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Liger Zero
LOLOL Liger Zero
Bit Cloud's Liger Zero in Zoids: New Century.
RZ-041
Lion Type
Helic Republic
Crew 1
Weight 85[1] tons
Depth 24.0[1] m
Height 8.3[1] m
Maximum Speed 307 km/h [1]
Weapons Laser Fang[2]
Strike Laser Claws (4)[3]
AZ 208 mm Double-Barrelled Shock Cannon[4]
AZ 108 mm High-Density Beam Gun[5]
Equipment Changing Armor System (CAS)
Ion Turbo Booster Unit (2)[6]
Downforce Stabilizers (2) [7]

The Liger Zero (ライガーゼロ Raigā Zero) is a Lion-type Zoid, one of over 200 species of bio-mechanical life forms that form the Zoid race, providing the basis for TOMY’s Zoids franchise. It is the protagonist Zoid and Hero Zoid in both the Zoids: New Century and Zoids: Fuzors anime series.

The Zero also features in both the Chaotic Century and New Century manga series and played a role in the Battle Story. As a model, it was the centre of Hasbro's marketing campaign in the early 2000s, making it one of the most widely recognisable Zoids of the franchise.

Overview[]

The Liger Zero's signature attack is the Strike Laser Claw, which is utilised by charging its claws with laser energy to enhance the power of a claw swipe, allowing it to smash and tear through thick enemy armor with little effort. It is also often seen armed with a chest-mounted 208mm shock cannon and a 108mm beam gun attached to the tail.

It is notable for having the ability to perform CAS, whereby it can replace its armour with optional equipment that can optimise the Zoid for different environments.

CAS and Fuzors[]

LZA

Liger Zero without any armor or equipment

The Liger Zero features the ability to utilize CAS to equip it with many different weapons, giving it adaptability to different situations. It also has the ability to fuse with other Zoids, making it a Fuzor Zoid.

Other CAS, and their Fuzors:

  • Liger Zero Jager (Republic)
  • Liger Zero Schneider (Republic)
  • Liger Zero Panzer (Republic)
  • Liger Zero X (Empire)
  • Liger Zero Phoenix (Republic)
  • Liger Zero Falcon (Republic)
  • Liger Zero Gusoku Myokoh (Republic)
  • Liger Zero Caesar The King - featured in the Manga.
  • Miko Liger - featured in the Zoids Generation story, despite DHM having produced the Miko Liger armor and exhibiting it alongside other Generation Zoids, the unit was never sold.
  • Liger Zero Mariner (ライガーゼロマリナー) - featured in the Zoids Official Fan Book series and seen again in the Zoids Customizing Manual. It was developed for underwater combat.
  • A catalog shows a Nightwise fusing with a Liger Zero. The wings are placed on the sides of the Liger's front legs. There are no instructions on how to do this in any version of either model kit.

Battle Story Appearances[]

This section is about the events in Battle Story, which is primarily in Japanese. Information in this section may require additional citations.

The Liger Zero was initially developed in ZAC 2100, by the Guylos Empire who derived it from a wild Zoid. However, the Helic Republic stole the design and the prototype, and were able to put the Zoid into production before the Empire could. The first Liger Zeros were deployed in ZAC 2101, and were essential in the defeat of the berserk Death Stinger.

A special unit of Liger Zeros, the Ray Force, was established and used to spearhead the Helic assault on the Dark Continent of Nyx. The Ray Force, led by Republican hero Ray Gregg (the man responsible for stealing the very first Liger Zero), was confronted by the Eisen Dragoons, and was nearly destroyed by their new Zoid, the Berserk Fury. Only the arrival of Helic reinforcements saved the unit from annihilation.

Despite losing the prototypes, the Guylos Empire eventually created their own version of the Liger Zero, known as either the Liger Zero EM or Liger Zero Imperial. While this version was identical in all regards to the Republic Liger Zero, excluding colour, it also had its own CAS Unit, the Liger Zero X. The X was used against the Republic forces in an attempt to prevent them from deploying the Madthunder, an effort that proved unsuccessful. Later the Liger Zero X units were used by Gunther Prozen's forces during his coup attempt, only to be destroyed by the combined Helic and Guylos militaries. Information gathered from the creation and deployment of the Liger Zero X was later used to develop the Energy Liger.

