Recently started playing the armored core games like 2 weeks before the announcement of AC6, I was a bit sad just how niche the series was when I would try and look for information or people to talk to about it, but now I’ve got a wealth of videos and content to enjoy on a newfound love :)
AC2 was badass. The visuals were outstanding and the iconic sound of the Karasawa was never rivaled in the PS2 era. The game could also transfer to AA, letting you start out as Leos Klein if you so chose.
Yeah, AC2 only has one big problem besides the controls when it first released on native hardware: THE FRAMERATE. It was very bad, like 20fps bad on some missions. Emulation & a good PC solves that. Go play it.
AC2 probably had my favorite area it took place in, and ost. Like mars was such a cool place, along all the things doing with the disorders, wish they did more with them and mars too.
@@crambob1370Well, "AC6: Fires of Rubicon" will apperantly take place *on a planet outside the Solar System,* so look forward to that. Rubicon is bound to have some alien machinery or organisms somewhere.
Same here, but Phantasma was my first. Technically AC1 was, but that was just the demo disc. Phantasma was the one that I bought though. The AC series is directly responsible for my love of mechs.
AC and mecha as a whole is a niche, I'm sure AC6 sold much more due to the souls games, but don't expect it to blow up unless they fully commit to it and even then it's still a niche so the potential of popularity is lower.
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 if you post a unlisted video, it won't show up in your channel page but it could sometimes still send people notifications of the unlisted video. People can see the video if they click on the notification.
Verdict Day is genuinely a significant improvement over V. The multiplayer stuff is still a little intrusive but it goes from unplayable as a single player game to actually fun. That final story mission is pretty cool too.
I don't know about you guys, but some mission is crashed when I play it.. So I never really finished any ending.. Only playing with my friends. 3 match per turn only for winners.
Lmao... same. Like I just wanted to play a mech game because I was high on the Full Metal Panic anime and just wanted more mechs in my life. Picked up Last Raven and cried. Ragequitted several times with month-long intervals until I just got gud and finally beat the game.
@@durakeno5575 I have only gotten the Jack-O ending. lol I haven't wanted to pick it up to do any of the others but my pride as a Raven keeps tugging at me.
From what I've seen and heard AC6 may be taking aspects from previous gens but I'm seeing more emphasis on 3rd and 4th gen which I'm honestly very excited for.
I am sure I am a minority but I personally hope it isn't a giant open world game. I'd like it to be 1 versus 1 and 2 v 2 arena battles similar to Armored Core Arena and Virtual-On.
I think Silent Line was the pinnacle of the series. What makes it better than 4a, is that it captured the heavy mech fantasy. If every mech can go mach 11, you miss out on that flavor of piloting a sluggish, hulking, bipedal weapons platform, which can tank hits with it's thick armor, and punch back with oversized weaponry. In 3rd gen you can do that, but you can also be a speedy boi, by using a light mech with hover legs. But then 4th gen removed hover legs. So there goes the hover boi's fantasy as well. All in all, I feel like 3rd gen captures the mech customization experience better, by offering a more satisfying range of mobilities. I think ideally, Fromsoft should choose a comfortable middle ground between 3rd gen and 4a for AC6, by offering the choice of insane aerial mobility, but at an appropriate cost. Either by lowering the armor of the associated parts, or by putting weight constraints on the parts. Ideally both.
One of my favorite things was how quadruped legs allowed you to use back weapons without having to bend down, so one of my favorite early builds was to use gun arms and back weapons to save up on some dough
I missed 3rd gen, but the way you describe it feels like how I'd describe AC2. I loved how you could make slow hulking armor beasts and just beat lighter AC's through sheer outlasting power. Or you could make super mobile assassin mechs that deleted people in seconds but were made from tissue paper. One of my favorite light mech designs was a reverse joint leg light mech that had swarm missiles and the double sword arms. You poke your opponent down with mobility and the missiles, then finish them off with the blades. It was kinda booty in any of the hard arena fights, requiring the enemy AI to derp out to win most of the time. But man, against my irl friends, that mech was a legendary terror. One of my friends outright refused to fight against me if I used it.
They just need to be more restrictive with energy. If you want to be a hugely armored mech that can move fast, make it require powerful boosters, which then require a good generator or capacitor. I personally think they should go back to boosters generating heat, but instead of it automatically draining energy it should be something that is activated (By drinking a flask obviously, lol) Then it would be up to the player to decide when to deal with the heat, or if passive systems were good enough.
Armored Core Formula Front International has always fascinated me. I believe that's the definitive version of that game with the most content, and it even allows you to actually control your u/AC, which would make it an exclusively PvP multiplayer focused AC game with an insane amount of parts for the time. Excellent ranking.
Was actaully competing aginast my friends, just load in both AI teams and watch them play. Some ai control moments are epic, some could be goofy, that's insanely fun and way ahead its time!
Armored Core: For Answer is definitely one if not thee best armored core game to date. The combat, the customization, the menus, the music, it all just feels so good and looks so interesting and unique. The speed and versatility of everything is amazing
Don’t know how I came across an unlisted video, but I like For Answer the best. Might be biased since it’s the first one I played, but the sense of speed is the best
You have the best ranking of these games that I have seen. Your top 2 are also my top 2. Most other people have put For Answer in the mid or C tier (COMPLETELY INCORRECT). I honestly think that For Answer and Silent Line are OBJECTIVELY the two best armored core games in the entire series. I am hoping that Fires of Rubicon goes above and beyond these two games (I truly think it will).
ACV's direction was likely because of the success of Chromehounds and multiplayer games in general in the X360. I kinda get why they did it. Chromehounds was a lot of fun, but ACV was not Chromehounds.
Chrome hounds is hands down one of my favorite mech games, and it breaks my heart we will never see a sequel. V and VD imo was disappointing. Repeat parts, janky play, story was all over the place, and a completely broken meta. My first AC was 3 which I still play and adore, and I feel that as long as any AC game follows that kind of formula, like 4A, then 6 will be amazing!
Nexus is mad underrated, it straight up has the coolest cutscenes and the best music of all of the old gen games, and disc 2 makes up for my issues with disc 1. Idk how you can watch that intro and not just fall in love.
-The overheating mechanic forced you to immediately pour money into cooling units, low-output thrusters, and engine output in order to survive even using boosting, let alone being stunlocked by high-heat weapons. A mechanic that was supposed to add realism, but AC at that point was too reliant on boosters to go back to mechwarrior-like walking, given a lot of missions required jumping and hovering. -Rebooting the story meant tossing out all previous parts from AC3 and SL. Although tuning allowed for more customization and alleviate some issues, AC3 and Nexus have more similarities than not, and you could argue they should've been able to share saves between games so they could be one singular generation. -AC didn't necessarily need dual-stick since the FCS was already so generous to everything but rockets. Although rockets are great cost-cutters for marathon missions, they don't do well in duels due to fast-paced combat, which mean with the right FCS tank controls are tolerable. Last Raven being playable on PSP somewhat proved this. -This may apply to all older games, but 1v1 duels aren't the best strength due to lack of cover and most games until AC4 relied on who could outcircle who in the early game. Spot dodging counteracts missiles more easily than ECM and decoys, and to go back to slower mechs teamplay is obviously better. ACV just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, *especially* since the updates only affected the server and not offline. Playing ACV in emulator only shows the cheese in full glory. Don't get me wrong, I do think it's the easiest generation to jump into, but if there was an HD Remaster for PC or something happening right now with multiplayer as a bonus, rebalancing is paramount if it's going to survive opening week.
I would like nexus if it wasn't for the annoying overheating mechanics and stupid filters. Disc 2 has some cool content ngl, but it doesn't save the mess that is disc 1
Loved nexus for sure, my favorite. The new controls are really good, and I actually dont mind the emphasis of heat. I just kinda wish the arena was a side menu rather than as missions. Shame he gave it an E it's actually really good.
Arms Forts were such exciting battles. Even the less interesting ones were still a creative change of pace. I'd love to see a return of them, but that also probably depends on the design of vertical mobility.
For Answer supremacy baby. Culmination of everything they've learned. Trimmed virtually all the fat from the previous games. Blisteringly fast speed and feels snappy as fuck, with little to no input lag (damn FromSoft you made this?). It's the closest FromSoft has ever gotten to Capcom levels of gamefeel, which is what i consider peak. Missions are rock solid & the boss fights are awesome. And the multiplayer was extremely fun too back in the day. Need to learn how to set up netplay on emulator. Ost is the perfect blend of banging, somber, and wierd. Some of my favorite work from Kota Hoshino, 2nd to Evergrace 2. It's just so damn goated.
mmmmmm nah multiplayer was shit it was laggy as fuck people teleported and a lot of times hits would not register. despite 5s flaws they had a far morstable multiplayer
@@Deadmare To i remember in AC4 that there was a technique called "warping" that allowed you to appear that you were actually warping to a different position near your opponent. I think it was only doable with blades. Like, you'd be in front of your opponent on their screen but you'd actually be behind them, and the game would recognize this and correct this and you'd disappear in front of them.
Having just recently gotten 4A and been an old AC2 fan, I can say everything says to me 4A is peak Armored Core. The high velocity combat is an adrenaline rush, and I can't get enough of feeling like I'm piloting the bastard child of Jehuty and Wing Zero.
damn... everyone i know who loves for answer hates 5 and verdict day... while it's inversely proportionate for me i actually played all of them since the ps1 era. my only problem with 5 is the random weapon specs, then again it's more of a bloodborne thing where you have to farm for stuff i really like the option of having an operator in a team, it really helps a lot if the operator knows how to manage members and analyze their enemies. plus it makes a nice replay overview since you can see what everyone is doing, plus you can also open a live feed from each members
I wonder if a lot of the problem is how much easier it is to destroy the AI mechs vs. finally having to go against real players. Also, the way the clans were set up, you could be stuck with a group of newbs that gets pounded every mission. I played them all, but ACV and VD were just so deep and awesome to me. Of course I was highly ranked and on a top clan, so that always helps! =)
This is great!! Armored Core was one of my favorite franchises in the PS2 days, but my knowledge of the series revolves around whichever games I was able to find used at Gamestop. Working on a playthrough of the series now starting with AC1, so this guide is helping me decide which ones to pick up. Out of what I've played Silent Line is also peak for me
I feel like everyone has a good story about Last Raven, it's the one I come back to most frequently.. and I think my favorite memory would be the time I started that first mission that was for Alliance and ended up getting literally one shotted by an AC that had been sent there to kill me, probably by Jack-O. I was just thinking "yeah, this one isn't gonna be forgiving." Lmao
It has such a special atmosphere. That 24hrs campaign with different routes that show "what if?" alternative evens is so much immersive. Also fights with Zinaida or Pulverizers was like some Dante vs Virgil moments haha
Found your channel with the announcement of the new AC game. Let me tell you, when you did an detailed cover of AC2 and AC3, the flashbacks to my childhood and just pure happiness is amazing. So thank you! Looking forward to the next gen AC.
