Balmarian
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Balmarians are fictional aliens from the Japanese video game series Super Robot Wars (Henceforth SRW). They first appeared as the chief villains in Shin SRW, but are more known for being major players in SRW Alpha timeline until the most recent and final installation of the series, SRW Alpha 3: To the End of the Galaxy. They also appeared in SRW Original Generation as major villains, echoing their role in the Alphaverse, though their role seems to have been eclipsed by the Zuvorg Inspectors in SRW Original Generation 2. However, they have not been exterminated in the OG timeline and may resurface again in later installations.
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[edit] Physiology
There are no known anatomical differences between humans and Balmarians. Their body structures vary in the same way that those of humans do, although genetic engineering has brought out desirable physical traits in most leaders.
There is no apparent natural hair color. Balmarians are commonly depicted with blue, red, green, or silver hair, although at least one person is shown to be platinum blonde. It should be noted, however, that in Japanese pop culture many anime and video game characters sport strange hair colors.
Most Balmarians appear to have fair complexion, although a few are known to have an olive-brown, Middle Eastern complexion (Luria Kayitz, for example) while at least one known character (Baran Doban) has a dark, South Asian complexion. Due to the planet Balmar's similarity to Earth, it might be assumed that these complexions are mostly regional, just as humans have complexions suited to their environment.
In the Alpha series, it is revealed that the Balmarians and humans share a common ancestor race, which explains the astounding genetic similarities between the two races. However, Balmarians have mastered the art and science of genetic manipulation and have liberally used cloning as part of their reproduction. Many Balmarian leaders are clones of one another, having been genetically engineered for their specific role in the government. Some leaders are crafted to possess incredible intelligence, giving them IQs that surpass human limits. Others are engineered to become telekinetic Psychodrivers.
[edit] Homeworld
The planet Balmar is an Earth-like world with an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. Balmarians are able to live and breathe on Earth without any assistance, while the same is true for Terrans while on Balmar. The exact size and mass of the planet are not known, although it is possibly larger than Earth. It has a single, grayish planetary ring. It also has one natural moon, similar in appearance to Earth's.
Balmar has twelve artificial satellites, known as the Neviim both collectively and individually. Each of the Neviim is 40 kilometers in diameter, white in color and spherical. All of them are mobile and carry artificial environments in which their inhabitants can live as if they were on the planet's surface. The Neviim are actually a network of battle stations that make up Balmar's planetary defense system. Each of the Neviim can emit a massive electrical discharge that has been known to annihilate invading hordes instantly.
Balmar is known to have bodies of land and water, much like the Earth. No continents have been identified, but the planet has been depicted with polar ice caps and vast oceans.
The planet Balmar was eventually annihilated by a monstrous meteor shower towards the end of Super Robot Wars Alpha 3, when the Geber GanEden was destroyed. The GanEden served as the central control unit of the Neviim defense system, and without it the Neviim were unable to respond to the celestial disaster.
[edit] Hierarchy and Government
The Balmarian Empire is officially known as the Ze Balmary Empire.
The Ze Balmary Empire is monarchic, having a single absolute ruler, the Spirit Emperor (霊帝/Reitei). The Spirit Emperor is revered as a god (similar to the ancient Japanese and Roman imperial cults), as he is the representative to Zfylud, the Balmarian god of creation and divine justice. In Super Robot Wars Alpha 3, the Spirit Emperor is Ruach Ganeden, a boy whose lifespan was extended artificially. It is revealed, however, that Ruach is merely a puppet figure, and that the true ruler of the empire is the shadowy Keisar Ephes.
Despite being monarchic, the Ze Balmary Empire also has a position similar to a prime minister, a head of domestic affairs. In Alpha 3, the prime minister was Shivah Gozzo. While the prime minister is mostly concerned with civilian and political matters, Shivah Gozzo had personal command of Golar Golem, a genetically engineered elite force.
Underneath the Spirit Emperor and the Prime Minister are twelve noble clans. The function of each clan in itself is not known, although many of them are given important government and military posts. Out of the twelve clans, only five are known: Gozzo, Torah, Doban, Tichvah and Kayitz. The most dominant of these clans is the Gozzo clan, with the Prime Minister and all the fleet admirals being members thereof.
[edit] After Planet Balmar's Destruction
The conflict with Earth claimed many of Balmar's leaders, and after Ruach GanEden and Shivah Gozzo were killed in battle, only Armana Tichvah, Baran Doban, Sardis Judecca Gozzo and Philadelphia Judecca Gozzo were left alive. Armana and the two Judecca Gozzo clones led the refugess in search of new worlds to inhabit, while Baran Doban and Luria Kayitz joined the Terran forces to fight against the Buff Clan and STMC.