The surviving elements of the Ray Force were later re-equipped with Liger Zero Phoenixes and sent on a near-suicidal assault to recapture a Republic base. They nearly succeeded until the Seismosaurus appeared, destroying them as they bought time for the Gairyuki they were escorting with their lives.

A year later in ZAC 2109, the Helic Republic attempted to retake their capital from the Neo Zenebas forces. Wolff Muroa led the counter attack from his Energy Liger, which had been modified to have a higher engine output than a normal example of the Zoid. Disguised as the Emperor's Liger Zero X escorts, Ray Gregg and his allies in the Ray Force attempted a surprise attack, fusing with Fire Phoenixes they had hidden away in nearby transporters. During the battle, Ray's Liger Zero Phoenix was damaged and forced to jettison its armour. The timely arrival of the Jet Falcon changed the tide of the battle. They fused, becoming the Liger Zero Falcon, allowing them to easily dispatch Wolff's Energy Liger, impaling it through its core with the Zero Falcon's Buster Claws.

The souped-up energy charger continued to flood power into the Energy Liger, but with its core destroyed it had nowhere to go and the Zoid began to melt down. Wolff then advised everybody to leave because it might explode anytime soon, wiping out everyone in the city. Ray Gregg came to his assistance, and the two rivals then helped each other to link up the Energy Liger with the Zero Falcon and siphon off the excess energy into the sky.

Media Appearances[]

Anime[]

New Century[]

ClashoftheClaws

The climactic battle

The Liger Zero in New Century was an Ultimate X. As such, it had a highly advanced AI system, which gave it a personality of its own. It is highly temperamental, and refusing to let anyone except Bit pilot it. According to Leena Toros, the Zoid came into the Blitz Team's possession after Dr. Toros was conned by a cheap dealer into buying it, as white ligers were considered rare. Being unpilotable, the Zoid was left in the hangar "collecting dust".

Bit, previously a wandering junk-parts dealer, took a liking to the Zoid after it freed him (he was being detained by the Blitz Team for sneaking into the Toros base) and let him into the cockpit, resulting in Bit joining the Blitz Team as the Liger's full-time pilot.

The Liger Zero is shown to be a highly agile and very fast Zoid, and many remark about its performance. As explained in episode 2, this is due to the Zoid's ion boosters and downforce stabilizers, which ensure that its momentum is always carried forward, rather than upward.

In the beginning, however, the Liger Zero had no form of ranged weaponry, whatsoever (the beam gun on its tail is never used in the series). In episode 2 Bit initially used a scrapped Heldigunner turret, but discarded the weapon after a single battle, deeming it too heavy.

In episode 3, Bit would later salvage a triple shock cannon from a defeated Zaber Fang, and make it the basis for the Liger Zero's double shock cannon (one of the Zaber's cannon barrels is cracked, and therefore not used).

While capable, the Zoid is not as fast as Zoids that were designed for pure speed, such as the Lightning Saix, nor was it effective against heavily armored Zoids, like the Iron Kong or the Elephander. Bit would go on to utilize several other armor units throughout the series to counter other Zoids of different types.

NC0 Ep1

Liger Zero using Strike laser Claw.

These CAS armour units are first introduced in episode 5, starting with the Jager. In episdoe 8, the Liger gains fluent use of the Schneider CAS. Finally, in episode 19, the Panzer is used. These CAS give the Liger Zero a total of 4 sets of armor, the Jager, Schneider, Panzer, and the Basic Zero armour. The Liger Zero can be seen without armor on several occasions, either during its transformation sequence, or after expending the Pazner's arsenal of weapons.

Over the course of the series, Bit and the Liger Zero are face numerous opponents; among them Harry Champ and his Dark Horn (and several other Zoids in Harry's possession), Jack Cisco and his Lightning Saix, and Leon Toros and his red Blade Liger.

Bit and the Liger Zero would also face off against the Backdraft Group's Fuma Team and their War Sharks, as well as Stoller and his Elephander on numerous occasions.

