[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1974403_box_ror.png]]

Not to be confused with that problem your Platform/Xbox360 has hanging over its head. Or a HeroicRedRingOfDeath.

What would happen if Japan never surrendered after the Americans dropped the nuclear bomb? And if Germans developed {{Humongous Mecha}}? This is explored at the action-strategy game ''Ring of Red''. The American-led Allied forces, following the success of Operation Downfall, and the Soviet invasion of Japan from Hokkaido and after much fighting divide the archipelago apart with Hokkaido being renamed to Vastokayask. After that, the Korean War is simply reallocated to Japan, which is divided into South Japan, capitalist, and North Japan, communist. The plot takes place in 1964 with Masami von Weizegger and Ryoko Minakawa, two South Japanese test pilots who end up charged with recovering a stolen prototype mech during a North Japanese-led infiltration mission.

The mechas, named Armored Fighting Walkers (AFW), as would put the Miguel Lopez from Gamespot, "Unlike the lithe, sleek mechs that we've come to associate with the genre, Ring of Red's cumbersome, gas-powered mechs aren't graceful in the least. They're heavy machinery, first and foremost, no more deft than a six-ton crane or a Ferris wheel.". They had replaced tanks as primary land-warfare vehicle, for harsh terrains, like the Japanese territory.

Ring of Red was sold for the Platform/Playstation2 in 2000-2001 for all countries by Creator/{{Konami}}.

It is now available for download from the Platform/PlayStationNetwork. [=PS2=] game discs are still available, albeit rare unless one scours [=Ebay=] and other sites and stores that sells used copies of the game.

See ''Manga/ASpiritOfTheSun'', where it also depicts a Japan being (fictionally) divided into North (by countries that support China) and South (by countries that support US-led UN control) due to a volcanic eruption and multiple earthquakes that split the country in half.

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!!This game Provides Examples of:

* AbnormalAmmo:
** Crews give their vehicles options to load specific ammo. In most cases, this is normal: they simply load the shell into the main gun and let the pilot fire. In some cases, however, the [=AFW=]'s gun is not a breech loader; as a result, the crews make do by loading the ammo into a signal flare gun and shot them directly. This includes [[IncendiaryExponent incendiary shrapnel]], poison gas, and armor piercing rounds strong enough to damage other [=AFWs=].
** The Wire and Electric Wire abilities are deployed by special rifle grenades, which split into bolas and tie down the enemy's legs.
* AceCustom:
** Ippei's "Kamui", an obsolete Japanese light [=AFW=] heavily modified to serve an Anti-[=AFW=] role. In fact, the [=AFW=] is Ippei's weapon since World War II, and serves as a feared unit that anticipates the creation of the Anti-[=AFW=]s.
** Masami's [[spoiler:"Hyakko", an upgrade to his heavily damaged [=AFW=] "Byakko" repaired with pieces of an unsuccessful prototype AFW. In other words, if Byakko is a ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_I Tiger I]]'', the Hyakko is a ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_II Tiger II]]''.]]
* ActionGirl: Ryoko, Ayana and about half the infantry in the game.
* AlternateHistory: Aside from what's mentioned in the summary above, Nazi Germany invents HumongousMecha in the latter days of WWII.
** Depending on which version of the game you got, the mention of the UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki may or may have not been mentioned alongside the implementation of Operation Downfall.
* AMechByAnyOtherName: Armored Fighting Walkers ([=AFWs=]).
* AnachronismStew: Female front-line troopers in 1960's Japanese and Soviet forces. Not even for the [[{{Fanservice}} usual reasons]], given that they wear the same uniforms as the guys.
* AnchoredAttackStance: 4-legged [=AFW=]s deploy stabilizers from their legs at the very least. The ''Little John'' even has a firing spade (which, as the name suggests, is a shovel that digs into the ground to keep it from moving back when it fires).
* AntiVehicle: One of the AFW types ("Anti-[=AFW=]"), mostly as a state-of-the art weapon developed by the Soviets. The Capitalist main characters' Anti-[=AFW=] models are a heavily customized [[WhatAPieceOfJunk old Japanese WWII Light AFW model]] (veteran Ippei's "Kamui", based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_97_Chi-Ha_medium_tank Type 97]]''), and an Anti-[=AFW=] found within the Communist Japan zone (Emilio's Type 4 Anti-[=AFW=] "Tempesta", based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmgeschütz_III StuG III]]'') [[spoiler:, which is one of the many Soviet [=AFWs=] that were secretly developed by the same Germans who supply weapons to the Capitalists, unbeknownst to the Americans, which later gets the heroes' German commander in ''big'' trouble.]]
