#Mach Rider

[sndfrosteyneko]

Leaked character select screen for SSBM 2.

[devileaterjaek]

[elcomfortador]

The opening scene to the 1968 movie Barbarella has its star, Jane Fonda, first appearing onscreen dressed in an astronaut suit that completely obscures her body. She removes her gloves and boots and, part by part, the audience sees that the person inside that suit is a woman. It's a bit of a striptease that plays off the audience's assumption that astronauts are usually male and this one would be too.

It's not just an eye-catching way to begin a film, however. It's also something that gets echoed throughout pop culture — and it's specifically something that seems to have influenced some early Nintendo games. The ending of Metroid, for example, has its protagonist, Samus Aran, appearing in increasingly fewer clothes depending on how quickly the player beats the game. It could be called titillating, I guess, depending on how adept you are at reading pixel art, but more importantly, it's a surprise reveal that plays off the audience's presumption that the person inside the space suit had to be male. (The instruction manual explicitly says Samus is male, however, but the surprise still might work even if you'd just played the game without reading the backstory.)

What's really interesting about this Barbarella-Metroid connection is that there's another Nintendo game that basically does the same thing only earlier. Released in 1985 and about a year before Metroid, Mach Rider is another futuristic sci-fi game where the player controls a hero who wears an armored suit throughout the game. You're never explicitly told Mach Rider's gender, but again, because most action heroes tend to be male and because most video game protagonists tend to be as well, a lot of people probably defaulted to thinking Mach Rider was too.

The follow-up Nintendo released for the VS. arcade system, however, does something surprising: as you beat each stage, you see more and more of a pixel art image of a woman in a revealing white leotard. You might dismiss her as some kind of damsel in distress or an eye candy reward for getting through the game, and a lot of people do, but I think she's made to look like Barbarella. The parallels between their outfits are striking, and I think Nintendo is evoking Barbarella to suggest that this video game, like the movie, also has a protagonist who is female.

All this is a preamble for my larger piece on the Barbarella-Metroid-Mach Rider connection, which I think is a good conversation to have if you're talking about early video game heroines and creators' decisions to either disguise, downplay or amplify their feminine characteristics. This one makes a nice follow-up to a piece I did on Bubbles, who is the first female Nintendo protagonist but only in the west, where someone decided she should be female even though the character's gender was not specified in Japan.

[super-smash-bracket]

ROUND ONE

eShop Bag

Pit: Aww, Lady Palutena, look! That's the little guy from the eShop! Palutena: That's right, Pit! We've had some fun times with this little one, haven't we? Pit: Yeah... It's so nice to see them in Smash now! Viridi: I think they look a little lost, like they don't know where to go. Does it even want to fight? Palutena: If you must know, Viridi, the eShop Bag is more than capable to fighting. Be careful when its friend, Flipnote Frog, jumps out! It can draw barriers with its leaps, so it can change the terrain as it moves! Pit: FLIPNOTE FROG IS HERE TOO?! Do we HAVE to fight?!

Mach Rider

Pit: That's SUCH a cool bike! Palutena: Glad you think so, Pit! That's the Mach Rider, who comes from a bleak future where the world has been taken over by aliens piloting Quadrunners. It's up to them to clear the sectors and save any survivors! Viridi: So, an antihero of sorts? I can't imagine much comfort in someone blasting through a wall with a machine gun in hand. Palutena: Oh, Pit, good on you for noticing the motorcycle, because Mach Rider is a very fast opponent. Look out for when they kick those oil drums at you. Pit: Really? What do they do? Palutena: Well, nothing, but they'll burst into an oil slick if you're not careful, and then the whole stage will be too slippery to stop. Just try not to fall for it.

[fierykitten2]

I don’t know

Template from Know Your Meme, other images from the Nintendo Fandom Wiki and the F-Zero NIWA wiki

[ntscdreams]

Mach Rider November 21, 1985 // Family Computer

Hang-On this game is not. You don't just ride your bike here, but also have a gun attached to the front to shoot other cars. The game takes place in some sort of Mad Max-type apocalyptic wasteland, although the roads are still impeccably paved. It's not a bad idea, but the problem is the Mach Rider is too fast. At top speed you barely have any chance to dodge obstacles on the road, especially around tight, blind corners, but if you slow down to drive more safely cars will plow through you from behind and literally blow you to smithereens. The handling also isn't really fun and the bike does 90% of the turning all by itself, leaving you just move left and right on the road to avoid obstacles. This game does have a legacy, though: apparently the Mach Bike from Mario Kart Wii is based on the bike from this game.