Their greatest rival, however, would be the Berserk Fury, a powerful Zoid piloted by the child prodigy Vega Obscura. An Ultimate X like the Liger Zero, Vega and his Berserk Fury would battle against Bit and the Liger Zero for the Royal Cup Championship.

Fuzors[]

The main character of Fuzors, RD, pilots a Liger Zero. In this series, it is unclear if the Liger Zero is a special zoid or just an ordinary zoid type. RD's Zoid is seen as special by many cast members, and, along with Blake's Berserk Fury, was thought to be the most powerful Zoid in the world by some characters. By way of actual design, this Liger Zero has a different cockpit interior, as Fuzors uses a different animation style from New Century. The other most noteworthy change is that "Strike Laser Claw" is changed to "Laser Claw Strike Attack" in the English version of Fuzors.

RD mostly uses the Zoid's high mobility to try and evade enemy attacks before using his Laser Claw Strike Attack. However, as the series revolves around Fuzor Zoids, this would often result in RD being completely overwhelmed (as most non-Fuzor Zoids would be).

With the Fire Phoenix, RD is able to form the Liger Zero Phoenix, and this proved to be an incredibly powerful Zoid, defeating almost any enemy by using its Diving Laser Claw, a variant of the Liger's Strike Laser Claw that worked at a range.

After Fire Phoenix was supposedly killed at the hands of Blake's new Zoid, the Gairyuki, RD would be left with an ineffective Zoid once more. It was only after the discovery of the Jet Falcon that RD is able to form a new Fuzor and once again dominate the fights he participates in.

The Liger Zero itself, however, is not actually a weak Zoid, and was in fact set up in rigged battles so that Alpha Richter (or, specifically, Dr. Pierce) could get data to build the "ultimate Zoid". This cumulated with the development of the Energy Liger.

But even the Energy Liger, which was able to destroy both the Buster Fury and Matrix Dragon in a single shot, would be completely overwhelmed by the Liger Zero Falcon. The series' ultimate antagonist, Alpha Richter using his Seismosaurus would also be defeated by this same Liger Zero Falcon.

At the conclusion of the series, the Liger Zero would be revealed to be the legendary "Alpha Zoid", a Zoid that responded to RD's determination, making it, the Zoid RD had spent his childhood searching for.

Genesis[]

A Liger Zero is only shown very briefly in Zoids: Genesis. In episode 10, it is mentioned that Seijuurou's former pupil, Jirou, piloted a black Liger.

Although the type of the Liger is not mentioned, it is partially shown in a flashback, and can be identified as a Liger Zero.

Aside from this flashback, the Liger Zero does not appear in Genesis. Interestingly, despite this incredibly minor role, the Liger Zero is mentioned on ShoPro's official site as being featured in Genesis, while other Zoids, like the Command Wolf or Brastle Tiger, which play a much larger role, are absent.

Manga[]

Chaotic Century[]

Mr

Liger Zero Ceasar the King

Multiple Liger Zeros appear in the latter issues of the Chaotic Century manga. After sustaining serious damage fighting the Death Stinger, the Zoid Core of Caesar (Van's Blade Liger) is transplanted into the next-generation Liger Zero chassis.

Van's Liger Zero faces off against the Death Stinger. When the armor is found to be slowing the Zoid down too much, Van jettisons the equipment and takes on his opponent with the armorless form. Without Armor, the Liger Zero's performance is greatly increased, allowing it to seriously damage the Death Stinger, although it is noted that the unprotected Liger would suffer a complete loss if it received even a single hit.

Two other Liger Zeros appear, piloted by Viola and Rosso (fitted with Jager and Schneider units, respectively). These Zeros were produced normally.

Just prior to fighting Raven's Berserk Fury Shadow Edge, the Liger Zero is upgraded further, resulting in the manga-exclusive Liger Zero Caesar The King. This Zoid was designed by Melissa Su.

New Century[]

Manga Liger Zero

The Liger Zero, as it appears in the manga.

The Liger Zero stars in the manga adaptation of Zoids: New Century. As in the anime series, it is a Zoid of the Blitz Team piloted by Bit Cloud. Initially, it disobeys him, but when Leena is kidnapped by Team Mord, Bit and the Liger bond and unlock their potential. Over the course of the manga's four chapters, Bit and the Liger Zero would equip the Schneider, Jager and Panzer units in combat against the Elephander, Storm Sworder and Berserk Fury, respectively.

