MSN-01 Kikeroga

The MSN-01 Kikeroga is a prototype mobile suit developed by the Principality of Zeon during the One Year War of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam.

During the One-Year War, Zeon had a considerable advantage in its Newtype research, since Zeon's leadership believed in the concept of Newtypes while the Earth Federation did not. As a result, Zeon's Newtype Labs produced potential Newtype candidates and a number of mobile suits that boasted psycommu weaponry. The first psycommu weapon was the MAN-03 Braw Bro, piloted by Jupiter Energy Fleet member Challia Bull; it made use of wire-guided beam cannons directed by the pilot's thoughts. The technology behind the Braw Bro's weapons was later scaled down for mobile suit use, yielding the MS-06Z Psycommu System Zaku. The MS-06Z was further refined into two new mobile suits: the MSN-01 High Mobility Psycommu System Zaku (sometimes called MS-06Z-3), and the MSN-01 Kikeroga. The reason for this numerical confusion remains unknown.

The Kikeroga borrows much from the Psycommu Zaku, while hinting at its successor, the MSN-02 Zeong. Its main weapons are finger-mounted beam guns, with the forearms being wire-guided like the Braw Bro's beam cannons. This allowed the Kikeroga to perform an all-range attack by detaching the arms and surrounding the enemy with them. The Kikeroga also addresses a major fault of the Psycommu Zaku series; lack of weapons. The two Psycommu Zakus only had their finger beam guns, meaning that they were severely underpowered in combat. The Kikeroga solves this problem by mounting a pair of mega particle cannons on its shoulders. Though powerful, these weapons produce incredible amounts of heat.

The Kikeroga has never seen animated form. It was originally going to appear in Mobile Suit Gundam, piloted by Char Aznable in an attempt to drop the asteroid base Luna II on Earth. However, the rewrite of the series following its brush with cancellation removed many new Zeon designs. While most of these orphaned machines ended up in the annals of Mobile Suit Variations or the aborted manga MS-X, the Kikeroga was left to founder. It eventually showed up in several Japanese-only video games, including Twilight of Zeon and SD Gundam G-Generation F.

MSN-01 Kikeroga
Manufacturer: Principality of Zeon Operator: Principality of Zeon Unit type: prototype Newtype use mobile suit Head height: unknown Weight: unknown Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor Armament: 2 x wire-guided 5-barrel mega particle gun, barrels mounted in manipulator fingers, all barrels in each hand are fire-linked; 2 x mega particle cannon, mounted over shoulders Pilots: Char Aznable