* AntiVillain: Yu Kaiho, Hidetomi Minakawa and the Loyal N. J. Army.
* ArbitraryWeaponRange:
** Light and Anti-[=AFWs=] will become significantly disadvantaged at Medium or Long Range.
** 4-Leg [=AFWs=] are at their worst if the battle starts at Medium or Short range.
* ArmCannon: The distinguishing visual feature of Medium [=AFWs=].
* ArtificialStupidity: Enemy [=AFW=]s and Anti-[=AFW=]s will always engage you in a melee attack when you get within close-combat distance. An effective strategy for exploiting this predictable aggression is to plant Adhesive Mines and goad them into exchanging blows with you which, upon stepping on the Adhesive Mines, will void their attack and cripple them, allowing your [=AFW=] to punch them without taking damage.
* AttackBackfire: As mentioned above, attempting a CQC manouver when the enemy has deployed land mines.
* BatmanGambit: The reason why Dora was hijacked [[spoiler:was because Hidetomi Minakawa wanted to use it as a means of getting Japanese in North/South Japan to get rid of Soviet and American-led troops in both countries and reunite the divided nations.]]
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: As mentioned under Good-Looking Privates, the heroic South Japan soldiers are quite attractive. Not so much with North Japan, the antagonist. The anti-communist geurillas in chapter 1 are also not so good looking until Streiffen joins up with Kharma and we meet Anya and Jun in chapter 3.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Ayana is a sweet, polite girl, but she has a big 4-Leg AFW.
* {{BFG}}: The final boss is the [[spoiler: Dora Gustav, a gun ''so'' friggin' big that it required ''multiple trains'' to haul it around! At least, until the Americans built a quad-walker big enough to carry it. They also decided that this massive gun shall fire nuclear bombs instead of X-box huge conventional explosives.]]
* BigBadEnsemble:
** Yu Kaiho, who is responsible for the theft of the Type 3 "Hyoga", is [[spoiler:TheDragon to Hidetomi Minakawa, a Northen Japan commander and Japanese nationalist who secretly wants to [[TakeAThirdOption end with the occupation of Communist and Capitalist factions with a coup]], using the theft of the nuclear-armed Dora Gustav as a tool (and the Hyoga theft as cover-up). After his death, it becomes clear that his ultimate purpose was to be a martyr for a Japanese anti-foreigner movement, and it is Yu Kaiho who [[DragonAscendant successfully follows his will]] to his own death.]]
** Sergei Ivanowich Adamski, a commander [[PunchClockVillain sent by the Soviet Union]] to exterminate the Streifen unit, the Northern Japan resistance [[spoiler: and the uprising within the communist Northern Japanese faction led by Hidetomi Minakawa. After failing in doing the latter, he makes a deal with Schreigen to secure the latest western AFW technology. He dies in the mostly successful Soviet suppression battle.]]
** [[spoiler: Kristof Schreigen, the head of a Japanese cutting-edge AFW developer and leader of the protagonists' Streifen unit. He secretly sells technology to both sides, but after Hidetomi Minakawa betrays him and makes the double theft, he creates the Streifen unit to personally end with any proof of the Hyoga, although officially it was created as a secret unit to track the stolen Dora Gustav under his American superiors' orders. When it's clear that the Capitalists will make him pay for treason, he makes a pact with Ademski for Soviet asylum, but fails and he's secretly executed by American and/or Japanese officials.]]
** While they [[VillainOfAnotherStory don't directly participate in]] the game's plot as antagonists, [[spoiler:the Americans are wholly responsible of deploying a [[LoopholeAbuse treaty-violating]] nuclear superweapon in foreign soil AND then losing it, sparking a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis Cuban Missile Crisis]]-level political conflict that could potentially [[WorldWarIII escalate to worse]] very quickly.]]
* TheBigGuy: John Caster and his "Little John". [[spoiler:Also a GeniusBruiser, since he's the man tasked by the [=CIA=] to track the lost Dora Gustav's whereabouts.]]
* BittersweetEnding
* BlindIdiotTranslation: As evidenced by several lines during gameplay, the localization effort for Ring of Red was '''mediocre'''.
