With Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 releasing on July 24, the gaming world will get eight times the action of the reploid hero. I thought, what better time to celebrate the best heroes made of metal that the video game world has to offer? Why not celebrate with a list of robots? Honestly, I want to put the quash on debates of whether something is an AI, robot or cyborg.
So, two rules on my list: they have to have metal exist as part of their body, and we have to consider them heroes. So, Solid Snake piloting Metal Gear Rex does not count and neither does Metal Sonic. And of course, my usual warning: please, I urge you to name your favorites in the comments below. I might not list who you would put. Let’s get this list started!
Rad Spencer – Bionic Commando
Originally known by myself as “the character from Chrono Trigger with a theme that sounds like Rick Astley”, Robo remains as loyal a party member as one could get. He is rendered dormant in 1999 AD by the Apocalypse. Robo then received reactivation from Lucca in 2300 AD.
At first, Robo cannot comprehend human emotion. He goes so far as to getting beaten by his former brethren for siding with humans. He later goes on to help restore Fiona’s Forest for 400 years straight. This robot is never gonna give up or let you down.
Clank – Ratchet and Clank Series
As the brains behind one of the best platforming duos of the PS2 era, Clank is one of a kind. He has the just enough tech and naivety to try to find a hero to take on an evil CEO from destroying multiple planets. He eventually finds a hero within himself when he teams up with Ratchet, a no-nonsense pilot with a taste for otherworldly weapons.
He’s no slouch himself. Clank sports a heli-pack, thruster-pack, and hydro-pack. He can even, at times, grow to a giant size and take on behemoths. Between all this and the ability to breathe in space, there’s no wonder he becomes a television star.
Raiden – Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Rising
Fans cried foul when, in Metal Gear Solid 2, some wimpy kid took the place of Solid Snake in their beloved series. So, in Metal Gear Solid 4, how do you make a wimpy kid cool? Give him cybernetic enhancements, of course!
Right from his introduction in MGS4, Raiden proves he’s no longer a little kid, by ninja slicing giant mechs and holding his own against Vamp. Later on in the game, he makes us wish we could fight off Vamp. Instead, the player protects him as Snake.
Raiden would go on to have his own spinoff, Metal Gear Rising. We could finally fulfill our goal of playing as the cyber ninja… if you could get the parry system down. If you could, no one could stand in the way of Jack the Ripper. And if you need a reason why I put him on this list, nano-machines made me do it.
Zero – Mega Man X and Mega Man Zero Series
I’m not going to pretend to know the difference between a cyborg and a reploid, but one thing sure stands: Zero is cooler than you. This red reploid, born from jealousy by Dr. Wily, shoots more powerful blasts and runs faster than X. At least at the start of Mega Man X. In later games, he gets his own upgrades from defeating mavericks, separate from X.
What makes him even cooler includes that Inafune originally wanted X to look like Zero when creating Mega Man X. Zero even gets sent into the future and ends up protecting a world long gone in his own spinoff series. How cool is that?
What metal heroes would you include? Let us know in the comments below!
