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alt title(s): Ace Custom Whenever The Federation deploys a new Humongous Mecha, they usually begin with a prototype to test out the technologies involved before approving it for mass production. This prototype is usually at least an order of magnitude more powerful than the mass-produced versions will ever hope to be. Aside from a more distinctive appearance, it usually has more weapons, heavier armor, and more powerful thrusters than its more numerous cousins.
This trope, found mostly in Real Robot series, seems to have its roots in the Super Robot genre from which it split. The prototype is usually the mecha piloted by the hero of the story, and so tends to stand out, particularly in combat. The mass-produced mecha, on the other hand, are typically put in the hands of the Redshirt Army, and as such give a much lesser showing on-screen. In a few series, the Super Prototype will virtually be a full-fledged Super Robot.
A similar phenomenon is the Ace Custom, a mass-produced or prototype mecha customized or re-designed for the use of an Ace Pilot, taken from the customized paint jobs of planes used by Ace pilots (particularly the Germans, and especially one) of World War I. These are often essentially Super Prototypes, with the only difference being that it was made after the mass-produced mecha. In addition to a personalized paint job, an Ace Custom may have a tweaked engine, extra sensors, or a distinctive weapon, all keyed to the individual fighting style of its pilot.
A question that often comes up is why the Super Prototype is so, well, super compared to the production model. The typical reason given is that the production model is far cheaper or easier to make in large numbers, as a result of or resulting in budget cuts. The designers may have put in some stuff they decided wasn't feasible, possibly for the express purpose of impressing the approval committee. Sometimes, the technology that makes the mecha so much more powerful is Black Box tech (although one wonders why a prototype of a future possible line of mecha would include tech the mass-produced versions would never be capable of including), and thus not easily replicated (if at all), or may not be as useful for normal human pilots. But mostly, it just helps the hero stand out more.
This can sometimes seem like Truth In Television, given that military prototypes will often post impressive test results that will never be replicated by production models. This happens simply because the point of a prototype is to test the limits. Anyone actually trying to use the thing will never approach the limits to avoid having to get an overhaul after every usage, or to avoid getting themselves killed by exceeding the limits. There is some overlap with the idea of an experimental model, which has great abilities but was never intended to enter production. Military test pilots refer to this as "pushing the envelope" - the upper edge is height, the left edge is speed. Visualize this as the kind of envelope you mail somebody and you realize that particular area is where the postage gets canceled.
In some cases, like what happened in the Soviet Union from time to time, the difference will be in the quality of production. The prototype will be handcrafted with top-of-the-line materials and much attention put into perfection. The mass production models will be churned out as fast as possible with shoddy materials by under-skilled factory workers, leading to a drop in quality.
Also, series may use this because The Hero does, after all, have to Travel Cool.
See also: Conservation Of Ninjitsu. Contrast with No Plans No Prototype No Backup and Disposable Superhero Maker. Contrast Flawed Prototype. May result in Explosive Overclocking or Tim Taylor Technology.
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
Comic Books
- A non-mecha example, this happens when any villain tries to replicate a Super Serum. The first villain to try it is bigger, stronger, faster than the original, but the original never pushes it to the limits because of the idiocy-inducing effects of an overdose, or the subject becoming completely musclebound or even exploding. On the rare occasions that the villains continue to use the super serum on Mooks, they will have much smaller doses and usually be sent in groups.
Film
- Variation: In the movie The Last Starfighter, the ship flown by the heroes was a Super Prototype because it was a prototype of the NEWEST version.
- It also implied the navigator/engineer assigned to it had added a few of his own custom modifications, notably the Death Blossom.
- In Star Wars, Darth Vader's TIE fighter was a custom model with a distinct appearance.
- Arguably justified, since Vader is an exceptional pilot, a genius mechanic, a cyborg and the second-ranking person in the Empire to boot.
- At least one Expanded Universe technical manual says its one of a Low-Rate Initial Production batch of unsuccessful Super Prototypes; the design was rejected as too expensive and the TIE Interceptor was selected instead.
- There's a Mythology Gag in the comic series introducing Baron Soontir Fel that implies that Vader had his TIE Advanced made because Baron Fel kept beating Vader in simulations and training.
- The various Star Wars space sims featured prototype craft: X-Wing featured the Rebel B-Wing and the Imperial Assault Gunboat; TIE Fighter featured a whole host of prototype TIEs being developed by Zaarin's R&D group as well as new introductions to the Imperial Navy fleet. The player is often tasked with protecting, escorting, and eventually flying prototype fighters as part of their missions. The TIE Defender in particular (infamous as the Game Breaker of TIE Fighter) would eventually see production, but its limited numbers, both due to its cost and its figurative flying in the face of standard doctrine, were too few to turn the tide of the Galactic Civil War.