-->'''Kaiho:''' Why you do insist on getting in my way!!
* BlindedByTheLight: Flash Shot debuffs and caps accuracy at 80.00%.
* BolivianArmyEnding: [[spoiler:Possibly averted. In Kinasato's journal, he has received credible intelligence reports from the North that Weizegger and Ryoko survived their last stand in the ending and are assisting anti-North fighters in liberating POW camps all the way to the Siberian region.]]
* BombDisposal: Troops with "Cleanup" can defuse enemy land mines. There's no messing around with triggers or wires, they just dig 'em up like potatoes and stuff them in their pockets.
* ButNotTooForeign: Masami von Weizegger is half-Japanese and half-German.
* CasanovaWannabe: Again, Emilio.
* CharacterDevelopment: Masami is a egoistic novice who learns to care with others as the story progress.
* CherryTapping: An [=AFW=] with only 10 HP or less will topple over into a smoldering wreck if it gets hit... by a volley of autocannon/rifle/handgun bullets.
* ChewingTheScenery: Rodriguez somehow managed to have this without voice acting or [[BoldInflation alternate text]]
* ChickenWalker: Light [=AFW=]s, which in-game are the technlogical evolution of the initial 4-Leg [=AFW=]s, but weren't sophisticated enough to carry solid armor and heavy cannons like the latter models (although they're useful for reconaissance and anti-infantry purposes). The main characters' two Light [=AFW=] models, Kinasato's formerly state-of-the-art German model Type-2 Light [=AFW=] "Kuki" and Jun's upgraded American model "Nue", are based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_II Panzer II]]'' and the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_Stuart M3]]''. One model even ''looks'' like a giant mechanical chicken.
* CloseRangeCombatant:
** Anti and Light [=AFW=]s, soldiers with Grenades, and Mechanics in general (being armed with grenades as their standard attack).
** Ryoko's AFW is specced for close-ranged fighting moreso than a Medium walker is normally, having a snub-nosed cannon and a PowerFist that puts some Anti-[=AFW=]s to shame. [[spoiler: It may have something to do with her morbid terror of the things.]]
* CognizantLimbs: Body (more damage) legs (immobilizes the unit, both in combat and strategically), and gun (the unit can't hit the side of a barn and its reload meter is reset to 0).
* CombatMedic: Medic squads increase the amount of HP that other friendly squads can regain when given the recover order. They are armed with pistols that are decent against enemy infantry.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Once a 4-legged AFW is in short range, it may as well present its exhaust pipe. Accuracy drops to single digits (as low as ''three!''). At long range, it's king, at medium, it can still send heavy payloads hurtling downrange, and at short, it's cannon fodder. It's actually more effective to walk up to the enemy and let them hit you once with their PowerFist to end the battle sooner than risk taking a handful of cannon shots while you futilely spit potshots (especially if you brought someone with land mines).
* CriticalExistenceFailure: Any [=AFWs=] and Infantry Squads can still keep going and be brought back from the brink of destruction if they have 1 HP. However, squads assigned to crew the [=AFW=]s will call damage reports, indicating that each shot causes internal damage and increases the felt weight of the unit, with the final shot wrecking enough internals that it can no longer keep upright. Infantry squads also lose members as their HP goes down.
* CriticalHit: Damaging the weapon causes a serious accuracy penalty while damaging the legs will slow down or immobilize the [=AFW=].
* DamageIsFire: Damaged components catch fire. "Repair" and "Quick Repair" is represented by hosing these sections with fire extinguishers.
* DavidVersusGoliath: Any soldier that runs up to grenade/rocket an [=AFW=] in the face has balls of steel.
* DeadpanSnarker: EVERYONE has their moment, but this is most definitely Kinasato's hat.
* DidntSeeThatComing: [[spoiler: Schreigen reveals himself to be the traitor of the Streifen unit and tells them to "die an honorable death" as the last mission. Guess what? They failed miserably to accomplish his orders]].
* DieselPunk: Cold-War era with reverse-engineered nazi {{Giant Robot}}s. They even have diesel motors hanging off their backs.
* DrugsAreGood: Hype Morale involves squad members popping a pill; likely dexedrine (as it's known nowadays, methamphetamine).
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Jun is mistaken for a girl several times in-story.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Masami hates his Japanese first name, so he asks his comrades to call him "[[LastNameBasis Weizegger]]" instead.
