Ride Armor

This article is a stub. You can help Mega Man Wiki by expanding it.

The Ride Armor (ライドアーマー),, also known as Mobile Attack Armor or Robot Ride Armor, is a recurring type of item in the X era, first appearing in Mega Man X. It is a large, mechanical suit of power armor that Reploids can pilot by sitting inside the torso, granting them protection and new combat abilities in exchange for a larger size and decreased mobility.

In the Games

Mega Man X

Ride Armor debuted in Mega Man X. The Ride Armor in this game is known as Civil Engineering Ride Armor (土木作業用ライドアーマー), having been originally intended for heavy lifting and engineering work. A green version can be found in Snow Mountain Stage, while a red version can be found in Forest Stage and Sigma Stage 2. The Armor Soldier enemies in these stages also pilot Ride Armor, but if they are spotted outside their Ride Armor, X can easily destroy them and instead take it for himself.

This is the most basic form of Ride Armor, capable of walking across spikes, jumping, dashing, and a simple punch attack. It can take a maximum of 16 hits before it begins breaking down, signaled by it periodically flashing white. No more damage can be taken in this flashing state, giving the player an opportunity to go berserk until the Ride Armor inevitably explodes, leaving them unscathed.

Additionally, Vile pilots a super-powerful blue Ride Armor during his boss battle at the end of Highway Stage, rendering all of X's attacks completely ineffective. Zero blows the arm off of this one, forcing Vile to retreat. He returns with an upgraded purple Ride Armor in Sigma Stage 1, with which he captures Zero and again paralyzes X. This time, Zero self-destructs to completely destroy the Ride Armor, giving X a chance to fight and defeat Vile on foot.

Mega Man X2

Ride Armor returns in Mega Man X2. This Ride Armor is designated as the Ride Armor Type EG-2 Custom (ライドアーマータイプEG-2カスタム), codenamed the Rabbit (ラビット). This Ride Armor was intended for mine excavation, featuring spiked drills on its arms and a reinforced vernier thruster to improve its aerial mobility. It can be found in Dinosaur Tank Stage and Energen Crystal Stage. The Rideroid G enemies in these stages are similar to the Armor Soldiers, as X can take their Ride Armor for himself.

This Ride Armor's drills improve its punching power and give it the ability to charge, causing the drills to spin before unleashing a dash punch. It can also hover through the air with its thruster, though moreso for horizontal travel than vertical ascension.

Mega Man X3

Ride Armor returns Mega Man X3, now at its most complex. This Ride Armor is designated as the Ride Armor DRA-00 (ライドアーマータイプDRA-00), a highly-customizable general purpose model developed by the Maverick Hunters. It is stolen by the Doppler Army and stored in the Weapons Factory Stage, where X must free it from a Hangerter in order to unlock its use. Once it has been unlocked, X can summon it from a Transfer Machine (転送機), also known as a Ride Armor Platform, which are located in most of the game's stages. Three Change Parts can also be found hidden throughout the game, which let X summon different customizations of the Ride Armor.

The Ride Armor DRA-00 has four possible customizations:

• The Chimera (キメラ), its default state. It functions similarly to the original Civil Engineering Ride Armor, able to punch with its fists.
• The Kangaroo (カンガルー), for hand-to-hand combat. It has two spiked drill fists similar to the Rabbit Ride Armor, except its charge attack instead extends a spinning drill on a chain, and it lacks the hover ability.
• The Hawk (ホーク), for airborne applications. It has two rocket launcher arms that fire homing missiles, along with a back-mounted vernier thruster that grants it the hover ability of the Rabbit Ride Armor.
• The Frog (フロッグ), for submarine applications. It hops like a frog instead of walking, and its arms are replaced with two torpedo launchers. On the ground, its hops are short and its torpedoes shoot horizontally before falling to the ground. When underwater, its hops are larger and its torpedoes gain a homing effect. Additionally, its dash is replaced with a long jump which can propel it through the water six times using its screw propellers.

In Doppler Stage A, the mid-boss REX-2000 is a unique Ride Armor piloted by Mad Joey. Additionally, Vile MK-II again pilots Ride Armor in both of his boss battles. In the Vile Stage, Vile first pilots a Ride Armor DRA-00 Kangaroo painted black, before fighting X on foot. In Doppler Stage B, he pilots a brand new type of Ride Armor called the Goliath, designed by Dr. Doppler expressly for combat.