- Subverted in Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, in which, because it was a demonstration model, the prototype of the Yuuzhan Vong Hunter (YVH) droids is much less effective—because it's armed with powered-down weapons. Armed with proper guns, they become outright badass—so much so that a couple can reliably threaten a Jedi in later novels...
- Their effectiveness in their intended role was not so much that as in their use: announcing themselves as machines superior to the rabidly anti-technology Yuuzhan Vong, causing its targets to raaaaaaage.
- The fact that they all talk like Lando Calrissian, their creator, in the Yuuzhan Vong language helps.
- In the Rogue Squadron game series, craft from the prequels - which should be decades out of date in-story - are among the most potent weaponry available.
- Not necessarily. TIE Fighters were built to be cheap and expendable, while the Rebel Alliance didn't have the resources of the Old Republic. The starfighters used by the Clones towards the end of the war likely were superior to the TIEs and X-Wing/Y-Wings. And the Jedi fighters, of course, are by definition Ace Customs.
- The Jedi starfighters themselves are an example, with the decently-shielded Episode II prototypes, and the smaller, poor-shielded, crazy fast production models from The Clone Wars and Episode III.
- You neglect the Naboo Starfighter, which packs the fastest speed and some of the most destructive cluster missiles of the game. Not to mention the flying Buick, which is arguably the most out-of-date (although the games do take place a long time ago).
- It doesn't really help matters that the Empire was carrying out a clampdown on technology the whole time.
- Galactic Battlegrounds features a level in which Colonel Veers is road-testing an experimental walker named the AT-AT. (Yes, those big mean ones on Hoth). The early version is a hero unit when Veers takes control, permitting it to regenerate health.
- Vader's ship is arguably a subversion in the EU, where its one of an entire series of prototypes (TIE Advanced). The nearest cousin to the x1 is the TIE Interceptor, which is significantly faster, more manueverable (described in one of the books as the most maneuverable fighter in the galaxy, hands down), better armed (6 weapons instead of 2, though usually only 4 were actually mounted so as to conserve the Interceptor's more limited power supply) and significantly cheaper to boot. Of course the Interceptor lacks shields and hyperdrive by default, but they can be added one, reducing speed and maneuverability down to x1 levels while retaining better weapons.
- Eventually, Vader's TIE Advanced x1 is developed into a model simply called the TIE Advanced, also known as the TIE Avenger. The Avenger basically combines all of the advantages of the Advanced x1 with those of the TIE Interceptor, and with the addition of being even faster than the Interceptor. Like the TIE Defender (which is only slightly more of a Game Breaker than the Avenger, in fact), it saw very limited use because of its cost and its contradiction of standard Imperial fighter doctrine.
- Star Wars also features another example of this trope. All of the Clonetroopers/Stormtroopers are clones of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, who himself had (presumably self-taught) battle skills far superior to any of his Imperial-trained clones. He also raised a particular clone as his son (Boba Fett) who was NOT subjected to the same growth hormone as the others, and yet turned out to be far superior in terms of battling prowess.
- And when the Stormtrooper corp expanded to also accept non-clones (as well as using clones of people other than Jango), they became, well, Stormtroopers.
- Variation: In the film version of Iron Man, Stane's Ironmonger armor is derived from the prototype (which TONY STARK BUILT IN A CAVE! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!), rather than the more advanced versions later in the film.
- The comic book version of Iron Man both subverts this trope and plays it straight. The subversion comes from Stark constantly producing improved models after the original prototype. The straight examples come from any even vaguely mass-produced derivatives, like the Guardsman armors, which are never on par with Iron Man's own gear. Of course, readers probably wouldn't want a bunch of glorified prison guards to be as powerful as the superhero.
- And, in fact, it's explained that Iron Man himself doesn't want a bunch of glorified prison guards to be as powerful as he is. He deliberately withholds the best tech for himself and even goes so far as to build in exploitable weaknesses in case the armors are ever used against him.
- One could argue whether or not the Iron Monger armor is better/worse then the Mark III Iron Man armor, being as both were created from the same prototype design, just taken in different directions. Tony went with aerodynamic, much more "armor" like, with fewer weapons (though his repulsors make up for a lot) and made to be taken apart. Stane went with military grade design, and such his is (much) larger, more of a mecha than armor, and carries a small battalion of weaponry.
- Don't forget in the film that Stark's prototype Arc Reactor (yes the one built in a cave with a box of scraps.) was vastly inferior to a more improved model. It only managed to save the day because the improved model was stolen, and it was all there was but even then it was very limited.
- If you match them up based on their specs at maximum power, Stark wins mainly because his version of the armor can go supersonic and the RT units are pure energy weapons that outstrip Stane's limited ammunition. Also, during the fight, Stark's weapons went offline leaving him with only flares. His guns and missiles were not operational after losing power to emergency levels.
