Armored Core 4 Took The Franchise In An Entirely New Direction...
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- So after seven Armored Core games on the PS2, it was finally time for FromSoftware to move on to the next generation of hardware. And much like the transition from PS1 to PS2, the transition from PS2 to PS3 would be defined by an entirely new generation of Armored Core. The 4th generation, one that seems to be a bit controversial among a lot of old school fans. So what exactly makes Armored Core 4 so different from the rest of the franchise, and how did it turn out? Well, let’s talk about it.
Full Armored Core Series: • A First Timer's Journe...
Armored Core 4 is a 2006 vehicular combat game developed by FromSoftware. It is the 12th installment and 4th main installment in the mecha-based Armored Core series, the game serves as a reboot for the franchise. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan in 2006 and worldwide the following year.
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Its widely believed that the reason why some people call you "Raven" instead is that the player character was originally a former Raven before they became a Lynx. Machines resembling third-generation ACs are labled as "Normals" in this game, as NEXTs are pretty much next-generation ACs, and are vastly superior to their predecessors, so it is possible that the player character was formerly a Normal pilot before becoming a Lynx.
I just thought that’s what independent mercenaries were called as a sort of slang since in Ac4 I can’t recall any Lynx’s besides us not working for a corporation or rebel group besides Joshua
@@thatoneguyyouthinkshouldbe2431 Yes, you are correct. Ravens were noted to be very skilled mercenary pilots back when the use of Normals was still common before being superceded by the NEXTs, and the end of the National Displacement War, which left many Ravens displaced and either forced to join the rising corporations, or give their all to independent armed groups, all just to barely make a living. By the time of For Answer, with NEXTs and LYNXs dominating the battlefield, the establishment of Collared, and the fall of supposedly the last Raven (White Glint) Ravens are now just a distant legend, leaving behind almost no traces of their glorious history.
@@dragostorm5947it is true white glint(raven acfa version)... Supposely the last raven but story kinda not reference or inspiration from somewhere... Im sorry my grammar is not good... So bare with me this language...
This is even further backed up by the implication that White Glint in AC For Answer is the player character from AC4. White Glint's pilot, Anatolia's Mercenary, is confirmed to be a Raven before he became a Lynx.
Note: NEXTS are a type of Armoured core, so calling a Next an AC wouldn't be incorrect. The main character of Armored core 4 was a former Raven. Ravens in the Armored core 4 universe are Normal pilots from before the national dismantlement war.
From my memory, it's been known in the community that the Armored Core 4 dub takes a lot of liberties. To the point the final boss speech has almost little in common with the Japanese original dialogue.
its also worth noting sega handled this one, only time it happened, as ubisoft handled 4A and bandai namco handled gen 5
This game released around when Chromehounds did, another FROM gem published by Sega
Oh no wonder I felt nothing after beating it.
I beat it in jp dub and it's really not that bad, you won't get much out of the story regardless. It does all sounds much better in japanese though.. as usual with niche jp games.
For Answer is easily my favorite; I revisited 4 and 4A in anticipation for 6, and I will say 4's story makes more sense after you play For Answer. It's almost like they wrote a prequel for a game they hadn't made yet, because they felt they didn't have to explain anything.
After you finish 4A (and with its multi-story paths being far shorter than Last Raven, combined with an easier difficulty, you might be able to find time for them all), I'd rewatch the chapter intros for 4. It's not so much a complex plot, but the sense of doom and unavoidable tragedy that's the linchpin of 4's writing.
4a is pretty much easier yeah
until you get to the third route and realized you want to go back
So the Final Boss is a dude named Joshua O'Brien who pilots the NEXT White Glint (REMEMBER THIS NAME)
Typically you first meet him during a fairly early NEXT vs NEXT mission where he comes to back you up. If you want a good example of your relationship with him, look at V. IV Rusty from AC6. So throughout the game he's your bestest friend and after your decimation of (i believe) Rayleonard and Akavit, Omer science & technology blackmail Joshua into piloting the 00-Aretha prototype to destroy Anatolia and it's Lynx Mercenary (you) since you've grown too powerful and they'll destroy his own home colony of Aspina if he doesn't.
Yeah, AC4 does have a really good story going on... entirely in the background, projected in ways that are *very* hard to follow without repeat playthroughs and notetaking. It has some really bad execution problems, which is more a symptom of the loss of the mail system and the inability for the player to read into and reflect on the plot outside of mission dialogue and cutscenes. AC6 does something similar, but it's much more measured and characters are both individually unique enough and recur enough in the story that you can more readily piece things together.
Yeah Joshua O'Brien is Rusty's predecessor lol, it's *really* clear too.
