Ride Armor

Ride Armor (ライドアーマー) is the name for a giant mechanical armor that Reploids such as X, Zero, Vile, and Axl can pilot in the Mega Man X series. As the series went on, more Ride Armors were created, each with different strengths and uses.

Mega Man X
X can find two variations of the Ride Armor to use: A green version in Chill Penguin's stage, and a red version in Sting Chameleon's stage as well as Sigma Stage 2.

This Ride Armor can walk, dash, jump and punch enemies, but cannot climb walls. They can take a maximum of 16 hits before they start to flash. While flashing, no more damage can be taken. This is a good opportunity to "go berserk", as nothing else can negatively affect the Ride Armor. After a few moments, X is ejected from the machine and the Rider Armor explodes. There is no way to avert this.

Small grunt robots (Armor Soldiers) that appear on the aforementioned stages can pilot the Ride Armors as well, though with much less health. Their attacks however are very strong, so it is best to destroy them quickly and at a safe distance.

In its reboot Maverick Hunter X, the Ride Armors share a resemblance with the ones from X8, notably from its overall design and attack mechanism which is similar to Cyclops Ride Armor which utilizes piston punches.

"See the section below for information on Vile's Ride Armors."

Mega Man X2
Mega Man X2 introduces the Rabbit Ride Armor (Ride Armor type EG-2 custom), a much improved model of Ride Armor that is also used by the Rideloid-G grunt enemies. It can be found in Wheel Gator and Crystal Snail's stages as well as Agile's X-Hunter Stage. Armed with spiked fists, it can destroy certain blocks that X cannot. By holding the fire button, the Rabbit Ride Armor can spin up its spikes and charge up a powerful attack. The spikes spin for as long as the fire button is held and will deal continuous damage to enemies that come in contact with them. Further, the Ride Armor is capable of dashing and changing direction while "charging". When the fire button is released, the armor dashes forward with a spinning spike punch attack. It can also hover for a short period of time if the jump button is held while in the air. Because of this, its dashing jump is able to clear extremely long distances. The Rabbit Ride Armor is also used in the Game Boy games Mega Man Xtreme and Mega Man Xtreme 2.

Mega Man X3
Mega Man X3 takes the Ride Armor system further than any other game in the series. Scattered throughout the levels are Ride Armor Modules, small chips that allow X to use a certain model of the Ride Armor type DRA-00. They can be activated at special Ride Armor platforms, very long platforms with a χ ("chi", Greek letter for Chimera/χιμάρα) on them. When X steps on one, he will be prompted to choose a Ride Armor out of the Modules he has. Each Ride Armor now has a visible life bar, so it is easy to tell when one will begin to flash. All Ride Armors except for the Frog Ride Armor will short out upon entering the water.

The game also contains two special armors used only by enemies: the Goliath Ride Armor (see Vile's Ride Armors section below) and the REX-2000.


 * Chimera Armor Module, in Blast Hornet's stage: X needs the Tornado Fang to get this. When crossing the garages near the middle of the stages, destroy all of the blocks with the Tornado Fang. One will be destroyed. Drop down and destroy the garage. Continue down to find the Chimera Armor suspended by a Hangerter.
 * Similar to the standard Ride Armors from the previous two games. It can walk, jump, dash, and punch. This Ride Armor is the template the other three Modules are based on, and needs to be unlocked first before using the others.


 * Frog Armor Module, in Gravity Beetle's stage: Once X gets outside, air-dash upwards to ascend the left wall. You'll find the Frog Armor Module.
 * Designed only for underwater combat, it will be confusing and awkward to try and move it on dry ground. ← and → make short hops in that direction, and dashing will result in a long jump. Both functions work well underwater. It can fire homing torpedoes underwater, but the homing function does not work well on land: the torpedoes will just go straight for approx. half the width of the screen then fall down in a sharp curve. By tapping the dash button repeatedly (When you start, the feet have to be on the ground, and do not hold the left or right buttons. Then, you have to keep tapping the buttons rapidly to continue. Once the propeller stops, it will fall down and will not ascend before reaching the ground.), it can perform a 'sextuple jump' while in water, with the help of the propeller.


 * Hawk Armor Module, in Crush Crawfish's stage: To the right of the Ride Armor platform at the beginning of the stage, use a charged-up Triad Thunder to destroy a small grey platform. Drop down to find the Module.
 * Designed for flight. If the jump button is held while jumping, the armor will hover, gaining altitude slowly. The hover boost only lasts for a few seconds. The armor can fire missiles in groups of two, which fly forward at a fast rate.