- The Iron Monger suit was little more than an upscaled version of Tony's primitive suit; if the Iron Man suit was at full power, it could have flown rings around it.
Literature
- In Joel Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov trilogy, the title character is a prototype of a new and improved version of the "GIs" used as soldiers in interstellar combat. The main improvement is in her intelligence rather than her physical capabilities. She is creative and capable of lateral thought, making her more flexible and independent than lower level G Is who mostly serve as grunts that follow orders.
- Honor Harrington examples include the original HMS Fearless, which was explictly a testbed and quite underpowered. Honor makes it work off sheer grit all but being taken out in the process, several books later the Admiral in charge of R&D begs apologies as it wasn't suppose to be ever deployed, especially after a poor showing in war games.
- The HMS Medusa and Nasty Kitty, although not strickly customs are the first ships of their class actually getting into service. The new versions of Pods and Laser warheads they respectifully have make them especially potent.
- You mean the GNS Honor Harrington, as is stated that the Graysons are the first to commission 3 prototype SD(P)s, going so far as Admiral Alexander sending in said prototypes (manned by Graysons ) before the main force (manned by the more experienced Manticoreans) at Basilisk. Also pretty much every new ship Honor or the main characters command is a prototype (the second HMS Nike, the prototype pod Battlecruisers, HMS Minotaur, the new LA Cs etc). But they all count as subversions of this trope, as the series models gradually improve the concept tested out on the prototype (especially in the case of the LA Cs.)
Live Action TV
- The Cool Ship equivalent is the USS Defiant in Star Trek Deep Space Nine. In its debut, it took a dozen Jem'hadar attack ships (just three of which had shown themselves capable of easily destroying the previous most powerful ship in Starfleet) to disable the Defiant, and that was after it was heavily damaged in an ambush. Not to mention, they hadn't even worked all the bugs out of the design yet; in later appearances it was even more formidable. The specs indicated that it was about 1/10 the mass of the Enterprise-D yet carried armament equal to it. Starfleet eventually does make others which are apparently just as powerful (including a replacement for the original when the Dominion finally manages to destroy it), but it takes a while to get them into production.
- The explanation given was that the Defiant was designed to fight a very specific enemy, and had severe design flaws to boot (such as the fact that it would literally rip itself apart if the engines were used at full power!). When the threat from that enemy seemed to recede, Starfleet (being only Mildly Military) decided they had little need for a single-purpose warship, so even after the flaws were ironed out they didn't build any more. Until a huge quadrant-wide war broke, and Starfleet basically needed nothing but dedicated warships.
- Also fully justified in that the Defiant was Starfleet's first dedicated warship in recent memory-not even tailored to fight a single threat, it was the first Starfleet vessel designed and built expressly for combat, rather than the science vessel/warship hyrbids that most Starfleet ships are, and as such has little purpose when the Federation is not at war. However, the Prometheus class may or may not indicate that Starfleet is reconsidering this position-the Prometheus's full capabilities are unknown, but it is a tremendously powerful warship.
- The Enterprise-E also showed evidence of a more military-based design, with a far more sleeker look and a narrow profile.
- A subversion of this appears in the SNES game Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, where one of the simulator missions involves a battle against a stolen prototype Excelsior-class ship. Of course, you end up being able to use one...
- Star Trek actually kept a pretty good eye on its tech level as various ships are introduced. The registry for the prototype ships usually have an NX prefix. The Excelsior was originally NX-2000 and was more of a testbed for the "Transwarp" engine more than anything else. Otherwise, it didn't appear to completely outclass other starships like the Enterprise in terms of combat performance. In later series it seemed that the Excelsior design was actually one of the most versatile in terms of longevity, the design showed up as modern starships as late as Deep Space Nine's fourth season, more than 80 years after it was introduced.
- Star Trek Enterprise also subverted the super prototype as the USS Columbia rolled out, while sharing an identical model the Columbia clearly had some additions that surpassed and were later added to the Enterprise.
- Western subversion: Knight Rider: In "Trust Doesn't Rust", KARR takes KITT for an "inferior production-line model" and assumes himself to be a Super Prototype. He turns out not to have any apparent technological advantage over KITT (of course, KITT is hardly "production-line"), aside from a slightly improved speech module (In the next episode, KITT's is replaced by one similar to KARR's).
- Though surprisingly, when KARR reappears in the third season, while still not more advanced than KITT, he does possess a number of features which KITT had only gained during the second season.
- Power Rangers RPM has the Paleozords, abandoned mecha from the early days of Project Ranger. The reason they were abandoned is because the zord tech hinges on bio-energy fields of living beings, and the Paleozords (based on dinosaurs, as you might have guessed from the name) were trying to connect to creatures that no longer existed, which made them powerful but uncontrollable. By the time the Rangers rediscovered them, the technology had advanced enough to bring them under control.
