Marino

"I don't care who this Rebellion Army is. All I know is I'm not gonna stand by while they steal stuff I could be stealing!"

- Marino, when joining the party

Marino (マリノ) is a female Reploid from Mega Man X: Command Mission encountered by X in the Giga City region, at Gaudile's laboratory. Marino prides herself a thief, akin to Robin Hood and sought to steal Professor Gaudile's new technology from him.

She specializes in targeting trade secrets, such as new information, inventions and data on the latest developments in curing modern illnesses (including the Sigma Virus). Marino then spreads the acquired information throughout the world without seeking compensation.

History
First appearing in Chapter 4, Marino uses X's group's entry as a cover to intrude unseen into Gaudile's laboratory, where she discovers Cinnamon. The two quickly form a bond, as Marino realizes she must take Cinnamon with her, especially if she is to make off with the new technology she is after. During her escape, Dr. Psyche soon finds them and she ends up nearly killed by his Preon companions. While Marino survives thanks to Cinnamon's healing ability, she falls unconscious until X rouses her. She decides to join forces with X to get Cinnamon back. After the party defeats Dr. Psyche, Cinnamon encourages Marino to join X's group with her.

At the start of the final chapter, before heading up to the Heliport to await the transport that Colonel Redips had arranged to ferry X, Zero, and Axl back to base, Marino mentions that she's going to try a more legitimate lifestyle, though she does admit to maybe just stealing on the weekends. When Redips later exposes himself to be a Maverick and frames X and his friends, she compares his actions to that of a corrupt corporate executive: "That's the way suits operate. Once you're no longer useful, they toss you out like so much garbage."

Weaponry
In battle, Marino fights like a ninja, or more specifically, the kunoichi. She utilizes a pair of Beam Knives initially, which she draws with lightning speed (moderate hit ratio). Later on, she can be equipped with elementally themed bō shurikens and even a laser-bladed Chakram, with which she shows off her martial arts prowess and performs a 1-2-3 combo of slashes and a high-kick. She is the only playable character in the game able to equip either a shot or combat type main weapon, while others are limited to one type. Her equipped weapon is held to her back by a holder/sheathe Mechaniloid called Hayohn (ハヨーン), which floats close to her. Also, she has a visor with some kind of sensor attached to her helmet that can be pulled down over her eyes.

Marino's weapons:

Trivia

 * Inspirations for this character are a mix of the popular female ninja (above mentioned kunoichi) and the female thief character archetype which appears in several Japanese video games, manga, and anime, such as Fujiko Mine and Rouge the Bat. This could explain why Marino's garb consists of go-go boots and not sandals and tabi socks, like a more traditional ninja; this may also have been intended in order to better fit the game's art style.


 * After her introduction chapter, Marino never appears in any following cutscenes, only in dialogue exchanges.


 * One of her early designs resembles a character style from the Mega Man Zero and ZX series.


 * Marino is a male given name (meaning "man of the sea" or "son of Mario").


 * Her theme song is played during Rafflesian's boss battle.


 * An NPC recognizes Marino as a former fashion model (though the context doesn't make clear if the term is meant as "celebrity" or "production" model).