Always fun to see a new SRW quest. Time to
over-think on the mecha choices
.
Very carefully?
Oh, hi there
Exia. Not sure how well its combat style fits our protagonist thematically, but GN Drive equipped MS do have several nice advantages (combat endurance, TRANS-AM, optical camouflage if we need to leave the Gundam somewhere unsupervised. potential Innovation (artificial evolution into the Gundam 00 equivalent of a Newtype) down the road). On one hand, the armament of Exia is probably the 1st or 2nd best answer to Nanolaminate equipped MS of these choices (and getting in close is one way around Planet Defensors down the road), but on the other it's probably a bit disadvantaged against anything with a distortion field.
In the short term, the right arm in particular being missing probably means we'd be going into combat with just the GN vulcans and beam sabers (since the right arm is usually the one to which the GN sword is mounted). This might give us some trouble in fending off the Battas outside.
Probably a reference to the
Huckebein-EX, especially given the EX's prominent red paint scheme. Now, this will depend a bit on whether the quest leans more into the Alpha or OG timeline for reference. Assuming it's more on the Alpha side, then we have a Personal Trooper with an unstable black hole at its heart: a nearly inexhaustible energy source more at home in the typical super robot. This gives the PT the ability to use a gun that fires black holes, along with energy endurance likely on par with Exia. It will likely be useful against distortion field equipped enemies, but a comparative paucity of physical weapons could give us trouble fighting against Nanolaminate equipped MS.
On the other hand, if we're drawing more on the OG timeline, then the Huckebein is likely powered by a plasma generator similar to those used by other Personal Troopers. A bit less powerful, but safer to use. That said, I doubt that we're in any danger of the Black Hole Engine destructively collapsing on us in the near future (something that admittedly only happened once, due to sabotage no less). From the description, it sounds like the armor of this particular PT isn't in the best shape. That, and I'm not sure if any of the handheld weapons are nearby.
Going off the paint scheme description and the mention of a separation feature, I'm inclined to think of
Grungust Type-3 Unit 2 (used by Sanger Zonvolt in the SRWOG: Inspector anime) in particular. Quite a bit larger than the other options here at nearly triple the height of most MS, and mostly equipped with powerful inbuilt weapons for what might be a bit of an immediate advantage (assuming they're all working). Certainly the most defensible mecha here, and anything with a rocket punch just makes me smile
. Combine that with high defense and limited self-repair potential afforded by VG Alloy, and we can probably smash our way through a lot of problems.
On the other hand, we might have a bit more trouble dodging truly dangerous attacks or hitting smaller and more maneuverable enemies (assuming the quest models size differences in a similar way to the SRW games). That and we might need a copilot to take full advantage of the separation feature. This might also imply that our protagonist is a psychodiver.
Gonna admit I'm not 100% certain on this one, but the description leads me to think of the
Zelvoid Vast, or at least a mecha inspired by it. This is mostly due to the sword description, since I don't think it looks that much like the Gespenst personally, but it does fit with the partial name as well. If this guess is right then it's probably the most interesting choice lore wise, since its existence implies that La Gias does as well (although who knows if it's accessible or in what state). Since I'm not certain on that though I'll abstain from further speculation.
Ok. Now that I've written that all up to think things through, I'd say either the Huckebein or Exia. Mostly since Rain just feels more like a RR protagonist to me than an SR one. While the Huckebein has a more varied arsenal when fully equipped, and is probably a superior combatant outside of close range, the Exia certainly dominates inside of its chosen niche; to say nothing of the long-term benefits a GN Drive might provide. Ultimately, while it's close in my mind, the Exia narrowly wins out at the moment (and I could probably still be convinced to sway back to the Huckebein).
[X] Select the mech in the corner. It was about the size of a Heavygun, and seemed a bit sleeker, if it wasn't almost completely trashed. The right arm was completely gone, covered with what looked like a huge tarp or some sort of fake cape. On its forehead was the designation 'GN-001'.
