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00:09Welcome to Mojo Plays and today we're counting down our picks for the 20 best mech video games.
00:16For this list we're celebrating games where giant robots, mechanized suits and heavily armed walking war machines play a major
00:22role.
00:30Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to
00:37get notified about our latest videos.
00:39Break Arts 3
00:49Some mech games let you customize your robot. Break Arts 3 practically hands you an engineering degree and tells you
00:55to go wild.
00:56Mercury Studios' competitive action game combines high speed battles with an absurdly flexible construction system.
01:02Players can alter weapons, armor, thruster placement, colors, projectile properties and even elements of their machines animations.
01:09The result is less, choose your mech and more, build something nobody else would willingly ensure.
01:14The third game also expands beyond the racing emphasis of its predecessors into broader competitive mech sports via online play.
01:20For players who believe designing the robot is at least half the fun, Break Arts 3 makes the garage almost
01:25as exciting as the battlefield.
01:41Steel Battalion
01:52If it's immersion you're after, then Capcom's cult classic has got you covered.
01:57Steel Battalion shipped with a gigantic bespoke controller featuring two joysticks, pedals, a throttle, dozens of buttons and even an
02:05emergency eject switch.
02:06Starting your vertical tank required an actual ignition sequence, while forgetting to eject before destruction could punish you severely.
02:21Was it excessive? Yes. Was that entirely the point? Also yes.
02:26While other mech games streamlined complicated machinery into familiar controller inputs, Steel Battalion fully embraced the inconvenience and chose to
02:33incorporate it as an additional layer of gameplay.
02:36Every switch and toggle made your walking tank feel like industrial military equipment rather than an oversized action figure.
02:43The expensive hardware restricted its audience, but few games before or since have committed so completely to making players feel
02:50trapped inside several tons of machinery.
02:59Iron Brigade
03:01Iron Brigade
03:08Because every tower defense game needs walking tanks, Iron Brigade puts players inside customizable mobile trenches, while simultaneously requiring them
03:17to construct stationary defenses.
03:18You're therefore both the commander placing turrets and the enormous robot stomping around shooting anything the turrets missed.
03:32The mixture works remarkably well. Different weapons, chassis components and emplacements encourage experimentation, while cooperative multiplayer allows your heavily armed
03:41creations to defend humanity together.
03:43Its alternate history dieselpunk world also supplies exactly the kind of weirdness expected from developer Double Fine, injecting fresh, explosive
03:51life into one of the most saturated genres.
04:04Front mission 3
04:15Square's tactical RPG asks the important question.
04:18Why settle for ordinary geopolitical warfare when everybody could resolve international disputes using heavily customized robots?
04:35Front mission 3 combines grid based strategy with detailed mech management.
04:39Individual body parts can take damage, pilots can target specific components and captured machines can be repurposed to strengthen your
04:45own squad.
04:46But its biggest trick arrives almost immediately.
04:49One seemingly minor early decision sends players into one of two colossal storylines, making repeat playthroughs surprisingly substantial.
04:56The original PlayStation release also helped introduce Front mission to Western audiences, and remains particularly beloved among tactical RPG fans.
05:04Its story may occasionally drown players in fictional politics, corporations and military acronyms, but the appeal is simple.
05:10Of course, carefully dismantling an enemy mech, one mechanical limb at a time, and it never gets old.
