One of the reasons I like the NG+ decisions is that they assume that since you've already beaten the game you can handle a difficulty spike. Leading to some really fun early game fights.
the Rubicon is a river that used to form the northern border of the Roman Empire. it was tradition that emperors and generals returning from war could not cross the Rubicon until all of their foes were vanquished. Julius Caesar was the first emperor to cross the Rubicon without fully felling his enemy, breaking 1000 years of tradition. His first words when he crossed were "the die is cast." Out with the old tradition; in with the new. Times had changed. Fitting words, then, for the log you find from Father Dolmayan (his writings, log (5))- he talks about crossing the threshold and remarking "the die is cast," just as Julius Caesar had. Forging a new age for Rubicon (and the universe maybe?). This is why I love FromSoft lore. it's so steeped in history and can be interpreted on so many different conceptual levels depending on the knowledge you possess of the in world history and of actual irl history and philosophy.
The look on your face encountered your first new branch was exactly what I was looking forward too. You'll still have repeat missions of course, but I don't think you gotta worry about this playthrough being stale, and the next one will be even better.
I still remember after I hit that moment I suddenly realized that I no longer knew what missions would be the same and what would be new making me look forward to each mission to see where the changes would appear and I loved it, it made me excited for for a campaign I've already played while feeling like things were different l
I like how Walter puts a facade of a cold handler who does not care about anything outside the job, but he actually cares about 621 and the other hounds
3:35, 11:01, there are countless other examples, but i'll take this opportunity to say: You usually explain and contextualize so many of your decisions very clearly, and with earnestness and respect for the game, that it's easy to support and be entertained by these 'meta decisions' you make (sometimes even for the sake of viewers) about presenting/playing the game in specific and purposeful ways. It greatly shines through in many of your Fromsoft playthroughs making them a much richer experience. So just wanted to say that we/I appreciate it :) As for AC6, looking forward to you tackling the new missions(and blasting through old ones now that you are an experienced pilot!)
Brotha, I friggin love how enthusiastic you are about this game! Noting and connecting story details, talking about hidden logs, etc. gets me REALLY excited. Just for a note: the PCA is just the PCA. Corps like Furlong, Takigawa, etc. are independent smaller groups that supply anyone who pays (Independent, corp, etc.). They do not have much of a story presence in general, but their presence is still quite important in the end.
I am glad new people are still starting this game to this day. The NG+ and NG++ mechanics were fun my first time around. I'm glad you enjoyed NG so much to continue into NG+
I knew from the start you'd love this game, it really is one of my favorite let's plays from you. Seriously can't wait for NG++, it truly is an amazing twist in the story!
New Game Plus LET'S FREAKING GOOOO! I'm glad you decided to show all the gameplay and not just the new or different stuff because is fun to see how you approach the situations with experience and don't worry just look a guide and go for the secrets That won't ruin the fun I hope the info logs you found will help you to understand and know more of the history
It makes sense when you have the context that they changed their minds through development about letting you side with Ayre/Rubicon in the first playthrough. Originally, as they did with some of the older AC games, you had 1 ending available per NG cycle, with the next one unlocking in NG+. So the second playthrough is when you would've unlocked the ability to side with rubicon, hence unlocking all these alternative rubicon liberation supporter missions, as your Raven in this timeline is obviously more sympathetic to their cause.
so happy you're doing this. just revisited my NG++ save state to test out the most recent patch and try out the new parts FromSoft added and ended up finishing the entire campaign. Man, no spoilers at all, but NG++ is such a treat and so much is added to the story. Your playthrough was fresh in my mind so I was kinda bewildered at how different NG++ was from NG, way more than I remembered.
can't even tell you how happy i am you decided to go into NG+ right away, can't wait for you to see the little surprises every NG loop has in store. Keep it up man and thanks for sharing!!
Great episode! I love playing games like this again and getting a whole new and better understanding of everything going on. Seems like you didn’t read the text for the second two allmind ACs in the analysis, they all provide some info.
Haha. Yea NG+ likes to throw those curve balls in pretty early on. Gotta love the role reversal in the dam mission. Remember in the original mission there was a solo AC that shows up against all three of you. This time you're the RLFs AC backup on defense taking on the 2v1.
