Greetings, Dan here!

I consider the Kaiju fiction/gaming to be a sister genre to Mech franchises. After all, giant robots and monsters often feature in each. Being a longtime fan of the Godzilla franchise, Mechagodzilla has always been one of my favorite kaiju from the Toho suite (following just after Gigan). But why would I be stating a kaiju and not a mech? While Mechagodzilla has appeared as an independent robot sans pilot, Type-3 Kiryu from the Millenium period of Godzilla is a proper mech. Its frame was built around the bones of the original 1954 Godzilla that was killed by the oxygen destroyer bomb. Further a biocomputer using its remains was also constructed to assist the pilot with the motor functions of the mech's body. Admittedly, the Kiryu is usually piloted remotely from a companion jet, it does contain a control room in the head that can allow for it to be piloted from within. This is especially important because if communication is broken between the pilot and Kiryu, the biocomputer has a bad habit of channeling the soul of the original Godzilla. For today's purposes, we'll move forward with a build that assumes the cockpit in the head is the intended piloting method in BTE.

As for raw capabilities. Kiryu was designed to be as tough as Godzilla, only with the ingenious tools of man (i.e. lasers) at its disposal. Because of this, this steel dragon is quite powerful, which is why we will go with a high end build this time. We'll begin with a Sakura Frame, giving Kiryu 48 AP, as while it does have ranged weapons, Mechagodzilla still does much of its fighting in melee. We will equip it with Anodyne Boosters for a Movement Rate of 3 as despite its size, Kiryu can be quite fast on its feet. Next we will equip an Anodyne CPU for 3 Utility Systems. Lastly, because we're once more dealing with essentially a super robot, we will equip Kiryu with a Sakura Radiator, giving it a Heat Rating of 14.

For our Utilities, we will equip a Bio Frame for when the soul of 1954 Godzilla needs to take charge in lieu of its pilot being conscious. Next an AI Assistant for the biocomputer's standard operations, granting the pilot the ability to roll two sets of dice for a skill check and choose the result once per round. Then we'll finish up by installing a Heavy Weapons Mode Converter (blatant foreshadowing for anyone familiar with Kiryu.) 

Now for the Weapon Systems, Mechagodzilla will set its jaw-mounted Twin Maser Cannon as its primary weapon with 8 HR. For damage we'll spend three heat and apply the optimization to raise the damage to 1d8+3. For Rate of Fire, we'll spend one heat for a single attack. We will also only spend one heat, allowing there to be 4 Ammo. Now for those iconic screen spanning blasts, we will spend three heat for the effective range to be from Medium to Sniping. To finish things off we'll install the Explosive Ammo Mod, to allow max damage rolls to add another dice roll to them.

Next, this kaiju-sized mech does a surprising amount of wrestling, so we'll make this weapon system Mech Brawling. For two heat, we'll raise the damage to 1d6. We'll only spend one heat for a RoF of 1. Then since this is unarmed attacks, we'll give it a little extra ammunition by spending two heat and applying the optimization for a total of 9 Ammo. Lastly, for range, we'll spend one heat to apply melee. Much like the first system, to simulate that tokusatus flair, we'll install the Explosive Ammo Mod (even for brawling), but also the Mode Shift System Mod, giving us a second mode. In this case, we'll build Kiryu's arm mounted Maser Blade. For this system, we'll spend three heat for 1d8 damage. We'll only spend one heat on RoF, but optimize it for a total of 2 attacks per round. We'll spend one heat for 4 Ammo. Then the last heat will give the blade Melee Range.

For Kiryu's Heavy Weapon System, we'll go with its iconic Absolute Zero Cannon. Since we'll have acquired this after installing the Sakura Radiator, we'll be putting all 14 HR into it. We'll spend six heat on damage for a total of 2d20. We'll spend one heat on Rate of Fire, for one attack per round. We'll spend five heat to give the cannon 12 Ammo. Lastly, we'll spend three heat and apply the optimization to the range to make it effective from Medium thru Artillery ranges. Since, the Absolute Zero Cannon works by supercooling the target, we'll install the Cryo Ammo Mod, which reduces the target's Movement Rates whenever they take a hit.

Now if it seems like something is missing, you'd be right. Kiryu is also known for its abundance of missiles. As such, we'll install two disposable Rocket Decks. Additionally, while Mechagodzilla cannot fly outright, normally being delivered to combat by its companion jets, it is capable of short flights. To approximate this, we'll also install a disposable Jump Pack. Both the missiles and "jump flight" abilities were built into the back pack Kiryu is installed with, which can be dismounted in combat, so these will fit well into that description.

This build makes for a fearsome mech, arguably up there in power with the boss builds in the Adversaries section. Fitting for anything bearing the name Godzilla, I'd say. For next time there's a niche of mechs that I'd like to explore, and that's mechs that were designed to only touch the ground if they've been successfully downed. In this case, we'll return to the Gundam franchise, specifically Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, to build the mobile armor, Neue Ziel.