Silent Line was my first Armored Core and man, the nostalgia trip going and playing AC3 for the first time is insane. Really hope that 6 will get people into the series because it's so good
I said this on the AC2 video, I'll repeat it here. AC2 is my favorite game in the series, probably a lot due to it being the one I'm most familiar with. My absolute favorite part of that game was the arena and I spent many many hours trying to make builds to beat the tougher opponents. Beating the last 9 AC's was an absolute nightmare, but a fun one. I also had a friend group with 8 of us in total who would all get together on weekends and have 1v1 fights all day. God that was so much fun, the MOST fun I have ever had with a game's PvP system. Maybe Quake 3 reaches it, but I was only average at Quake 3. I was damn good at AC2, at least compared to my friends. Also AC2 had my 2nd favorite final boss of the game. AC4 is my second favorite in the series, because I really liked how they changed up the formula, quick boosts alone made the gameplay so much more fun than previous entries in the series. By this time my AC friend group had shrunk to 3 people. But us 3 had so much fun in that games deathmatch and arena though. AC4 also had one of my favorite campaigns, despite its shortcomings. I just really loved the mobility you had in the game, and the hard mode was a cool concept. I actually liked 4 answer a little less than 4 despite admitting it's objectively a better game. I honestly didn't enjoy the absurd speed of 4A, which is wild coming from me because I hate Dark Souls because it's not as fast as DMC. I generally like playing light and medium mechs, and light mech mobility felt too much for me, I couldn't control them as well as I wanted to. Over all, still a fantastic game though. Verdict day though....hooo boy. I never played base 5, and I never will Verdict Day made sure of that. I've heard you comment you're not a huge fan of the damage system in 5th gen. I don't mind the system, but I think it needs more fleshing out before I commit to liking or hating it. But I really didn't like the huge focus on online in Verdict day, even purely playing through the campaign, the game felt barebones compared to 4th gen, hell even 2nd gen. I'm sure there's more total parts in Verdict Day than in AC2. But I *FELT* like I was more restricted in customization than 2. In 2 it felt like there were so many different viable rifle, smgs, assault rifles, miniguns, and sniper rifles you could equip for your arms weapons. And I'm not talking missions, I'm talking arena/PvP. In Verdict Day it felt like you had 3-4 viable weapons in those categories because the online meta was so strict. Despite all my dislike for the formula change in 5th gen, I don't dislike Verdict Day though, the campaign has a really fun story. Also the final boss of Verdict Day is my favorite fight in the entire series. From a lore perspective, they pit you against an unwinnable battle, and from a gameplay perspective it kinda feels that way. The boss is *HARD* , they are outright stronger than you, so you have to be *better* than them. It's such a fun fight to overcome imo. Easily the best boss in the series, from someone who also loved Spirit of Motherwill as one of my top fights. I'd put Verdict Day in high D at the lowest, mid C at the highest. You can probably see where my bias in this series is. As much as I love the general combat of the campaigns. I find the most important aspect of the game to be the small scale AC battles. Things like 1v1, 1v2, even 1v3 fights. As cool of a power fantasy as it is to pilot a NEXT and just tear through 100 MT's and 20 Normals. Beating Ares in the AC2 arena was some of the most fun I had in the series.
Quake (in multiplayer) and Armored Core, imho, are two series where advanced movement is pinnacle. Both very technical and you have to learn many tricks and nuances. Love both!
I guess I'm the weird guy here. I'm the opposite of this list, I've only played formula front (you should play the international version) and have never played any other AC games until like a couple of months ago. I'm currently playing the very first AC game very slowly and I want to do a No Human+ run for all the AC games eventually. Great list! I've also watched all the other AC videos. You've earned a sub!
The PSOne games definitely had frame rate issues even in their day. Definitely hard to go back to after the PS2 sequels, but interesting games that really stood out in their time for those who played them.
Honestly had the most fun with the PS1 games, at least as much fun as any of the others in my recent marathon. I don't rate For Answer that highly though. Heavy mechs just don't feel that great in it, that's like half the game for me.
PS1 Armored Core should have given more Credits, Those Games are the Best on it's Era, i Played them and it's 🔥👌 same as like OG DOOM that game is the Best on it's era.
Dude I think you nailed this list. Every single opinion you have is the same as mine. Even AC2 being your first game from the series, 4A being probably your favorite, and silent line feeling like punishment I loved almost every minute of.
I’m new to this series. Never played a single game before, but all of a sudden I am consuming a lot of mecha related media and I want to get into the AC franchise. One thing I want to say is that, despite Armored Core 5’s bad rep in the community, I love the idea of a multiplayer mecha game. I already play games like Splatoon 2 and 3, so the thought of having that coordinated communicating experience but with these awesome powerful looking mechas with all sorts of bells whistles and mechanics? It just looks like it has tons of high skill ceiling potential that’d make the game riveting and tense in the good way. I hope Armored Core 6 can act as a middle ground gameplay-wise, where you have the option of going into team-based multiplayer matches, but you also have a fleshed out single player that is worth the price of admission.
Armored Core 5's multiplayer looked sick from what I saw of it. I hope AC6 gets popular enough to sustain a small to medium sized competitive scene because that shit is SO COOL!
As someone who played Verdict Day a lot, I can tell you, it *sucked* so hard. It was super fun for a little while, but then people figured out a meta. If you weren't running one of 4 very specific mechs, you just lost. It was REALLY bad in the 2v2 mode. You always ended up with 3 people running meta, and one rando playing their campaign mech. The rando would get obliterated in 20 seconds, and their team mate had to 1v2 or just die. I honestly hated it so much. It was fun when you got all 4 people running meta mechs, despite being stale though. At least the actual combat didn't suck, just the terrible part balancing. But seeing the same 4 mechs got real boring after awhile.
I completely disagree with this evaluation as somebody who played it from the beginning to end. We were constantly changing ACs around and fighting tons of variations. There was no AC that couldn’t be defeated by an AC designed to defeat that type. This is just my opinion but I am sure I played this much more than most
@@Deadsnake989 can’t say I agree with this. The rock paper scissors ce,ke,en meant you could melt any specialize build with the right weapons. Light weight sniper mech for example was powerful but you could flank on urban maps and melt with a ce weapons.
Can't fault this tier list, I started AC as a franchise with the first game, discovered it on a old ps1 demo disc, instantly got hooked with the customisation and unique gameplay, AC4A will always be my favourite, I understand the ridiculous speed but it was so much fun, plus arms forts just all around look cool and feel epic to battle. Also love how the views on all your AC videos have boomed, it ain't a massive fanbase, but it's dedicated to the cause, especially with the AC6 announcement.
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 yeah, I enjoyed the sort of breakdown video you did, maybe we'll see some more stuff when some gameplay drops or a longer trailer? But in terms of armoured core content creation it's very minimal anyway, seen as the last release was a decade ago and UA-cam content creation in today's form came after that it's never been in many people's radar.
I only got round to playing AC2 and AC4 for Answer and based on you tier list, I'm kinda glad I got near pinnacle of what the series offered so far. Hope your channel gets more eyes on it when AC6 comes out. Favourite part was the Kawasawa-Mk2. Something about building the box art AC is satisfying ngl.
This is an excellent resource for us AC noobs. I started playing 3 a few days ago as my first and it's such a great game. Although I'm getting to a point where I'm failing a lot and may just restart now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing lol
3 is my favorite AC game, sank so MANY hours into the PS2 version as a kid. Even has a split screen battle mode. Me and my bro would spend hours building mechs with parts we unlocked in the story mode to go at it in the arena!
Thank you for taking the time to make this! I pretty much totally agree with and share the same rankings, except that I would put Silent Line a tier above For Answer, and I would put 5 and VD into the F tier xD
Even though I've played some of these(which I enjoyed tbh) Silent Line and 4A is the only AC games I loved, because these 2 game let me enjoy using dual blades, it just fits my style
Quality list. Silent Line and For Answer are my Favorites too, though I would put For Answer Higher. I'm much harsher on AC4 though, I would have put it at F tier, the mission design makes the game basically unredeemable. I'd also give Nine Breaker a double FF. For the record, I've been playing Armored Core since before the game officially came out, spending hours on the Demo Disc that came with the PS1, getting every Main Line Armored Core game except Verdict Day. I even had those awesome 10 inch figures that were exclusive to EBgames, god I wish I still had them, they were the two red AC's from the AC3 Intro, fully interchangeable parts, fully articulated, I think they were like $80 Each.
Really curious to see how fast AC6 will be. I'm guessing they want to pull a bigger audience to it this time around, with how much resources they probably sank into it. Because of that, I doubt it'll play as fast as 4A. But hopefully they don't slow it down too much, either.
I think it would be smart for them to slow I'd down to the speed of gen 1, 2, and 3 just because that's what the majority wants. I like both. The old gen games are still pretty fast and take a certain amount of skill
Tastes aside, it's great to find someone who's posting stuff on AC and is ready to not shut up about these games all the way into and beyond AC6. This isn't Souls, where there's now a million people with an opinion, so finding someone like this feels pretty good.
Going through your Armored Core videos made me really nostalgic and super hopeful for 6. I remember getting 5, saw that there were no back weapons and just stopped playing so I'm excited to see what 6 does and give it a fair chance.
As someone who considers AC3 my definitive AC game, I had zero issues with the direction AC4 took. I remember being hyped for AC5 never picked it up and glad I didn't after I watched some gameplay. If the devs of AC6 pull anything from AC5 I will accept wall kicking as a means to reduce energy consumption for vertical movement. Glad my favorites got such high marks.
Awesome video and I 100% agree with this list. Not as big a veteran as @above average gaming, but my first ac game was 3 and then silent line being second and so on. This is so cool to see videos like this getting thousands of views in a short time frame, relatively speaking compared to before the announcement. Anyways keep doing what you doing mate, and for anyone interested of random gameplay check out a small channel called buster tbm, if you’re looking to play it. He helps with finding extra parts and is entertaining to watch. Edit: Nexus is… a real big step down from silent line 💀 so don’t feel bad if you can’t emulate it properly or anything, not missing out on much. Anyways definitely earned a sub love these small ac content creators!
Thanks for watching. I just got done banging my head against a wall voicing a "what I want from ac6" video and it turned out perfectly. I miss buster tbm. He was kinda top of the line for ac content back in the day
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 ahhh yeah I hope he gets back into it considering the new release of ac6 or announcement. And dang 💀 careful to not get hopes too high, I’ll be furious if somehow they fuck up and chuck in the “good ol” overheating to 999 from one little booster push from nexus. Honestly tho for me as a vet and person that’s been waiting for 10+ years, one of the things I really want is an Arena system with varied maps that are fun but also simple, like in silent line and 3 but more open. Cant wait for your next video mate!
@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 know what the music did slap tho and I finished the game. That was one of the highlights imo too, imo tho silent line for the ps2 games at least had the best soundtrack
Formula Front has a pretty neat soundtrack, and the expansion game actually lets you pilot your own ACs if you want. The arenas from what i can remember were just a step of above being okay, and i do remember there being lots of parts, but nothing really stand out. All-in-all it's worth a try imo.