[edit] Military
An important part of an imperialistic nation is its armed forces, and Balmar is no slouch in this area.
- The Ze Balmary Imperial Galactic Frontier Inspection Army (ゼ＝バルマリー帝国辺境銀河方面監察軍)
This group makes up the most of the bulk of the empire's military. There are seven fleets that comprise this group. Each fleet is commanded by an officer simply known as a "commandant" (Japanese 司令官/Shireikan), although if contrasted to existing human military organizations, this rank might be closer to admiral (Japanese 大将/Taishou). The seven commandants answer to a commander-in-chief (総司令官/Soushireikan). Apart from this, the chain of command of the seven fleets is unknown. Each fleet is equipped with a Hermóðr-class flagship and an unknown but presumably immense number of Fylla-class cruisers. While in the Alphaverse there are only seven fleets, an eighth fleet appeared in a previous game, Shin SRW. Whether the existence of this fleet was retconned in the Alphaverse is not known. The seven fleet admirals were the Judecca Gozzo clones, while the commander-in-chief was Hazar Gozzo. - Golar Golem
The Golar Golem are the elite special forces of the Balmarian military. They are actually a series of clones based on Ingram Prisken and Viletta Vadim. The Golar Golem's organization seems to be streamlined: It only has a captain and a vice-captain. The rest are known as "Barshem." The captain of Golar Golem directly answers to the Prime Minister, although in the case of Alpha 3 this is most likely because the captain, Calico Mercredi, along with the rest of the Golar Golem, was created by Shivah Gozzo himself. The purpose of Golar Golem is assumed to be similar to that of the United States Marine Corps. The Golar Golem squad, in general, is equipped with units of the Varuch series. Commander Calico Mercredi uses a Varuch Baal, while Subcommander Spectra Mercredi uses a Varuch Ishah. The Barshem almost exclusively pilot Varuch Ben mobile weapons. - Imperial Guard
This group is the least described of the three, and is most likely the Balmarian equivalent of the Roman Praetorian guard. What is known about the Imperial Guard is that it has two generals (Hazar Gozzo and Baran Doban), although it is not known if both were generals at the same time (thus being equals) or simply successors. Elite troopers piloting white Shemuel Bens as part of the "Royal Guard" are seen in one of SRW Alpha 3's missions, in which Earth's heroes were seeking an audience with Emperor Ruach.
[edit] Religion
It is not known if the Balmarians are polytheistic or monotheistic, but what is known is that they worship at least one deity, Zfylud. Zfylud is worshipped as the creator and divine judge of Balmar, whose herald is the Spirit Emperor. The worship of Zfylud seems to be led by females, with one high priestess and several lesser priestesses. One of the lesser priestesses is chosen to be a sacrifice to Zfylud, killed in the vast underground chamber that serves as the deity's temple.
It is revealed in Alpha 3, however, that Zfylud is not a true deity, but an immortal Psychodriver of immense power and a member of the ancestor race that spawned both Earth and Balmar. He was previously known as Augustus, one of the two first Psychodrivers. Augustus was the core of the Geber Ganeden, Balmar's gigantic mechanical guardian. Augustus founded and ruled Balmar for millennia, until he faded into obscurity 500 years before the story of Alpha 3, choosing Ruach Ganeden and making him the Spirit Emperor. Ruach Ganeden's biology was altered to extend his lifespan, at the cost of the stability of his psychic powers. In order to maintain his power, he required a regular sacrifice, whose psyche he would absorb.
During his absence, Augustus brooded and waited, gathering damned souls to increase his power. The sacrifices that were made to him were greedily absorbed and consumed, adding to his demonic legions. These spirits became known as Neshamah. Augustus's new agenda was nothing less than the total destruction and re-creation of the universe in his image. He had twisted into an entity of darkness, a dark god who cared nothing for the people who worshipped him---Keisar Ephes.
[edit] Technology
Balmar's main method of expansion is assimilation. Many of their lower-ranked soldiers are actually prisoners of war from other worlds, brainwashed to do their bidding. Technology is assimilated as well, adding to Balmar's already advanced forms of nanotechnology and warp technology.
The most notable of all of Balmar's technology is the Zfylud Crystal. Named for their prime deity, Zfylud crystals show an amazing ability to adapt to their surroundings. In very large quantities, these crystals gain sentience and a self-preservation instinct. They can reproduce and even generate their own power. However, it is known that Zfylud crystals are not manufactured, but naturally occurring. Perhaps the technology that Balmar developed was for the most part, directed at harnessing the latent abilities of the crystal.
Balmar also possesses advanced time-space manipulation technology, which is used both as a means of transportation and as a weapon. Each of the Imperial fleet's seven Hermodr-class battleships is equipped with a Crossgate Drive for interstellar travel. The lesser Hula-class cruisers can also warp over short distances (ie, across the solar system), but need to piggy-back onto a Hermodr-class's Crossgate Drive for them to warp over long distances (ie, Balmar to Earth).