Holy shit thats a throwback
@InfinityZwei honestly, I like the cryptic, more dulled political story of AC4. Maybe I'm just weird, but the overall tone of the game just always really appealed to me.
Aaaand now I’m sad about what I had to do to Rusty again.
So for the story of this game, you're an AC-pilot-turned-LYNX from the city of an independent colony called Anatolia, one of the few colonies that can live without being ruled over by the Pax Economica. Until the money ran out, so you and your Operator became guns for hire in order to fund your hometown. All the confusing writing you saw is actually just telling you what's going on in the world; background noise essentially, while you, as Anatolia's Mercenary, are focused on keeping your home funded while the companies are having their pissing matches.
Standard AC's and NEXT's are different but NEXT's are still AC's. The term AC isn't as used because it's not as self-explanatory as it was before but it's still technically correct. Older AC's are called AC Normals while newer AC's are called AC NEXT's. On the Raven topic Idk much. But Normal pilots are still referred as Ravens and some of the Lynx were Ravens in the past and sometimes still call themselves that
Also, it is a plot point that the protagonist of 4 was a Normal pilot, a Raven, before being saved from the wreck of their machine and taking up the job of Anatolia's Mercenary. Either they were too stubborn to switch to a NEXT, or simply never had their AMS compatibility tested. Because holy feth is their AMS compatibility high. That combination of talent and experience explains why a seeming unknown is so horrifyingly deadly in battle. (as in, 85% of named LYNX in the game have histories that end with 'was killed by Anatolia's Mercenary.')
AC4 and ACFA remain my favorites of the series, even after the release of AC6. They epitomize the feeling of "awesome Japanese mecha combat" for me.
I miss the music style of these two. Nothing really caught my ear in VI.
Also, the 4th gen RADAR was the best one ever. With the enemy off-screen, you still knew perfectly well how to boost to get on their back--without wasting time turning.
Armored core 4 was my first AC game, not only did it introduce to FromSoftware but the mecha genre as a whole which at the time I really didn't pay attention to.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on ACFA
I have a love-hate relationship with AC4. Which is weird since the 4th generation was actually my personal favorite to play, even if I do recognize that 3rd gen was probably the best on an objective scale. AC4 feels like the devs were trying to juggle the story they wanted to tell, engine and hardware limitations, and new mechanics they weren't entirely sure how to implement. So even though it can be monstrously fun to just turn your brain off and play, it also suffers in a lot of ways that make it just not as good overall. That said, its sequel is my personal favorite game in the series. AC4A is still to this day my most played game of all time and the opening melody of its main theme is forever seared into my brain. Can't wait to see what you think of it next.
2:12 It's not an error, NEXTs are still a form of AC, and so are NORMALs.
ACFA's intro refers to them as "Armoured Core NEXTs", that being their full title.
This game's English localization is absolutely baffling. Ask a native Japanese player and they can explain some of the more confusing parts. I hope someday someone will just re-translate the whole script for us so we can figure out what the hell was going on in the story once and for all
I was surprised to hear you say you hate how the game looks because I actually love it. I feel like the bland and empty environments really deliver a certain feel that matches the vibe of bleak, corporate, warmongering mecha stories. Especially with the sense of scale this game can provide in the environments
You'll probably see this in other comments, but I can definitely say you'll like Armored Core: For Answer. It improves A LOT on what AC4 put on the table, you even faster, more weapons and customization and has, what i like to think, a more comprehensive story.
I was watching some people streaming AC4 well before AC6's formal announcement and the song playing during the final boss, the harsh contrast on the red arena, and the overall speed of things sold me on this series.
AC4 and FA are the most late 2000's games ever made and the mix of low contrast color pallet, harsh shadows, and indie j-rock leaning soundtrack transports me back in time whenever I play it, and I only got into the series a year or so ago. It's just so incredibly of it's era and entirely unashamed of it. Kind of hope they go back to it's aesthetic style in some way in a future game because there's nothing quite like it these days.
Gen 4 wasn't that controversial.
When people got used to Gen 4, the said controversy disappeared.
Especially when ACfA came.
(Also didn't liked the AC4's menu)
The real controversy comes from Gen 5's releases.
Also recommend the OSTs:
Panther
Twist it
Fall
Mr.Adam
Grid Room
Thinker
With Heat
Speed
You'd be surprised how many people you'll run into still complaining about fourth gen if you bum around enough AC UA-cam comments section. Basically anytime people talk about the series as a whole, a there's always at least a couple that pop out of the woodwork to complain about 4th gen, in the same way you get defenders of 5th gen funnily enough.