- A two-episode story on Space Above And Beyond featured "Chiggy Von Richthofen", a enemy Ace capable of wiping entire squadrons of Earth fighters by itself. "Chiggy" flew a special version of the standard Chig fighter that had some kind of stealth technology making it invisible to Earth detection and targeting systems, was invulnerable to cannon fire, and in general displayed greater speed and maneuverability than any other fighter in the show. Also, its nose was painted with a human skull and the phrase "Abandon All Hope".
- Generally averted in Stargate SG 1 and Stargate Atlantis. For example, the Prometheus, earth's first space faring battle cruiser, was constantly being sent in for refits and upgrades, and acheived very few wins during its life. The Daedalus class ships have generally proven to be more reliable, particularly once they received the Asgard beam weapons. Possibly the only exception is the Anti-Replicator Guns. The original, built by Jack and Thor using knowledge from the Ancient database, proved very efective, while the later AR Gs were useful for about one episode. Justified in that Replicators are capable of quickly adapting to new threats.
- Averted in [[Series:Kamen Rider Kamen Rider]], the Shocker Riders are on-par with Double Riders and also have built-in weapons. However, the heroes have much more experience and eventually invent new technique that defeat them all.
- Play straight in spin-off Kamen Rider Faiz, the Riot Troopers are nowhere as good as Faiz.
Oral Tradition
- It's not just for mecha, either: in mythology the first member of a given species is almost always far more powerful (and, usually, larger) than its lesser cousins.
- Especially true for vampires - the earlier the generation the more powerful they are, in many pieces of vampire-related fiction.
Tabletop Games
- Done in the Battle Tech animated series, and in the world setting for the original game as well. Many "ace" Mechwarriors have unique mech variants, such as Justin Allard/Kai Allard-Liao's Yen-Lo-Wang Centurion or Natasha Kerensky's "Widowmaker" Daishi. Ironically, Kerensky, possibly the most badarse Mechwarrior of all time, became most famous while piloting an entirely stock mech that she took from battlefield salvage.
- OmniMechs, with swappable hardpoints, were pretty much specifically invented to allow players to build their own Ace Customs as well as give particular pilots mechs that can only be described as Ace Customs among Ace Customs.
- Prototype Battlemechs are almost invariably less powerful then the production models. The earliest prototypes were built on "primitive" technology that made them slower, more vunerable and far less effiecient.
- Since they're one of the only factions in Warhammer 40000 whose technology is actually improving, the Tau exhibit this trope when it comes to their battlesuits. The standard "Crisis" Battlesuit is model XV8
 ◊, but seasoned warriors are given the chance to field-test more advanced prototypes, such as the XV22◊, XV81, XV84, or XV89. If they really do well, Tau commanders may end up with their own custom suit.
- Subverted with the Chaos Terminators, who are restricted to using Combi-bolters, inferior prototype versions of Storm Bolters, because the latter were not in production when the Terminators Rebelled. Same goes for the Land Raider, the prototypes lacking port and starboard deployment hatches and less interior space (despite being bigger than the mass produced Land Raider).
- Jovian Chronicles, Dream Pod 9's Gundam inspired setting is naturally filled with them. A couple of the prototypes do get mass produced version, but they pale in comparison to their predecessors.
Video Games
- The Original Generation mecha of Super Robot Wars is overloaded with Super Prototypes and Ace Customs, there's far too many to mention.
- Although it does subvert the trope: Lune Zoldark's Ace Custom "Valsione" is weaker than the "Valsion" because it's a custom version of it. Lune disliked the bulky and infernal appearance of the original, so father Bian Zoldark redesigned it as a small, swift mecha resembling a cute girl at the expense of armor, as well as lacking the defensive capabilities the Valsion had that made it extremely difficult to hit.
- That being said, Lune's Valsione is much more nimble and harder to hit. It also can be equipped with additional weaponry, something the Valsion can't, and can fulfill a crowd-control duty due to its Sphere Of Destruction.
- A possible subversion are the "Alt Eisen" and "Weiss Ritter". The Alt was built as a Super Prototype for a proposed Gespenst MK III line and the Weiss an Ace Custom for the mass-produced Gespenst MK II, but due to both being cost-ineffective and the finalization of the Huckebein and Lion lines by The Federation, all plans to mass-produce either were scrapped.
- However, this is played straight by the second Super Robot Wars Original Generation, wherein the Alt and Weiss receive upgrades that far outclass the Huckebein and Lion mass-produced lines combined; moreso on the Weiss' upgrade, it being tinkered by a Cosmic Horror.
- Another example, although justified, are the original Gespents. When going up against the surprisingly powerful "Gespenst Type-S", more than a few characters voice their shock at its power, before being told since it's one of the prototypes, its funding had been astronomical in comparison to the funding for the mass produced Gespensts.