* EquipmentUpgrades: Averted. What an AFW starts with is what you get.
* ExplosiveStupidity: Discussed. Soldiers with mines will ALWAYS remind each other to be careful with them.
* {{Expy}}: Oddly enough, Dora Gustav become this to the titular VideoGame/MetalGear. [[spoiler:Giant WalkingTank with [[DeathFromAbove long range nuclear delivery capabilities]], even though this function in itself considered incidental and simply CrazyEnoughToWork at the time.]]
* FlareGun: Flash Shot, Illumination Shot (special move type), and Special Ammo when used by Light walkers is depicted as soldiers using a flare gun.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In Mission 4, John and Kinasato have a chat about the largest artillery peice ever built. [[spoiler: It's the final boss, the Dora Gustav, AKA [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerer_Gustav Schwerer Gustav]], now given a land-battleship sized SpiderTank as a lower body.]]
* FormerRegimePersonnel: Schreigen and Rodriguez were both AFW specialists for Nazi Germany given amnesty by the Western Allies for their technical expertise, similar to Wernher von Braun in RealLife.
* FragileSpeedster: Light [=AFWs=] have relatively thin armor, but make up for it with insane mobility and terrain handling.
%%* FunnyForeigner: Emilio Panini.
* GenderIsNoObject: Never addressed in story except by [[BloodKnight the villainous Vietnam veteran]] Yu Kaiho, but presumably there's no issue at all as half of the characters are female and all fought actively according to their roles. Strange since we're talking about [[StayInTheKitchen Japan]], but presumably it's a part of the AlternateHistory itself.
** Hidetomi Minakawa exhibits the same view with Yu Kaiho, but only for a moment of surprise before going all out anyway.
* GeoEffects: Be mindful of the terrain that you're fighting on when you attack enemy infantry or [=AFWs=]. If you open fire and no damage is inflicted despite the fact that your accuracy was very high, it's because the projectile/s got stopped in mid-flight by an obstruction or even the ground itself. The most ridiculous example of this are barbed wire sections: They can stop both small arms and '''cannon''' fire.
* GoodLookingPrivates: The South Japanese infantry are quite photogenic.
* GrandTheftPrototype: The plot kicks off when Kaiho hijacks one of the prototype [=AFW=]s that was meant to be used during a training exercise.
* GrenadeLauncher: Mechanic and Supply troops are armed with shoot-through type rifle grenades (most rifle grenades use a blank charge to provide launch pressure, shoot-through catches the bullet instead). This allows them to use their carbines against [=AFW=]s and infantry as the situation warrants.
* GrayAndGreyMorality: The protagonist are mostly NeutralGood, [[ItsPersonal every single of them have their own agenda]], and [[MyCountryRightOrWrong to a point knew well that the country they serve is most definitely not perfect]], North Japan Army only fought for their cause too. [[spoiler:In the end, Yu Kaiho and Hidetomi Minakawa were proven to be WellIntentionedExtremist (and far less of an extremist than protagonist feared to boot), and the protagonist refused to be used as BlackSheep and determined to expose the truth behind the conflict.]]
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy:
** Infantry squads that ride on [=AFWs=] or follow behind in the rearguard position will never cause damage. So the only reason why they're even shooting their guns in the first place is ''to look busy''.
** Medium and Anti [=AFW=]s have a machine gun turret to deter infantry attacks. [[PointDefenseless It's a complete waste of space, money, time, etc.]]
* ImprovisedArmor: The North Japanese's basic Medium walker has a slab of scrap metal bolted to its pelvis, which compliments the actual arm shield it has.
* IneffectualLoner: [=AFW=]s become much more vulnerable in battle if they lose their infantry escorts.
* JackOfAllStats: Medium [=AFWs=] are capable of fighting well with their medium cannon as well as mixing it up in close combat (though not as well as Anti-[=AFWs=]). The main characters' models are the Masami's Japanese Type 1 [=AFW=] "Byakko" (based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_I Tiger I]]'', and Ryoko's German-Japanese Type 65 [=AFW=] "Suiko" (a Type 1 prototype based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_IV Panzer IV]]''), both being tested along the German[[spoiler:-Soviet]] Type 0 [=AFW=] "Hyoga".
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Rodriguez, who's always bossing everyone, but always cares with their safety.
