Lago Mechanic (ラゴウ・メカニック), known in English by its shortened name Lago, is an enemy boss character from the original coin-op and all its ports. It appears as the stage boss in the fourth stage, and once again as part of the boss rush in the fifth and final stage, recreated by the powers of Grandmaster Meio.[1]
A massive mechanical T.rex, also called a "Mechanicalsaurus" (メカニカルサウルス)[2], Lago is a monstrous machine roaming in the Amazon forest. It has two main methods of attack: two retractable giant claw-like arms located in its torso, which he can extend forward and retract at will; and the ability to spit flames from its mouth, which take the form of snake-like dragons[2]. Lago's fire breath is powerful enough to instantly reduce even the largest dinosaur into a pile of bones.
Lago was built due to Grandmaster Meio's worries about being unable to unify all of humanity on Earth, caused by his inability to make the more primitive human tribes understand his words or reason. Meio decided to send dinosaurs to the Amazon, where an all-women tribe lived, intending on creating a "God" stimulus by tapping into one of the core beliefs (the "Mother Archetype") of the collective unconscious, and in this way have them worship him as a deity who commands "big" and "magnificient" creatures[3]. While it worked, he realized at a very basic level the dinosaurs weren't really under his command, so he ordered the construction of Lago, a robot capable of instilling fear into even the largest of dinosaurs, to rule over them all.[3]
Information[]
Hiryu comes across Lago at the riverside of the Amazon River, with the massive robot making its first move by incinerating the dinosaur Hiryu was riding at the time. Lago follows a very specific attack order: it'll start by approaching with small jumps, after which it'll attack with the retractable claws, followed by a set of fire dragons and finally a second claw attack, before repeating the pattern. The claw has a somewhat short range, but the fire dragons are a bit harder to avoid as they fly out in multiple directions once released.
Lago's only weak point is located in its head/jaw, which makes it hard to reach due to Lago's height. There's, however, a nearby branch which can be used to facilitate the battle considerably, specially if one has obtained the Cypher power-up.
Hiryu runs into Lago a second time on the Third Moon, as part of a group of enemies that Meio resurrects. The fight is identical to the first one, except that now there's no platform to stand on, thus making reaching its weak point more difficult.
Design Notes[]
Isuke visualized Lago as the evolution of the dinosaurs from the Amazon level[4], whereas its design is a mix of several elements: its frame is based in that of a fowl, its claw attack is meant to represent a chicken scratching around for food, and its head is modeled after the front of an F-16 Fighter.[4]
Lago's name appears to be inspired by the Hindu deity Rahu, who is known as "Rago" in Japanese. This deity is known to cause eclipses by devouring the sun, possibly the inspiration behind Lago's powerful fire breath attack.
Other Appearances[]
Game Appearances[]
Lago appears as one of the 500+ character cards found in this crossover mobile phone game. It comes as a card of "R+" rarity that was added in a later upgrade, becoming the 11th card representing the Strider series.
Trivia[]
- In the PC Engine port Lago appears with a slightly different look in his second boss battle, with several parts now colored purple.
- A Flying Mosqueman and Lago appear in a two-page splash artwork featuring several mecha and airplanes from Capcom's owned games, published in the Capcom Design Works artwork.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Sega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider Hiryû (Japanese). Instruction manual, Pg. 27
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider Hiryû (Japanese). Instruction manual, Pg. 26
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Staff (October 1992). "Capcom Game Street". Gamest Extra: All Capcom (81). Pg. 45.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jones, Darran (April 24, 2010). "The Making of... Strider". Retro Gamer (76). Pg. 51.