I think ACV is the best in terms of combat system. OP clearly loved 4 but hear me out. I've played in the "everyone using the same build" period and I wiped everyone out with my own build. Tank leg and dual gatling guns was the meta and I figured that if I used a fast AC with 2 light sniper rifles I can just stay out of the gatling range and kill them safely. Turns out your AC can be very fast if you build it right and since I barely have enough ammo I have a blade just in case although I used it like once in 20 games. I switched it out for a light spike for team missions because you need to take out stationary targets in those. Oh and later they patched the game and the meta is no longer the same although the patch come to EU a bit late and I didn't play nearly as much post-patch as I got very busy irl. The best thing about ACV is that tank legs and quad legs are finally got their own identity, and the terrain finally meant something. You have to think more before/in combat and to me that's the entire series is about. 1) tank legs have the most AP and armor but slow, can't climb/bounce on walls so VERY limited mobility. You can hop on a 3-story building but that's it, other ACs can just shit on you from higher buildings all day. These can use heavy sniper cannons while moving which is unique too. Quad legs can bounce from walls a bit but not very well--you need forever to clime a building so don't try it under fire. It can use the sniper cannon and only need to stay stationary. Other legs need to kneel to use the sniper cannon which is straight suicide so I ditched the idea after a few tries. 2) Terrain meant something unlike AC4. You can use buildings as cover, hide and everything, and more importantly you can use buildings to boost your mobility. I remember there's a training mission makes you kill 3 targets while wall bouncing within 10 seconds. And I thought it was impossible until I realized that you can be VERY fast if you are tight with your wall bounces. The drawback is that as a online game it wasn't on PC which is a head-scratcher but I guess Fromsoft is a console-based company at its root. PC community would loved it to death as long as fromsoft sort out the controls for it. Like even in its imperfect form I know a lot of players formed teams and played a ton. I personally only played in arena modes or help other players with their missions, but I don't hate the multiplayer part as the single player part is already solid and multiplayer was indeed getting popular--battlefield 3/4 anyone?--so a sensible choice to me. Just realized recently I haven't played AC:VD yet, so sad I didn't manage to get my PS3 working today. I really wish they could remake AC4 and 5 including their respective follow-up game. Older games are too tough for modern players I'm afraid, the control is just too clunky.
Armored Core V had one of my favorite aesthetics... in the intro/trailer. The image of ACs being sent out into an actual battlefield rather than the almost clinical mission settings was so hype. That blend of realism and giant mechs. And then besides two or so missions it didn't really come up. It was such a shame.
Pretty solid tier list my dude and 3k+ subs is awesome! I own and have played all of the Armored Cores (minus mobiles and FFAC). I fell in love with this game after I played the demo on a pizza hut demo disc lol (yes I'm old). Anyway, I hope AC6 kicks ass because i have been waiting a long time for it. Good luck and Congrats above average gaming.
Bro! Amazing video!!! Also, really consider doing something between the Armored Core and the Ace Combat series. There's a lot in common and there's a recent Ace Combat that can have similar visuals!!!!
There was 1 ace combat game I got to play on the ps2 and I liked it alot. I got the newest one too and its alot of fun. A few people have mentioned ace to me so I'll keep it in mind for future content
I think I'm with you on all these that I've played - though I have a soft spot for the first one. Honestly Formula Front was pretty dope for what it is, but I feel like C is fair having played it.
The announcement for AC6 has me really interested in the franchise, I remember hearing about AC during the last few years of the ps3 era but couldn't find the games (I was really young so I probably wasn't searching hard enough lol). Really excited for 6 and wish I could play the older games
Last Raven is the best by virtue of being the hardest, it forces you to build with purpose and then master that creation in order to win, others (like Silent Line) are great but easy and not as good in my eyes. The easiest was 4A, the fact I can go through that game with a Blade build and second stage everywhere and only the very last mission on hard can make me change the build is a disgrace. I hear the MP is still up which is a plus for it tho.
As someone who knew nothing about the series prior to the AC6 announcement thank you for the honest rating. I went to a con and got 2, 3 and Silent Line for about 70 bucks together. Guess next one will be For Answer and Last Raven.
As someone who joined the biggest clans in armored core 5 and verdict day, i can still understand the hate about it. Online gaming wasnt big back then and it kinda sucked on ps3. I still enjoyed defending our territory from other clans and building mechs with coop in mind, meaning i could make a offensive powerhouse without any defense in 5 vs 5 knowing my partners would check my flanks and give warnings in time. It was a very unique experience and i probably had an easier time getting into it as a young boy. Still i also missed the offline parts of the game. And honestly....after a while everyone stopped attacking and we just let friends attack us and give them territory after a while. I think the ideas for verdict day were just too ahead of its time. I could see it work today with the hype of souls games if they manage to create better UI systems but it shouldnt be the focus of AC 6.
@@Deadmare Man its been a while, i dont even remember my clans name, but i remember the clan was dominating the whole map, so i wanted to join and i was prepared to get challanged and tested. But i was in just like that haha. I wish we had more grand scale battles tough, the game seemed almost dead when i joined haha. Yeah it was a great Online COOP pvp experience before real online games even existed, ground breaking in a way. I remember the preassure to perform well alongside my comrades haha, tried all kinds of AC builds to perform better but never quite nailing it the way i wanted hahaha.
Last raven and nexus were the last ones i played on ps2 so they were my favs, the first one i played was ac2 and i played everyone in between. I cant wait to see what FromSoft has in store for us in ac6.
I picked up AC V at a Gamestop to pick up an extra copy of Minecraft (I had several game disks fall victim to the disk tray) and honestly it was a decision I will never regret. One of the cooler games I played on the 360. The way you talked about V reminded me of how Halo 3 players talked about Halo Reach back in the day, the thing to keep in mind is that games will never be exactly like they used to. Interested to see where the focus is for 6, or really anything about it, since it's been so long.
Edit:I will say, I haven't played any of the other games yet, but For Answer is and has been on my mind for a long time. Looking forward to playing when I get the chance
Great time for a tier list! I think AC 6 could easily become an A or even an S tier game, given how the studio has evolved and improved post-Dark Souls, Sekiro, Bloodborne and Elden Ring context. Also, you have gained a new subscriber.
My hope is that AC6 gets your channel to pop off. A LOT more people than ever before are gonna be playing it with the reputation FromSoft has built over the years.
It has been blowing up. It sucks I have to go on vacation fir 3 weeks cuz I'd like to get 4th gen series overview out... enough people have talked about 5th gen but someones gotta fill in the blank for gen4
Been a fan since demo disk days on ps1... my favorite is silent line. I was one of the weirdos that immersed in first person mech action. 4 and FA were ok, but the mechs felt more floaty than previous games, only ever made sense to me to go that fast when you had a rocket strapped to your back.
Funny enough if you turn off auto boost you get all that gravity back because it wont slow your falls. I turn it off because it makes the games feel more floaty
Yeah AC4A does fuck people over because the Default is the beginner control scheme, which is actually terrible and actively disables features like strafing without locking onto targets.
As someone who started on the PS1 with project phantasma and had thebsame group of friends playing through the games as they came out, I feel like I have some insight on the reasons people who love the 5 series do. For one, like you sauid 4A already pushed the speed game as far as it could manageably go, so going to a heavier, slower style ofgame was a change of pace people appreciated, since they probably werent gping to out-4A 4A. Also the system of kicking off terrain to fet speed boosts fpr mocing around quickly was often more engaging than just mashing R2. 5 also has a really cool mission structure as a single ppayer game where the missions are longer and their scope usually increases to add objectives amd increase the operational area as you go; with the option to either push on with what you still have or call in (and pay for) a supply drop to reload and repair before moving forward being a fun part of the mercenary fantasy. The team PvP was a cool idea that didnt really work, bit the coop superbosses kn VD were pretty fun, shame about the whole "multiplayer is basically required for them" aspect a decade later, though. LR. VD, and 4A are my top 3 because they all provide basically the peaks of different experiences the series offers, with MoA slightly below just because it still is old and clunky.
Thanks for your reviews man. I've been getting into the mech genre lately and your videos on AC really helped me figure out what I could expect from those games. I'm definitely gonna play a few of those on emulators and pick up ACVI when it comes out :) Hopefully you'll make a video on it by then
I've played all of them and For Answer is definitely the best. The speed, the flight, getting SS on all the missions, multiple endings, White Glint, Spirit of Motherwill, the way you felt like a pilot going into battle. V and VD were pretty good once I got past missing how 4 and FA played, it'd be nice if 6 could take queues from both and bring something new as well. Master of the Arena holds a special place in my heart though. The missions were cool, Nine Ball was amazing, especially during the last boss fight. Second disc was really cool as well. Last Raven was ridiculously fun, but stupidly hard. LR and FA are probably the most complete AC games.
I love AC, unfortunately at my age nowadays my reaction time may be too slow. I LOVE the programmable AI, I hope in AC6 they include player made AI and Arenas
I started with 4A and recently went back to play 4 and... Yeah it was weird. So familiar, but I felt so limited. Hearing you talk about them here helps me know I wasn't crazy. It makes sense though. New gen of consoles and 4A is the sequel so of course it had more stuff.
My thoughts as I go through the video: You really should try disc 2 of Master of Arena, There are so many types of arenas with lots of fun themes. you will have a blast with it, yes the game is abit dated, but going into what will be fresh new content for you, you'll forget all about how old the game is. Nexus....ugh Formula Front was a ton of fun, I had it on the PSP, it's a rather different experience from a standard armored core game, but I remember it more fondly than certain other titles in the series. hope you enjoy your holidays and vacation! hope I can catch your livestream this weekend!
Why is everyone hating on AC5 and Verdict Day so much? The controls were Vastly improved in those games in my opinion and, other than the circular Hud I think most of the design changes were really fun. I have been playing since AC1 and I think Pvp in Verdict Day was some of the best in the series. It's a shame so many people just wrote it off because it was different or because it was released at an unpopular time. Trying to take down Spirit of Mother Will in Verdict Day with four other players is one of the most challenging and fun experiences in armored core.
ACV marketed as a multiplayer experience is really due to development constraints, if you own an ACV/VD artbook you will know fromsoft planned tons of boss fights and maps but just doesn't have the time to make them
VD was basically a giant expansion of V, so it seems they had some time. As somebody who played V and VD quite a bit, I was never needing much more. The gameplay was quite endless if you played multiplayer.
If you were to try Formula Front I do recommend Formula Front International since it has additional content. The funny thing about Formula Front though is the PS2 version of the game is pretty different to the PSP as just an immediate example the PS2 version is a 5v5 format while the PSP is 1v1 so in the PS2 version you had to design 5 ACs with AI and each part was unique so if you use it on one build you couldnt use it on the other.
Same here man. AC2 is where I joined the franchise. And honestly verdict day was some of the most fun I ever had with my friends on Xbox. The competitive multiplayer was something amazing. The culture… oh how I miss the culture. I actually hope 6 brings this back
Agree with list. I think 5 and Verdict Day deserve some points for originality at least (and bringing back the Spirit of Motherwill in VD xd). 4A still the best.
Armored Core vet here. If you aren't sure about spending 60 bucks on Armored Core 6, buy a older entry for like 10 or 15 bucks at 2nd hand shop to see if it's for you. Armored Core belongs to a genre called "vehicle simulator" (this is an actual term), some of the most well-known are MechWarrior or Star Wars TIE Fighter. It's a category originating from PCs, where the controls are often so complex, it requires every key on the keyboard (no joke). In simpler terms, imagine Microsoft Flight Simulator... but for fictional 75-ton mechs. I made a video about this very topic.