@@Ezekiel_Allium
So far the ones I see complaining about 4th GEN are legit complaints that offer actual criticism instead of the complete whiners. From the Menu to the bland colors.
4th Gen is still going strong (specifically ACfA), since it has far more video content compared to the lack of content from 5th Gen. (In both UA-cam and NicoNico)
I feel the controls and speed were a perfectly natural progression from the older games; I’ve been hooked since AC2 and consider the top 3 games as AC6, AC4A, and AC4 in that order, followed by Silent Line and 3.
You can manually lock a given target by clicking the right thumbstick.
Also, did you try out Hard mode? Every mission gets its own twist, sometimes those twists are huge. And multiple playthroughs are definitely going to be required for For Answer, but it's worth it.
4th gen is the Armored Core power fantasy taken to its extreme. In the very first teaser trailer they made, when it was called "Project Force", they even had what would become Noblesse Oblige obliterating some of the starter ACs from 3rd gen just to show how much more powerful the next generation would be. Clearly the prototype for how Nexts and Normals work.
4 is definitely a great game, but because For Answer does nearly everything better, its kind of hard to go back to 4 now. More parts, better story, better characters, multiple endings, and better balance. Heck, 4A even manages to make the story of 4 make more sense, too.
I always describe AC4's story as being nothing but half sentences and unanswered questions. Like that final mission. I had no idea that was even supposed to be Joshua O'Brien when I first fought him. All you get is "Why is that AC here? Could it be?" and "I guess there's little need for words..." to tell you what's going on. So I spent the entire fight wondering who the heck was suddenly trying to kill me for no reason. It completely ruined the dramatic tension From clearly wanted to have.
Despite that, there are still some really fun missions in 4. Some I think are even better than ones in 4A. Mostly because the environments are more varied and interesting to fight in. And there are several with unique effects, like fighting at night with only flares to see by. One of my favorites is when you attack the Rayleonard HQ.
There's also an interesting feature when building your AC that's unique to 4. When you're in the garage, you can equip any part in the shop as "data" for free. You have to pay for them before you can take parts on a mission. But you can use them in the test and arena for free, since its all virtual. So you actually have a surprising amount of freedom to experiment when fighting other Lynx. I kind of wish they also did it that way in For Answer.
And the soundtrack just plain rules.
I'm a thinker, I could break it down. I'm a shooter, a drastic baby!
Agitate, jump out, feel it in the will. Can you talk about deep sea with me!
To be fair, your complaints about the story are applicable to 90% of the popular games Fromsoft is known for, and everyone calls them deep and mysterious.
@@The_Big_Jay Not true. Most of them actually do make sense once you have all the pieces. So as long as you finish the game, and read all the messages and things, you can probably figure out most of it. And the few parts they don't tell you are supposed to be mysterious.
But in AC4, they never give you enough pieces to actually make a full story in the actual game. Some of the pieces are in For Answer, and some of them are in external sources, like concept art books. Like how they never tell you the name of the 00-Aretha, the prototype Next O'Brien fights you with at the end. So you have no idea that it was made by your operator's father, or that its emits so much Kojima radiation that it kills everyone nearby, even its pilot. Nor does it ever tell you that its O'Brien piloting it, or why he went from being your friend to trying to kill you and destroy your home. You just have to guess its him from the voice actor.
@@doomspud6302 Yes, yes, if you collect 4 out of 5 demon turds you'll find out that the real Lord of Scrungopolis is Bingus. It's functionally identical to, "Half sentences and unanswered questions."
It's all dialogue talking past you, over you, about events you'll never see and about motivations you barely know, literally the same as, "Hey........ I guess there's little need for words." As if I'm supposed to care or know who anyone is.
None of this criticism applies to Sekiro btw, that game actually has a story.
Fall is such a goated OST. One of Fromsoft’s all tine greats, if I may say.
How do you only have 7k subs? This is some high quality content
2:28 you went from a raven to a lynx at the start of the game. Its basically next pliots calling you a boomer
Wow I was today years old when I realized AC4’s arena was actually the Simulator. Completely ignored it cuz I thought it was the AC test
I grew to appreciate the fourth generation. It took me a long time to adapt to the controls, the speed, and all of the other massive changes as a person who could play Old Gen games in their sleep. I'm still not a massive fan of the desaturated colours, ugly visuals, and surreal speed. But one thing I love about Armored Core as a series is that it's never been afraid to try new things while retaining its core formula. It means there can be an Armored Core for everyone.
