Medal
A Medal (メダル) is a small, hexagonal, coin-like object that contains an artificial intelligence. The Medal works as the "brain" of a Medarot, becoming active when placed inside a Tinpet or Medarotch.
There are many different types of Medals, and the type is usually represented by a stylized image on its front face. This image can change as the Medal matures; the picture on a Kabuto Medal, for example, starts as a larva, but transforms into a full-grown beetle as the Medal becomes more experienced.
Different types of Medals work better with different kinds of parts. The Kabuto Medal is geared towards shooting and ranged attacks, while others such as the Mermaid Medal, are more suited to support. (In the games, this is referred to as the Medal's Attribute.) For maximum effectiveness, a Medarotter should know what kind of Medal their Medarot is using, and choose parts that will compliment that Medal's particular specialty.
Along with their names and images, different Medal types can be codified by the letter or symbol printed at the top of their front face. The Kuwagata Medal has the letter "A", the Kabuto Medal is "B", the Mermaid Medal is "N", and so on. (Which letter refers to which Medal depends on the media in question, as some of the games featured different Medal lists.)
History[edit]
The original Medals were not man-made, and instead were found as fossils deep within earth. They are thought to be extraterrestrial in origin, left behind by an ancient race of sentient robots.
After it was discovered that the Medals contained a form of artificial intelligence, work began on developing robots that could make use of them (leading to the invention of Medarots). When the supply of original Medals became scarce, production began for man-made Medals that could be mass-produced. By the time the series takes place, the vast majority of Medals used are man-made replicas, however some intact original Medals still exist and are referred to as "Rare Medals" (レアメダル).
Medaforce[edit]
- Main article: Medaforce
Some Medals can use a special ability known as Medaforce (メダフォース). The type of Medaforce may depend on the Medal, for example the Kabuto and Kuwagata Medals release powerful attacks, while other Medals might use their Medaforce to increase the abilities of themselves or their allies.
In the anime and manga series, use of Medaforce abilities is mostly limited to Rare Medals, due to them containing hidden information that the man-made Medals did not replicate (although in the anime series, some man-made Medals can unlock their Medaforce when placed in intense situations). In the game series, any Medal can use Medaforce so long as it is being used with a Medarotch that supports the feature.
In Medarot Re-Reloaded any Medal can learn the Medaforce, with it having rarities, Normal, Epic, Rare and Legend.
In the games[edit]
Each game in the Medarot series contains a variety of Medals that the player can obtain. They usually cannot be bought, and are instead found or given to the player at certain points in the story. Most of the RPGs from Medarot 3 onwards give the player the option to name their Medals, however Medarot DS does not.
Medal stats and properties[edit]
The exact way that Medal stats are handled has undergone many changes througout the series. That said, most of the RPG games give Medals the following basic parameters:
- Attribute - The category of parts that the Medal is compatible with. Medarot 1, 2, R, and 2 Core assign a different attribute to each Medal, while Medarot 3, 4, 5, and Navi use a different system with much broader categories and some overlap between Medals. Medarot DS does not feature Medal attributes.
- Compatibility bonus - A numerical value that gets added onto the success rate of all of the Medal's actions for every compatible part it has equipped. This makes it so some Medals get more benifit from using compatible parts than others. (Also not present in Medarot DS.)
- Nature or Target - Decides which Medarots or parts the Medal is more likely to aim for. In Medarot 7, some natures have added passive efects, such as increasing damage or reducing charge time.
- Level - Levels are usually gained by collecting experience points from battles. The Medal's level affects its base accuracy and damage, as well as deciding when the Medal's image changes and when it learns its Medaforce abilities. Some games (such as Medarot DS) do not use experience points, and instead use the combined levels of all of the Medal's skills as the Medal's overall level.
- Skill levels - A set of 3-10 numbers that represent how good the Medal is at performing certain actions. Each in-battle action has a skill associated with it, and the Medal's level in that skill affects the action's success rate. Skill levels are raised by repeatedly using actions that use the skill. Some games (Medarot 3, 4, Navi, DS, and 7) only allow a Medal to naturally gain levels in specified skills.
- Evolution - Related to the Medal's Level, Medals have 5 Ranks of evolution in medarot 1,2,R,3,4 and Navi. usually at Lv0 for Rank 1, Lv10 for Rank 2, Lv30 for Rank 3, Lv60 for Rank 4, and ultimately Lv100 For Rank 5. In Medarot 5 Medals can evolve into different forms
having different properties. they evolve at Lv20 with 2 differnt forms, Lv40 with 3 Different forms, and ultimately Lv60 with one to four different forms.
Other features are less universal, and are only present in some of the games:
- Medaforce or Medaskills - First added in Medarot 2. Each Medal has one to three Medaforce abilities that it can use in battle, which are unlocked when it reaches specific levels. Using Medaforce abilities requires a certain amount of Medaforce points, which can be charged up during the battle. (Medaforce is known as "Medaskill" in Medarot 5.)
- Leader Skills - Present in Medarot 5 only. These are powerful extra effects that affect the entire team when the Medal is chosen as the leader Medarot. Leader Skills are unlocked when the Medal is used as the leader Medarot in 100 battles.
- Medalias - Present in Medarot 3, 4, DS, and 7. These are small jewels placed in slots in the Medal to increase its abilities, either by raising its skills or adding other effects.
- Rotation - Added in Medarot 3, and present in all later games excluding Medarot DS. Allows the player to pre-program a set of commands for when the Medarot is set to Auto-battle. The commands can include arm or head actions, Medaforce, Medachange, and movement (in Medarot Navi). If no rotation is set, the Medarot will use random commands in Auto-battle mode.
- Other stats - Medarot 1 features three additional Medal stats (Attack, Defense, and Special) that are used to determine the Medal's nature. The stats can be altered by the player by changing which types of parts the Medarot has equipped. (See Medal stats for more information.)