Great list. No complaints from me. I will add the one saving grace for Nexus was it had a pretty sweet soundtrack. About half of the soundtrack was remixes or remasters of the already memorable and iconic PS1 games, but I'll let it have the win for it anyway.
I will actually die on the hill that ACV got wildly more flak than it deserved. AC really needed to slow TF down after AC4 and FA. The floaty combat was overdone, and it yanked me out of the experience when I could fly all over the place in a mech 10 meters tall on average and do mostly nothing but spam boost and just hold down the trigger (no, the game wasn't that hard, chill out). ACV was a breath of fresh air with its grounded combat style that felt like a return to form of sorts where movement was fast but noticeably heavier not too unrealistic, but this time terrain played a bigger role than even AC3 and before. The squad stuff was a little too much, sure, but features like that if AC6 has them is what will get me to convince my friends to try the game for the first time, something the Armored Core franchise desperately needs. I'll also go ahead and throw salt on the wound and say that the fact that people gave ACV an unfair shake is 90% of the reason we had to wait 10 freaking years for AC6 after VD and I won't apologize for that take. You don't have to like every change, but you can't just boycott your already niche game when FromSoft was already pulling in bank with the Soulborne series.
Agreed. The 4 series were a power fantasy and honestly way too fast. It’s easy to see why it’s most people’s favorite but 5 offered more strategy with 3 damage types and really emphasized the strengths of each leg type and to me was a change for the better
I've always wanted to play this series since I was a child but I've only read about it in magazines and never got to get my hands on one of these games until recently when I started playing AC3 and I'm loving it
As a veteran of Armored Core series, (I played Frontline but not Nine Breaker) Verdict Day cleans up the heavy online emphasis and makes more as an extension of the main game. It has a storyline that ties back to ACFA using lore once again, and there are more challenges after you complete the main quest line. After you've played it, I'm sure your ranking will be higher for it. To be honest, this one is by far the most souls-like iteration of Armored Core that one can make because you're supposed to be underpowered; just like any soulsbourne game in terms of character to enemy ratio, movement is limited to plan out your offense instead going in guns blazing and figuring it out on the spot. I'm 90% certain, that AC6 will use a lot of the framework of ACVD because it wasn't as nuts as AC4 and ACFA but it inherits the weighty feel of the PS1 to PS2 era of games which causes your mental to work more so than your twitch reaction. I look forward to your next video!
I started in ACIII and of course that's one of my favorite ones, however Silent Line, Last Raven and 4nswer really got me. The 4nswer was the first one that I really felt some advantage to use lightweight legs instead of a tank build, so it changed my experience in a very good way. Unfortunately (or not) I skipped the V era, so my memories still stuck in the top ACs. I can't even say how hyped I'm about ACVI
Soon after the announcement of AC6, in the UK every preowned copy of Armored Core, from PS1 to 360/PS3 on CeX pretty much sold out by yesterday. I've noticed they're now going for scalper prices on ebay of at least twice their usual prices probably listed by people looking to flip them unfairly. A couple of weeks ago, you could pick up AC3 for about £20-£30, now the cheapest I've seen is £60... just a heads up to anyone looking to get into the older games grab them if you can at a good price.
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 (huh UA-cam deleted my reply it seems? I'll try remember what I typed) -- tl;dr, hoping for AC4/FA to have texture fixes | A ty for all that you've been working at with AC | And appreciation of people coming out of the woodwork recently from your average streamer, to prolific vtubers that clearly seriously love AC. Sorry for any confusion!
@@hawkwardd_ fyi in GPU settings for rpcs3 you can check a box called something like "read textures" or something and it will fix the problem. It used to make FA crash but I went through the whole game without a crash (there was some slowdown so i had to restart emulator a few times)
it's refreshing to see someone who actually played the game give a retrospective. Where some Dark souls loretubers who just saw the new trailer and are all of a sudden pivoting to become AC fans/"experts".
It's funny cause I personally would put nexus in the s tier, the updated controls made me realize I've dealt with shit in the previous games for no reason at all.
💯 agreed. They made the environment more of a factor where as ac4 you may as well be fighting in an empty space. 4nswer was my favorite but verdict day is where I felt the series should keep going. Improved environment, scan mode, operator mode etc we’re all great to me.
I guess I am one of the few that really like ACV/AC:VD. My first AC was AC:Masters of Arena, played all the way from there till Verdict Day. Last Raven is my favourite. For Answer is fun, but I feel like it's too light and flashy for me. ACV is weighty but I admit, it's prolly too sluggish. AC:VD is heading the right direction but not quite enough. Hopefully ACVI will be the best middle ground we all Ravens wanting for.
I just wanted to post on here that I think what your doing is awesome no one shows these games any love. AC2 was also my first game in the series picked it up at goodwill when I was like maybe 10. Never have been good at it but they will always be special games to me. Hope you keep posting videos I will definitely be watching🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽
Yeah, I think I agree with everything here almost. I wouldn't put V or Verdict Day in F tier, but I wouldn't ever put it above the bottom of C tier. They were good games for what they were, but coming down from for Answer was a HARSH change, and one that was basically not acceptable to anyone. I think the ideal really is For Answer, and that's coming from someone whose favorite game is Silent Line.
we can see your actual opinion. looking forward to this. As a Last Raven guy, I can totally see your view point on silent line being better, it was in a sense hard but not bullshit hard like Last Raven.
I think last raven just has all the parts balanced unlike silent line where you get access to some powerful parts like karasawa or even the off hand 70 shot sniper. Last raven never let up on the difficulty but balanced everything. I'm surprised they never had you fighting 2 AC's at a time and instead 1 after another
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 Personally do really dig Silent line, like alot was peak could sit down tweak and build all day without it being too much about trying super hard to make it works just trying stuff out. now between the ps2 era, but have to say Last Raven is a proper send off for the 3rd gen. Shame they had to gimp you and make the Ai cheat to make it challenging though. Thank you again for providing solid content and engaging with your audience It is really appreciated. If you need someone to play verdict day with I do still have a ps3 and the co-op section is still online you could get some folks to help you out to make it tolerable. (yes i'm not a fan but tolerated the multiplayer for co-op)
@@Fuzzy_Chimera maybe if emulator is compatible with console. Idk how it works I havent tried out any of the multiplayer stuff the community figured out. Thanks for the encouragement and also for watching the vids
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 Emulating 5 and VD from what I heard is a nightmare so I wish you the best of luck if you are going to emulate them. I did emulate the previous titles but they are nowhere near as bad as ps3 stuff, but original hardware and a 72inch screen with proper setup is good stuff. just hard to record and you obviously need the equipment to record that so get the need for emulation. I'm always working so it's nice to see content i'm actually interested in and a person who speaks very straight forward and has a voice like yours makes it easier. Feel like if you had a partner like in your streams of lost planet to bounce off of you could sound more enthused, as i've seen comments saying you sound flat, which to me is fine after seeing the LP2 gameplay you just need energy in the room to work with.
Great video as always man, love your content, can't wait to see the next breakdown/review of Gen4 AC games Anyway I also grew up playing the old AC games since PS1 and thankfully I've managed to enjoy all them including the divisive ACV/VV, I like them for what they are even for being more slower than previous tittles, at least for me it makes them a bit more "tactical"(if putting it that way) either on campaign and as well as the multiplayer, I also put that to the state in-game universe that they lost all the advancement tech from AC4 & FA hense why they have to manage from scraps or dig sites searching for lost tech, so it didn't bother me much probably cause I got engaged in the world, plus they also add a lot of in mission side quest/challenges for getting higher score, more money, free parts(aside of finding a few scatter on the mission areas) and one cool thing was that you can clear areas and call down the helicopters for resupply, customize your home base, create you own merc company/clan, etc etc overall I found my fun with them and still do but yeah still my top favorites still are AC4 & FA.
NineBreaker made me appreciate ArmoredCore as a series honestly. I had been clunking around in them since ArmoredCore2, but NineBreaker made me good at them
Recently started playing the armored core games like 2 weeks before the announcement of AC6, I was a bit sad just how niche the series was when I would try and look for information or people to talk to about it, but now I’ve got a wealth of videos and content to enjoy on a newfound love :)
Have fun going through AC. Dont forget alot of the older games have hidden parts so check out a hidden parts guide
AC2 was badass. The visuals were outstanding and the iconic sound of the Karasawa was never rivaled in the PS2 era. The game could also transfer to AA, letting you start out as Leos Klein if you so chose.
AC2 Karasawa had the best sound effect.
Yeah, AC2 only has one big problem besides the controls when it first released on native hardware: THE FRAMERATE. It was very bad, like 20fps bad on some missions. Emulation & a good PC solves that. Go play it.
AC2 probably had my favorite area it took place in, and ost. Like mars was such a cool place, along all the things doing with the disorders, wish they did more with them and mars too.
@@justinl8791 I tired. The controls are horrible.
@@crambob1370Well, "AC6: Fires of Rubicon" will apperantly take place *on a planet outside the Solar System,* so look forward to that.
Rubicon is bound to have some alien machinery or organisms somewhere.
I hope quality AC channels like yours blow up now that all the souls guys are coming in, keep it up my guy
Same here, but Phantasma was my first. Technically AC1 was, but that was just the demo disc. Phantasma was the one that I bought though. The AC series is directly responsible for my love of mechs.
AC and mecha as a whole is a niche, I'm sure AC6 sold much more due to the souls games, but don't expect it to blow up unless they fully commit to it and even then it's still a niche so the potential of popularity is lower.
For Answer was the best AC game bar none, sank so many hours into it, coming from the PS2 era AC games it would cement me as a long time fan.
How did you see an unlisted video lol
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 if you post a unlisted video, it won't show up in your channel page but it could sometimes still send people notifications of the unlisted video. People can see the video if they click on the notification.
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 I think you just accidentally posted the video public.😆
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 it was in my recommendations
acfa is trash
Verdict Day is genuinely a significant improvement over V. The multiplayer stuff is still a little intrusive but it goes from unplayable as a single player game to actually fun. That final story mission is pretty cool too.
The final mission was amazing, I didn't expect the boss to be... Also the music!
@@niwatorimeat Black Glint lmao
I had no issue playing V singleplayer, and I had no internet at the time.
Verdict day games were hot garbage. Ac4answer was the last good one
@@FlatEarthAdministrator I mean, you're allowed to feel that way, I just think you're wrong.
Can't believe I start the franchise with the hardest one. Man oh man, my childhood time with last Raven.
Last Raven is definitely the hardest, but the controls make it also more manageable. I love it so much
lol heck, I had play 2, AA, 3, and SL but when I picked up LR the game broke me and I stopped playing until 4 came out.
I don't know about you guys, but some mission is crashed when I play it.. So I never really finished any ending.. Only playing with my friends. 3 match per turn only for winners.
Lmao... same. Like I just wanted to play a mech game because I was high on the Full Metal Panic anime and just wanted more mechs in my life. Picked up Last Raven and cried. Ragequitted several times with month-long intervals until I just got gud and finally beat the game.
@@durakeno5575 I have only gotten the Jack-O ending. lol I haven't wanted to pick it up to do any of the others but my pride as a Raven keeps tugging at me.