- Plus it's mentioned the Gespenst Type-S they are facing isn't actually the original: it's a more powerful recreation by the Aerogaters.
- The "R-Blade" is completely averted: it's inferior to the equivalent of its production model "R-Eins".
- In a rather bizarre case, Ouka Nagisa is a Super Prototype, having much better stats than the rest of The School children, despite being an "older model", although this may be the case because she is a Recurring Boss character.
- Played with in Super Robot Wars Original Generation Gaiden: Mai Kobayashi wonders whether, since in all the robot anime Ascended Fanboy Ryusei Date has shown her, the prototypes are always the strongest, if the "SRX" will become weaker coming out of its research phase; Or So I Heard, anyways, thanks to No Export For Me.
- In the Metal Gear Solid series, the prototype Metal Gear RAY is of far superior quality to the mass-produced models later encountered by Raiden as a boss battle; then again it may have been actually designed for its supposed purpose (to defeat REX derivatives) whereas the mass-produced versions were actually tactical defense units for Arsenal Gear.
- Despite this, that RAY is defeated by the damaged, unmaintained, and radome-less original Metal Gear REX after Otacon uploaded a program allowing REX to fight as agilely as RAY, despite Snake having shot it with missiles aplenty nine years before.
- It has been suggested that the RAY fought in MGS4 is a production model retrofitted to accommodate a human pilot, due to significant differences between the model seen in MGS2, such as a lack of tail, and weapons similar to the the production models. In addition, as revealed at the end of the game, Liquid Ocelot wanted Snake to win, which implies that he wasn't trying to defeat Snake...
- Rockman / Mega Man is regularly one-upped by his older "Brother" Blues / Protoman. Sometimes explained as having to do with Mega Man originally being a lab assistant, or alternatively, Protoman's nuclear core (which is apparently pretty dangerous, thus its not being used for Mega Man).
- Not to mention, of course, that Mega Man regularly wipes the floor with armies of robot masters presumably based off his own design, made by one of the same two creators. And it's even worse with X, where a robot built at least 60 years before the start of the series and presumably upgraded only by parts which were also built decades before it starts does the same thing with futuristic robots with AI based off his own. Then Zero is presumably a hundred years out of date by the time his series starts...
- Of course, this one's justified in the backstory as Dr.s Light and Wily being just that good. Reploids, of which X was only a figurative prototype, were really little more than crappy knock-offs created by Dr Cain's rather poor attempt to replicate the vastly superior X. It took a very long time just to fix the bugs in the reploids, before they could even begin improving them, and the line only finally and completely shakes the horrible flaws from being bad copies after Mega Man Zero. Indeed, it might even be argued that X is an aversion, being as he wasn't a prototype, he was the pinnacle of the Mega Man line's development—Mega Man was the prototype, and X averts this trope by surpassing Mega Man by orders of magnitude.
- Protoman does it through Genre Savvy. He pulls Fake Defections left and right, sees Wily's tricks a mile off, and last but not least whistles his own Leitmotif before entering any battle, guaranteeing a Theme Music Power Up.
- Varied with Axl and the New Generation Reploids in the X series: Axl can easily beat his mass-produced brethren in combat, but that's not what they're made for. Their main feature is the ability to copy the forms of other Reploids. Axl is demonstrably inferior in this regard.
- Early in Star Fox Assault, the player is attacked by a powerful enemy, referred to only as "some kind of prototype." The same enemy reappears in the last level, more powerful than ever. (You'd think the Aparoids could have mass-produced it by now!)
- The Delphinus from Skies Of Arcadia is a possible non-mecha example, but it's not entirely clear whether the weaker mass-produced equivalent (the Spectre-class battleships) are scaled-back mass production versions or the immediate predecessors of the Delphinus. The Delphinus's unique status, though, is explained by the fact that its construction had been completed mere days before its introduction, and it was intended to be Prince Enrique's flagship. It's entirely possible that the Valuans intended to build more like it, but constructing a battleship tends to be a rather time-consuming endeavor (while viewers might accept the idea of a giant robot being built in a month or less, 600 foot long battleship takes years; it's unlikely that a flying battleship would be any quicker to build).
- Far less ambiguous is the game's non-mecha example of Ace Custom units: all but one of the Valuan admirals have heavily customized versions of the Serpent-class battleship, which in its non-custom form is the standard mook airship. Some of them have purely cosmetic alterations, while others have unique weapons and armor to suit the combat styles and personalities of the admirals. The latter type are the ones that the player actually gets to fight, naturally.
- The fictional planes of Ace Combat occasionally fall under this trope, particularly the X-02 Wyvern "Switchblade" of Ace Combat 04 (and which can be unlocked in both 5 and Zero) and the ADFX-01 "Morgan" of Ace Combat Zero.