** Wei post CharacterDevelopment has gone from a [[IWorkAlone loner]] [[JerkAss jackass]] to a [[TheStoic mostly neutral]] but [[TheCaptain competent leader]].
* LaResistance: The North Japan Liberation Front. Also the pro-communist guerrillas Masami and company face in the early missions in South Japan.
* LandMineGoesClick: And then "Boom!" Comes in three flavours, regular, magnetic, and chain (reaction). Except for the Chain Mine, they’re only effective against [=AFW=]s.
* LightningBruiser:
** Type 3 at the start of story: it moves like Light [=AFW=], dishes it out like Heavy [=AFW=], and hits like [=Anti-AFW=]. Its only weakness is long distance combat due to inherent inaccuracy of dual retractable cannon. [[FromBadToWorse Then it got the accuracy problem fixed]]...
** Anti-[=AFWs=] in general have relatively fast-forward speed and boast a lot of armor. [[NecessaryDrawback In return]], they usually have a medium cannon with very short barrel as their main gun. Their backwards speed is pathetic too.
* LiveActionCutscene: The intro is StockFootage of WWII with the game's [[HumongousMecha Armored Fighting Walkers]] edited in.
* LoopholeAbuse: Ban on aircraft made using nukes impossible[[spoiler:, then Dora Gustav [[IncrediblyLamePun crawled in]]]].
* LongRangeFighter: Four-Legged [=AFW=]s and Shooters who know Homing Shot.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Medium and certain light and anti [=AFW=]s have ablative armor plating used to stop a few hits early in deployment.
* MightyGlacier: Heavy [=AFWs=] boast thick protection and carry a heavy gun, but have slow response and loading times.
* MilitaryMashupMachine: The Dora in the game, IS the real Dora, captured by the Americans, who gave it a {{BFG}}. It's basically a land-battleship.
* MoreDakka: The "Rapid Fire" and "Cooperation" Infantry skills.
%%* NervesOfSteel: Kenichi Kinasato.
* NeverSplitTheParty: Lone [=AFW=]s will go down very quickly if they're attacked by two or more [=AFW=]s.
%%* NintendoHard
* NonchalantDodge: The "Dodge Action" Max skill allows you to do this. Used mostly by light AFW pilots (the only medium AFW pilot who uses is Kaiho).
* NonDamagingStatusInflictionAttack: The Mechanic unit's "Wire" ability, which fires a bolas at an enemy walker to trip it up and stop it from moving. It's upgraded version, "E-Wire," adds SubSystemDamage in the form of breaking its legs (which, due to how the game handles subsystem damage, actually does no HP damage).
* NonIndicativeName: The ''non-lethal gas'' shells are incorrectly labeled "White Phosphorous" when they're actually just "Tear Gas".[[note]]White Phosphorous is incredibly volatile due to being highly flammable and pyrophoric (self-igniting) upon contact with air. It can be used to generate smoke, set buildings on fire, and kill personnel. And it accomplishes the latter not by setting people on fire but either by suffocating them, burning their flesh, or causing other serious complications such as organ failure from inhalation of white phosphorous smoke.[[/note]]
* OrnamentalWeapon: The North Japan Four-Legged AFW has four mini-turrets under its main gun. These never fire.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: Citys/Villages/Prison Camps that are marked with a star contain infantry squads that can be picked up/rescued and added to your force. If a damaged enemy [=AFW=] recovers on those places however, the squads are lost.
* PointOfDivergence: Nazi Germany develops a [[SpiderTank multi-legged]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-propelled_artillery self-propelled gun]] in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kursk Battle of Kursk]] to a disappointing outcome... And Imperial Japan doesn't surrender after the UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki, extending UsefulNotes/WorldWarII to late 1946.
* PuttingOnTheReich: Played with; South Japanese infantry unit uniforms look very similar to WWII German uniforms, but they're not the bad guys. [[spoiler:Although the German weapons developer who commands the main characters' unit [[WarForFunAndProfit doesn't just sell weapons to the South Japanese]]...]]
* RandomNumberGod: The optimum accuracy percentage for shooting at [=AFWs=] is between 70 and 80%. But the moment you know that the game is screwing you over is when you miss a +90% shot (+90% shots have very little chance of missing and will likely cause critical damage). On the other hand, landing a last-second snapshot at very low accuracy or when you jerk the trigger after forgetting you were in aim mode when a special ability finishes up is very satisfying.