Hey bro, this was the first video I've seen on your channel and I enjoyed it a lot, one criticism I have is with the audio segment at 17:33, the overall volume seems very low compared to your voice and I would've liked for you to include a few more examples of different tracks to better match the influences you described just prior (electronic, bass, piano, choir, orchestra).
Keep up the good work though, I will check back for future entries of this series
One thing I love about AC4/FA that I hope might get noticed is that it's a type of game that only a select few series could do. Armored Core always had the Great Destruction and ancient technology and these predecessor humans, but AC4/4A is a game where you get to experience it. You get to *play* and *feel* what the ancient prologues to these games must've been like. It's a different universe, yet it gives so much context to the other universes(and is given context in turn by them), something I think is helped even more by these games being the closest to our Earth with the geography and names(like GA America or Chinese Shanghai)
AC4(and especially AC4A) is like the Arthurian legend or Biblical age of Armored Core. Or those long lost golden ages of magic and myth in fantasy novels.
Finally............... the review I've been waiting this entire review series for. When AC transitioned from somewhat realistic robots to super robots defying the laws of physics to fly through the air like a bumble bee fighting a hornet.
Well.. I mean they're still slower than modern jet fighters in this game. They don't really hit crazy speeds until For Answer.
Beautiful description of it and a good score. I do believe For Answer solves many of the gripes seen in this video. Not all of them. But for Answer is peak AC for me me. I never got around to playing 5th gen so I highly anticipate the rest of this series. Great work.
AC4 is a prequel to both timelines: the Ac1-AC2AA timeline, and the AC3-AC:LR timeline. You remember the "Great Destruction" everyone was talking about? This is it. AC4 and the expansion are about how the world was destroyed. That's why the world of AC4 more closely resembles our world, and why Nexts are more powerful than standard ACs. This era is the source of all the advanced technology they were digging up in the AC1 timeline.
Also, I like the menu art style. Everything looks like a blueprint. The layout was confusing as all get out, but thematically the art style meshes with the rest of the game. These ACs are experimental machines, not toys. It kinda has that OG Gundam feel.
And I'm pretty sure there's a hard lock option, but I can't remember if they added it in the expansion or if it was available in AC4 proper.
Officially the games aren't in the same universe, it gets confusing because they often have the same themes and heavily refrence eachother.
As far as I remember AC1 takes place in a underground city on earth, but none of the ACFA endings can lead to that. The league ending leaves humanity living in the skies untill contamination kills them, the whole point of the ORCA path is to lead people out into space to escape kojima contamination, and the King path literally kills everyone.
There is multiple factions that survive with the ability to produce high tech equipment at the end of ACFA and there is no reason to think they somehow loose the ability just because the cradles fall. For one, Line Ark survives in the ORCA path which is the only one that doesn't end with humanity dying.
The whole great destruction is just the theme of the series, in AC4 it's the National Dismantlement War, in ACFA it's the Lynx war, in AC6 it's the Fires of Ibis.
Ac4 is probly the easiest pick up and play, as long you start the arena as soon as its available. It has a pretty lax learning curve. People who liked ac4 usually loved it, played alot of online multiplayer. 4 answer is a tad bit more difficult.
A NEXT is still an Armored Core variant. With the previous generations being called "Normals." Raven is used to refer to any Lynx that predates the National Dismantlement War. All of the originals are also Ravens.
I don't think it's ever stated that Originals used to pilot normals. It seems unlikely since to be a Lynx you need to have AMS compatibility, which not everyone has and your character is stated to have minimal AMS compatibility needed to be a Lynx. We only know that Original is a Lynx that piloted NEXTs during the National Dismantlement War, while the player character was supposed to be a Raven during that time instead.
There's probably 50 comments down there that tell you this but if you play missions in Hard mode they come with extra objectives which sometimes involves siding or fighting against other Lynx. The final boss appears as your buddy more often on Hard mode too.
EDIT: I missed the arena completely when I played AC4 so I thought they didn't have time to put one together for the game, only to find out later that it's actually a feature.
Ac4 was my first AC game back in the day. I was a dumb teenager who didnt understand all the tuning shit at all. Ended up putting the biggest generator and boosters possible in a medium frame and just used two shoulder bazookas and the bazooka arms that only point straight. Superiority through overwhelming fire power. I could stagger lock most enemies. Just stagger my bazooka shots and nobody lived in one on ones.
I appreciate that you are fair to this game and give it the praise it deserves. Most people call 4A the better game (Justifiably) and then say this game is unplayable or straight bad, and that's just ridiculous. While having problems, AC4 is still an amazing game and, like you said, an impressive upgrade from the 3rd generation of armored core.