Getting better with each mission and coming back to the beginning is just so cool With such a huge variety for gameplay its almost like a fresh expierience
I never played this game but its so facinating to watch you play. How you connect everything. I would have never connected logs and missions to corporations and charecters as well as you do.
Correct on account of pilots not always dying. I'm not sure if it's just a disconnect in the gameplay where the AC's explode normally instead of fleeing, or if they're supposed to be ejecting, which also isn't shown. But they do usually make it clear via the dialogue whether it's a kill or not.
remember to spare Swinburne when you fight him! you killed him in NG and it's not immediately obvious you can spare him (kinda like Patches in Elden Ring)
1:00:08 interesting, so volta died because iguazu went missing instead of climbing the wall like he was supposed to. After all that bragging about it to 621. I wonder where he went and why?
This what the fuck I’ve been waiting on!!! I work today at the hospital and it’s usually uneventful in the morning and I was praying you would drop the next part before the colts game
I remember there was an icon for the mission replays that would indicate if you missed any combat logs, sadly didn't inform you of any missing items, but might help.
The mission where you turned on the Redguns mid mission has another boss hidden on it if memory serves me right. Did you notice the Allmind Trainer AC is your starting AC? Allmind's Tester AC has my favourite legs in the game. They're my go to choice for legs since they have good weight capacity, armor and as you saw, mobility.
The ALLMIND trainer AC is a Balam Melander C3 frame with a four cell missile launcher, Curtis linear rifle, and Ludlow submachine gun. Not the RaD Orbiter Scout frame that 621 starts with.
Those Mind Alpha parts that you got were from the log hunt program, essentially Allmind has been awarding you with frame parts it's been developing for its AI ACs for collecting AC data in the field, presumably in pursuit of refining its own autonomous AC. Makes sense, it takes your combat data against various opponents and uses it (and all the other arena data) to try to create an AI AC, then offers to let you directly spar with it so it can see how it handles you, giving it even more performance data to feed it with. Everything is for corporate benefit, Allmind rewards you so you collect military data for military use then uses you to even further refine that. You're paid, of course, that's how it works, but the Arena program itself is for data collection, the whole arena ranking system is just a cover for corporate data collection for their own military development, which becomes obvious here once Allmind offers the NG+ arena missions.
One of the reasons I like the NG+ decisions is that they assume that since you've already beaten the game you can handle a difficulty spike. Leading to some really fun early game fights.
I appreciate the fact you're not cutting out the gameplay of the missions we've seen previously! We love you Mapo!
Smiled as soon as I realized the same thing. Mapo-621 supremacy
100% keep it all in
the Rubicon is a river that used to form the northern border of the Roman Empire. it was tradition that emperors and generals returning from war could not cross the Rubicon until all of their foes were vanquished. Julius Caesar was the first emperor to cross the Rubicon without fully felling his enemy, breaking 1000 years of tradition. His first words when he crossed were "the die is cast." Out with the old tradition; in with the new. Times had changed.
Fitting words, then, for the log you find from Father Dolmayan (his writings, log (5))- he talks about crossing the threshold and remarking "the die is cast," just as Julius Caesar had. Forging a new age for Rubicon (and the universe maybe?).
This is why I love FromSoft lore. it's so steeped in history and can be interpreted on so many different conceptual levels depending on the knowledge you possess of the in world history and of actual irl history and philosophy.
The look on your face encountered your first new branch was exactly what I was looking forward too. You'll still have repeat missions of course, but I don't think you gotta worry about this playthrough being stale, and the next one will be even better.
I still remember after I hit that moment I suddenly realized that I no longer knew what missions would be the same and what would be new making me look forward to each mission to see where the changes would appear and I loved it, it made me excited for for a campaign I've already played while feeling like things were different l
I like how Walter puts a facade of a cold handler who does not care about anything outside the job, but he actually cares about 621 and the other hounds
3:35, 11:01, there are countless other examples, but i'll take this opportunity to say: You usually explain and contextualize so many of your decisions very clearly, and with earnestness and respect for the game, that it's easy to support and be entertained by these 'meta decisions' you make (sometimes even for the sake of viewers) about presenting/playing the game in specific and purposeful ways. It greatly shines through in many of your Fromsoft playthroughs making them a much richer experience. So just wanted to say that we/I appreciate it :)
As for AC6, looking forward to you tackling the new missions(and blasting through old ones now that you are an experienced pilot!)