* RealRobotGenre: One of the hardest example in any fiction, without being too impractical. Early AFW designs were postponed due to poor leg workings, and they performed badly in the relatively flat European Theater. They are by far slower than ''any'' WWII era tank in even ground. Crippling the legs are important to the point of LampShading; there are no less than four infantry techniques for crippling them (two different types of landmines, tying them down with high-tension cables, and frying them with electric shocks), and the targeting computer, when allowed to calculate a maximum-accuracy [[note]]99.99 %[[/note]] firing solution, invariably hits the legs. They're also quite noisy. Outside, they're [[StompyMooks stompy,]] and inside, you can hardly hear yourself think over the squealing and grinding of the transmission.
* ScratchDamage: Light [=AFWs=] and soldiers armed with rifles/handguns can still chip away at other [=AFWs=].
* SecondaryFire: Not any of the AFW guns, however. Mechanics can swap between rifle-launched grenades and bullets depending on if they're fighting walkers or infantrymen (ex when another squad calls for a Co-op attack).
* ShipTease: Ayana actively tries to interact with Wei in chapter 5 and 6. However. it also highlights his CharacterDevelopment, and could be interpreted as [[TrueCompanions platonic]].
* ShootTheMedicFirst: Eliminating a Medic squad will drop a unit's ability to heal its infantry escort.
* SingleUseShield: Shields can withstand 2-3 shots of any strength, but after that, they're gone for the rest of the mission.
* TheSmartGuy: Kenichi Kinasato serves as the team's smart guy, as a cool-headed veteran [=AFW=] pilot. [[spoiler:His intelligence skills are even more evident when it's revealed that he's a spy sent by the South Japan goverment to overlook the Streifen unit's somewhat irrational actions.]]
* SniperScopeSway: The targeting of your cannon swings across the body, gun, and legs of the enemy mech, zooming in and tightening over the legs as the targeting computer calculates an optimum solution. If you're careful, you can use this to snipe their gun or legs at low accuracy.
* SpiderTank: 4-Leg [=AFW=] units belong to this type of mecha. In fact, the setting's very first [=AFW=] was a German four-legged [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-propelled_artillery self-propelled gun]] (Ayana's 4-Leg "Ohbu", based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummel_(vehicle) Hummel]]'', is mentioned to be a direct successor), although it was deployed in the Battle of Kursk no success: German engineers continued to improve their technology for Imperial Japan in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall Operation Downfall]], while the Americans were interested in their possible nuclear protection capabilities (much like the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obiekt_279 Obiekt 279]]'') but finally preferred their use as 4-Leg heavy cannon platforms (an example is John's M-10 4-Leg [=AFW=] "Little John", based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M40_Gun_Motor_Carriage M40]]''), and the Soviets simply borrowed the German technology to develop them into more sophisticated weapons like the Anti-AFW models.
* SovietSuperscience: PlayedWith. Both factions of the Cold War have their own HumongousMecha (AFW) bias: Soviets prefer more advanced [[AntiVehicle Anti-AFW]] units (Although [[spoiler:some internal factions push independently the unsuccessful twin turret-style mecha]]), Americans prefer the older [[SpiderTank Spider Tanks]] to [[MoreDakka mount huge cannons]]... And both Japanese factions, backed by Soviet or German-American developers, use mostly older [[ChickenWalker Light]] and [[JackOfAllTrades standard]] units. However, the plot kickstarts when the Communist Japanese faction steals a seemingly more advanced German-Japanese [[MasterOfAll multifunctional]] SuperPrototype from the Capitalists, although [[spoiler:the stolen AFW turns out to have been developed by Capitalist defectors in the Communist faction and financed with German backing, which means that the advanced weapon was all along Communist, and that the German developers are secretly selling weapons to both sides... Ironically, this incident is merely a cover-up to the Communist theft of a German-American [[LoopholeAbuse Loophole Abusing]]-superweapon.]]
* SpitefulAI: At the start of Mission 10 (Miyako), there is one [=AFW=] that you need to immediately destroy in battle with Jun's Team as that particular enemy is programmed to capture the two neutral villages on the map which happen to contain recruits. Failing to stop him will inevitably result in the loss of those recruits as there is no way you can make a second attack without losing Jun, forcing you to restart the mission or forfeit any chance of saving those neutral villages.