An Armored Core was somewhere between a Tank, a Fighter plane and an Attack Helicopter. NEXT's are WMD's. As for the story, you've missed a lot that IS there, likely because it's metered out over such a long time. Things like what was going on (on the surface at least, you need For Answer's revelations to know the truth.) what that final boss machine was, and the fact you did meet Joshua early on in a mission. For the record, the only company that was totally destroyed was Rayleonard. Which really stung, I liked their parts and used them a lot, only to destroy that company entirely. That knife was twisted further when I learned in For Answer what their motive for the war actually was, and just how important those cannon's we destroy were.
17:41 i knew you were gonna use fall (name of the music playing durring the fight)
I am very Curious as to which regulation you played on. because if you went through the game on 1.0 its a completely different game in terms of part balance to 1.5. some weapons like the motorcobra machine guns, heavy pistols, sirius laser cannons, scatter missiles, are absurdly over power in 1.0 and can cause some difficulty spikes, especially in hard mode mission.
I have it in my "Head Cannon" that the entirety of the "Front Mission" series takes place before the event of the first AC game.
Time lines can potentially be tied together with a bit of hoop jumping. Bar the some of the story issues,
Time line could fit, there are lots of wars (either always on the brink or averted) and the events of "Armored Core" are a direct result of the failure to avert the terrible wars that made the world above ground uninhabitable....
Wanzers could be what are known as "MTs" in the AC games, much as ACs are "Normals" are to NEXTs.
I got to add, one of the other reasons I believe that the FM series could be tied to AC series are (The bosses) tend to be essentially test beds. And there are jetpacks (used very little but they are there) I remember feeling that, thats what they were, just test beds for a bigger machine.
And that's when I get hit with the FM/AC headcannon....
You can get shoulder weapons as well as back weapons. And are the hangars secondary weapons?
the ac4 mod for ac6 completely revolutionizes the combat so much that i hope it becomes an official mode, though a company like fromsoftware isn't known for active communication and community feedback
You should give the hard mode a shot. Changes the missions in interesting ways not just artificial difficulty. The first AC battle starts with you ambushing the guy being transported by truck. In hard mode he expects the ambush and is fully powered on. There's new dialogue of course and you get tune points for completion and S ranks.
Side note: if you're interested in the story a youtuber called "armoredcorelore" has a great interpretation of AC4's story. Helped me appreciate the game even more
5:22 dont know why but those arms and the color make it looked like nightfall raven
Dude im loving these, have you even played 6 yet? Its going to rock your shit if not (in the best way)
I played it at launch simply because I didn't want to miss out 😅
I have a lot of thoughts on 6 but I'll save those for later...
I learned about the simulator arena for the first time and tuning points.
Did you get footage of the game from a PlayStation 3 or did you emulated because I’m having a hard time finding ways to even play this game and I want to really badly
I emulated for my footage to get higher resolution video, but PlayStation 3 is definitely still a great option 🙂
What really struck me when I played 4 is how short the missions are. Some are over in less than a minute.
I have odd taste since I enjoyed AC2AA, and while I didn't pickup AC4 I played For Answer and absolutely loved it. The change of speed in combat is just what the game needed to feel fresh. The previous generations felt more like a "win before you fight by either picking the strongest weapons or the right gimmick for the fight" sort of deal. This generation felt like it was almost down to raw skill. I got to experience the sound track with a brand new bass and annoy my family everytime I played it, so it has a distinct place in my memories.
Something mentionable about this game is that was being developed at the same time as Last Raven, for perpective AC4 was released 6 months after Last Raven.
And honestly that explains many things.
Reguarding the story, armored core 4 had a lot of problems, between cut content and the English localization cutting even more stuff it unfortunaly caused the story to be preaty not understandable but once u dig enough at least for me it was one of my favourites, whats funny is that said cut voice lines are also in the game files(all of them in Japanese) so u can actually see how your relationship with Joshua would develop in the missions u are with him(especcialy considering Joshua was friends with your operator)
It probably helps that you can break the game's balance over it's knee using dual Otogos (Grenade Cannons). Hell, even some hard mode encounters get completely breezed over once you get them. though, adding to that 4A kinda nerfs the whole Dual Otogo layout, but for the early regulation, a certain set of missiles really are OP.
Oh, this was fast? Hehe... you'll see the true power of Next soon.. At the ACFA...
ACFA is a game that has always been rated as the best among AC games, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll rate. But as someone who's played first (I cleared AC4 before I did this, of course) I'm sure you'll say this if you're running ACFA Next for the first time? 'Wtf its too fast!'