From what I've seen and heard AC6 may be taking aspects from previous gens but I'm seeing more emphasis on 3rd and 4th gen which I'm honestly very excited for.
Me too. I cant wait to see some gameplay to see if the trailer represented the gameplay. So far Its going perfectly
Yeah the AC6 trailer as huge AC for answer vibe!
I'm just hoping is fast 4th Gen. I can't wait to make my Mach 4 missile platform
@@tempusmars6272 YES 4th gen was the best I love 4 and for answer
I am sure I am a minority but I personally hope it isn't a giant open world game. I'd like it to be 1 versus 1 and 2 v 2 arena battles similar to Armored Core Arena and Virtual-On.
I think Silent Line was the pinnacle of the series. What makes it better than 4a, is that it captured the heavy mech fantasy. If every mech can go mach 11, you miss out on that flavor of piloting a sluggish, hulking, bipedal weapons platform, which can tank hits with it's thick armor, and punch back with oversized weaponry. In 3rd gen you can do that, but you can also be a speedy boi, by using a light mech with hover legs. But then 4th gen removed hover legs. So there goes the hover boi's fantasy as well.
All in all, I feel like 3rd gen captures the mech customization experience better, by offering a more satisfying range of mobilities. I think ideally, Fromsoft should choose a comfortable middle ground between 3rd gen and 4a for AC6, by offering the choice of insane aerial mobility, but at an appropriate cost. Either by lowering the armor of the associated parts, or by putting weight constraints on the parts. Ideally both.
One of my favorite things was how quadruped legs allowed you to use back weapons without having to bend down, so one of my favorite early builds was to use gun arms and back weapons to save up on some dough
Agreed, learning to adapt to the heaviness of the mechs in 3rd gen especially was so satisfying
I missed 3rd gen, but the way you describe it feels like how I'd describe AC2. I loved how you could make slow hulking armor beasts and just beat lighter AC's through sheer outlasting power. Or you could make super mobile assassin mechs that deleted people in seconds but were made from tissue paper. One of my favorite light mech designs was a reverse joint leg light mech that had swarm missiles and the double sword arms. You poke your opponent down with mobility and the missiles, then finish them off with the blades. It was kinda booty in any of the hard arena fights, requiring the enemy AI to derp out to win most of the time. But man, against my irl friends, that mech was a legendary terror. One of my friends outright refused to fight against me if I used it.
@@Deadsnake989 AC2 and 3 have very similar gameplay.
They just need to be more restrictive with energy.
If you want to be a hugely armored mech that can move fast, make it require powerful boosters, which then require a good generator or capacitor.
I personally think they should go back to boosters generating heat, but instead of it automatically draining energy it should be something that is activated (By drinking a flask obviously, lol)
Then it would be up to the player to decide when to deal with the heat, or if passive systems were good enough.
Armored Core Formula Front International has always fascinated me.
I believe that's the definitive version of that game with the most content, and it even allows you to actually control your u/AC, which would make it an exclusively PvP multiplayer focused AC game with an insane amount of parts for the time.
Excellent ranking.
Was actaully competing aginast my friends, just load in both AI teams and watch them play. Some ai control moments are epic, some could be goofy, that's insanely fun and way ahead its time!
Armored Core: For Answer is definitely one if not thee best armored core game to date. The combat, the customization, the menus, the music, it all just feels so good and looks so interesting and unique. The speed and versatility of everything is amazing
I just wish the big shotgun still stunned like it does in AC4
@@Derpa_Derpa_777 True but you can boost dash into enemy to stagger them tho!
Its true my friend ! Oh its true
For Answer is one of my favorite games of all time. Hands down.
Yeah the soundtrack for that one was crazy. Wish they kept that gameplay for V. Hopefully the fast paced fighting will be back in 6.
Don’t know how I came across an unlisted video, but I like For Answer the best. Might be biased since it’s the first one I played, but the sense of speed is the best
You have the best ranking of these games that I have seen. Your top 2 are also my top 2.
Most other people have put For Answer in the mid or C tier (COMPLETELY INCORRECT).
I honestly think that For Answer and Silent Line are OBJECTIVELY the two best armored core games in the entire series. I am hoping that Fires of Rubicon goes above and beyond these two games (I truly think it will).
ACV's direction was likely because of the success of Chromehounds and multiplayer games in general in the X360. I kinda get why they did it. Chromehounds was a lot of fun, but ACV was not Chromehounds.
Chrome hounds is hands down one of my favorite mech games, and it breaks my heart we will never see a sequel. V and VD imo was disappointing. Repeat parts, janky play, story was all over the place, and a completely broken meta. My first AC was 3 which I still play and adore, and I feel that as long as any AC game follows that kind of formula, like 4A, then 6 will be amazing!
Most of the changes, and bad mech designs, from AC5 era are because over 80% of the Armored Core dev team quit Fromsoft right after AC4Fa
@@abyssphantom6786 that explains why the menus feel like an IOS mobile game from 2010. Feels cheap and un-optimized.
@@warrantyV0IDED Yes I agree. Also, most of the mech designs were from Shoji’s reject pile of submitted designs from past titles.
@@abyssphantom6786 I just hope we get get smooth movement and no animation locks again.
Nexus is mad underrated, it straight up has the coolest cutscenes and the best music of all of the old gen games, and disc 2 makes up for my issues with disc 1. Idk how you can watch that intro and not just fall in love.
-The overheating mechanic forced you to immediately pour money into cooling units, low-output thrusters, and engine output in order to survive even using boosting, let alone being stunlocked by high-heat weapons. A mechanic that was supposed to add realism, but AC at that point was too reliant on boosters to go back to mechwarrior-like walking, given a lot of missions required jumping and hovering.
-Rebooting the story meant tossing out all previous parts from AC3 and SL. Although tuning allowed for more customization and alleviate some issues, AC3 and Nexus have more similarities than not, and you could argue they should've been able to share saves between games so they could be one singular generation.
-AC didn't necessarily need dual-stick since the FCS was already so generous to everything but rockets. Although rockets are great cost-cutters for marathon missions, they don't do well in duels due to fast-paced combat, which mean with the right FCS tank controls are tolerable. Last Raven being playable on PSP somewhat proved this.
-This may apply to all older games, but 1v1 duels aren't the best strength due to lack of cover and most games until AC4 relied on who could outcircle who in the early game. Spot dodging counteracts missiles more easily than ECM and decoys, and to go back to slower mechs teamplay is obviously better. ACV just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, *especially* since the updates only affected the server and not offline. Playing ACV in emulator only shows the cheese in full glory.
Don't get me wrong, I do think it's the easiest generation to jump into, but if there was an HD Remaster for PC or something happening right now with multiplayer as a bonus, rebalancing is paramount if it's going to survive opening week.
I would like nexus if it wasn't for the annoying overheating mechanics and stupid filters. Disc 2 has some cool content ngl, but it doesn't save the mess that is disc 1
Loved nexus for sure, my favorite. The new controls are really good, and I actually dont mind the emphasis of heat. I just kinda wish the arena was a side menu rather than as missions. Shame he gave it an E it's actually really good.
Arms Forts were such exciting battles. Even the less interesting ones were still a creative change of pace. I'd love to see a return of them, but that also probably depends on the design of vertical mobility.
For Answer supremacy baby. Culmination of everything they've learned. Trimmed virtually all the fat from the previous games. Blisteringly fast speed and feels snappy as fuck, with little to no input lag (damn FromSoft you made this?). It's the closest FromSoft has ever gotten to Capcom levels of gamefeel, which is what i consider peak.
Missions are rock solid & the boss fights are awesome. And the multiplayer was extremely fun too back in the day. Need to learn how to set up netplay on emulator.
Ost is the perfect blend of banging, somber, and wierd. Some of my favorite work from Kota Hoshino, 2nd to Evergrace 2. It's just so damn goated.
mmmmmm nah multiplayer was shit it was laggy as fuck people teleported and a lot of times hits would not register. despite 5s flaws they had a far morstable multiplayer
@@Deadmare To i remember in AC4 that there was a technique called "warping" that allowed you to appear that you were actually warping to a different position near your opponent. I think it was only doable with blades. Like, you'd be in front of your opponent on their screen but you'd actually be behind them, and the game would recognize this and correct this and you'd disappear in front of them.
Having just recently gotten 4A and been an old AC2 fan, I can say everything says to me 4A is peak Armored Core. The high velocity combat is an adrenaline rush, and I can't get enough of feeling like I'm piloting the bastard child of Jehuty and Wing Zero.
4th gen felt like the DMC of mecha games. And that's HIGH praise coming from me. DMC is the only other series out there that I love as much as AC.
@@Deadsnake989 You get it! That's exactly how I feel.
damn... everyone i know who loves for answer hates 5 and verdict day... while it's inversely proportionate for me
i actually played all of them since the ps1 era. my only problem with 5 is the random weapon specs, then again it's more of a bloodborne thing where you have to farm for stuff
i really like the option of having an operator in a team, it really helps a lot if the operator knows how to manage members and analyze their enemies. plus it makes a nice replay overview since you can see what everyone is doing, plus you can also open a live feed from each members
I've noticed that it's often people who started on PS2 are hating on V. My first AC was Master of Arena and I love ACV.
I wonder if a lot of the problem is how much easier it is to destroy the AI mechs vs. finally having to go against real players. Also, the way the clans were set up, you could be stuck with a group of newbs that gets pounded every mission. I played them all, but ACV and VD were just so deep and awesome to me. Of course I was highly ranked and on a top clan, so that always helps! =)
This is great!! Armored Core was one of my favorite franchises in the PS2 days, but my knowledge of the series revolves around whichever games I was able to find used at Gamestop. Working on a playthrough of the series now starting with AC1, so this guide is helping me decide which ones to pick up.
Out of what I've played Silent Line is also peak for me
I feel like everyone has a good story about Last Raven, it's the one I come back to most frequently.. and I think my favorite memory would be the time I started that first mission that was for Alliance and ended up getting literally one shotted by an AC that had been sent there to kill me, probably by Jack-O.
I was just thinking "yeah, this one isn't gonna be forgiving." Lmao
It has such a special atmosphere. That 24hrs campaign with different routes that show "what if?" alternative evens is so much immersive. Also fights with Zinaida or Pulverizers was like some Dante vs Virgil moments haha
_["What took you so long?"]_
I remember the mission where you fought 2 AC's, and that one lady who got depressed when you killed her partner
"It almost gets uncontrollable with how fast you are"
Exactly why I love 4A
Found your channel with the announcement of the new AC game. Let me tell you, when you did an detailed cover of AC2 and AC3, the flashbacks to my childhood and just pure happiness is amazing. So thank you! Looking forward to the next gen AC.
Wow, as a long time AC fan this is a respectable tier list. I'm glad I'm glad you gave SL and AC2 the love they deserve.
Silent Line was my first Armored Core and man, the nostalgia trip going and playing AC3 for the first time is insane. Really hope that 6 will get people into the series because it's so good
3 is my favorite ❤
I completely forgot that I played AC3 until I saw that opening cutscene and knew it shot for shot
I said this on the AC2 video, I'll repeat it here. AC2 is my favorite game in the series, probably a lot due to it being the one I'm most familiar with. My absolute favorite part of that game was the arena and I spent many many hours trying to make builds to beat the tougher opponents. Beating the last 9 AC's was an absolute nightmare, but a fun one. I also had a friend group with 8 of us in total who would all get together on weekends and have 1v1 fights all day. God that was so much fun, the MOST fun I have ever had with a game's PvP system. Maybe Quake 3 reaches it, but I was only average at Quake 3. I was damn good at AC2, at least compared to my friends. Also AC2 had my 2nd favorite final boss of the game.