Ah yes, the emotional devastation storyline. Glad to see you hopped right back into it.
Let’s gooo! I was worried we’d have to wait a bit for NG+. Excited to see you jump back in right away!
3:35 definitely keep it all in, looking forward to you reveling in your power in these early missions XD
1:05:10 Actually you can defeat him before Rusty leaves, but it's super hard and it triggers secret dialogue
Brotha, I friggin love how enthusiastic you are about this game! Noting and connecting story details, talking about hidden logs, etc. gets me REALLY excited.
Just for a note: the PCA is just the PCA. Corps like Furlong, Takigawa, etc. are independent smaller groups that supply anyone who pays (Independent, corp, etc.). They do not have much of a story presence in general, but their presence is still quite important in the end.
Your playthrough has almost motivated me to hop back in and get S ranks on all the missions haha. Maybe I'll finally do it over the holiday break
1:05:20 you actually can and there'll be new dialogue, lots of hidden stuff in this game
SO HAPPY you're doing NG+ right away!
I am glad new people are still starting this game to this day. The NG+ and NG++ mechanics were fun my first time around. I'm glad you enjoyed NG so much to continue into NG+
I knew from the start you'd love this game, it really is one of my favorite let's plays from you. Seriously can't wait for NG++, it truly is an amazing twist in the story!
New Game Plus LET'S FREAKING GOOOO!
I'm glad you decided to show all the gameplay and not just the new or different stuff because is fun to see how you approach the situations with experience and don't worry just look a guide and go for the secrets
That won't ruin the fun
I hope the info logs you found will help you to understand and know more of the history
It makes sense when you have the context that they changed their minds through development about letting you side with Ayre/Rubicon in the first playthrough. Originally, as they did with some of the older AC games, you had 1 ending available per NG cycle, with the next one unlocking in NG+. So the second playthrough is when you would've unlocked the ability to side with rubicon, hence unlocking all these alternative rubicon liberation supporter missions, as your Raven in this timeline is obviously more sympathetic to their cause.
so happy you're doing this. just revisited my NG++ save state to test out the most recent patch and try out the new parts FromSoft added and ended up finishing the entire campaign. Man, no spoilers at all, but NG++ is such a treat and so much is added to the story. Your playthrough was fresh in my mind so I was kinda bewildered at how different NG++ was from NG, way more than I remembered.
can't even tell you how happy i am you decided to go into NG+ right away, can't wait for you to see the little surprises every NG loop has in store. Keep it up man and thanks for sharing!!
Great episode! I love playing games like this again and getting a whole new and better understanding of everything going on.
Seems like you didn’t read the text for the second two allmind ACs in the analysis, they all provide some info.
Fun fact, if you wait long enough, the Strider will leave the mission zone and you'll fail
Love how he's looking things up, then goes into the second mission and misses the hidden combat log🤣🤣🤣
Haha. Yea NG+ likes to throw those curve balls in pretty early on.
Gotta love the role reversal in the dam mission. Remember in the original mission there was a solo AC that shows up against all three of you. This time you're the RLFs AC backup on defense taking on the 2v1.
22:43 that conversation is indeed NG+ exclusive
Getting better with each mission and coming back to the beginning is just so cool
With such a huge variety for gameplay its almost like a fresh expierience
Yeah, love the new game plus, gives you a chance at seeyint how much of a badass you've become, and now everything makes much more sense
I never played this game but its so facinating to watch you play. How you connect everything. I would have never connected logs and missions to corporations and charecters as well as you do.
Been enjoying watching your playthrough! Your level of perceptiveness makes this really fun and I can't wait to see you finish the whole game.