- Subverted with the ADFX-01 and ADFX-02 "Morgan" from Zero. The latter, being boss-use only, is superior in every way, including better manueverability, armor, speed, and can swap between all three special weapons without needing to RTB like the former, thus making the Morgan a subversion of the trope.
- Also subverted by the ADF-01 Falken. The canonically first copy, the "Falken ZOE" from 2, lacks the iconic and Gamebreaking laser of the variants in later games (admittedly, SP weapons, of which the Falken's TLS qualifies as, weren't introduced until 4). However, played straight if you factor in the Falken variant from Zero, which has more special weapons options than the one that appears in 5.
- You also have Ace Customs after a fashion, as a far bit of the Hundred Percent Completion in post-Electrosphere games comes from getting enemy aces' paint schemes.
- You can actually buy a prototype of the CFA-44 Nosferatu from 6, in addition to the final version you unlock through gameplay. Of course, it costs you 200 Microsoft Points to do so...
- Inverted in the Halo series, where the ancient, one-of-a-kind Arbiter armor is actually less powerful than the newer, mass-produced Elite armor suits. Specifically, the cloaking device only lasts for several seconds, instead of nearly indefinitely, and also is disrupted by weapons fire. Also played straight in the Expanded Universe, where the more widely-produced armour given to the Spartan-IIIs lacks the Deflector Shields of the Spartan-II MJOLNIR armour. In said novel, Ghosts of Onyx, the Spartan-II programme is explicitly called a proof of concept by the man proposing the Spartan-III programme, which he compares to mass production.
- Of course the Spartan-II Is weren't being used a Super Soldiers, they were being used as cheap disposable shock troops.
- The Edelweiss in Valkyria Chronicles, made by Isara's father for Welkin's father for the previous war. It was found to be an incredible tank, but it was too expensive for any kind of mass production.
- It's also mentioned that the basic Edelweiss was really good, but that it was then customized out the wazoo, making it even better. That being said, it still has a hard time going up against enemy Medium or Heavy tanks without even more modifications in-game.
- Bio Shock 2's protagonist isn't just a Big Daddy - he's the first Big Daddy; unlike the production models, he's nimble and has plasmid powers.
- However, in the said game it's also explained that later Big Daddy models intentionally had the ability to use Plasmid powers engineered out. This makes sense to an extent, as it's easy to imagine having completed the prototype and seeing the results...that they'd opt to not have the hulking behemoths wandering around also all have psychic capability.
- Plus their creator was forced to follow a budget because they didn't have the means to make them like the prototype (in fact, said creator's boss wanted to cut costs beyond the regular Big Daddies only to be told it was utterly impossible).
- Subverted in Cave Story. About a third of the way through the professor appears and gives you a prototype jetpack, with very limited functionality. The game doesn't make the following obvious at all, but it's possible to avoid the encounter altogether and keep playing without the jetpack (made much easier if the player has the machinegun weapon, whose ridiculously strong recoil enables the player character to kinda-sorta fly). When you meet the professor again he'll give you the full-blown version of the jetpack, which is far more useful. Note that if you get the prototype you're stuck with that for the rest of the game - the professor dies before he can complete the final version.
- Subverted in the first Riddick game. Assault rifles in the game require your DNA to be entered into a database before you can use them. While you manage to accomplish this, you eventually get captured and your DNA access is revoked. When you come across a prototype assault rifle (without DNA encoding) later in the game, you assume that it must be better than the earlier assault rifles, right? Actually, the prototype has a broken ammo counter and half of the old assault rifle's clip size. Still a good weapon, but the mass-produced variant is much better.
- Getting technical, any of the titular mecha from Armored Core are Ace Customs. Each one is a specially built engine of destruction that accommodates the pilot's fighting style and can wield an astounding array of weaponry. Also, when Armored Core 4 appeared, mass production models of Cores appeared as mooks— Normals. The newer NEXTS now being the weapon of choice for Ravens, err Lynx.
- The Armored Core series also has a subversion: AC technology was developed from MT (Muscle Tracer) technology, which serves as the mooks of the first three games and their spin-offs. M Ts, however, are usually custom-designed for specific purposes, such as construction, long-range bombardment, or close combat. The A Cs superiority isn't from their improvement over the basic design, but from their adaptability and weapon load. The NEX Ts, on the other hand, ARE technologically superior: Lynx pilots actually form a semi-psychic bond to the mech, allowing even better control than MT technology. Plus, you know, shields...
- In Sonic Adventure 2, we're introduced to two "ultimate life-forms" created as part of Project Shadow: The final product; a hedgehog similar to Sonic, albeit with jetboots, Chaos Control, and a supposed infinite lifespan, and the prototype; a gigantic dinosaur that projects a forcefield around itself, spits energy balls, and also possesses Chaos Control. While Shadow is certainly very strong, smart, and fast, the Biolizard could be considered practically invincible. However, the Biolizard proved imperfect, and was reduced to being connected to an enormous life-support system just to keep surviving, which explains why it's not the final product.
