Six Generations, Sixteen Games, BILLIONS IN DEBT | An Armored Core Series Retrospective

give or take

Armored Core is wrapped up in a web of gamer mythologizing, like any fairly hardcore series that the mass market doesn't really engage with. It's surprisingly playable, even today, regardless of any controls myths and horror stories. It's got difficulty spikes and plenty of unhinged systemic cruft, but it's still just a mech-battling game. So how'd they make it so many times?

Armored Core undergoes genuine evolution over the years, but it's most recent title, Armored Core 6, is more interesting viewed as part of a lineage. In many ways, and as annoying as it is to write, Armored Core 6 is the Dark Souls of Armored Core, but not because of the relative difficulty spikes - so what's gained and lost in that approach? How did we get here? From a budget PSX game with clunky controls to a modern AAA title, this is Armored Core across the generations.

I know some individuals are gonna (insert eyebrow raise emoji) about AC6 here in the comments, but lemme tell ya, don't play all of Souls and then all of AC within a year. New releases require the whims man. Game's great, truly, but lots of games are great. And it still ain't stickin' like Princess Crown Sega Saturn...

If you'd like to support the show, find me here! https://www.patreon.com/kbash

Songs include the OSTs of various Armored Core games - mostly 2, 3, 4, and 6, the OSTs of Custom Robo GCN, the OST of Megaman X: Command Mission, the OST of Metroid Prime, the OST of Sin and Punishment, and the OST of Phantasy Star Online. Also Yell Dead Cell from Metal Gear Solid 2 and a track from Shadow of the Colossus.

0:00 taking the mech pill
2:10 "the controls oooooo the controoooools"
20:04 sailing for the new world (playstation 2) (oh it's like basically the same huh)
28:00 KBash is Gettin' Upset
47:45 armored coke
1:03:43 hemkin chonkors
1:21:57 ARMORED SOULS!?

#kbash #armoredcore #retrospective