The depiction of the Liger Zero of the New Century manga differs somewhat from the anime. Though it is still considered an extremely powerful Zoid, no mention is made of it being an Ultimate X. Furthermore, it does not transform in mid-battle, as the CAS installation system seen in the Hover Cargo in the anime is absent from the manga adaptation.

Zoids: Galaxy Quest Planet Zi[]

While fighting alongside Kugo's König Wolf, the Liger Zero X was cut in half by a Flyscissors and destroyed. Maya survived, however, and later took up piloting an Unenlagia.

Video Games[]

A silver-white Liger Zero is the star Zoid in the Game Boy Color title Liger Zero: Mythical Silver Beast. After falling into the underground world with its new pilot, Alster, the Zero is hailed as their saviour. Later, the Zoid's CAS units are found in various ruins, suggesting the Zero itself may have originated from the sub-terrain world. The Liger stays on the player's "team" throughout the game, its various armours being essential to completing the plot and defeating the Berserk Fury that serves as the final boss.

The Liger Zero was featured in both the Zoids VS series. It played a moderate role in Zoids VS II (Zoids Battle Legends), where the player fights all of the CAS units seen in Zoids: New Century. The Liger Zero Phoenix is also unlockable through a special code, where, upon entering the code, the player will be able to buy the Zoid from their shop in Battle Mode. Also in the mission modes in Republic, the Schneider, Jager and Panzer units are obtainable if the player doesn't cooperate with Rottiger. In the Empire mission mode, the Liger Zero Empire can be obtained after defeating the Bloody Death Saurer, and the Zero X CAS can be obtainable if the player doesn't cooperate with Blue Unicorn in the final battle. In Zoids VS III, the Liger Zero Falcon is also available, which is capable of limited flight. The Zero Falcon in Zoids VS III is seen with a unique E-Shield similar to the one on RD's Liger Zero Falcon.

In the Zoids Saga game(s), the various characters from the various Zoids media join the player (at various stages in each game), which gives the player access to several Liger Zeroes and its derivative armour(s).

Liger Zero plays a major role again in Zoids Dash and Zoids Colloseum. While the Liger Zero CAS forms were significantly advertised for the game Zoids Full Metal Crash, it is the Liger Zero Empire that plays a notable role in the game's story as one of Berg's Zoids.

Video Game Variants[]

Several unique versions of the Liger Zero were seen in the Zoids video games. Liger Zero Silver "Shirogane" - used by Alster, it is the hero zoid of the game. Liger Zero S Prototype - as the name suggests a prototype Liger tested by the Blue Unicorn group and available in Zoids VS Zoids VS II and Zoids VS III. Liger Zero Dash - the hero Zoid of its respective game; also seen in Zoids Colloseum where it has a prominant X-shaped scar on its head. Oddly enough the last part of the name is in English, literally appearing as ライガーゼロDash. Liger Zero Kuretei - a red Liger Zero seen in Zoids Colloseum it was prominantly displayed on the game's trading card.

In the Battle Card Game (Republican Set, Volume 4) the Liger Zero is noted to have different stats without the armor equipped. The only stat unmodified is speed, which is not included on any of the Zoid cards in the game.

Trading Cards[]

The Liger Zero was featured heavily in the last two releases of Zoids Trading Cards. In the Zoids Scramble release, the basic white Liger Zero and all six of its CAS (including the Blox-CAS) units make appearances. In Zoids Card Colosseum, the Liger Zero and its two Blox-CAS units are available.

Models[]

Zoids (1999)[]

Liger zero dx

Liger Zero DX box art

The Liger Zero was released as part of the Zoids (1999) line. Introduced in 2001, the mold was released across multiple lines until about 2004.

The Liger Zero kit comes on ten frames, along with a battery-operated motor, two jaw pieces, a semi-transparent canopy cover, sixteen rubber caps and a small grey pilot figure. The Liger Zero is moulded in white, grey and black, with gold teeth and claws and an orange canopy. The Zero features paint details on the canopy, body, teeth and boosters. To reflect the fact that the Liger Zero was a Guylos design stolen by the Helic Republic, stickers for both factions appeared on the sticker sheet.

