I never watched Zoids nor even saw their models selling. My only knowledge of them was seeing a GBA game seemingly based on them.
Could you point out Zoid's main selling points, what makes them stand out from other mechas? At first glance it seems to be "animal-bots!". With the bad guys using dino-skeleton bots. Also something about organic metal from the wiki. Looks like something I could work with. But are the machines sentient? Any special energy sources? Are they powered up by believing in yourself? Do they regen? Also are they more melee based or shooty or hybrid?
Zoids were indeed sentient to a degree, most only possessed up to animal level intelligence relative to their model however. There were exceptions to prove the rule, like the ones possessing Black Boxes.
They weren't powered up by believing in yourself or anything, but their performance could be affected by a pilots emotional and mental state. It was normally tactics or some new system that would win you the fight you were just losing, so more Real Pilot aligned I think. However a close relationship with your zoid was necessary to do well with it. The Liger Zero was thought to be worthless because no one could pilot it until Bit Cloud, simply due to it refusing to cooperate.
They possessed a Zoid Core that was essentially their heart and brain rolled up into one nice package, that if damaged would result in their termination without intervention (much like us actually). They could be grown from an intact core, and regenerate slowly.
'Wild' Zoids existed which were those without pilots, they usually maintained themselves through cannibalism of other zoids, devouring another's core in some cases, but depending on the timeline there were zoids that could persist off of metal laden plants or deposits.
Energy source....varies depending on the timeline. In Chaotic Century the Zoid EVE, an ancient Zoidian relic
from before humans came supposedly powered all zoids, but later they introduced Reggel, which could be found in nature as well as manmade. A bucket worth was apparently enough to power a large zoid.
And they were fairly well balanced on melee vs ranged, with hard ammunition favored over energy in most cases.
There was also tech warfare with such examples as the Shadow Fox's smokescreen interfering with radar readings, the Killer Dome crab model capable of jamming radar entirely
While the main character always had a Liger as his personal Zoid, allies ran the whole animal kingdom and so did the enemies. Chaotic Century (the 1st timeline wise) each of the 2 main factions favored certain models but that changed in later series when the War was long over.
What makes Zoids stand out in my opinion, in that while robot fighting is still the main draw, it was the bond between the Pilot and Zoid that only grew stronger as the series went on. There was a great team feeling that something like Gundam didn't possess, a reminder of the intelligence of the mechs unlike the *insert super sentai/voltron substitute here*.
Super Sentai came close with Wild Force admittedly, with Dino Thunder picking up the Saurs later And it didn't need enormous explosions in every action scene, or endless fan service
wouldn't complain if it did though to keep you watching.
There was also the sheer number of mechs and customization compared to anything else at the time. Pterasaurs, Falcons, Ligers, Gorillas, Tyrannosaurs, Elephants....even flying whales and sharks
Whale King and Hammer Kaiser, they were carrier zoids. There was even a Caterpillar zoid. If you wanted it, they probably had it somewhere.