AC4 is my second favorite in the series, because I really liked how they changed up the formula, quick boosts alone made the gameplay so much more fun than previous entries in the series. By this time my AC friend group had shrunk to 3 people. But us 3 had so much fun in that games deathmatch and arena though. AC4 also had one of my favorite campaigns, despite its shortcomings. I just really loved the mobility you had in the game, and the hard mode was a cool concept. I actually liked 4 answer a little less than 4 despite admitting it's objectively a better game. I honestly didn't enjoy the absurd speed of 4A, which is wild coming from me because I hate Dark Souls because it's not as fast as DMC. I generally like playing light and medium mechs, and light mech mobility felt too much for me, I couldn't control them as well as I wanted to. Over all, still a fantastic game though.
Verdict day though....hooo boy. I never played base 5, and I never will Verdict Day made sure of that. I've heard you comment you're not a huge fan of the damage system in 5th gen. I don't mind the system, but I think it needs more fleshing out before I commit to liking or hating it. But I really didn't like the huge focus on online in Verdict day, even purely playing through the campaign, the game felt barebones compared to 4th gen, hell even 2nd gen. I'm sure there's more total parts in Verdict Day than in AC2. But I *FELT* like I was more restricted in customization than 2. In 2 it felt like there were so many different viable rifle, smgs, assault rifles, miniguns, and sniper rifles you could equip for your arms weapons. And I'm not talking missions, I'm talking arena/PvP. In Verdict Day it felt like you had 3-4 viable weapons in those categories because the online meta was so strict.
Despite all my dislike for the formula change in 5th gen, I don't dislike Verdict Day though, the campaign has a really fun story. Also the final boss of Verdict Day is my favorite fight in the entire series. From a lore perspective, they pit you against an unwinnable battle, and from a gameplay perspective it kinda feels that way. The boss is *HARD* , they are outright stronger than you, so you have to be *better* than them. It's such a fun fight to overcome imo. Easily the best boss in the series, from someone who also loved Spirit of Motherwill as one of my top fights. I'd put Verdict Day in high D at the lowest, mid C at the highest.
You can probably see where my bias in this series is. As much as I love the general combat of the campaigns. I find the most important aspect of the game to be the small scale AC battles. Things like 1v1, 1v2, even 1v3 fights. As cool of a power fantasy as it is to pilot a NEXT and just tear through 100 MT's and 20 Normals. Beating Ares in the AC2 arena was some of the most fun I had in the series.
Quake (in multiplayer) and Armored Core, imho, are two series where advanced movement is pinnacle. Both very technical and you have to learn many tricks and nuances. Love both!
No AC game yet has recaptured the futuristic aesthetic that AC2 had. The location, the designs, the soundtrack, all the best in the series.
If you like Arena you should try Master of Arena. It's all about the arena.
@@MsHojat I've played Master of Arena, it was the first one in the series I owned. I bought it and Phantasma at a garage sale. It's a solid game.
I guess I'm the weird guy here. I'm the opposite of this list, I've only played formula front (you should play the international version) and have never played any other AC games until like a couple of months ago. I'm currently playing the very first AC game very slowly and I want to do a No Human+ run for all the AC games eventually.
Great list! I've also watched all the other AC videos. You've earned a sub!
Tyvm
Fantastic as always gent. Only AC game I’ve beaten is For Answer and was pretty easy to pickup from a noob’s point of view, had tons of fun as well
The PSOne games definitely had frame rate issues even in their day. Definitely hard to go back to after the PS2 sequels, but interesting games that really stood out in their time for those who played them.
Honestly had the most fun with the PS1 games, at least as much fun as any of the others in my recent marathon. I don't rate For Answer that highly though. Heavy mechs just don't feel that great in it, that's like half the game for me.
PS1 Armored Core should have given more Credits, Those Games are the Best on it's Era, i Played them and it's 🔥👌 same as like OG DOOM that game is the Best on it's era.
@@Spaced92 Same here 👌
The PSOne games really get so much right, which is why so there’s so many attempts to remake them on hardware that can realize their potential.
Dude I think you nailed this list. Every single opinion you have is the same as mine. Even AC2 being your first game from the series, 4A being probably your favorite, and silent line feeling like punishment I loved almost every minute of.
I’m new to this series. Never played a single game before, but all of a sudden I am consuming a lot of mecha related media and I want to get into the AC franchise. One thing I want to say is that, despite Armored Core 5’s bad rep in the community, I love the idea of a multiplayer mecha game. I already play games like Splatoon 2 and 3, so the thought of having that coordinated communicating experience but with these awesome powerful looking mechas with all sorts of bells whistles and mechanics? It just looks like it has tons of high skill ceiling potential that’d make the game riveting and tense in the good way. I hope Armored Core 6 can act as a middle ground gameplay-wise, where you have the option of going into team-based multiplayer matches, but you also have a fleshed out single player that is worth the price of admission.
Armored Core 5's multiplayer looked sick from what I saw of it. I hope AC6 gets popular enough to sustain a small to medium sized competitive scene because that shit is SO COOL!
As someone who played Verdict Day a lot, I can tell you, it *sucked* so hard. It was super fun for a little while, but then people figured out a meta. If you weren't running one of 4 very specific mechs, you just lost. It was REALLY bad in the 2v2 mode. You always ended up with 3 people running meta, and one rando playing their campaign mech. The rando would get obliterated in 20 seconds, and their team mate had to 1v2 or just die. I honestly hated it so much. It was fun when you got all 4 people running meta mechs, despite being stale though. At least the actual combat didn't suck, just the terrible part balancing. But seeing the same 4 mechs got real boring after awhile.
I completely disagree with this evaluation as somebody who played it from the beginning to end. We were constantly changing ACs around and fighting tons of variations. There was no AC that couldn’t be defeated by an AC designed to defeat that type. This is just my opinion but I am sure I played this much more than most
@@Deadsnake989 can’t say I agree with this. The rock paper scissors ce,ke,en meant you could melt any specialize build with the right weapons. Light weight sniper mech for example was powerful but you could flank on urban maps and melt with a ce weapons.
Can't fault this tier list, I started AC as a franchise with the first game, discovered it on a old ps1 demo disc, instantly got hooked with the customisation and unique gameplay, AC4A will always be my favourite, I understand the ridiculous speed but it was so much fun, plus arms forts just all around look cool and feel epic to battle.
Also love how the views on all your AC videos have boomed, it ain't a massive fanbase, but it's dedicated to the cause, especially with the AC6 announcement.
I was honestly expecting more quality content on UA-cam but all I could find from searching was trailer reactions
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 yeah, I enjoyed the sort of breakdown video you did, maybe we'll see some more stuff when some gameplay drops or a longer trailer? But in terms of armoured core content creation it's very minimal anyway, seen as the last release was a decade ago and UA-cam content creation in today's form came after that it's never been in many people's radar.
I only got round to playing AC2 and AC4 for Answer and based on you tier list, I'm kinda glad I got near pinnacle of what the series offered so far. Hope your channel gets more eyes on it when AC6 comes out. Favourite part was the Kawasawa-Mk2. Something about building the box art AC is satisfying ngl.
This is an excellent resource for us AC noobs. I started playing 3 a few days ago as my first and it's such a great game. Although I'm getting to a point where I'm failing a lot and may just restart now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing lol
3 is my favorite AC game, sank so MANY hours into the PS2 version as a kid. Even has a split screen battle mode. Me and my bro would spend hours building mechs with parts we unlocked in the story mode to go at it in the arena!
Thank you for taking the time to make this!
I pretty much totally agree with and share the same rankings, except that I would put Silent Line a tier above For Answer, and I would put 5 and VD into the F tier xD
Blessed unlisted appeared on my homepage
seriously great vid, playing ac 3 portable atm.
This was the first video of your's that I've had the pleasure of seeing on launch. Looking forward to many more Above Average Gaming drops
Even though I've played some of these(which I enjoyed tbh) Silent Line and 4A is the only AC games I loved, because these 2 game let me enjoy using dual blades, it just fits my style
Quality list. Silent Line and For Answer are my Favorites too, though I would put For Answer Higher.
I'm much harsher on AC4 though, I would have put it at F tier, the mission design makes the game basically unredeemable. I'd also give Nine Breaker a double FF.
For the record, I've been playing Armored Core since before the game officially came out, spending hours on the Demo Disc that came with the PS1, getting every Main Line Armored Core game except Verdict Day. I even had those awesome 10 inch figures that were exclusive to EBgames, god I wish I still had them, they were the two red AC's from the AC3 Intro, fully interchangeable parts, fully articulated, I think they were like $80 Each.
Really curious to see how fast AC6 will be. I'm guessing they want to pull a bigger audience to it this time around, with how much resources they probably sank into it. Because of that, I doubt it'll play as fast as 4A. But hopefully they don't slow it down too much, either.
I think it would be smart for them to slow I'd down to the speed of gen 1, 2, and 3 just because that's what the majority wants. I like both. The old gen games are still pretty fast and take a certain amount of skill
Tastes aside, it's great to find someone who's posting stuff on AC and is ready to not shut up about these games all the way into and beyond AC6. This isn't Souls, where there's now a million people with an opinion, so finding someone like this feels pretty good.
Going through your Armored Core videos made me really nostalgic and super hopeful for 6. I remember getting 5, saw that there were no back weapons and just stopped playing so I'm excited to see what 6 does and give it a fair chance.
As someone who considers AC3 my definitive AC game, I had zero issues with the direction AC4 took. I remember being hyped for AC5 never picked it up and glad I didn't after I watched some gameplay. If the devs of AC6 pull anything from AC5 I will accept wall kicking as a means to reduce energy consumption for vertical movement. Glad my favorites got such high marks.
Awesome video and I 100% agree with this list. Not as big a veteran as @above average gaming, but my first ac game was 3 and then silent line being second and so on. This is so cool to see videos like this getting thousands of views in a short time frame, relatively speaking compared to before the announcement. Anyways keep doing what you doing mate, and for anyone interested of random gameplay check out a small channel called buster tbm, if you’re looking to play it. He helps with finding extra parts and is entertaining to watch.
Edit: Nexus is… a real big step down from silent line 💀 so don’t feel bad if you can’t emulate it properly or anything, not missing out on much. Anyways definitely earned a sub love these small ac content creators!
Thanks for watching. I just got done banging my head against a wall voicing a "what I want from ac6" video and it turned out perfectly. I miss buster tbm. He was kinda top of the line for ac content back in the day
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 ahhh yeah I hope he gets back into it considering the new release of ac6 or announcement. And dang 💀 careful to not get hopes too high, I’ll be furious if somehow they fuck up and chuck in the “good ol” overheating to 999 from one little booster push from nexus. Honestly tho for me as a vet and person that’s been waiting for 10+ years, one of the things I really want is an Arena system with varied maps that are fun but also simple, like in silent line and 3 but more open. Cant wait for your next video mate!
if you dont play nexus, at least listen to the music, lol. dat bass is so good
@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 know what the music did slap tho and I finished the game. That was one of the highlights imo too, imo tho silent line for the ps2 games at least had the best soundtrack
@@castlemanmancastle6927 i also enjoy unlocking in-game encyclopedia entries like in nexus and last raven. Nice bonus for fans.