The Liger Zero uses a pair of "AAA" sized batteries for motion. Once activated, the Zoid walks forwards with its jaws chomping. The Liger Zero features a pair of opening boosters on its back, as well as poseable claws and deployable stabilisers.

Zoids: Build Customize Mobilize[]

Liger Zero

Hasbro Liger Zero

The Liger Zero was released as part of the Zoids: Build Customize Mobilize line. The Zoid was introduced in 2001. The North American version was Hasbro branded, while the international version was TOMY branded. Only the packaging was changed in this version. In 2003, the Zoid was re-released.

Hasbro also released the Schneider unit in a set including the base Zoid. In this version, the white armor comes as a sparkling cream color.

Hasbro Action Figures[]

Lz-action-figure

Action figure

The Liger Zero was released as part of Hasbro Action Figures line. The action figure was the first to feature a small, painted Bit Cloud pilot.

Another, much larger motorized toy version featuring lights and sound was released by Hasbro. It came with a Bit Cloud pilot too, as well as a set of missiles to fire. The same toy was released in black and violet, called Liger Zero Midnight Shield.[8]

Contest Prize Liger Zero[]

One hundred Liger Zero units were chromed entirely gold as a contest prize and released by Tomy around the time the chrome CAS units were released. The gold chrome Liger Zero was featured in several sticker booklets and customizing pamphlets which also gave the unit count.

Holotech liger

Holotech Liger Zero

Holotech Liger Zero[]

This version featured white frames moulded in clear plastic, and removed some of the paint details. The Liger Zero Holotech was released under the Hasbro action figures line at second wave.

Highend Master Model (HMM)[]

A HMM version of Liger Zero was released in November of 2010. It comes with a model of Bit Cloud as the pilot.

Liger Zero Schnieder, Jager, and Panzer have all been released as HMM'. Each Conversion Armor is sold as a full kit that includes both the Liger Zero base zoid and the armor, or the armors can be purchased separately.

In 2014, Kotobukiya followed the release of 2013's Chaotic Century's Blu-Ray Box with a New Century Zero version, complete with all 26 episodes remastered in Blu-Ray, several extras, as well as a Holotech Liger Zero model kit.

20140425 1083009

Clear Liger Zero with CAS

As a follow-up to the release of the Blu-Ray Box, Kotobukiya also announced that Holotech CAS armors for the Liger Zero would be available to purchase through their store only. All 3 holotech armors are sold together along with a clear stand for display use. This release does not include the clear version of the standard Liger Zero white armor and is separate from the Blu-Ray Box.

Silver-plated HMM Liger Zero's were given away as grand prizes for a Zoids photo contest held in Japan.

On July 26, 2017, Kotobukiya released a Limited Edition Kotobukiya Shop exclusive 1/72 scale Highend Master Model of the EZ-054 Liger Zero Empire Version, which retails for 5,800 Japanese Yen.

On April 18, 2019, Kotobukiya reissued the HMM Liger Zero as the Liger Zero Marking Plus Ver. for 6,300 Japanese Yen. It came with a new sticker sheet. The only change made the the box art was that the Zaber Fang on the box was the normal red version instead of the Tigers Team version. This kit also came with a normal pilot figure instead of the Bit Cloud figure that was released with the original.

Chogokin[]

In June 2022, Takara Tomy announced a Chogokin Liger Zero, to be released in 2023.

Soulofchogoin-ligerzero

Chogokin Liger Zero, as announced on Twitter

Variants[]

The basic Liger Zero has seen many color variants through different medias. Some of these saw model and toy releases, including Liger Blue Souga , Liger Red Hiou, Liger Zero Silver, Liger Zero Midnight Shield, Liger Zero Phoenix (NJR blue) and Liger Zero Empire.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://zoids.fandom.com/wiki/File:Ligerzero_JA_back.jpg
  2. レーザーファング
  3. ストライクレーザークロー×4
  4. AZ208mm2連装ショックカノン
  5. AZ108mmハイデンシティビームガン
  6. イオンターボブースター×2
  7. ダウンフォーススタビライザー×2
  8. See: Instruction manual
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