Giganscudo/Giganscudo Duro

The Giganscudo is a fictional robot in the SUPER Robot Wars series. Its upgrade is known as the Giganscudo Duro. It has appeared as a playable unit in the Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation series. The names of the Giganscudo and Giganscudo Duro are of Italian origin, meaning giant shield and hard giant shield, respectively.

Appearance

The Giganscudo is given a red color scheme, emblazed with white at its joints and splashed with gold highlights on its shoulders, chest and knees. Weighing at an astounding 451.9 tons and standing at 70.3 meters tall, the Giganscudo is one of the heaviest and largest super robots. Mounted on both of the Giganscudo's arms are a pair of large shields, and when the Giganscudo Duro upgrade is introduced, a new anchor unit is installed, in place of the shields.

Technical And Historical

The GS-1 Giganscudo was developed during the space colonies' independence movement, known as NID4, prior to the events of Original Generation. This super robot, originally intended to be a real robot, used for bombardment purposes, was primarily used for combat and battleship defense, but the Hope Incident led the manufacturers to store the Giganscudo away, in fear of losing more lives. The machine would wind up inside the Hiryu, after escaping from Aerogater Megillot patrols outside of Pluto. The heavily damaged Giganscudo would then be retrofitted into a humanoid form gearing for defense rather than offense. The Giganscudo would be needed in battle when the Divine Crusaders War broke out, and Earth Federation Army mechanic, Tasuku Shinguji, would be assigned the Giganscudo for the duration of the war, as well as the L5 Campaign, after hijacking the machine, in order to protect the Hiryu Custom from an attack by the United Colony Corps.

The Giganscudo excels in melee combat and has high defensive capabilities for a super robot, considering it was created before the introduction of Personal Troopers and other super robots, such as the Grungust. The shields mounted on the Giganscudo's arms are the Sheath Shields (Seize Shields in the Japanese version), used for grappling and crushing enemy mechs. A Tesla Drive would be installed on its back, allowing it to sustain flight in Earth's atmosphere.

In Original Generation 2, Dr. Marion Radom would give Tasuku parts for the upgrade to the Giganscudo, after the L5 Campaign, turning it into the Giganscudo Duro, and given the codenumber GS-1D. The story behind the upgrade is fleshed out more in Super Robot Wars Original Generations. While completing The New Sheath Anchor module (Seize Anchor in the Japanese version) sent by Marion, Tasuku and members of the Octopus Squad were sortied out from the Hiryu Custom to engage a group of Divine Crusader Remnants in space, encountering Murata and his Guarlion Custom Mumyou. Murata's Guarlion Custom would deal heavy damage to the Giganscudo's Sheath Shields, and Tasuku requests the Hiryu Custom the Sheath Anchor module be sent out. Discarding the damaged Sheath Shields, the Giganscudo docks with the Sheath Anchors, becoming the Giganscudo Duro, and engages Murata again, forcing him to retreat.

The Giganscudo Duro supports the new Sheath Anchor units, making it much easier to grapple onto enemy units. With a Gravicon System installed in the Giganscudo Duro, the machine features a new Gravity Wall barrier, increasing its defensive abilities.

Specifications

Giganscudo

Height: 70.3 meters

Weight: 451.9 tons

Weapons Systems:

• Giga Burst (Giga Circle Blaster in the Japanese version)
  This attack, capable of hitting mutilple enemy targets, fires a sudden burst of energy originating from the Giganscudo, and expands in a spherical area, damaging all enemies within the weapon's range. Unlike the Cybuster's Cyflash or the Valsione's Psycho Blaster, this attack will damage allies caught within the weapon's range.

• Giga Knuckle
  ''Using its Sheath Shields, the Giganscudo delivers a couple of melee attacks on its enemy.

• Sheath Thunder (Seize Thunder in the Japanese version)
  ''The Giganscudo charges its Sheath Shields with electricity. It rushes towards the enemy and grapples it, while releasing the charged energy, electrocuting the unit. The version of this attack in Original Generations has the Giganscudo crushing its grappled target between its Sheath Shields, instead.

• Giga Blaster (Giga Wide Blaster in the Japanese version)
  ''Similar to the Grungust's Final Beam attack, a powerful beam of energy is fired from the Giganscudo's chest. This attack damages multiple enemies, as seen in Original Generations.

• Giga Uragano (Gigante Uragano in the Japanese version)
  ''The Giganscudo rushes forward, hitting the enemy with a couple of melee attacks. With the enemy momentarily stunned from the attack, the Giganscudo flies high into the sky. At a certain point, the machine stops its ascent, and proceeds to hit its target with a Sonic Breaker attack, similar to the one used by the Guarlion. With the added size and weight of the Giganscudo, the machine thunderously squashes the enemy, destroying it in a blazing heap.

Giganscudo Duro

Height: 70.3 meters

Weight: 487 tons

Weapons Systems:

• Giga Burst (Giga Circle Blaster in the Japanese version)
  This attack, capable of hitting mutilple enemy targets, fires a sudden burst of energy originating from the Giganscudo Duro, and expands in a spherical area, damaging all enemies within the weapon's range. Unlike the Cybuster's Cyflash or the Valsione's Psycho Blaster, this attack will damage allies caught within the weapon's range.

• Giga Knuckle
  ''Using its Sheath Anchors, the Giganscudo Duro delivers a couple of melee attacks on its enemy.

• Giga Blaster (Giga Wide Blaster in the Japanese version)
  ''Similar to the Grungust's Final Beam attack, a powerful beam of energy is fired from the Giganscudo Duro's chest. This attack damages multiple enemies, as seen in Original Generations.

• Giga Unghia (Gigante Unghia in the Japanese version)
  ''The Giganscudo Duro charges its Sheath Anchors with electricity. It rushes towards the enemy and hurls the anchors at it. A successful grab paralyzes the target, while damaging it with the electrical energy. As the Giganscudo Duro tosses the enemy away, it rams the enemy with its Sheath Anchors for a final attack. The version of this attack in Original Generations is similar, as the enemy is still grappled by the Sheath Anchors. Instead, the target is thrown high into the air, while the Giganscudo Duro ascends vertically at high speed to meet it with a Sonic Breaker attack.

Notes

In the animated Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars, the Giganscudo is revealed as being designed to be specifically utilized by two pilots. However, prior to the end of the Divine Crusaders War, Tasuku remodeled the cockpit with Radha Bairaban's help, thus converting it into a single-pilot unit.

See Also

• Giganspada