Mecha Match-up #1: Type-20 Yukimori vs YF-29 Durandal
Okay okay I know what you’re all thinking. Power-scaling and vs posts are the bane of the mecha fandoms. But we will be engaging in good faith that these are just for what-ifs and some friendly discussion. Of course, we won’t be pitching crazy mechas against each other, so Mazinger Zero, Demonbane, Getter Emperor and STTGL and the likes are out of the equation. We’ll look at the first match-up today, between two Real Robot series that focus on space & alien combat.
Knight of Sidonia Yukimori vs Macross Frontier YF-29 Super Durandal
Let’s go to space for the first round. And let’s be honest, we’ve seen most space battles from Real Robot series like Gundam, Aldnoah.Zero, Majestic Prince, etc… When it comes to Macross and Sidonia, they have one thing in common: speed is king! Both engage in high-speed blazing fast battles with aliens and other mechs that can be quite dizzy if you actually sit in the cockpit of one. Now of course the Yukimori and YF-29 Durandal are both state-of-the-art machines that boast the highest specs in the their respective series. So let’s see how they pan out:
Type-20 Garde Yukimori
- Extremely fast speed. Fastest among all Gardes thanks to using a new engine. The Yukimori can even outperform Type-18 Gardes in 4-way clasp-formation. And we know clasp-formation can be ridiculously fast. (Although it may not beat a 64-way or 128-way clasp formation).
- Superior mobility to all other units. The Yukimori design includes new winged propulsion system and Megastructure armor – which are very light yet has high tensile strength. Which gives the unit amazing thrust-vectoring abilities and manoeuvrability. The armor material is also super durable, able to withstand even explosion and highspeed shot.
- In terms of weapon, the Yukimori sports the iconic Ballistic Acceleration Device which is a railgun that can shoot high-penetration Kabi projectiles. An enhanced Higgs Particle cannon on the head as well as Kabi blades all around its body, enhancing its CQC abilities. It is unclear if the Yukimori has missiles and a physical blade, but it should be able to carry a Kabi-spear. Although the opponent isn’t a Gauna anyway. Just like the Type-19, the Yukimori also has underarm machine gun that is capable of firing Kabi-rounds or normal rounds at very highspeed. The guns seem to hold around 2700-3000 rounds each.
YF-29 Durandal
- Again, extremely high speed for this prototype Variable Fighter. The YF-29 reigns the sky with insane acceleration, reaching above Mach 10 for brief periods. The forward swept-wings allow for higher aerodynamic acceleration as well as changing into high-speed mode.
- With the new rotatable variable wing system that can retract as well as high amount of Fold Quartz for the inertia control system, the Durandal can manoeuvre at extremely high Gs without damaging the pilot inside. For cyborg pilots, the YF-29 can even reach better mobility compared to a human.
- For weapons, the Durandal with Super Pack outstrip the Yukimori with its insane amount of armaments. A quantum Beampod, twin MDE cannon that are practically mini blackhole cannons, 2 head-mounted cannons. And guess what, the YF-29 has 100 Micro-missiles stored on its various compartments, along with MORE missiles in the Super Pack, and they are all MDE warheads. For close combat, the YF-29 has an arm shield and a combat dagger, along with the pin-point barrier system.
So, How will this play out? Of course we’re using space as the battlefield. Overall, the Yukimori might have the advantage in acceleration, since that thing is pretty damn fast. However, in a zero-G environment with very tiny drag and a cyborg pilot, the YF-29 can be quite a speedster too. And it all came down to mobility and whose thrust vectoring is superior. But that’s only half the argument, the weaponries must also be considered. On this point, the Durandal wins hands-down. The amount of heat it’s packing is many times the Yukimori and most of its weapons are enough to punch the Yukimori into submission as the Garde doesn’t have much defensive tools.
The other way around is also true however, as the Yukimori hasa few weapons that can pierce Durandal’s defense. But the only way for the Yukimori to land a shot from faraway is to catch the Durandal off-guard, which can always happen in an intense dog-fight as the railgun bullet is really really small and very fast. Another disadvantage for the Yukimori is it doesn’t usually carry chaff to disengage the missiles, so the pilot has to Itano Circus out of this one. For close combat, the Yukimori has the advantage with its nimble body and the various blades on its body. However, it’s still a risky fight as pin-point barrier can work at short-range and the head cannons and vibroknife the Durandal has is also quite a threat. But if the Yukimori can get close, those machine guns can shred the barrier and pummel the Durandal if it doesn’t get away quickly.
The other way around is also true however, as the Yukimori hasa few weapons that can pierce Durandal’s defense. But the only way for the Yukimori to land a shot from faraway is to catch the Durandal off-guard, which can always happen in an intense dog-fight as the railgun bullet is really really small and very fast. Another disadvantage for the Yukimori is it doesn’t usually carry chaff to disengage the missiles, so the pilot has to Itano Circus out of this one. For close combat, the Yukimori has the advantage with its nimble body and the various blades on its body. However, it’s still a risky fight as pin-point barrier can work at short-range and the head cannons and vibroknife the Durandal has is also quite a threat. But if the Yukimori can get close, those machine guns can shred the barrier and pummel the Durandal if it doesn’t get away quickly.
So, all in all, an all-out fight between the Yukimori and Durandal, it will be a very intense high-speed dogfight through the vastness of space and maybe through some asteroid fields. The Durandal will most likely utilize every bits of its arsenal to deal a blow to the Yukimori while the Yukimori uses its insane acceleration to dodge and swerve and try to sneak a shot to the YF-29’s engine or cockpit. It could be anyone’s game. Who do you think will be the winner of this fast-and-furious duel?
