The back of a Japanese Geno Breaker box, an excerpt of Battle Story can be seen written on the lower-left.
Zoids Battle Story (ゾイドバトルストーリー zoido batoru sutōrī) is a narrative portrayed in the context of Zoids models. Specifically, Zoid Boxes and Zoids Print Media have had a "Battle Story" attached to them. While there are similarities to the events in Zoids anime and video games, these are considered separate timelines.
Battle story predominantly covers the events taking place through the ZAC timeline.
An excerpt from the Zoids: Official Fan Book #1, containing Battle Story
Not all model kit releases have a Battle Story included with them (notably, international releases had plain boxes without any battle story printed on them)
- Much of Battle Story is in Japanese, and therefore translations used on this wiki may vary in quality. Please visit the article The Zoids File for an official summary from the English version of the Chaotic Century Manga.
Overview[]
When Zoid Model kits were first released circa 1982/1983, they were toys and did not have any story related to them. However, as the line gained traction, writers began to affix backstory to these toys.
Battle story first introduced the conflict between two rival nations: the Helic Republic who coexisted with Zoids, and the Zenebas Empire who used them as tools. While TOMY at the time had a focus on delivering toys, the world building and story was weak. Zoids was considered a trailblazer for TOMY in this respect.
With the release of the Gojulas the designers introduced the Red Horn as its rival, setting the stage for the friend versus foe conflict in the market.
Battle Story takes place in several different forms. It can be pieced together from the perspective of individual Zoid boxes, which will generally explain how a Zoid was introduced at different stages in the ongoing war. Or alternatively, several publications about Battle Story have been dedicated to telling the chronology from the perspective of a more holistic narrative. The term "Battle Story" stems from these publications.
Story[]
- Main article: The Zoids File
Battle Story is separated into several distinct chapters, these roughly correspond to different warring periods on Planet Zi. The publications listed in the table are non-exhaustive, but an indicative guide to some of the additional story provided in the Battle Story timeline. For a more complete list of publications, see Zoids Print Media.
| Timeline | Event | Publications |
| ZAC 1800 - ZAC 1959 | Before the unification of the Central Continent | History of Zoids, The Zoids Bible: Zi History File, Zoids Battle Story |
| ZAC 1978 - ZAC 2030 | The First Age of Wars on the Central Continent | Zoids Battle Story |
| ZAC 2031 - ZAC 2039 | The Second Age of Wars on the Central Continent | New Zoids Battle Story |
| ZAC 2041 - ZAC 2051 | The Third Age of Wars on the Central Continent | New Zoids Battle Story |
| ZAC 2051 - ZAC 2056 | The Intercontinental War | New Zoids Battle Story, Official Fan Book, Official Fan Book EX |
| ZAC 2056 - ZAC 2097 | Catastrophe on Planet Zi | New Zoids Battle Story, Official Fan Book |
| ZAC 2099 | The Western Continental War Begins | Official Fan Book EX, Dengeki Hobby Magazine |
| ZAC 2230 | Three Tigers | Official Fan Book EX |
Blox[]
- Main article: Zoids BLOX
The toyline shifted to match, introducing the new posable "Blox" kits (first sold in 2002) as the creation of humans who had fled there to remain neutral in the original conflict. They sold their work to both sides during the Republic's bid to regain their homeland. The ensuing battles—and the battle story portion of the toyline—ended with the Republic reclaiming their capital, forcing the Zenebas Empire back to the western half of the Central Continent.
Three Tigers[]
- Main article: Three Tigers (Battle Story)
Rebirth Century[]
- Main article: Zoids: Rebirth Century
HMM[]
HMM Zoids feature their own Battle Story timeline, written as "history" sections in the manuals of HMM Zoids. This timeline is similar to, but independent of previous Battle Story timelines. Since it follows the HMM release line, the events are inspired from Battle Story, Zoids: Chaotic Century, Zoids: Guardian Force, Zoids: New Century, and Zoids: Wild.
The book Zoids: Art of HMM, has a compilation chronology of the HMM history up to and including the Wild Liger.