* StockFootage: Played in very interesting way, most of the [[LiveActionCutscene live-action sequences]] are RealLife war footage... but in certain scenes, [[HumongousMecha AFWs]] are [[ChromaKey inserted creatively]] that because the footage is [[JustifiedTrope old, has low framerate, and very much grayscale]], the mech's presence and actions look [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome very realistic]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuizKom-bjo Observe]].
* StrategicAssetCaptureMechanic: The strategic maps have villages dotted around, ColorCodedForYourConvenience, blue (player), white (neutral), and orange (the enemy). Capturing them allows your units (mechs and their three supporting infantry squads) to be repaired, and villages with white stars next to them allow you to recruit a squad of troops. The enemy has a nasty habit of prioritizing denying you new recruits over victory.
* StupidJetpackHitler: As mentioned above, the [=AFW=]s were developed by Germany in the tail-end of WWII. It's downplayed, however, as they're AwesomeButImpractical in most places EXCEPT Japan, where their legs can outperform caterpillar treads or wheels on the tectonically-active archipellago, and are as cheap and easy to mass-produce as tanks (once the bugs were worked out, that is. Their complexity compared to wheeled vehicles stalled the whole project).
* SubSystemDamage: The legs and gun can be crippled on most [=AFW=]s.
* SuperMovePortraitAttack: Happens whenever someone uses a Maximum skill.
* SuperPrototype: The Type 0 [=AFW=] "Hyoga" (codenamed "Phoenix" to the Northern Japanese, based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_tank Panther]]''), which gets stolen from you by Kaiho during the prologue missions. It's an all-in-one AFW lethal at any distance, the MBT to the game's tank-class system. Fast as a Light, guns powerful as a 4-leg, twin {{Power Fist}}s like an Anti, and the toughness and shields of a Medium. However, it trades long-range accuracy due to the guns being mounted in its ''[[UnusualWeaponMounting elbows,]]'' of all places.
** [[spoiler:The Anti-[=AFW=] "Yasha" (based on the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SU-85 SU-85]]''), Hidetomi's personal [=AFW=], which is basically an upgraded enemy S-85 model with better armor and cannons. It's also Ryoko's [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes living nightmare]].]]
** [[spoiler:Sergei's suitably named "G. Sergei", which belongs to a type of experimental heavy [=AFW=]s that were deemed as impractical in favour of newer standard [=AFW=]s and Anti-[=AFW=]s... However, Sergei was fond of them and continued funding their development by himself. The AFW is heavily inspired by the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMK_tank SMK]]'' and ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-100_tank T-100]]'' prototype tanks.]]
* TacticalSuperweaponUnit:
** The first story arc involves the GrandTheftPrototype of an [[AMechByAnyOtherName Armored Fighting Walker]] that combines all the disparate roles of the game's various types of walker (except for artillery, due to the accuracy problems inherent in its UnusualWeaponMounting--someone thought it was a good idea to put its guns in its elbows, of all places). The enemy army supporting it is only there to slow your guys down so it can escape, as it's fully capable of mopping the floor with them in a standup fight.
** The final boss of the game is the Dora Gustav, an immense SpiderTank sporting both the largest cannon ever made and a magazine stocked with nuclear bombs.
* TrickBomb: Smoke Shot is depicted as a grenade.
* TurnBasedStrategyRealTimeCombat: When two [=AFWs=] engage, gameplay switch from the turn-based strategy map to real-time combat where the opposing forces shoot at each other until either one of them is destroyed or the operational time limit of sixty seconds has passed. Either scenario ends the turn.
* UnstableEquilibrium: Every enemy [=AFW=] represents an opportunity to earn experience. If you complete a mission by capturing a mission-critical location instead of annihilation, you lose the experience that could've been earned from any enemies still remaining on the field. You also need to keep every friendly [=AFW=] alive or else they will miss out on bonus experience that is rewarded at the end of a successful mission.
* UnusualWeaponMounting: The Type 3 Prototype AFW has its cannons mounted in its elbows for some inexplicable reason. Yes, it does ruin its accuracy.
* WalkingTank: In fact, many of the AFW designs are based on specific WWII tank designs. Jun's AFW, for example, is based on the M3 Stuart while one of the North Japanese [=Anti-AFWs=] is clearly modeled on the Soviet SU-85 self-propelled gun.
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Let Weizegger fall in battle and the game ends in failure.
* YouALLLookFamiliar: The [=AFW=] pilots and ground troops of the South Japan Army, the North Japan Army, and the Soviet Red Army.
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