05:26Battle Tech
05:34being a mercenary commander sounds glamorous until you realize someone has to pay for all those
05:39destroyed robots battletech captures both sides of the fantasy combat involves controlling a
05:44lance of battle mechs where positioning heat armor terrain and weapon ranges are essential
05:49between missions however you're running a company pilots need salaries mechs require repairs
05:55contracts must be negotiated replacement equipment costs money and suddenly that glorious victory
06:00where your atlas lost half its torso starts looking financially irresponsible few games
06:05make owning giant robots feel this satisfyingly complicated you're not simply commanding a
06:09futuristic army you're commanding a futuristic army while desperately hoping that repair invoice
06:14doesn't bankrupt you
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06:30all things gaming
06:38dynasty warriors gundam reborn
06:48the dynasty warriors formula was practically begging for giant robots gundam reborn lets players pilot iconic
06:55mobile suits across wide battlefields packed with hundreds of disposable enemies that means mowing
07:00through entire armies using beam rifles sabers and burst attacks carrying roughly the subtlety of dropping a space colony on
07:07somebody
07:15its official mode revisits storylines from multiple major gundam series while ultimate mode gleefully jams
07:21different universes and pilots together critics were more mixed than fans but its large roster and commitment
07:27to recreating landmark conflicts has given it lasting appeal among gundam devotees
07:41mecha break
07:51if your favorite part of an anime is where two impossibly agile machines start fighting mid-air while missiles occupy
07:57every available
07:58centimeter of the screen all the while the pilots push jiggle physics to their limit then mecha break is for
08:03you
08:04this multiplayer shooter goes batshit with its aerial boosting giving encounters an appropriately dramatic sense of speed
08:14speed
08:15enemy town
08:18amateur
08:20with modes ranging from 3v3 to 6v6 team composition can matter just as much as individual reflexes
08:27and while the free-to-play structure and monetization have proven divisive the sci-fi fantasy remains
08:32undeniably strong beautifully designed mechs soaring through the heavens while raining down hell from above
08:37the
08:38and the
08:42enemy down
08:44amateur
08:49armored called three
08:58long before from software became synonymous with bonfires and poison swamps it was teaching
09:03players that the true final boss was weight capacity.
09:06Armored Core 3 remains one of the strongest representatives of the franchise's classic
09:11era.
09:12Missions send mercenary units into corporate conflicts, but the real addiction happens
09:16between sorties.
09:17Engines, boosters, legs, generators, weapons, targeting systems, virtually everything can
09:22be swapped.
09:23Build too heavily and mobility suffers.
09:25Demand too much energy and your generator complains.
09:28Install gigantic weapons and suddenly you're redesigning everything else around them.
09:40It's controls are unmistakably old school, but the fundamental cycle of accepting missions,
09:45earning credits, buying parts and creating increasingly ridiculous murder machines remains
09:50compelling.
09:51While it arguably no longer stands tall as the IPs peak, it still holds up magnificently.
10:05Daemon X Machina, Titanic Scion.
10:17This sequel takes the Daemon X Machina formula and decides the next logical step was giving
10:22players considerably more world to fly around and blow to smithereens.
10:26The arsenals are highly customizable machines that can be modified through crafted and salvaged
10:30equipment.
10:31Players can battle on the ground, launch into aerial combat, scavenge weapons from defeated
10:35enemies and tackle equally large mechanical and organic threats.
10:46Titanic Scion also embraces an open world structure, as well as online cooperative play, allowing entire
10:52squads of customized machines to tackle its biggest encounters together.
10:56Not every element of the expanded design lands equally well, but mech enthusiasts can lose a
11:00hell of a lot of time experimenting with equipment and visual configurations before unleashing
11:04more destruction.
11:20Xenogears.
11:26Xenogears.
11:28Most JRPG protagonists eventually acquire a legendary sword.
11:32Fei-Fong-1 gets a gigantic robot and enough psychological trauma to sustain several doctoral dissertations.
11:38Xenogears combines the square turn-based staple with active fighting game-style combo input aboard
11:43machines called Gears.
11:44Xenogears.
11:44The real reason this game remains celebrated, however, is its astonishing ambition.
11:49Religion, reincarnation, psychology, identity, warfare and humanity's origins are all folded
11:54into a sprawling narrative, one that helped establish the creative lineage that would lead
11:59towards Xeno Saga and Xenoblade.
12:01Yes, this too famously becomes much more narration heavy, as the development constraints become
12:06painfully obvious.
12:07But even its unfinished edges can't erase the imagination on display.
12:11What better way to contemplate the nature of human existence than from the cockpit of
12:15your own mecha as you unleash yet another Robo Haymaker.
12:26Metal Wolf Chaos.
