Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-149.12.15.1-20140328232551/@comment-192.160.117.141-20140620234249

The RAYs Raiden fights each retreat into the background when their health bars deplete. It would make sense if the units Solidus then destroyed were some of the same, already damaged RAYs. Even a P90 might be able to penetrate tank armor that's been softened up by a bunch of missiles.

The downgrade in size between ZEKE and the TX-55 is pretty easy to rationalize in a few ways.

1. Cash. ZEKE was built out of scrap from Peace Sentinel AI weapons; like REX, it was essentially paid for with U.S. tax dollars. Big Boss had to foot TX-55's bill himself.

2. Creative direction. ZEKE and REX have a lot in common. They were both designed by Emmerichs, they both look like theropod dinosaurs, and they're both inconveniently ginormous. TX-55 and D were designed by Madnar, who could simply have had different aesthetics in mind.

3. Convenience. ZEKE was big because it needed to carry the Chrysalis railgun, not because being big is a good idea. You don't need a huge chassis to carry a bunch of machine guns and anti-tank missiles; a smaller one will do just fine, and will be cheaper to armor and easier to transport.