Anyone try ACFA and all the other franchises' ACs feel like pathetic old-fashioned ACs without Kojima Particles... I'm still shocked at how a lightweight AC can never exceed Mach with QB and OB
Ah yes, Armored Core 4th Gen, also known as Ace Gundam
AC6 has been my first but I really wanna try 4 and 5. Would love if Fromsoft make PC ports/HD remasters of the game for PC.
4 was my first armoured core. I got it for Xmas and loved it
AC4 shat on the best element of the AC series, the actual learning curve and skill levels required.
After unlocking my PS3, this was the first game I wanted to play on it, and it was worth every second
Really cant wait for you to play FA, becoming good at that game makes you feel invincible
How do you plan on covering AC5? It's mostly online with a handful of solo missions. With the servers offline it's basically unplayable.
It's not unplayable at all. The single player campaign is the length of your standard AC game.
4 was the last of the new gen ac games i played (never had a console til xbox 360), and its my favorite of the series. Love the story, gameplay, soundtrack, and i felt the game did a great job with the environments. I like that they used the no primal armor missions to show the true power of normals
I crushed everything this game has to offer with just dual laser rifles and dual single missile launchers on a moderately quick midweight build. It was still fun but lasers are just insanely broken
Once you reach chapter 2 and acquire 2 grenade canon.. the game becomes a cake walk from there on out
How do you determine your scores? Where do the decimals come from? I've watched most of your videos in this series and the scores still jumpscare me at the end because they seem so... out of nowhere? Definitely FEELS random. Not disconnected from the rest of the video but extraneous.
I try to stay as objective as possible when looking at a game's intent and how the design might compliment or take away from it. I have a background in game design/development, but of course, determining intent and trying to be objective about any art is hard, so sometimes they might seem a little inconsistent 😅
The decimals are a lot simpler though! Professional reviews in the game industry are scored on a 1-100 scale, but the average person is more familiar with a 1-10 scale. So I'm essentially scoring them 1-100 before scaling them down to 1-10.
Trying to explain it is kind of difficult, but hopefully that gives at least some context to it 🙂
@@notcole As a filmmaker myself, I don't really believe in "objective" when it comes to art but thanks for the explanation nonetheless! I don't feel like you've been inconsistent at all. I just think your thoughts come through so well on the script, I keep forgetting that you use numbers (hence the jump scare comment). I don't really think you need it but... not my videos so; you keep doing you.
And I understand the decimals a bit better. Your method is your method. I'll just keep watching.
@@GREATGAIWAINwhile video games can be art, they are technical pieces more similar to machinery than something like a painting.
If the gameplay fails to match the intent, to use a random example, you're playing a character who everyone says is bullet proof but you constantly get one tapped by regular guns in gameplay, or it's just plain and simple bad, then yeah there's something objective there.
Thoughts on the music of these games? I've only ever played AC2, AC3 silent line, AC4, and AC VI. Fav music overall was from silent line
AC4 Soundtrack is the best AC soundtrack and that's saying something. Really loved this game, it's my favorite too
Totally agreed, it's a personal favorite for me too. Honestly my ranking is AC6/ACFA tied first and AC4/ACLR 2nd and 3rd
Is this on original hardware or emulator ?
I really like the dull colors of the game, it really reflects on the dreary setting and world of the armored core games
What's the music that plays at 2:18?
Even after loving AC6, the 4th gen titles (especially the sequel, For Answer) hold the top spot as my favorites of the franchise. The speed and power fantasy of NEXTs is just so addicting.
Fair enough for not getting the story, it's a combination of bad translation (losing lines that should have been included) and Miyazaki essentially doing his first non-direct story that he would become known for in demon souls and beyond. All you need to know is that OMER science is behind everything.
As for being easy... sure, the skill requirement starts low, but now try S-Ranking the game. And then go do it again on hard mode.
Can't wait to see the 4A follow-up.
For Answer was the first AC game I ever played, and it’s still my favorite, even after say, the likes of 6, though my mild dislike of the endings and the customization are pretty moot considering the game runs so smooth for a 2023 game and I’ve yet to encounter any bugs playing it.
Absolute shoutout to the boss White Glint. Best boss fight in an AC game
In the story, you are a Raven. They just don't really exist anymore, which is why you're ALSO called a relic at one point. All NEXTs and Normals are Armored Cores, and so using the term AC, Armored Core, and NEXT are all appropriate for your machine. Your title of Raven is appropriate, however, only for you.
NEXTs are called this mostly because they're the.. next.. AC.. Get it? The Next Gen? Yeah.
Lynx is a play on the word Links, because pilots need a special connection with an AC to pilot it. You "link" to it. That's where that naming convention comes from. It is possible to both be a Lynx and a Raven at the same time, but not all Lynx are Ravens and not all Ravens are Lynx.