Formula Front has a pretty neat soundtrack, and the expansion game actually lets you pilot your own ACs if you want. The arenas from what i can remember were just a step of above being okay, and i do remember there being lots of parts, but nothing really stand out.
All-in-all it's worth a try imo.
I think ACV is the best in terms of combat system. OP clearly loved 4 but hear me out. I've played in the "everyone using the same build" period and I wiped everyone out with my own build. Tank leg and dual gatling guns was the meta and I figured that if I used a fast AC with 2 light sniper rifles I can just stay out of the gatling range and kill them safely. Turns out your AC can be very fast if you build it right and since I barely have enough ammo I have a blade just in case although I used it like once in 20 games. I switched it out for a light spike for team missions because you need to take out stationary targets in those. Oh and later they patched the game and the meta is no longer the same although the patch come to EU a bit late and I didn't play nearly as much post-patch as I got very busy irl.
The best thing about ACV is that tank legs and quad legs are finally got their own identity, and the terrain finally meant something. You have to think more before/in combat and to me that's the entire series is about.
1) tank legs have the most AP and armor but slow, can't climb/bounce on walls so VERY limited mobility. You can hop on a 3-story building but that's it, other ACs can just shit on you from higher buildings all day. These can use heavy sniper cannons while moving which is unique too. Quad legs can bounce from walls a bit but not very well--you need forever to clime a building so don't try it under fire. It can use the sniper cannon and only need to stay stationary. Other legs need to kneel to use the sniper cannon which is straight suicide so I ditched the idea after a few tries.
2) Terrain meant something unlike AC4. You can use buildings as cover, hide and everything, and more importantly you can use buildings to boost your mobility. I remember there's a training mission makes you kill 3 targets while wall bouncing within 10 seconds. And I thought it was impossible until I realized that you can be VERY fast if you are tight with your wall bounces.
The drawback is that as a online game it wasn't on PC which is a head-scratcher but I guess Fromsoft is a console-based company at its root. PC community would loved it to death as long as fromsoft sort out the controls for it. Like even in its imperfect form I know a lot of players formed teams and played a ton. I personally only played in arena modes or help other players with their missions, but I don't hate the multiplayer part as the single player part is already solid and multiplayer was indeed getting popular--battlefield 3/4 anyone?--so a sensible choice to me.
Just realized recently I haven't played AC:VD yet, so sad I didn't manage to get my PS3 working today. I really wish they could remake AC4 and 5 including their respective follow-up game. Older games are too tough for modern players I'm afraid, the control is just too clunky.
love seeing your channel grow, hope it booms with the release of AC6
Armored Core V had one of my favorite aesthetics... in the intro/trailer. The image of ACs being sent out into an actual battlefield rather than the almost clinical mission settings was so hype. That blend of realism and giant mechs.
And then besides two or so missions it didn't really come up. It was such a shame.
Pretty solid tier list my dude and 3k+ subs is awesome! I own and have played all of the Armored Cores (minus mobiles and FFAC). I fell in love with this game after I played the demo on a pizza hut demo disc lol (yes I'm old). Anyway, I hope AC6 kicks ass because i have been waiting a long time for it. Good luck and Congrats above average gaming.
Bro! Amazing video!!! Also, really consider doing something between the Armored Core and the Ace Combat series. There's a lot in common and there's a recent Ace Combat that can have similar visuals!!!!
There was 1 ace combat game I got to play on the ps2 and I liked it alot. I got the newest one too and its alot of fun. A few people have mentioned ace to me so I'll keep it in mind for future content
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 Oh that'd be awesome! Two true old school series together in the same video would be incredible 🥲
I think I'm with you on all these that I've played - though I have a soft spot for the first one. Honestly Formula Front was pretty dope for what it is, but I feel like C is fair having played it.
Looking forward to your next overview!
one of the titles that were not of all time-it was not written, it was not edited, and it did not describe the video. truly not a masterpiece
Someone must have hacked my channel and changed my title lol
The announcement for AC6 has me really interested in the franchise, I remember hearing about AC during the last few years of the ps3 era but couldn't find the games (I was really young so I probably wasn't searching hard enough lol). Really excited for 6 and wish I could play the older games
Last Raven is the best by virtue of being the hardest, it forces you to build with purpose and then master that creation in order to win, others (like Silent Line) are great but easy and not as good in my eyes.
The easiest was 4A, the fact I can go through that game with a Blade build and second stage everywhere and only the very last mission on hard can make me change the build is a disgrace.
I hear the MP is still up which is a plus for it tho.
didnt 4a had hard mode unlocked though?
yes but it was still easy af, with the only difficult mission being the last one on hard mode.
As someone who knew nothing about the series prior to the AC6 announcement thank you for the honest rating. I went to a con and got 2, 3 and Silent Line for about 70 bucks together. Guess next one will be For Answer and Last Raven.
Good finds! If you can get past the controls you're gonna have some fun
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 So I have heard. Going back to some games I am definitely not a fan of inverted camera controls.
As someone who joined the biggest clans in armored core 5 and verdict day, i can still understand the hate about it.
Online gaming wasnt big back then and it kinda sucked on ps3.
I still enjoyed defending our territory from other clans
and building mechs with coop in mind, meaning i could make a offensive powerhouse without any defense in 5 vs 5 knowing my partners would check my flanks and give warnings in time. It was a very unique experience and i probably had an easier time getting into it as a young boy.
Still i also missed the offline parts of the game. And honestly....after a while everyone stopped attacking and we just let friends attack us and give them territory after a while. I think the ideas for verdict day were just too ahead of its time.
I could see it work today with the hype of souls games if they manage to create better UI systems but it shouldnt be the focus of AC 6.
hello there, former memeber of zeon elite here did you miss our night raids? XD
@@Deadmare Man its been a while, i dont even remember my clans name, but i remember the clan was dominating the whole map, so i wanted to join and i was prepared to get challanged and tested.
But i was in just like that haha. I wish we had more grand scale battles tough, the game seemed almost dead when i joined haha.
Yeah it was a great Online COOP pvp experience before real online games even existed, ground breaking in a way. I remember the preassure to perform well alongside my comrades haha, tried all kinds of AC builds to perform better but never quite nailing it the way i wanted hahaha.
Ac4a. You said it dead on, spirit of motherwill is absolutely unforgettable.
Last raven and nexus were the last ones i played on ps2 so they were my favs, the first one i played was ac2 and i played everyone in between. I cant wait to see what FromSoft has in store for us in ac6.
I picked up AC V at a Gamestop to pick up an extra copy of Minecraft (I had several game disks fall victim to the disk tray) and honestly it was a decision I will never regret. One of the cooler games I played on the 360. The way you talked about V reminded me of how Halo 3 players talked about Halo Reach back in the day, the thing to keep in mind is that games will never be exactly like they used to. Interested to see where the focus is for 6, or really anything about it, since it's been so long.
Edit:I will say, I haven't played any of the other games yet, but For Answer is and has been on my mind for a long time. Looking forward to playing when I get the chance
Great time for a tier list! I think AC 6 could easily become an A or even an S tier game, given how the studio has evolved and improved post-Dark Souls, Sekiro, Bloodborne and Elden Ring context.
Also, you have gained a new subscriber.
Thanks. I usually dont get hyped over games but so far it looks like ac6 is going in a good direction. Desperately need some gameplay to know for sure
My hope is that AC6 gets your channel to pop off. A LOT more people than ever before are gonna be playing it with the reputation FromSoft has built over the years.
It has been blowing up. It sucks I have to go on vacation fir 3 weeks cuz I'd like to get 4th gen series overview out... enough people have talked about 5th gen but someones gotta fill in the blank for gen4
Been a fan since demo disk days on ps1... my favorite is silent line. I was one of the weirdos that immersed in first person mech action. 4 and FA were ok, but the mechs felt more floaty than previous games, only ever made sense to me to go that fast when you had a rocket strapped to your back.
Funny enough if you turn off auto boost you get all that gravity back because it wont slow your falls. I turn it off because it makes the games feel more floaty
Yeah AC4A does fuck people over because the Default is the beginner control scheme, which is actually terrible and actively disables features like strafing without locking onto targets.
@@Jsay18 also if I remember correctly, you can't do the quick boost back turn if the enemy gets behind you when using the default control scheme.
@@meinishikawa3730 Nor can you do the turning quick boosts iirc
Played about 80% of them since Phantasma. Gotta say, for whatever reason, AC4A is the special one to me.
As someone who started on the PS1 with project phantasma and had thebsame group of friends playing through the games as they came out, I feel like I have some insight on the reasons people who love the 5 series do.
For one, like you sauid 4A already pushed the speed game as far as it could manageably go, so going to a heavier, slower style ofgame was a change of pace people appreciated, since they probably werent gping to out-4A 4A. Also the system of kicking off terrain to fet speed boosts fpr mocing around quickly was often more engaging than just mashing R2.
5 also has a really cool mission structure as a single ppayer game where the missions are longer and their scope usually increases to add objectives amd increase the operational area as you go; with the option to either push on with what you still have or call in (and pay for) a supply drop to reload and repair before moving forward being a fun part of the mercenary fantasy.
The team PvP was a cool idea that didnt really work, bit the coop superbosses kn VD were pretty fun, shame about the whole "multiplayer is basically required for them" aspect a decade later, though.
LR. VD, and 4A are my top 3 because they all provide basically the peaks of different experiences the series offers, with MoA slightly below just because it still is old and clunky.
Thanks for your reviews man. I've been getting into the mech genre lately and your videos on AC really helped me figure out what I could expect from those games. I'm definitely gonna play a few of those on emulators and pick up ACVI when it comes out :)
Hopefully you'll make a video on it by then
I'll definitely be covering ac 6... unless it turns out really really bad.
I've played all of them and For Answer is definitely the best. The speed, the flight, getting SS on all the missions, multiple endings, White Glint, Spirit of Motherwill, the way you felt like a pilot going into battle.
V and VD were pretty good once I got past missing how 4 and FA played, it'd be nice if 6 could take queues from both and bring something new as well.
Master of the Arena holds a special place in my heart though. The missions were cool, Nine Ball was amazing, especially during the last boss fight. Second disc was really cool as well.
Last Raven was ridiculously fun, but stupidly hard. LR and FA are probably the most complete AC games.
I love AC, unfortunately at my age nowadays my reaction time may be too slow.
I LOVE the programmable AI, I hope in AC6 they include player made AI and Arenas
I started with 4A and recently went back to play 4 and... Yeah it was weird. So familiar, but I felt so limited. Hearing you talk about them here helps me know I wasn't crazy. It makes sense though. New gen of consoles and 4A is the sequel so of course it had more stuff.
My thoughts as I go through the video:
You really should try disc 2 of Master of Arena, There are so many types of arenas with lots of fun themes. you will have a blast with it, yes the game is abit dated, but going into what will be fresh new content for you, you'll forget all about how old the game is.