 * Kangaroo Armor Module, in Toxic Seahorse's stage: Use the Frog Armor when X reaches the Ride Armor platform. Jump down into the water, and reach the high ground when you are given an option to go lower. Two fans will attempt to push X back; Use the Frog Ride Armor's torpedoes to destroy them. Climb out of the Ride Armor and surface-jump across the water to reach the Module.
 * A second possible method is to reach said high ground, and use the charged Frost Shield, it will detach from the buster and be ridable to the surface of the water, and which point you can surface jump to the Module
 * A Ride Armor designed for ground combat. It has powerful spikes on its fists, similar to the Rabbit Ride Armor in Mega Man X2. Its charged attack differs, however: The Kangaroo Ride Armor's fist, spikes spinning, will lash forward on a chain, causing massive damage to all enemies in its range. To make the fist spin, simply hold the shoot button. While it spins, it is possible to dash forward, but impossible to walk or jump.

Ride Armor usage
The Ride Armors are mainly used to get eight items in various stages:
 * Tunnel Rhino: (n/a; anyway, the Maverick's Tornado Fang weapon is needed to get the Chimera Ride Armor)
 * Blast Hornet (1): get the Chimera R.A. and the Heart;
 * Blizzard Buffalo: get the Heart;
 * Volt Catfish: get a Sub-tank;
 * Crush Crawfish: get the Heart and the Body chip;
 * Neon Tiger: (no items; just navigate a harsh area);
 * Gravity Beetle: get the Arm chip.
 * Toxic Seahorse: get the Leg chip; the Frog R.A. or Frost Shield is needed.
 * Blast Hornet (2): get the Head Chip; the Hawk R.A. is recommended;

Mega Man X4
Mega Man X4 features two Ride Armors similar to ones seen in past games.

An upgraded version of the Hawk Ride Armor, the Eagle Ride Armor, is available in Storm Owl's stage. Iris takes on a similar form when she used her brother's control chip to battle Zero. By jumping in the air, the Ride Armor can hover for an infinite amount of time, and will only descend if jump is pressed, or if it is struck by an enemy attack. The Eagle exhibits enhanced offensive capabilities as well: uncharged shots are large masses of plasma and charged shots split into three rays that home in on enemies. This is one of the few Ride Armors in the series that can also perform an air dash.

A Ride Armor resembling the earlier Kangaroo and Rabbit Ride Armors, the Raiden Ride Armor, is a mining Ride Armor found in Magma Dragoon's and Slash Beast's stages. It can survive an infinite amount of time in still lava, and can destroy certain rocked walls and train cars. Plus, for the first time in the series, the player can take the Ride Armor into a boss battle, in this case Magma Dragoon. The Raiden can perform a combo of two slashes if the fire button is pressed twice: a drilling stab and an overhead energy slash. It can perform a charged attack, which produces a lance of energy that is thrust forward.

Mega Man X5
Mega Man X5 doesn't add anything new to the Ride Armor and family, and the two that exist are not used for very long. The Raiden Ride Armor is featured in the second part of Burn Dinorex's stage, which keeps the rider safe while underneath molten magma, and are also used by enemies in the same stage. This armor features a dashing slash attack that punches through enemies. There are also enemies known as Eagle G that use a modified Eagle Ride Armor with a buster that can shoot straight or diagonally and a shield, but the player can't use it.

Mega Man X6
Mega Man X6 only featured one instance of a Ride Armor — the Raiden Ride Armor, found in Metal Shark Player's stage. It can be used to avoid being crushed in the first compressor. However, a second Ride Armor will be available to the player if they enter the stage's Nightmare Area.

Mega Man X7
Mega Man X7 features two Ride Armors (Gouden and Raiden II) that can be used by the player. There are also enemies with Ride Armors known as Proto Ride, and Vanishing Gungaroo uses a Ride Armor in the battle against him, modeled after a mother kangaroo.


 * Raiden II is an improvement of the Raiden Ride Armor from Mega Man X4-6. It has four legs and a drill arm.

Mega Man X8
Mega Man X8 has five Ride Armors, two of which can be used by the player:


 * Cyclops: A blue Ride Armor located in Bamboo Pandamonium's stage. It can use powerful piston punches and has an electromagnetic gun equipped on the shoulder that can paralyze enemies temporarily. It can hover for a short time and can destroy enemies with its weight by stomping on them.


