There are a lot of games in the Armored Core series. But some of them are better than the rest.
FromSoftware is often linked to Dark Souls and other games like it because of how popular Dark Souls is. But it’s interesting to know that FromSoftware isn’t just known for their “git gud” hit series. For example, fans of robot games love their Armored Core series. Unlike Dark Souls, the Armored Core series is very simulation-based, both when it comes to building robots and fighting with them.
Unlike Gundam, each Armored Core game has a different level of difficulty when it comes to customizing mecha and playing the game, to the point where players can enjoyably get overwhelmed. But for people who are new to the series, how would they rank the Armored Core games?
Armored Core: Project Phantasma (1997)
- Platforms: PlayStation
If you want a simpler Armored Core experience, Armored Core: Project Phantasma is a great choice. It’s the second game in the series and takes place two years after the first game. As the story goes on, players explore the research site for Project Phantasma, complete tasks, earn money, and carefully improve their characters.
Like the first game, Project Phantasma only has 17 tasks. The first game had 50 missions. But while Project Phantasma has a cool cross-save feature from the first game, it’s also pretty quick and easy because it follows a more straight path.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: Project Phantasma
It’s too bad that Project Phantasma didn’t have more missions. The depth and weight they add to the story were very welcome in the early days of the series. The images need work, and the core gameplay wasn’t that much better than the games that came before it. Overall, the entry leaves a lot to be desired.
Armored Core: Nine Breaker (2004)
- Platforms: PlayStation 2
If players don’t want to deal with the series’ complicated story, they can just play Armored Core: Nine Breaker and fight robots. There is no story mode in this game. Instead, there are only two modes: Training Mode and Arena Mode. Training Mode has different gameplay mechanics that challenge players, and Arena Mode lets players put their AC against AI. As of right now, there is peace, but the Training Mode shows that the Arena Mode is training people for a possible fight.
The game doesn’t have anything else that would make people want to play for a long time. In contrast to other games, most of the AC parts are already open and can be tinkered with. Also, there isn’t a multiplayer mode where people can face their friends online.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: Nine Breaker
Nine Breaker is a good, simple game that players who want to focus more on the building part of an Armored Core could play. It’s too bad that people who liked the post-apocalyptic setting of the robot series might not like this one as much.
Armored Core: Master Of Arena (1999)
- Platforms: PlayStation
Armored Core: Master Of Arena was the last game in the series for the PlayStation before the platforms switched to a new generation. Fans of the series will likely remember this. Fans would have liked for it to have celebrated with a bang, but it didn’t. Master of Arena didn’t change much in terms of graphics because the system couldn’t handle them.
Master Of Arena has a lot of the same gameplay elements as the other games in the series, but it doesn’t add much that makes it stand out from the others. The Ex Arena Mode is a new addition to Master of Arena. It’s an arena-style battle that divides into mecha types, and the Ranker Mk Mode lets you change how the AI of ACs works.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: Master Of Arena
Master Arena, which is one of the most famous games in the series, is where the famous “power” line from Hustler One of the AC Nine Ball comes from. This line ends up being used by a character throughout the series. Even though the gameplay could use some work, this is by far one of the most remembered games in the series thanks to its gripping story and interesting bad guy.
Armored Core 4 (2006)
- Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
With faster tasks and a new story, Armored Core 4 is like a fresh start after the first few games. It takes place after a terrible war in the future. Now, corporations run the world and hire ACs to fight each other.
Armored Core 4 still has a great way to customize your character, but the fast-paced action doesn’t make up for its overall lackluster performance. Not as interesting as the game’s graphics are the environments, which are dull and squished. This makes the 30 tasks less fun.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core 4
In this game, players take control of a next-generation Armored Core as an outsider in a full-on war between companies from different countries. This made the game feel a lot heavier than other games I’ve played. The atmosphere of the game was too important, though, and the story and general gameplay loop could use some work.
Armored Core 5 (2012)
- Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Armored Core 5 was a return to tradition for the current Armored Core series. It focused more on tactical gameplay than the faster-paced gameplay of the games that came before it. The story is still about fighting an oppressive power, but this time there is more focus on how to carefully change the Armored Core to fit different battle settings.
When played online, Armored Core 5 can quickly become a crazy ride, since team Operators will be in charge of five-versus-five fights and give orders. Unfortunately, playing it by yourself is still pretty boring because of how hard it is to get better and how repetitive the fighting is.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core 5
Because it’s one of the newest games in the series, Armored Core 5 is still one of the most aesthetically pleasing games in the series. There are, however, some problems with the story as a whole, and many of the tasks are focused on grinding. This, along with the lack of Mail and Arena modes, made the game less interesting to play.