[miketendo-64]

NES - July Update 2024 | Seven More Titles Added To Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo has released a new video to their YouTube channel showcasing seven more titles to its NES – Nintendo Switch Online Library today. The next wave of titles includes Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Mach Rider, COBRA TRIANGLE, SOLAR JETMAN, Urban Champion, and The Mystery of Atlantis. All seven games are available right now for NES – Nintendo Switch Online upon updating the application. Do any of…

[spielkritik]

Lesenswert: Wildwasser im Kaufhaus-Computer, Stripteases im Weltraum, dicke Schwänze in Monster Hunter Now

Herzlich willkommen zur voraussichtlich vorletzten Ausgabe von Lesenswert in diesem Jahr. Ich finde, dass ich heute einige besonders schöne Artikel im Gepäck habe, die euch hoffentlich die Adventszeit versüßen werden. Den Anfang macht wieder einmal der Blog Videospielgeschichten, diesmal in Form eines Beitrags von Mr. VSG höchstpersönlich: André Eymann nimmt euch mit in die…

[t-u-i-t-c]

"Picture perfect, right?"

[wazzappp]

More cyberpunk doodles. Lore post eventually I’m just getting some DND au designs done, also:

I fear. I may have lost the plot a little.

[sailorgokaidecade]

Logos of all official Secondary Kamen Riders (G3 - Valen)

Credit: driftingcar - Hobbyist, Digital Artist | DeviantArt

Download the original, high-res image, here.

[roidmude009]

@giftober 2024 | Day 1: "broken" Kamen Rider drive Episode 46; Why Did They Have to Fight?

[devileaterjaek]

[tokucosplay]

Kamen Rider Mach SIC cosplayed by 谦信wesker.

[super-smash-bracket]

As an interim!

Here's another fun little "longshot" character, since everyone seemed to like my concepts for Anna and Plusle & Minun!

MACH RIDER, from the 1985 game MACH RIDER! A highly mobile fighter with not just a motorbike, but also a machine gun and a knife!

Of course, all Machine Gun blasts are relegated to their NEUTRAL SPECIAL! It's simple! It doesn't need explaining! It's a quick hail of bullets!

Ordinarily, driving the bike around won't deal impact damage. HOWEVER! For the SIDE SPECIAL, Mach Rider will REV UP their engines! Holding down the special button will get those motors really running! The ensuing impact has power that's DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL!

Up Special takes a bit of a hint from a similar fan-favorite, EXCITEBIKE! That's right, it's a RAMP! Mach Rider rides up the ramp! Like Donkey Kong, it isn't exactly good for vertical movement, but horizontally it's an incredible return technique!

For the Down Special, Mach Rider kicks an OIL BARREL at their opponents! Hitting it causes it to roll faster, or even in the other direction! Hit it too much, and it'll explode into an oil slick that makes that area of the stage too slippery to stand still on! Hit it with any fire move, and it'll just explode!

Of course, that Final Smash is non-negotiable these days! It's a FOURTH-GEAR RUNDOWN, of course! Mach Rider runs down the opponent, then, RIDING ON THE BACK OF THE STAGE LIKE A TRICK RIDER, DRIVES AROUND AND RUNS THEM DOWN AGAIN! When it comes to high speed assaults, NEXT TO NOTHING COMPARES! Ride on, Mach Rider!

[fierykitten2]

If anyone wanted to know my answer to the question “you’re allowed 8 new racers, 4/6 new body parts, 1 new wheel part and 1 new glider for Mario Kart and they can’t represent fandoms already represented by a racer, what would they be?”

Racers

Captain Falcon (F-Zero)

Dr. Stewart (F-Zero)

Pico (F-Zero)

Samurai Goroh (F-Zero)

Iron Valiant (Pokémon) - maybe have the shiny as an alt

Mach Rider (Mach Rider)

Samus Aran (Metroid)

Fox McCloud (Star Fox)

Body parts

Golden Fox (F-Zero) - SNES style

Wild Goose (F-Zero) - SNES style

Fire Stingray (F-Zero) - SNES style

Miraidon (Pokémon)

(Samus’ Gunship (Metroid))

(Arwing (Star Fox))

Wheel parts

Miraidon’s energy wheel (Pokémon)

Glider parts

Miraidon Glider (Pokémon) - has a gimmick where it is located at the head of Miraidon when they are paired but otherwise this glider sits in the correct place and gliders paired with Miraidon sit in the correct place