 * Golem: A green Ride Armor used by enemies in Bamboo Pandamonium's stage that sometimes can be used by the player. It's similar to the Cyclops, but lacks the electromagnetic gun on the shoulder. It is instead equipped with a drill as its right hand and claw on the other.


 * Devil Bear: A modified Golem Ride Armor used by Vile.


 * Dice: Small Ride Armor used by Mets in Earthrock Trilobyte's stage. This Ride Armor can't be used by the player (naturally since it's too small).


 * An unnamed Ride Armor appears in the background of Earthrock Trilobyte's stage equipped with claws on both arms to help with excavation and construction.

Vile's Ride Armors
Vile is infamous for using Ride Armors throughout the series. His very first appearance is in a near-invincible blue Ride Armor that can grab and destroy Reploids with ease. However, Zero blasts the arm off of this one, and Vile retreats. In Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, Vile's use of the Ride Armor differs from X. It's more powerful due to the heavy machine gun, so the trade off is that Vile is only allowed use of the armor for 32 seconds. When time's up, if Vile exits the armor, or if it suffers too much damage over time, the armor will self-destruct. Though, it is possible to extend the armor's life by collecting weapon energy.

Vile uses another Ride Armor when confronted by X in the first station of Sigma Palace, this one with a purple chassis. The battle ends with X captured by the Ride Armor again, but Zero yet again destroys it, this time destroying himself as well.

When Vile is resurrected in Mega Man X3, X can warp to his stage from hidden portals in certain Mavericks' stages. After traversing through his many traps, X will face Vile. He has a modified version of the Kangaroo Ride Armor (known as DRA-00 in Japan) for the first bout. When it is destroyed, Vile fights X himself.

If Vile is not destroyed in his stage (done by utilizing his weakness), he will appear in the second stage of Dr. Doppler's Fortress. He will appear first in the Goliath Ride Armor (known as Brown Bear in Japan), weak against the Parasitic Bomb or the Tornado Fang, and when that armor is destroyed, he will fight X one-on-one.

Vile V uses the Devil Bear in Mega Man X8, a modified black Golem Ride Armor, when the Hunters fight against him in the entrance hall of Sigma Palace. The Devil Bear armor is nearly indestructible, but executing a Guard Break knocks Vile off of it, albeit temporarily, allowing the characters to fight him normally.

After the battle in Hard Mode, Vile and his Ride Armor survive (alhough one can easily see that the armor is spouting out smoke at the moment Vile reappears, suggesting that the Ride Armor isn't at all invincible), and preoccupies the reserve character while the other character must traverse the rest of Sigma's Palace alone.

Trivia

 * In the iPhone port of Mega Man X, the player can earn an achievement for hitting Vile's Blue Ride Armor 32 times.
 * Vile's Ride Armor in Mega Man X8, the Devil Bear, is shown to be capable of movement without Vile physically sitting at the controls. Vile spends the entirety of his time controlling the Devil Bear standing atop its cockpit, and rising on its own to return to him after it has recovered, implying a remote-controlled connection.
 * In Mega Man X8, the Ride Armor has its own theme, which plays for as long as the player controls it.
 * The Chimera and Hawk Ride Armors from Mega Man X3 were made into a single convertable model kit for Bandai's Mega Armor Model series. The Ride Armor's default configuration is the Chimera, and therefore maintains the Chimera's colors when changed into the Hawk Ride Armor. The model kit also contains some features not seen in Mega Man X3, such as miniature guns hidden in the Chimera's fist and the ability to combine the Hawk's Missile Launchers and hover dish into a small aircraft. Ironically, the standard Mega Man X model from the same line can fit in the Ride Armor, but Vile MK.II cannot without partial disassembly, due to the size of the leg armor pieces.
 * An apparant prototype for a D-arts Ride Armor modeled after Vile's original Ride Armor from Mega Man X was displayed at a convention, but ultimately no toy was ever released.
 * In September 2018, the Chimera and Kangaroo Ride Armors from Mega Man X3, along with Vile's second Ride Armor from Mega Man X (which also comes with Hawk Ride Armor parts) were made into convertable model kits for Bandai's Super Mini Pla series. They are compatible with X and Vile minifigures from the 66 Action Dash Mega Man Volume 2 set.