I'm glad you're going through the extra content! its much faster the 2nd (and third) time around but the alternate choices/new content is worth
I love that you're keeping in the older missions because often the post mission dialogue will have something new in NG+/NG++
Correct on account of pilots not always dying. I'm not sure if it's just a disconnect in the gameplay where the AC's explode normally instead of fleeing, or if they're supposed to be ejecting, which also isn't shown. But they do usually make it clear via the dialogue whether it's a kill or not.
remember to spare Swinburne when you fight him! you killed him in NG and it's not immediately obvious you can spare him (kinda like Patches in Elden Ring)
Keen to see the end of this ng plus run , probably has some of my favourite moments in the last couple of chapters
Absolutely loving the Dual Laser Shotguns build. Looks so fun. I can't wait for you to get to the boss of this playthrough!
This is the greatest playthrough
1:05:20 yes, there is special dialog if you can do that, though the timing is pretty tight.
Yeah it's easier in NG+ (or if replaying after CH3 in NG at least), got it down in a single laser lance stagger > charged chainsaw finisher
Very fun episode. Looking forward to more.
About 1/2 way through this episode, but you should consider using the reverse chicken legs. Personal favorites.
1:00:08 interesting, so volta died because iguazu went missing instead of climbing the wall like he was supposed to. After all that bragging about it to 621. I wonder where he went and why?
Let's gooo, excited to see you go through the other endings
NG+ time, let's go! It's going to be interesting to see how you react to the changes in the story...
Next up is Cinder Carla's Open World Log Hunt. there is a LOT of hidden logs in the next mission.
2+ hours of Mapo playing Armored Core? Heck yeah man it must be my birthday.
The parts you get from beating Walter are some of my favorite parts in the game.
Seeing Mapo read the logs and mention the whole obscure From lorebuilding, I wonder if he'll react to the Vaatividya lore vid
can't wait to see you tackle the NG++ Strider mission. just did that one today and man that mission is rough
Good choice, keeping it all in! As a viewer im happy 🥳
Yay, a new part, thought I would need to wait until new year
I don't know if this has been said before but the replay mission screen will tell you which missions still have collectibles.
Imagine being some rlf guy in an mt and an ibis series ac with plasma and laser weapons just shows up
This what the fuck I’ve been waiting on!!! I work today at the hospital and it’s usually uneventful in the morning and I was praying you would drop the next part before the colts game
23:14 New conversation for Ng+!
Checking the areas a bit more is a very good idea, won't always pay off but I'm sure you will find stuff!
I remember there was an icon for the mission replays that would indicate if you missed any combat logs, sadly didn't inform you of any missing items, but might help.
We out here!
OMG you found a Info log in the Attack the watchpoint mission that I never find out 😮
Wtf i need to go to my game ASAP
Take your time exploring the maps if you like, that game is already quite short
The mission where you turned on the Redguns mid mission has another boss hidden on it if memory serves me right.
Did you notice the Allmind Trainer AC is your starting AC?
Allmind's Tester AC has my favourite legs in the game. They're my go to choice for legs since they have good weight capacity, armor and as you saw, mobility.
The ALLMIND trainer AC is a Balam Melander C3 frame with a four cell missile launcher, Curtis linear rifle, and Ludlow submachine gun. Not the RaD Orbiter Scout frame that 621 starts with.
ALLMIND exists for all mercenaries
Those Mind Alpha parts that you got were from the log hunt program, essentially Allmind has been awarding you with frame parts it's been developing for its AI ACs for collecting AC data in the field, presumably in pursuit of refining its own autonomous AC. Makes sense, it takes your combat data against various opponents and uses it (and all the other arena data) to try to create an AI AC, then offers to let you directly spar with it so it can see how it handles you, giving it even more performance data to feed it with. Everything is for corporate benefit, Allmind rewards you so you collect military data for military use then uses you to even further refine that. You're paid, of course, that's how it works, but the Arena program itself is for data collection, the whole arena ranking system is just a cover for corporate data collection for their own military development, which becomes obvious here once Allmind offers the NG+ arena missions.
i love this game.
NG+ hype!!!
Yayyy NG+!!!!
Try the pile bunker, please
lol going in for a kick _after_ the stagger is sending me
LETS GOOOOOO
Does Mapo knows that the order in which you pick missions is important?
Imagine waiting a year for new episode😢
Allmind: ∫R(x)dx
Great to see you back in the pilot's seat, 713 🫡