- The first super soldier you defeat in Return to Castle Wolfenstein can take far more punishment than the ones you meet later in the game, as well as being armed with a tesla gun rather than the Venoms of his mass-produced cousins.
- Subverted by Zone Of The Enders, where the prototype Orbital Frame Idolo seems to be rather less powerful than later high grade frames like Jehuty and Dolores. But then both Anubis and Jehuty (later, at least) have sole possession of the Zero Shift Flash Step, which none of the mass-prod mook Frames have.
- But when one considers Nohman's megalomaniacal nature, and the fact the Anubis and Jehuty were stolen it isn't too unreasonable to see why that system was never mass produced.
- Vivi, like all Black Mages in Final Fantasy IX, is an animated doll. However, as the prototype model, his power is greater than that of his "brothers", and his lifespan is much longer, as well.
- A Continuity Nod in Thunder Force series. The mass production model of Styx in III appear as NPC in IV; The Rynex in IV has its production model appear in VI and also serve as prototype of Gauntlet in V. It take Mid Season Upgrade the Gauntlet into Ace Custom Vambrace and Mecha Expansion Pack Brigandine module that Earth's fighter can fight the Rynex. It's justified since Gauntlet is Earthling's replica, built with alien technology they aren't fully understand.
- In Prototype, you are the Super Prototype. And you're also psychotic.
- Given that we never meet another runner of the same strain, it's possible they'd all be as tough as Alex or the Supreme Hunter.
- Of course it doesn't really count, since Mercers creation was completely unintentional.
- Final Fantasy VI's Kefka was the very first Magitek Knight (a normal human given magical powers by way of an infusion from an Esper). He consistently has much stronger magic then Celes, a later-generation Magitek Knight that joins your party. *
The first time you fight him as a boss, he is Level 18, and has spells like Blizzara, Poison, Drain, and all three 1st level Fire Ice Lightning spells. Celes would only have Blizzard, Antidote, Imp, Cure, and Scan at that same level. Unfortuntely, as a prototype, he was exposed to an imperfect version of the infusion process, which resulted in him going just a teensy bit insane.
- And Magitek knights were meant to replicate Terra's power, and since Terra herself is waaaaay overpowered (even for a Final Fantasy protagonist), it counts as well
- An interesting version of this is in Fate Stay Night. Gilgamesh has all the prototypes of every Servant's Noble Phantasm, and goes on to explain exactly why his prototypes are that much more powerful. However, this is subverted in Unlimited Blade Works when Shiro "traces" or copies all of Gilgamesh's super protypes with his Reality Marble, essentially creating a water-downed mass production type version of each one; right after explaining although his versions are weaker imitations, there is no rule about the imitations losing to the originals, he states that he will prove his imitations are superior by destroying all of Gilgamesh's weapons and Gilgamesh himself. Cue Crowning Moment Of Awesome.
- Front Mission 3 has a couple interesting examples. In the start of the game your character is a test pilot for Kirishima Heavy Industries and your first mission is actually a final test run of a new prototype Wanzer for the Japanese Military. The Shunyo Mk. 111 is far more powerful than the test Wanzers you fight against, and if you pick the Alisia Story Path you get to use them in an actual battle where you pretty much mop the floor with the opposition. Either way you won't encounter these Wanzers later in the game at which point you're facing off against them and they're still extremely powerful, but so is your party and thus they're a bit more manageable. And by this time you might have access to the true Super Prototype of the game: The Hoshun Mk. 112. This is a Wanzer that is somehow sent to you through the Internet and not only has more HP than any other pilotable Wanzer, but also has one of the only beam rifles in existence, the other two existing on bosses. The Hoshun can soak up immense ammounts of punishment, the beam rifle can one-shot most enemies (though suffers a recharge time because of the immense AP cost), and all the parts are capable of giving insane bonus skills. One skill will cause a retalitory strike that destroys the body of its attacker on the opponents turn (thus effectively destroying the enemy unit), one removes all AP cost of a combat action (thus negating the large AP cost of firing the beam rifle), and one will result in an attack that automatically destroys the targeted enemy's body. Of course these skills have a very low chance of happening but they are still deadly when they occur. In addition by this time your pilots will probably have learned certain skills which will allow the beam weapon to be fired with no AP cost anyway if it's used in the offhand for a Double Assault (melee/range combo initiated by a melee attack) or a Double Shot II (a Guns Akimbo skill that works regardless of the ranged weapon combo used) skill, thus putting one of those pilots in command of the Hoshun will make it a nearly unstoppable force.
- Prometheus, the last boss in Starsiege human campaign is the first Cybrid. For Cybrid campaign, you become one once reach highest rank.