Armored Core 2: Another Age (2001)
- Platforms: PlayStation 2
A few years after the main character, Leos Klein, tries to take over, there is another power fight on Earth between three big companies and a group of revolutionaries who want to set up a new government. Armored Core 2: Another Age jumps right into the story where the first Armored Core game left off, and it really tries to go all out. The game doesn’t have an Arena Mode, but it has more than 100 tasks that will keep people busy for a long time.
Also, the better graphics and robot style go well with the great AI in AC that kept players on their toes. Of course, players who like the much faster Armored Core game mode won’t always enjoy Another Age.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core 2: Another Age
After the much-loved Arena Mode was taken away, fans thought Another Age lacked the “dimensionality” that made Armored Core 2 and other games more fun to play. Also, the AI’s difficulty has always been a problem for newcomers, though some say that’s part of what made the series appealing in the first place.
Armored Core (1997)
- Platforms: PlayStation
People always make room for the original games in a series when they talk about the best games in that series. Armored Core is one of those games. Most of Earth was destroyed in the terrible Great Destruction. The people who were still alive went underground and started living under the rule of corporations. As these companies fight, mercenaries known as Ravens have started to make money by using ACs to carry out their tasks.
The first Armored Core was a strong contender in a genre usually ruled by the classic MechWarrior. Its missions and ability to be fully customized made it a great game. Armored Core clearly stands out in its genre because of its level of creativity, which had never been seen before.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core
Even though the images weren’t very exciting, the gameplay loop that the original Armored Core added was a big deal in the mecha series at the time. Because the Armored Cores could be changed in so many ways and there were so many weapons to choose from, players could really make the game their own.
Armored Core: Formula Front (2004)
- Platforms: PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2
Armored Core: Formula Front is not related to the main line of games in the Armored Core series. It is a spinoff that was the first game in the series for the PlayStation Portable. When a player is an Architect, their job is to design and create ACs that can fight without them.
Formula Front is different from the other Armored Core settings because it’s about a worldwide race with the same name that turned AC combat into a sport. With its less strict approach to the idea and the PSP’s better graphics and amazing AI, Formula Front is a fun game that will test the minds of fans of the series.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: Formula Front
The lack of a story in Formula Front is something that turns off most people, but the more competitive, “sports-like” feel of the games makes up for it in a big way. The fact that players could make or import their own names and that the mechs could be changed in many ways made the game fun even though it didn’t have a story. Formula Front’s simple mech-on-mech action was also more fun because the PSP version made it easier to take with you.
Armored Core: Nexus (2004)
- Platforms: PlayStation 2
When you compare Armored Core: Nexus to the other games in the series, it has a pretty interesting start: a new company called Navis has been looking into old technology, which causes a lot of tension between other companies and eventually leads to war. People who are part of the Raven’s Ark work with ACs to make money.
Nexus claims that the game is very modular, just like other games. But this time, it focuses more on things like energy use, lock-on skills, and heat transfer. If you want to feel like you’re really controlling a mecha, even if it gets annoying at times, Nexus is the game for you.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: Nexus
As with most games, Nexus’s main complaint from players was how hard it seemed, which could make it hard for new players, especially with new features like the aiming system that seemed to be designed to be annoying, and even the Heat property. But the addition of dual analog sticks and a story that kept track of the player’s wins and losses would be good things about this game in the series.
Armored Core 2 (2000)
- Platforms: PlayStation 2
Armored Core 2 is the follow-up to the first game in the series. It takes things to a whole new level, all the way to Mars. In the story, the Frighteners and the mystery Leos Klein will cause chaos on a Mars that has been settled. The player has to lead a group of people to beat the Frighteners. But first, they have to do missions and earn money with their ACs, which is standard in Armored Core.
Players can change a lot of things about the game, and the graphics have been better, and the interface looks like a cool mecha cockpit. Naturally, Armored Core 2 has the same very tactical gameplay as the other games in the series, which can be hard for fans.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core 2
Even though later games would be better in every way, Armored Core 2 is still remembered fondly by mech players of its time. At the time it came out, it was by far the most advanced mecha builder and fighter for the PS2. The images and gameplay loop were very advanced for the time.
Armored Core: Verdict Day (2013)
- Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Armored Core: Verdict Day, the newest game in the series, takes place in a world where three groups are fighting over natural resources. Many of the game’s fan-favorite features are still there, like the ability to fully customize your character, programable AI, and team-based fights. However, the game also adds new skills and weapons to make the experience better.
