Big Robot o' Clock
Everyone has probably heard of the movie "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," from 1958. If you haven't, you're the weird one, but here's the deal to bring you up to speed:
She Big.
Big is cool. Its one of the reasons why we've got stories of giants all over our mythology, stomping around, giving the Israelites or Vishnu a hard time. People are always like "damn, that's crazy," whenever they see a Kaiju wandering around the local Tokyo, and its because its uncanny, outlandish, and unbelievable. It magnifies the impact and experience of the person, and makes them up to be larger than life, kinda like this other cool thing I know of...
Robots.
In case you're unsure of what a robot is (why do you not know any of this stuff?) they're machines that are built to do things like people, but in ways people can't (yet.) Robots can go fetch lava or take pictures of Mars or sew complex designs for incredible clothes in a fraction of the time I could. My seamstress skills aside, robots are a terrific foil for humanity in their innovation and efficiency, and we've been increasingly fascinated by them since antiquity.
So why am I talking about giant people and robots?
Because I've been reading a lot of sicko mecha yuri, that's why. However, we don't carry most of it because they're super indie and also we have standards (Andrew has stopped enabling me) to uphold. In lieu of sharing a bunch of unhinged lesbians kicking the bejesus out of eachother while piloting tanks with legs, I combed through our (Pandemonium) books and games for more respectable fare (they're just as thirsty, but they don't tell you about it in big flashing letters.)
But before I do that, just imagine with me for a second; "what if you were big enough and powerful enough to face those big problems that you feel are too big to face in real life?" I'm not a mecha-scholar, (I'm sending this post to one after it's published so they can call me an idiot,) but maybe that's one of the good and healthy reasons have these empower(ment) fantasies that use the formula "me plus big plus machine." IDK, I just live here.
So with that out of the way, let's explore some of the Respectable Mecha that we have at home!
The bastard daughter of a nobleman survives an assassination attempt, and decides to tear apart the aristocracy in the eponymous mecha HEAVENBREAKER, via the joust-to-the-death practices of the upper crust. Two snags though: first, she's falling for one of her enemies (oh no) and second, she's not alone in the cockpit (uh oh.)
Ace pilot turned POW is broken and sent to a forced labor camp. Too bad they let her have the keys to Juno, an absolute clunker of a shell who's barely fit for manual labor, or so it would seem. Rich wold building and awesome combat sequences are just some of the things Steel Frame has to be proud of in this epic of redemption and duty.
At the bleeding edge of the known galaxy, Lancers are the space cowboys of the future, piloting mechas just as unique as they are. Being so far from the comforts of civilization, will you uphold the laws of the lands you're from, or will you pursue your own frontier justice? You're the best of the best, and you have what it takes to tell a story worth spreading across the stars!
Arcology governments vie for control of the nuclear wasteland that once was Earth, usually with titanic monstrosities of metal and machismo. A miniature agnostic skirmish game where the action is as fast as it is deadly, where the only thing more ruined than the planet is your sense of honor.
It takes two to power and pilot the Chrysalis Mecha, who are integral to holding back the alien threat, but often at the cost of a pilot, and usually the female one. Zetian however doesn't want to die: she wants revenge on the pilot that strain-drained her sister. Once she gets it though, she'll become a threat to every man this side of the Great Wall, as she unravels the system that sacrifices girls for the supposed greater good.
Steam-Powered Tyrannosaurus-Rex!
Have you ever been slighted by your aristocratic rival, or misunderstood by your local constable, or completely taken out of context by that diabolical rag that calls itself a newspaper? Me neither, but if I were, I'd probably build a Steam Powered Tyrannosaurus Rex to help me set things right! Turns out, Pandemonium's first ever game-on-a-postcard fits this post's theme spot on, and just so happens to be a solo rpg/board game hybrid designed by yours truly.
Ben Doane has been a member of the Pandemonium Team since 2019, and has been playing wargames, rpgs, and tcgs since 2004 and earlier. When not blogging, Ben runs the wargames and mailing departments, and also puts together the store's newsletters. Her current favorite book is WARHOUND by Kallidora Rho.