12:36The President of the United States climbs into a giant mech, armed with a bazillion guns,
12:41to personally stop a coup led by the Vice President.
12:44Welcome to Metal Wolf Chaos.
12:46From Software's gloriously excessive action game follows President Michael Wilson, as he
12:51blasts through mechanized forces all across America, carrying an absurd arsenal and delivering
12:56dialogue straight out of an 80s action movie.
12:58The underlying action is straightforward, but satisfying.
13:01Destroy everything, collect resources, unlock weaponry, and make increasingly large portions
13:06of the US explode in the name of democracy.
13:16Originally confined to Japan, the game developed legendary status abroad before Metal Wolf Chaos
13:22XD finally provided an official localized mod and release in 2019.
13:26It isn't From Software's deepest mech game, but damn if it isn't a blast to play.
13:42Super Robot Wars 30 Some crossover games carefully select characters
13:57to ensure tonal consistency.
13:59Super Robot Wars says to hell with that, and throws everything against the wall and tells
14:03players to have at it.
14:05This tactical RPG assembles machines and pilots from franchises including Mobile Suit Gundam,
14:10Code Geass, Gridman, Gal Geiger, and numerous other anime properties.
14:14Which inevitably leads to all parties unleashing beautifully animated attacks that frequently last
14:18longer than some TV commercials.
14:20The real magic comes from watching characters who are never designed to occupy the same universe
14:25interact with one another, before joining forces against increasingly absurd threats.
14:3030 years of serious history made this anniversary installment a grand celebration of mecha fandom,
14:35and created some crazy canon in the process.
14:4813 Sentinels, Aegis Rim
14:57How do you even summarize something like this?
15:00Other than a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, stuffed into the cockpit of a giant robot.
15:05Arguably Vanillaware's magnum opus, it follows 13 teenagers across a dense sci-fi mystery involving
15:12kaiju, time travel, conspiracies, mecha, and a million revelations that frequently change your
15:17interpretation of what came before.
15:19Story sections unfold through gorgeous side-scrolling environments, while battles shift to tactical
15:23encounters where your chosen set of Sentinels defend cities from swarms of machines.
15:35The combat may look comparatively abstract, but upgrading each Sentinel with missiles, cannons,
15:40and defensive systems makes eliminating gigantic enemy waves extremely satisfying.
15:45Still, the real achievement is how successfully the game untangles its seemingly impossible narrative.
15:50Show up for the adolescents summoning enormous robots, stay for the plot that will drive you
15:55half-mad trying to follow the criss-crossing of a dozen different timelines.
16:04Mech Assault
16:15MechWarrior demanded players knuckle down when it came to heat management and weapon configurations.
16:19Mech Assault asked a simpler question.
16:21What if we just let them blow everything up?
16:23Released during the original Xbox era, Mech Assault translated the Battletech universe into
16:28faster, more approachable third-person action.
16:40Buildings collapse, missiles streak across arenas, and hulking battle makes feel powerful
16:44without requiring players to memorize the manual first.
16:47Its campaign provided no end of destructive entertainment, but multiplayer helped cement its reputation.
16:53As an early showcase for Xbox Live, Mech Assault demonstrated how addictive online mech warfare
16:58could be when players could easily jump into a match and start reducing one another to scrap.
17:12Xenoblade Chronicles X, Definitive Edition
17:26Xenoblade Chronicles X, Definitive Edition
17:29The Definitive Edition brought as dramatically as receiving your first Skell.
17:32For dozens of hours, Mech Assault feels borderline unmappable due to its expanse.
17:36Mountains tower above you, monsters dwarf your party, and distant areas require lengthy journeys.
17:42Then X gives you a giant robot.
17:44Suddenly all those intimidating creatures look considerably more manageable.
17:48Skells can be personalized with different armor and weaponry, transform into vehicles for rapid ground travel,
17:53and eventually fly, completely changing how the planet can be explored.
17:58The Definitive Edition brought Monolith Soft's once Wii U bound Adventure to Switch
18:02with enhanced visuals and additional story material.