- X3: Terran Conflict plays this trope straight with Super Prototype spaceships, which are generally superior to the mass-produced versions and cannot be mass-produced by reserve-engineering in player headquarters, and subverts it with The Aldrin Prototype weapons, which are inferior to their modern Terran equivalents. Though this is partially compensated by having better compatibility, allowing bigger types of guns on smaller ships.
- Phantasy Star Zero makes fun of this trope to a degree. Occasionally you will find messages with tips in them. A message talking about a particular robotic enemy in that area says, "Production model & Prototype. Do we need to spell out which one is more powerful?"
- Backstory of Virtual On provide both aversion and straight examples. Some prototype like Viper Alpha and Proto Temjin has inferior armaments to their production model. Original Fei Yen is much more poweful than production model but is sentient and eventually run away from lab. Several Ace Custom are appear in MARZ.
- Bal Bas Bow from first game is actually experimental units for remote arm weapons. The mech itself has unstable powerplant. Its successors from sequels are much better in everyway.
- Near the end of the first planet in Knights of the Old Republic, you get to win a swoop bike race on a super prototype bike. The adversary tries to deny your prize on the grounds that your prototype was an unfair advantage, but the prize, being a Jedi, takes matters into her own hands and breaks out and kills most of the bad guys.
- In Sid Meiers Alpha Centauri, any prototype starts out one experience level ahead of a normal unit. This means that, with a Command Center and Bioenhancement Center, a prototype is Elite right off the rack.
- This is explained as being due to the soldiers being more experienced, rather than technological superiority.
- Half Life does this to a degree. While Gordon is pretty good with a Mark IV HEV suit, he eventually gets his hands on the Mark V prototype which conveniently somes with some extras like an oxygen generator and sprint capability, both running off an auxiliary power source; as well as the ability to tap into the Combine power grid to recharge the built-in reactive armor. Not to mention that while the MK IV looks like a fully metal suit with exposed controls, the MK V has rubber-like black surfaces in most places (arms, gloves, midriff, etc.), giving it a much more badass look.
- Fall Out 3 has some really powerful prototype stuff. Example: MPLX Novasurge, a unique plasma pistol which greatly increases damage and the critical multiplier at the cost of doubled power usage and weight. It was developed by a "Section A61" shortly before the Great War broke out. The prototype survived the war by being beamed aboard Mothership Zeta approx. 200 years before the Lone Wanderer found it in the ship's cargo hold.. Or the MP-47/A power armor prototype with a built-in medical dispenser and an onboard AI.
Webcomics
- In Gunnerkrigg Court, the first robot of the S series, S1, looks much better than the more recent ones. And it has actual hands, rather than the simple claws of the later S models. The explanation given is that the original designer is no longer around and no one maintains the robots in the Court, so when they start to break down they have to create new bodies for themselves on their own with their limited knowledge.
- From Girl Genius: The one or two Dingbots that Agatha has actually personally built, referred to as Dingbot Prime, is much better in every way than its successors. This is because most Dingbots are built by other Dingbots, and each generation is inferior to the previous one, leading inexorably to this trope.
Western Animation
- The e-frames given to Able Squad in Exo Squad were all modified versions of the usual models, testing new features which inevitably turn the tide in the first battle they are used in.
- Megas XLR is both a Super Prototype and an Ace Custom (so customized, in fact, that no one but Coop can pilot it, simply because he changed the controls that much). Although it is technically a "prototype" (the main villain refuses to call it Megas), you never see what production line models of it would be until the last episode where they go to a Bizarro World, where Coop's Evil Twin has an army of easily-destroyed production models. Subverted, however, in that Evil Coop has a vastly superior later-generation bot, which is ultimately defeated by sheer willpower.
- "Good" Coop having the Glorft Armada's entire complement of Mechs on his side probably didn't hurt. Also, considering that Kiva christened MEGAS, short for Mechanized Earth Guard Attack System, and it was a stolen Glorft prototype, its unlikely that the Glorft would call it anything else.
- Subverted in The Mighty Ducks when the Migrator is greatly damaged, and Tanya reveals she's been working on a next-generation model. However, while the engine works well enough for a villain to steal it, the new vehicle's various gadgets and weapons don't work right, (when the ducks know how to use them) and it eventually explodes when they try to drop in a new engine. At the end, Tanya rolls out plans for a third generation model, and the ducks decide they're happy with the old one.
Real Life
- Up till quite recently, most prototypes of new fighter aircraft were painted in bright colours not too dissimilar from those found on the title mecha of a Humongous Mecha series. Example here◊.
- Another good example of a prototype colour scheme here◊. The vehicle depicted would indeed have been far less capable than the production version, if the production version had ever flown... as it was, the RCAF had to make do with the
F-101 CF-101 Voodoo, which didn't measure up even when compared with the Mark I prototypes, due to Political Meddling.
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