The quick boost mechanic isn't new, but it was an extension piece of equipment. Now like PLOW, it's just a part of what you get with your AC as standard issue.
LOL The shitting on the UI and game ugliness. My man, there was just a weird trend in 2006. It really is a result of that period of gaming. It's NOT a hardware issue. Look up the "Tea Stain Filter" era of gaming. This was an issue with gaming in general during that period ESPECIALLY on the X-Box I felt, but in general it was just a huge issue. All games during this period just had a weird, fucky, sepia tone, massively blown out bloom, bland and toned down colors kept mostly earthy in general, and just.. ugliness all around. This sort of minimalist UI's fitted with just a constant sort of shit-coloring to everything, created a period a lot of us older gamers remember somewhat... Bittersweetly.
I want to note that I think the PA system replaces heat. It's just been redesigned so you still get punished for being shot a bunch, but the meta doesn't revolve around over heating now, and you obviously have the freedom to boost around. It's probably the best replacement system for Heat we'll see. Certainly better than 6's stagger system.
Speaking of stagger systems! I think your issue with tracking AP comes from stagger taking such a back seat in this game. Sure, recoil and impact are still around (and boy did I abuse it in PvP to ride my way to the top ranks of the leader boards. Victory tastes better with a side of cheese is all I'm sayin'!), but in the past WOW did you know when you took a big hit. The explosions were louder. Brighter. They CONSUMED your screen and lasted longer, and you got thrown like a lego toy instead of the giant mech you are when you got hit. In this you barely get pushed any even by a direct hit from a grenade, and your momentum is rarely lost. The explosions are gone in a flash and 4th gen will always have an issue with explosion life span and damage infliction.
The difficulty of this game IS low. In fact, I'd say it's the easiest Armored Core game, and also one of the shortest. I blazed through this game in a single gaming session if I recall. Not as painfully short as Project Phantasma though. The arena also IS very easy. 4th gen has the easiest arena in the franchise next to 6 which.. Wow 6's arena was bizarrely easy. I often felt 6's enemy AI was weakened in the arena versus their actual in-mission encounters with those characters. 4's AI remains the same pretty much both in Arena and in mission.
Joshua is someone who you actually have multiple chances to meet. He mostly shows up to help you when you take too long or need aid except in hard mode, where he'll be an opponent sometimes. He's a real bro, and kind of 4's Rusty. Except his interest (and backstory) is more aimed at Fiona than you in particular. The AC Noblesse Oblige featured in the teaser for the game when it was called Project Force, and the AC Berlioz feature in the intro, and both feature (potentially) in one of the cooler missions in the game.. but I was surprised at how these two very important AC's and their Lynx have basically no role in the story. None of the Originals do, actually. The story IS just weird like that.
All in all, I spent more time playing Armored Core 4 than even For Answer or any other AC game. I became good enough that had it been an e-sport, I might've made money off of it. I both hate so many aspects of this game and have such incredibly fond memories of the highlights I experienced during its heyday. In fact, almost every major friend I have in gaming I made through interactions in Armored Core 4, and I have a hard time making friends even today on most modern PC games compared to how easy it was to just chill, shoot the shit, and shoot each other with other like minded mecha enthusiasts back then.
Man I miss it. R.I.P. Armored Core. Long Live Armored Core.
Now that you've played AC6 would you say that it's similar to AC4 in terms of difficulty?
Silent Line was the last game in the series I played. I tried out AC4 when it came out but the controls seemed waaaaay different and all the other changes in the game made me feel like it was very much aimed at a different audience who liked easy games, so I didn't bother with it. I'll probably buy AC6 at some point but if it's aimed at a more casual audience I'll end up waiting till a big sale or something.
Don't want to spoil many of my thoughts about 6, but it's definitely a good deal more difficult than 4 🙂
I felt the same way when 4 came out. It didn't really feel like an AC game to me. It lacked the weight of the older games.
4 was my first AC game. It took me a long time to get past the GA sunshine with the heavy ga bipedal legs 2 mini guns and the mussel shell I believe they were called. Its my favorite AC game. The switch from 4 to verdict day was a huge curveball. I will have to get 5 one day. AC 6 with 4’s controls makes it a lot less jarring.
If you think the menu in 4 is too overly simple
Trust me, the one in From Answer is somehow simpler
I enjoyed the theory that this game is a prequel to the others. "normals" aside, it fits pretty well with the world progression.