Balmar's weaponry ranges from small-scale particle cannons and lasers to unbelievably powerful time-space anomaly weapons. Grunt mobile weapons such as the Zechariah use particle beam weapons, while unique commander units such as the Astranagant, Zphiroude and Judecca are armed with weapons that are capable of disrupting local time-space in a manner that can tear apart their enemies with ease.
Many Balmar units are also equipped with barriers and shielding that use either gravity or psychokinetic energy to repel incoming attacks.
Many elite Balmarians are engineered to become Psychodrivers, and as such their mobile weapons are equipped with systems meant to harness their psychokinetic power for offensive and defensive purposes. Some mobile weapons are so centered on Psychodriver-based technology that they cannot be piloted by non-Psychodrivers. Such units have no manual controls, and are piloted entirely by the pilot's mind. Examples of these are the Vaikran, Judecca and Shemorah.
[edit] Enemies
Alphaverse: Because of the crossover nature of Super Robot Wars, the Ze Balmary empire interacts with several other villains from the various anime series that are included in the games. Its most notable enemies are the giant humanoid Zentradi from Macross and the feral, star-consuming STMC from Aim for the Top! Gunbuster. Another major enemy, introduced in SRW Alpha 3, was the Buff Clan from Ideon. The Ze Balmary Empire has been besieged on all fronts by the two vast forces, and has in fact lost three of its seven fleets as of Super Robot Wars Alpha.
OGverse: In Super Robot Wars's Original Generation series (a non-crossover saga), Balmar's main enemy is also an original alien race known as the Zuvorg. The name 'Zuvorg' was mentioned briefly in the final stage of the first Alpha by Euzeth Gozzo, but they never appeared in subsequent games.
[edit] Notable Balmarians
- Keisar Ephes
- Ruach Ganeden
- Shivah Gozzo
- Baran Doban
- Etzira Torah
- Rebi Torah
- Hazar Gozzo
- Eith Gozzo
- Euzeth Gozzo
- Ephesus Judecca Gozzo
- Smyrna Judecca Gozzo
- Pergamum Judecca Gozzo
- Thyatira Judecca Gozzo
- Sardis Judecca Gozzo
- Philadelphia Judecca Gozzo
- Laodicea Judecca Gozzo
- Armana Tichvah
- Luria Kayitz
- Ingram Prisken
- Viletta Badim
- Calico Mercredi
- Spectra Mercredi
- Cobray Gordon
- Geza Haganer
- Attad Shamran
- Garuin Mehabel
[edit] Space Vessels
- Hermóðr-class
- Fylla-class
- Neviim
[edit] Mobile Weapons
Unmanned Probes
- Megillot/Megillot Aph/Megillot Ben
- Mishrei/Mishrei Aph
- Jeremiah/Jeremiah Aph
- Joelah/Joelah Aph/Joelah Ben
- Gader
Humanoid Mobile Weapons
Old models
- Bemidban
Zechariah series
- Zechariah
- Esrim/Esrim Aph/Esrim Rosh
Habakkuk series
- Habakkuk
- Haggai/Haggai Yad
Ezekiel series
- Ezekiel
- Ezekiel Adom/Ezekiel Sagol/Ezekiel Lavan
- Shemuel/Shemuel Ben
Other mass-produced series
- Amaja
- Amaja Kai
- Artemis
- Artemis Kai
- Badio
- Badio Kai
- Battle Crasher
- Battle Crasher Kai
- Cyst
- Cyst Kai
- Geldora
- Geldora Kai
- Jam
- Jam Kai
- Kyou
- Kyou Kai
- Riconitore
- Riconitore Kai
- Scout
- Scout Kai
- Shuttle Kutourl
- Shuttle Kutourl Kai
- Zadok
- Zadok Kai
Earth-Derived
- Astranagant
- Varuch Ben
- Varuch Ishah
- Varuch Baal
- R-GUN Rivale
- Gespenst S (Aerogator Type)
Zfylud series
Other Commander-Type Mobile Weapons
- Antenora
- Vayyikra/Vayyikra Ben
- Vayyikran/Gador Vayyikran
- Devarim
- Judecca (White)
- Judecca (Black)
- Ketuvim
- Shemorah
Other Mobile Weapons
- Geber Ganeden
- Keisar Ephes
[edit] Trivia
Many Balmarian names are derived from the Hebrew language, although some names are Greek, Latin or Norse in origin. A few names are taken from Dante's Inferno.
The Twelve Clans can be seen as a parallel to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, although the names are very different.
The seven admirals are named after the seven churches mentioned in the Christian book of Revelation.
