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[BFEL]

I wonder what Gundam series is the most strategic with the lowest power of mechs where the heavy mobile suits actually are good and the light ones are actually light mechs and not super mechs.

I never really watched any Gundam, but guessing from the tropes I picked up on over the years I would say each of those attributes apply to entirely different series'

I.E.  Gundam 1A is most strategery, Gandam 2B is lowest power, Godamn XYY# is heavy and the light are always super.

How'd I do?

[Furtuka]

I guess? I'm not sure how to scale things and haven't seen all the shows (but know tons about them all), but I guess so? 08th MS team is generally touted as the most realistic of all the Gundam shows since it's basically a Vietnam War movie with added giant robots during the first half of the story, and then 0083 and then 0080 and then... I guess probably Wing simply by virtue of having the least "space magic" if we're judging by aspects other than the robot, however if the transhumanist space opera aspect is disregarded in favor of judging based only off of the robots then I guess I'd say most of the Early UC series comes next?

Also er not really what he's asking for I think but there is a thing the Universal Century timeline that after 0083, in all the shows that come afterwards armor stops being useful on anything other than huge mobile armor because beam weapons which just punch a hole in anything they touch have become commonplace. This results in a much larger emphasis on speed over weight along with special shielding like anti beam coating and i-fields until things come full circle in the Late UC Era at F91 when portable beam shields have been invented and mobile suits have shrunken down and armor has become so thin that they start using mass drivers and physical melee weapons again since they are less likely to cause a catastrophic colony breach. Patterns from this sortof got mixed and matched during the AU shows which make it hard to differentiate the kind of thing he's asking about.

...also a random funfact just cause I like giving exposition and am feeling self indulgent, in the Universal Century timeline until the invention of the Beam Rotors in Victory Gundam there are no mobile suits capable of sustained atmospheric flight without transforming to a waverider jet form save for the Gouf Flight Type (which is a flying death trap), the Byarlant (Which has an incredibly weird body shape that makes it incapable of using standardized weaponry other than that's built directly into its body), and the Xi Gundam (which is the largest UC Gundam save for the Psycho Gundams as its flight ability comes from mounting the propulsion system used in space battleships onto its body).

[Reelya]

If it's explained by changes in weapon technology then amount of armor can definitely fluctuate. WWII infantrymen vs knights in late-medieval full-plate. Give both assault rifles. See which group does better.

[Neonivek]

I mostly wonder Furtuka because whenever I see a big gundam I immediately know it is fodder. (and if it isn't, it has certain designs that give it away such as funnels... or is the Zaku Commander of the manga)

Then whenever I see a tiny gundam... Boom! definitely a main character.

It actually frustrates me to a degree because it is like a hero power sort of thing. You almost never get to see what the point is with those bigger suits because apparently it is a bad idea.

It comes off as disingenuous I guess is another aspect.

[Furtuka]

Hmmm... it's sorta just a visual connotations storytelling thing.

Though by Big Gundam do you mean like Psycho Gundam sized or just being large enough to be visually imposing. Cause the Dendrobium, ZZ, and Sentinel Gundam are things if that's what you're looking for.
 However, heh there's rumors going around that they might animate Hathaway's Flash as a followup to Unicorn. I'll get back to you on that if it turns out to be true. The Xi Gundam I mentioned before? It's the star unit, and along with the co-starring Penelope Gundam is one of the, if not the biggest Mobile Suit in UC (Not counting the Psychos since they're technically Mobile Armor), which is made even more noticeable since Hathaways Flash takes place right at the start of SNRI's push for smaller and more economical Mobile Suit designs.

[Parsely]

Any suggestions on what to watch next? (Doesn't necessarily have to be from Gundam, but stuff like it generally.) I've already watched Code Geass too, and that was pretty good as well.

If you like 08th MS then you'll enjoy MS IGLOO and War in the Pocket. As for non-Gundam real robo, go watch Armor Hunter Mellowlink (you can find the OVA on youtube, I can't recommend the main VOTOMS series because I haven't watched it yet) and Flag.

[Neonivek]

Naw I just mean suits like the Zaku. The bulkier Gundams rather than the thin frames.

[Furtuka]

Oh you meant to say Mobile Suit. Well that's just a matter of storytelling tropes really. But there is always the ZZ like I mentioned :V

[Neonivek]

What is the point of machine guns if they are the worst things ever made as far as the series are concerned?

[Furtuka]

I guess mostly that light arms have no reason not to be there as far as worldbuilding goes. If you mean the vulcans they do actually manage to destroy things on occasion and are kinda for shooting tinier things , thought that's mostly in early series fights or against funnels.

[USEC_OFFICER]

Plus they're pretty effective against infantry, aircraft and light vehicles. Not that the mobile suits go up against those types of enemies all that frequently, though I'd chalk that up more to storytelling factors/tropes than anything else. Having the protagonists fight against enemies that they constantly outclass wouldn't be very exciting after all, so the vulcans don't get used for much besides distractions/whatever.

[Neonivek]

So basically Vulcans are like Energy weapons in a cartoon series.

Yes they are AS deadly as bullets but for some reason they just seem to knock people out.

Or are they like Wolverine's claws. They are so deadly that he will never EVER actually land a blow?

[USEC_OFFICER]

Sorta? I'd call Vulcans more situational than anything else. It's just that the situations were they're useful rarely come up because the show is focused on suit-to-suit combat.

[Lord Shonus]

So basically Vulcans are like Energy weapons in a cartoon series.

Yes they are AS deadly as bullets but for some reason they just seem to knock people out.

Or are they like Wolverine's claws. They are so deadly that he will never EVER actually land a blow?

No, it's the opposite - anything they're useful against will be no threat and easily dispatched, while the enemies that make interesting-to-watch fights are immune to them in most cases. Thus, the only time we see them used is in an unusual situation such as an ambush, a last resort weapon, or similar. It is similar in concept to war movies where you rarely see an officer shoot something with a pistol - they're there for a reason, but the situations where they are useful are fairly rare.

[Neonivek]

Sorta? I'd call Vulcans more situational than anything else. It's just that the situations were they're useful rarely come up because the show is focused on suit-to-suit combat.

I think their issue is mostly that they aren't 'cool' enough so they always get into the hands of the villains so heroes always have to dance around them... and because they don't land "definitive blows" like beam cannons do they can dramatically show it doing little bits of damage instead of tearing a suit to shreds.

And because the only Gundam series to actually be outright about squad combat where each weapon and suit is absolutely vital and no one guns down people left and right is a videogame that has only been released in Japan...

It means Heavy Arms is just about the only one (and I am not counting Laser Vulcans) and even then he is usually considered the weakest one.

No, it's the opposite - anything they're useful against will be no threat and easily dispatched, while the enemies that make interesting-to-watch fights are immune to them in most cases. Thus, the only time we see them used is in an unusual situation such as an ambush, a last resort weapon, or similar. It is similar in concept to war movies where you rarely see an officer shoot something with a pistol - they're there for a reason, but the situations where they are useful are fairly rare.

They are useful in pretty much most situations except long distance. They just never land blows for some reason... and when they do the bullets never manage to make a decisive blow.