Welcome to the Dark Side. This special section of Zoid.US is dedicated to my favorite sub-line of the Zoids Universe: Dark Zoids. The Dark Zoids are exclusive to the Guylos Empire, and are all easily identified by their black and green color schemes. Nyx is shrouded in darkness, and located in the north western part of Planet Zi see map below.
Nyx is a central part of the original Zoids Battle story. I sometimes wonder what the environment of Nyx is like, and research always all concludes with conflicting information. Some sources mention it has many trees and forests, while I tend to believe its more of a desert environment due to the operation of so many Dark Zoid troops. So why do Dark Zoids affect the environment, and what is it that gives the Dark Zoids their infamous color scheme? To answer these question we will need to take a look at Zoids history as told by the Original Battle Story.
The following is a summary of the Original Battle Story. I have re-worded and, hopefully, made it easier to both follow and understand.
Original Battle Story:
The Original Battle story tells us that Zoids (dinosaur like life forms) and Zoidians (human like life forms) evolved from the massive oceans of Planet Zi. Almost like the actual theory of evolution, the early Zoidians were much like cave men. They lived in tribes and fought for the survival of their race. On the other hands, the Zoid's life force was imbedded in "cores". Earth quakes were very prevalent on Zi. In time the wild Zoids became somewhat domesticated by the early Zoidians. As the Zoidians advanced they fought, separate cultures became established, and the quakes died down. To aid in the battles, Zoidians modified Zoids and used them as implements of war. The Central continent of Zi was eventually united by a man by the name of Helic. Helic had two sons, Helic and Zenebas, both of which were to inherit his united continent upon his death.
Once Helic died, his sons were now in control. It is unclear whether Zenebas was exiled ,or left on his own free will, but it resulted in the separation of the continent and led to the creation of two forces now known as the Helic Republic and the Zenebas Empire. The two nations eventually went to war. During this war, a ship from Earth crashed on Planet Zi. The survivors of the crash joined both the Helic Republic and the Zenebas Empire, and used their knowledge to further the war-like capabilities of the Zoids. To me, it seems as if the surviving members of the craft must have been very knowledgeable about war and technology, as this is when we start to see two of the big guns appear: "Gojulas" and "Iron Kong".
The battle raged on for 10 years, and Zenebas was eventually defeated due to the Republic's use of a Zoid known as "Ultrasaurus". Zenebas was not killed, but instead retreated to the Dark Continent of Nyx, origin of the "Dark Zoids". The special material only found on Nyx gives the Dark Zoids their "glow". This material, dubbed: "Deochalcum," acts as a generator that allows the Dark Zoids to absorb both heat and light and covert it into energy to power their weapons systems. The by product of the conversion process is the wickedly- eerie greenish glow they each give off. The emissions also directly affect the environment by having a severely dehydrating effect. All of the Dark Zoids also feature a special shield covering the cockpit, to protect the light sensitive Zoidian pilots while they are operating the Zoids.
Zenebas was able to convince the leader of Nyx to help with rebuilding his army. Using a new Zoid called the "Death Saurer" Zenebas was now able to storm the Republic and capture the capital with success. The Republic fled to distant mountain ranges in order to rest, plot, and rebuild. Six years later, the Republic forces developed a new implement of war they dubbed "Mad Thunder". The Republic used "Mad Thunder" to defeat the former all powerful "Death Saurer", and successfully destroy the Zenebas Empire.
Zenebas retreated yet again and planned to head back to Nyx. He did not make it and was killed in an ambush by a strange new Zoid of Guylos origin. Zenebas was survived by his daughter, Elena. When Zenebas was killed, his daughter was captured and used as a pawn to force one of the top Zenebas pilots, known as "St�rmer," to serve Guylos. Zenebas was no more and there was peace on the central continent.
After 2 years of peace, some strange things started to happen on the Republic's central continent. The ground started to crack, animals began to leave, and plants became dehydrated. One of the Republic's top scientists traced these events back to Nyx, and the Republic began an invasion on the Dark Continent. Another war was brewing.
The invasion led the Republic through several parts of the Dark Continent including God Cry and the Devil's maze. These battles lasted 1 year and 6 months until the Republic, with the help of their Mad Thunders and a newly improved version of Salamander titled "Salamander F2" was able to successfully penetrate the treacherous terrain, and into the heart of the Dark Content. The Republic had no idea what was in store for them when they finally reached the inner portion of Nyx. Guylos deployed a new troop of Zoids, known as the "Gil Vader", that was piloted by the formerly captured top Zenebas pilot: St�rmer.
With the entire Republic force destroyed by St�rmer and his fleet of Gil Vaders, Guylos now attacked the Republic central continent. The Republic responded with yet a new type of Pegasus like Zoid known as "Orudios". The Orudios forces were able to overcome the Gil Vaders troops which lead to St�rmer's death. During these battles the Republic was developing the ultimate Zoid that was to become known as "King Gojulas". With minimal Guylos forces left, the Republic advanced it's King Gojulas to the heart of Nyx.
During the final advance, something struck one of Planet Zi's three moons effectively shattering the moon resulting in a massive meteor shower that broke the central continent into three section, sunk part of Nyx, and killed most of the inhabitants of the planet.
The End.
The focus of this part of the Zoid.US site is to pay tribute to my own, personal favorite Zoids, as well take a closer than normal look at the model kits. The reviews of each Dark Zoid will contain eight separate sections, all with headers, in hopes of providing an all inclusive look at each Dark Zoid. The sections are broken down as follows:
1. General Information: Designation of each Dark Zoid, and (when applicable) meaning of each "type" of Zoid translated from the scientific taxonomy to common terms.
2. Releases: This section will cover all, past and present, known releases of the Dark Zoid.
3. History: Small bits of history pertaining to what the Dark Zoid was used for in combat, as related by the Original Battle Story.
4. Specifications / Statistics: Something I don't normally do, this section will cover the Dark Zoids armaments as well as any special equipment the Dark Zoid possesses. The stats have been converted from Metric measurements to US Customary measurements for U.S. Zoiders to get a better "real life" idea of the Dark Zoid's appearance. In addition, I have also changed the speed from kilometers per hour to miles per hour.
5. Build Summary: A short description relating to my experience building the particular Dark Zoid. When available there will also be a link to the actual in depth build review.
6. Measurements: Actual dimensions of the built Dark Zoid Model.
7. Pictures: Pictures of the Dark Zoid under normal lighting conditions.
8. U.V. Pictures: Pictures of the featured Dark Zoid under Ultraviolet or "Black" light to accentuate the glowing features.
This portion of Zoid.US will also contain the Dark Zoid customs I have finished. Some are very relevant to the OJR Battle Story, and others were just finished for fun to see what the Zoid would have looked like if it had been an Original Guylos Dark Zoid creation. So sit back, relax, and take a look at the links below. Please enjoy your exploration of some of the greatest Zoids ever created, the Dark Zoids!
This has been a Zoid.US production. No image may be used without permission. 2008 -WIKD