18:04The moment your Skell takes flight remains one of fans' most beloved gaming memories.
18:17ZONE OF THE ENDERS
18:19The Second Runner
18:31You put Kojima and Giant Machines together, and you're bound to end up with something glorious.
18:36Able to boost across three-dimensional environments, fire projectiles, slash enemies at close range,
18:41grab opponents, use sub-weapons, and switch between targets with tremendous speed,
18:45mech combat in the second runner feels far more graceful than many of its contemporaries, even to this day.
18:51Konami significantly expanded the original game's foundation.
19:05With larger enemy variety and encounters, spectacular presentation, and the unmistakable mechanical designs of Yoji Shinkawa.
19:12The story may not be far removed from an anime-esque space opera,
19:16but for showcasing how mechs can feel fluid and still have impact,
19:19this sequel deserves all the flowers.
19:31Into the Breach
19:33Into the Breach
19:49He strips Robo Warfare down into tightly designed tactical puzzles.
19:53The invading Vec telegraph their next attacks, meaning the challenge isn't guessing what the enemy will do,
19:58it's figuring out how to stop everything simultaneously.
20:07Shoot one creature and you might push it into another, move a mech and you could block an emerging enemy,
20:13redirect an attack, and suddenly the Vec destroys its own ally.
20:16Every action matters because civilian buildings power your grid, so victory isn't simply about keeping your pilots alive.
20:22Failure even feeds into the time loop premise, allowing one pilot to travel to another timeline.
20:26It's basically mech chess, and it will have you sweating.
20:40MechWarrior 2
20:4131st Century Combat
20:43For an entire generation of PC players, this was what piloting a giant robot was supposed to feel like.
20:49MechWarrior 2 treated its battle mechs less like action heroes and more like gargantuan vehicles.
20:54Players manage heat, weapon groups, armor damage, targeting systems, torso movement, and enough keyboard commands to make operating unity look
21:02like a walk in the park.
21:03And that complexity was the appeal.
21:06Rather than simply aiming and shooting, success required understanding your machine's limitations and configuring it appropriately before deployment.
21:1330 years later, it remains a landmark, with so many other mech games still trying to capture that same sensation.
21:20Titanfall 2
21:29Few games understand scale better than Titanfall 2.
21:33As Jack Cooper, you're extraordinarily mobile.
21:36Wall running, double jumping, and sliding through environments at ridiculous speed while gunning down enemies.
21:41Then, BT arrives.
21:43Climbing into your Titan completely changes the rhythm.
21:46Infantry scatter beneath you.
21:48Enemy Titans become heavyweight duels, and weapons reshape the landscape.
22:01The campaign brilliantly alternates between pilot and Titan gameplay while building a surprisingly heartfelt relationship between Jack and BT.
22:09All the while, multiplayer expands that contrast with specialized Titan classes.
22:13Respawn somehow created one of the best mobility shooters and one of the best mech games simultaneously.
22:19You can see why we're salivating for a 3-quel.
22:25The sword is yours for us.
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22:56Armored Core 6, Fires of Rubicon.
23:09In a single swoop, From Software reestablish themselves as kings of not only dark fantasy RPGs, but mecha-based vehicular
23:17combat as well.
23:18Fires of Rubicon modernizes the classic Armored Core formula without sacrificing its greatest strength.
23:23Building the ultimate machine.
23:25Weapons, legs, generators, boosters, targeting systems, armor and internal components can completely transform how your AC behaves.
23:33And then you've got the boss fights.
23:35You have the third plan.
23:39No vital signs.
23:41No highway.
23:45Great.
23:46Balthier, CEL240, the Ice Worm and the game's other mechanical monstrosities combine From Software's spectacle with relentless mobility and constant
23:55adaptation.
23:55The result feels fast without becoming weightless and challenging without becoming inaccessible.
24:00It's a mecha game for any and all to leap into.
24:11Do you agree with our picks?
24:13Which giant robot would you love to pilot?
24:15Let us know in the comments below.
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