) suit.

* Sheldon from ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]'' uses one of these called the ''Silver Shell''.

* ''[[The Batman]]'' saw Batman build a mecha suit in order to fight a Venom'd up Bane and kept it around just in case. He later used another one against Superman when Supes was under [[Mind Control]].

* The [[Bubble Boy|White]] [[Knight Templar|Knight]] uses one in an episode of ''[[Generator Rex]]''. While wearing powered armor under it.

* ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' has mecha-tanks. {{spoiler|They were built by Hiroshi Sato for the Equalists.}}

 

* Amazingly, the Toyota i-foot.

* Pretty much any machine that moves by walking qualifies. Considering how you stretch it, vehicles in general could qualify as well but that's not the spirit of the trope.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Tiny Tropes]]

[[Category:Mecha Tropes]]

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]