Nexus....ugh
Formula Front was a ton of fun, I had it on the PSP, it's a rather different experience from a standard armored core game, but I remember it more fondly than certain other titles in the series.
hope you enjoy your holidays and vacation! hope I can catch your livestream this weekend!
Why is everyone hating on AC5 and Verdict Day so much? The controls were Vastly improved in those games in my opinion and, other than the circular Hud I think most of the design changes were really fun. I have been playing since AC1 and I think Pvp in Verdict Day was some of the best in the series. It's a shame so many people just wrote it off because it was different or because it was released at an unpopular time. Trying to take down Spirit of Mother Will in Verdict Day with four other players is one of the most challenging and fun experiences in armored core.
ACV marketed as a multiplayer experience is really due to development constraints, if you own an ACV/VD artbook you will know fromsoft planned tons of boss fights and maps but just doesn't have the time to make them
VD was basically a giant expansion of V, so it seems they had some time. As somebody who played V and VD quite a bit, I was never needing much more. The gameplay was quite endless if you played multiplayer.
If you were to try Formula Front I do recommend Formula Front International since it has additional content. The funny thing about Formula Front though is the PS2 version of the game is pretty different to the PSP as just an immediate example the PS2 version is a 5v5 format while the PSP is 1v1 so in the PS2 version you had to design 5 ACs with AI and each part was unique so if you use it on one build you couldnt use it on the other.
Same here man. AC2 is where I joined the franchise. And honestly verdict day was some of the most fun I ever had with my friends on Xbox. The competitive multiplayer was something amazing. The culture… oh how I miss the culture. I actually hope 6 brings this back
Agree with list. I think 5 and Verdict Day deserve some points for originality at least (and bringing back the Spirit of Motherwill in VD xd). 4A still the best.
Armored Core vet here. If you aren't sure about spending 60 bucks on Armored Core 6, buy a older entry for like 10 or 15 bucks at 2nd hand shop to see if it's for you. Armored Core belongs to a genre called "vehicle simulator" (this is an actual term), some of the most well-known are MechWarrior or Star Wars TIE Fighter. It's a category originating from PCs, where the controls are often so complex, it requires every key on the keyboard (no joke). In simpler terms, imagine Microsoft Flight Simulator... but for fictional 75-ton mechs. I made a video about this very topic.
Great list. No complaints from me. I will add the one saving grace for Nexus was it had a pretty sweet soundtrack. About half of the soundtrack was remixes or remasters of the already memorable and iconic PS1 games, but I'll let it have the win for it anyway.
I will actually die on the hill that ACV got wildly more flak than it deserved. AC really needed to slow TF down after AC4 and FA. The floaty combat was overdone, and it yanked me out of the experience when I could fly all over the place in a mech 10 meters tall on average and do mostly nothing but spam boost and just hold down the trigger (no, the game wasn't that hard, chill out). ACV was a breath of fresh air with its grounded combat style that felt like a return to form of sorts where movement was fast but noticeably heavier not too unrealistic, but this time terrain played a bigger role than even AC3 and before.
The squad stuff was a little too much, sure, but features like that if AC6 has them is what will get me to convince my friends to try the game for the first time, something the Armored Core franchise desperately needs.
I'll also go ahead and throw salt on the wound and say that the fact that people gave ACV an unfair shake is 90% of the reason we had to wait 10 freaking years for AC6 after VD and I won't apologize for that take. You don't have to like every change, but you can't just boycott your already niche game when FromSoft was already pulling in bank with the Soulborne series.
wallboosting is fun.
Agreed. The 4 series were a power fantasy and honestly way too fast. It’s easy to see why it’s most people’s favorite but 5 offered more strategy with 3 damage types and really emphasized the strengths of each leg type and to me was a change for the better
I've always wanted to play this series since I was a child but I've only read about it in magazines and never got to get my hands on one of these games until recently when I started playing AC3 and I'm loving it
Ac4a was pinnacle of Franchise
for answers hands down, if anything white glint is the mascot of 4th gen imo, elegant and deadly.
As a veteran of Armored Core series, (I played Frontline but not Nine Breaker) Verdict Day cleans up the heavy online emphasis and makes more as an extension of the main game. It has a storyline that ties back to ACFA using lore once again, and there are more challenges after you complete the main quest line. After you've played it, I'm sure your ranking will be higher for it.
To be honest, this one is by far the most souls-like iteration of Armored Core that one can make because you're supposed to be underpowered; just like any soulsbourne game in terms of character to enemy ratio, movement is limited to plan out your offense instead going in guns blazing and figuring it out on the spot. I'm 90% certain, that AC6 will use a lot of the framework of ACVD because it wasn't as nuts as AC4 and ACFA but it inherits the weighty feel of the PS1 to PS2 era of games which causes your mental to work more so than your twitch reaction.
I look forward to your next video!
I started in ACIII and of course that's one of my favorite ones, however Silent Line, Last Raven and 4nswer really got me. The 4nswer was the first one that I really felt some advantage to use lightweight legs instead of a tank build, so it changed my experience in a very good way. Unfortunately (or not) I skipped the V era, so my memories still stuck in the top ACs. I can't even say how hyped I'm about ACVI
The only Armoured Core I've ever played was 3, and I had an absolute blast with it. Its nice to see it rank so high, and I can't wait for 6
Soon after the announcement of AC6, in the UK every preowned copy of Armored Core, from PS1 to 360/PS3 on CeX pretty much sold out by yesterday. I've noticed they're now going for scalper prices on ebay of at least twice their usual prices probably listed by people looking to flip them unfairly.
A couple of weeks ago, you could pick up AC3 for about £20-£30, now the cheapest I've seen is £60... just a heads up to anyone looking to get into the older games grab them if you can at a good price.
Oh wow! Well there goes my dream of collecting every armored core disc lol. I'm happy every ac game is playable on emulator
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 (huh UA-cam deleted my reply it seems? I'll try remember what I typed) --
tl;dr, hoping for AC4/FA to have texture fixes | A ty for all that you've been working at with AC | And appreciation of people coming out of the woodwork recently from your average streamer, to prolific vtubers that clearly seriously love AC. Sorry for any confusion!
@@hawkwardd_ fyi in GPU settings for rpcs3 you can check a box called something like "read textures" or something and it will fix the problem. It used to make FA crash but I went through the whole game without a crash (there was some slowdown so i had to restart emulator a few times)
it's refreshing to see someone who actually played the game give a retrospective. Where some Dark souls loretubers who just saw the new trailer and are all of a sudden pivoting to become AC fans/"experts".
It's funny cause I personally would put nexus in the s tier, the updated controls made me realize I've dealt with shit in the previous games for no reason at all.
for answer, last raven and master of arena were my favorites. Glad armored core is returning and i hope its a really good game!
Verdict Day was amazing smooth controls and a slower pace is exactly what the series needed after the blurry boost fest that was 4 answers.
💯 agreed. They made the environment more of a factor where as ac4 you may as well be fighting in an empty space. 4nswer was my favorite but verdict day is where I felt the series should keep going. Improved environment, scan mode, operator mode etc we’re all great to me.
One of the only good things about AC: Nexus is the music. The music slaps in that game.
I guess I am one of the few that really like ACV/AC:VD. My first AC was AC:Masters of Arena, played all the way from there till Verdict Day. Last Raven is my favourite.
For Answer is fun, but I feel like it's too light and flashy for me. ACV is weighty but I admit, it's prolly too sluggish. AC:VD is heading the right direction but not quite enough.
Hopefully ACVI will be the best middle ground we all Ravens wanting for.
I just wanted to post on here that I think what your doing is awesome no one shows these games any love. AC2 was also my first game in the series picked it up at goodwill when I was like maybe 10. Never have been good at it but they will always be special games to me. Hope you keep posting videos I will definitely be watching🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽
Yeah, I think I agree with everything here almost. I wouldn't put V or Verdict Day in F tier, but I wouldn't ever put it above the bottom of C tier. They were good games for what they were, but coming down from for Answer was a HARSH change, and one that was basically not acceptable to anyone.
I think the ideal really is For Answer, and that's coming from someone whose favorite game is Silent Line.
we can see your actual opinion. looking forward to this.
As a Last Raven guy, I can totally see your view point on silent line being better, it was in a sense hard but not bullshit hard like Last Raven.
Ac's at a time but instead 1 after another.
I think last raven just has all the parts balanced unlike silent line where you get access to some powerful parts like karasawa or even the off hand 70 shot sniper. Last raven never let up on the difficulty but balanced everything. I'm surprised they never had you fighting 2 AC's at a time and instead 1 after another
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 Personally do really dig Silent line, like alot was peak could sit down tweak and build all day without it being too much about trying super hard to make it works just trying stuff out. now between the ps2 era, but have to say Last Raven is a proper send off for the 3rd gen. Shame they had to gimp you and make the Ai cheat to make it challenging though.
Thank you again for providing solid content and engaging with your audience It is really appreciated. If you need someone to play verdict day with I do still have a ps3 and the co-op section is still online you could get some folks to help you out to make it tolerable. (yes i'm not a fan but tolerated the multiplayer for co-op)
@@Fuzzy_Chimera maybe if emulator is compatible with console. Idk how it works I havent tried out any of the multiplayer stuff the community figured out. Thanks for the encouragement and also for watching the vids
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 Emulating 5 and VD from what I heard is a nightmare so I wish you the best of luck if you are going to emulate them.
I did emulate the previous titles but they are nowhere near as bad as ps3 stuff, but original hardware and a 72inch screen with proper setup is good stuff. just hard to record and you obviously need the equipment to record that so get the need for emulation.
I'm always working so it's nice to see content i'm actually interested in and a person who speaks very straight forward and has a voice like yours makes it easier. Feel like if you had a partner like in your streams of lost planet to bounce off of you could sound more enthused, as i've seen comments saying you sound flat, which to me is fine after seeing the LP2 gameplay you just need energy in the room to work with.
You can manually control ACs in Formula Front. The international version also has extra content
0:10 Zinogre moment
I really loved the formula front on the PSP, you have to customize the AI too so the replayability is something.
Same bro I wish we got formula front 2 hopefully
yeah its like carnage heart
@11:35 "Get this high" way ahead of you, pal
Great video as always man, love your content, can't wait to see the next breakdown/review of Gen4 AC games
Anyway I also grew up playing the old AC games since PS1 and thankfully I've managed to enjoy all them including the divisive ACV/VV, I like them for what they are even for being more slower than previous tittles, at least for me it makes them a bit more "tactical"(if putting it that way) either on campaign and as well as the multiplayer, I also put that to the state in-game universe that they lost all the advancement tech from AC4 & FA hense why they have to manage from scraps or dig sites searching for lost tech, so it didn't bother me much probably cause I got engaged in the world, plus they also add a lot of in mission side quest/challenges for getting higher score, more money, free parts(aside of finding a few scatter on the mission areas) and one cool thing was that you can clear areas and call down the helicopters for resupply, customize your home base, create you own merc company/clan, etc etc overall I found my fun with them and still do but yeah still my top favorites still are AC4 & FA.
NineBreaker made me appreciate ArmoredCore as a series honestly. I had been clunking around in them since ArmoredCore2, but NineBreaker made me good at them