I'm convinced that if they remastered 4/4A, their sales would skyrocket
I mean, I know I'm not the only one tryna get new CPU paste for my 360 just to play these games
AC Nexus was the first game i ever played in the series and to this day it reserves a special place in my heart as my favorite one. Last raven is my second favorite overall but mostly because its jusy Nexus extended. The only AC game i didnt like was AC5 and i have played nearly all of them to completion including formula front for psp.
you did miss the hardmode in ac4, which i hope you hit ac4a's hardmode, but their hardmodes change the missions sometimes more than just an increase to stats, some missions such as Marche Au Supplice will cut out both allied units that are meant to give you support against the enemy NEXT squad
It's a crime that he didn’t mention hard mode
ah damn, I meant to at least make a mention of it but I completely forgot 😅
The story for AC4 is mostly set up for the setting of ACFA, you'll understand when you get there.
the shear speed 4th gen has is insane
AC4 and For Answer have literally always been my favorite games of all time.
I shall provide information the pilot of armored core 4 is a surviving raven who underwent the procedure to become a linx
If you want some more information on the last boss and the other drone NEXTs that you encountered those are the very first nexts the 002b being the weird next with the giant shoulder Shields and large moonlight Lazer blade and the 00A the large machine that you encountered at the end of the game the 02 was an attempt at the very first mass production armored core nexts however the stress from the AMS system would kill the people piloting them and the program was canned and redeveloped into the 03 the very first successful mass-production next the 00 was the very first next gen ac it was like a concept machine equipping all the different ideas nexts could do this included assault armor which is that giant explosion it could create that is a functionality that is part of the over booster in armored core FA you will enjoy it i think by the way make sure to play the FA missions on hard these weapons make reappearances!
And I agree the OST red butterfly for Nexus 9 ball is still my favorite
You're gonna love For Answer
ACFA is going to become this man's favorite
OH MY GOD I PLAYED THROUGH THE ENTIRE GAME WITHOUT KNOWING THERE WAS AN ARENA
was waiting for this comment 😂
I just played this game on an emulator and its one of the best games ive played. I absolutely love it.
You have to complete every mission? I believe there were ones you could skip. I skipped quite a few, like Water Striding. Those battle ships aim with their giant plasma cannons felt outright impossible to dodge for closing the gap safely. I could finish one off with my sword, but by then I was below half armor, and the mission tasks you with taking out 3 of them. I couldn’t beat that mission no matter what I tried. Granted I made almost no major changes to my Next’s main frame besides it’s weapons. I still got to beat the final boss and see the end credits.
Interesting, I ended up completing all in one run so I assumed they were all required, I guess some can be skipped if played in a certain order?
I think its been said all over the comments but I'll say it anyways - 4th gen is my favorite. I wish they went back to this gameplay. Not saying 6 is a bad game. From a dev perspective it fixes everything from previous armored cores and brings down the pvp curve that was crazy in 4/4a. I'll hand it to fromsoftware though - they always make a new engine with each generation of armored core. We don't get that with other franchises. As an older fan, its nice to see the evolution of armored core to 6 - it contains some elements of all the past games.
I remember playing 4 after FA and it just felt off. You're in for a real treat in FA, it's been my favorite game up until 6 but in some regards I do like it more.
4 is one of my favorites, except for that damn submarine mission!
Also, it has the BEST soundtrack of any game I have ever played. Kota Hoshino managed to make one of the most incredible and badass OST.
Oh if you like 4 you'll love For Answer, my favorite.
The reason you were called a raven in the story is because you were. Before you became a LYNX you were a Raven. Also NEXT's are AC so them being called AC isn't wrong. Basically AC's in 4 were the Normal AC, aka mooks and the NEXT AC's
This was my first ac game I’ve ever played and I loved it!
Been playing AC6 but now ur making me wanna get an emulator just to go back to AC4/FA !
If you liked this OST wait till you get too 6 there's a few bangers in there
I think bland menus and gray browns were insanely common back then.
Fallout 3 also came out for the PS3 and was incredibly bland, it might have been something with the hardware?
@@StylishYeoman It was the style at the time.
I'm gonna own it, I hated AC4 and only enjoyed For Answer primarily because the arms forts and spirit of motherwill was cool as fuck.
Mechanically speaking the games alienated me because of the new movement's super speed so I ended up skipping V since my xbox 360 red ringed and I didn't care enough to get it fixed since I moved to PC gaming but now, 17+ years later I've completed AC VI and I'm enjoying it again. :)
We need remaster
The lynx are still ravens they are just the only ravens that can pilot nexts. Also a next is still an AC. Just the next generation. The "normals" in the game are the older AC's. Take a look at the models and you'll see.