It also has a mode where players from different groups can match up and fight for control. It’s too bad that the game’s boring story and already tough gameplay make it harder for newcomers to join the series. But because Soulsgames is so famous, Verdict Day is still a must-play.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: Verdict Day
Technically a continuation to Armored Core 5, Verdict Day’s worldbuilding is stronger because it builds on an earlier game in the series. It also has a much heavier story than Nexus, which is a sequel. Not only that, but the “Verdict War” between three (3) groups from different countries solidified Armored Core 5’s original idea and made the characters more believable. But the story isn’t very good, and the game seems hard for people who have never played it before.
*Silent Line: Armored Core (2003)
- Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
As a straight follow-up to Armored Core 3, Silent Line: Armored Core shows people starting to take back the surface after living underground. When people start going missing beyond the strange Silent Line, players have to use their own team to look into it.
Since Silent Line is an update, players can bring their favorite mechs into the game with them by importing data from other games. A more important addition is customizable AI that lets the computer control the player’s mecha. Geometry Dash Subzero also has a first-person view that changes the way it looks, which was badly needed.
Claim To Fame: Silent Line: Armored Core
Unfortunately, even though Silent Line is a direct sequel to Armored Core 3, it doesn’t seem to fix many of the problems that people had with AC3, such as its old graphics, basic controls, and tasks that were done over and over again. There have been some small changes to the game that may be the cause of many of these complaints. For example, the mechs are now handled by AI.
Armored Core: Last Raven (2005)
- Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
When Armored Core 3’s competing companies came together to form the Alliance, mercenaries known as the Vertex rise rose up to fight them. The player is a Raven, an agent who isn’t tied to anyone, and they have to pick a side.
Last Raven may have the most complicated story and the most ends of all the Armored Core games. This is a cool addition to the game’s mech-focused gameplay, which gives them a lot of new things to discover and enjoy.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: Last Raven
A lot of the game’s core mechanics haven’t changed, but the plot in Last Raven had a much darker tone that became the main theme in the games that came after it. It was one of the most memorable games in the series, and the change to robot design made it stand out as more “realistic” than the fantastical Gundam and funnier than Super Robot Wars.
Armored Core 3 (2002)
- Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
Armored Core 3 might be the most famous game in the series, even though it’s pretty old. Armored Core 3 is a reboot of the series that takes it back to its post-apocalyptic roots. This time, a powerful AI called the Controller has taken over the world and forced people to live underground.
Even though customization stays the same, Armored Core 3 made the game much faster and smoother, which kept players entertained for hours while they changed the look of their mechs and used them in battle.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core 3
Even though some people didn’t like the story and thought the controls were too hard, Armored Control 3 added a lot of new features that would become brand staples or the pinnacle of Armored Core gameplay. There is a lot more room for customization, tasks can be done in different ways, and the theme is handled better.
*Armored Core: For Answer (2008)
- Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Armored Core: For Answer takes place about ten years after Armored Core 4. Its story is similar to Last Raven’s and has more than one possible finish. You play as an agent called a Lynx and go on a trip through a world that has been ruined by war. Out of all the games in the series, For Answer might have made the most changes to the gameplay.
Some of these are the directional Quick Boost, Over Boost, and Vanguard Over Boost. Some parts also give ACs special moves that destroy the battlefield but leave them open to attack, as well as a locked-on rush blade attack that makes close combat much deadlier.
Claim To Fame: Armored Core: For Answer
People who like more open-world games will like For Answer because it has a more explorable world. Fights became more interesting and fun after changes were made to the game, like making it easier to customize, adding the Vanguard Over Booster, and adding the Assault Armor move. Fans often had problems with the way the levels were designed, and the story as a whole didn’t live up to the hook of Armored Core 4.
Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon (2023)
The Armored Core series comes back strong with Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, which came out ten years after Verdict Day. In Rubicon 3, players take on the classic name “Raven” and find themselves in the middle of a war between corporations over the Coral energy source. But FromSoftware’s return to Armored Core shines in how it updates the gameplay as a whole.
The much-praised system for customizing mechas is still one of the best parts of Fires of Rubicon. Making a build is a mix of managing resources and solving puzzles. For each job, players can either make their dream mecha or change it to fit the task. They can drive these machines in normal situations or even fight other players in the Arena Mode, which is coming back.
Claim To Fame
Armored Core 6 is different from previous games because it has a simpler way of customizing builds, which makes them easier for players to make and plan without losing technical potential. Players can’t rely on a single build to do everything because situations are different, so they have to find new ways to adapt. Players can choose from four main guns and improve their mecha by changing certain body parts. Generators, Boosters, and Fire Control Systems let them control energy. You can have some of the most fun fights in the entry if you can design and fly a highly optimized build.
