Armored Core 4 • Retrospective • [The History of From Software] 

after researching things deeper, I've discovered that Joshua actually comes for us at the end because Aspina was threatened. This changes the story somewhat so ignore what I say in the video about him only being loyal to a paycheck and instead, pretend I talked about how the mech economy was able to turn it's enemies against each other by weaponizing their love of their homes against them 😢

The level design is so wide-open and liminal feeling. And the hazy distance effect make the world's feel almost fever-dream like. Would have been blown away playing this on release tbh and I'm bummed I missed out on the franchise during its golden era.. but here's to Fires of Rubicon being awesome!

I woke up at 3 am in Australia to watch this. No regrets.

I never got into 4th gen, and i think you put it into words well, its not that the game is bad, its that its different, and back then i wasnt smart enough to understand that my expectations not being met wasnt an indictment on the game itself.

There's a few things hinting at Joshua O'Brien only going after you because they threatened Aspina if he didn't. I think that makes him even more relatable, because you're both fighting to protect your homes.

4 admittedly had faults, I was always accidentally boosting out of arenas, new mechanics don't always work, or you might not even realize when they are in use! With load times also being very rough. But it did feel next gen, many missions felt fresh and the lighting system on the engine is unique to just this entry. Which is why 4 Answer, where the studio and team clearly had a good bit of experience and better feel for what they wanted, remains most likely my favourite entry. It was the 5th entry and is Sequel, Verdict Day, that undermined so many things that I found fun with the previous titles and were for me the weakest games in the franchise.

I always liked the distinct muted color pallet of Armored Core 4. Makes me nostalgic for my early teenage years

Great Video! When i started playing the 4th gen games, i fully expected to not like them as much as AC3 and Silent Line and to consider myself an "old gen fan". However when i booted up 4A (started with that one) and got into the first mission, i was instantly hooked on the fast paced, action focused gameplay. Arena duels are also so much more intense and the first thing i did in 4A was just grinding through the entire arena before i even considered starting the second mission lmao. I really enjoy both styles of Armored Core and I'm really excited to see what direction ACV took!

AC4 is one of the first games I got for my first 360 and I played it to death before the thing red ringed. AC4 did do a lot of damage to the community at the time it released but it and 4A are well remembered nowadays. While most say to skip it to get to 4A, you really can't play one without the other. That and the fact that imo AC4 being slower is an easier jumping on point than getting tossed headlong into the ridiculous speed of 4A. Keep up the good work.

39:59 Just a quick note, but I could've sworn the supplementary material you mentioned also said that Joshua did what he did because Omer basically threatened his colony with the same fate as Anatolia's if he didn't go through with it. Which doesn't completely excuse him, mind, but it does put his loyalty more towards his colony than just the paycheck.

i just watched the rest of the series last night excited to watch this as well. the ac6 hype is too real, 6 days left!! great work my friend

Nabeshima left after Verdict Day so approx 2014-2015, Kenichiro Tsukuda went first though.. Which makes Fires of Rubicon an interesting point as Miyazaki worked on it until passing it to Yamamura Ohh yeah and the absense of human plus makes sense in AC4+ its due to the fact being a LYNX (ravens of Gen 4) are essentially Human Plused pilots down to a theory they are basically New-types as they were in Gundam with most of the perks that Human Plus gives you except the Moonlight projectile. The supplementary material goes in deeper Omer Science will raze Aspina to the ground as Omer Science owns Aspina essentially black mailing Joshua to pilot the Arethra in a bid to take out Anatolia because they are now preparing the set up for the next game as Anatolia houses some more important things when it concerns Rayleonard being that of Jannerfeldt's research into Kojima technology. And now the entire Ace Combat Zero parallels are complete.... bring out the flamenco Also how different is AC4 from its early predecessors is that to compensate with the speed and still really really demanding controls its the first game in the franchise to use a rudimentary hard lock system and how Primal armor may or may not have evolved into the Poise system found in souls down the line Anyway retrospectives on ACV and VD will be interesting due to the fact that these 2 games relied on the back end on one of their old games... called chromehounds on the 360 it relied less by Verdict Day but still that doenst change the fact you get a "gimped" experience once the servers are pulled

Great vid, 4 is one of my all time favorites and the one I started with. Big memories. Thanks for making the vid.

No matter who is in charge you get the mech economy. We call this fundamental principle: Everyone Digs Giant Robots!

If this was on PS now i would've played it in a heart beat.

Literally been binging video essays on Armored Core, like those of this series, to catch myself up before the release of AC6. Can't believe I've been missing out this whole time.

This is quality work, man. As someone who's played since AC2 release, it's been cathartic to see so many others explore and pontificate upon what these games are in the context of a new generation; I myself have been learning a lot and recontextualizing my own preconceived notions.

Thank you, Aesir. This has been a fantastic series to follow. Much love!

Let me know what you think :) Also, if you want to support me and get more videos like this one, go to www.Patreon.com/MedievalMegaman

I can't help but notice how similar AC4 is to Nier and how similar AC6 is to Nier Automata, at least superficially on a visual level. There are some generational differences, AC4 being an early PS3 game and Nier being a midlife PS3 game, while Automata was a late PS4 game and AC6 is an EoL PS4 game/PS5 game, but I think they're close enough to make a comparison. Not really trying to make any kind of particular point, it's just the first thing I thought of when I saw them years later.

Great stuff as always, I could listen to you talk all day

I have been reading a lot about the series and I was struggling to reconcile fans’ thoughts on these games versus my own! I thought the story was deep and compelling, and the gameplay was beyond its time. You do a great job organizing these thoughts and explaining these titles!

My favorite Armored Core along with For Answer! ...Mainly because they're the only ones I've played.

High quality work! Keep it up

I'm excited to hear that your game is almost completed! I will likely buy it just to give you money and then see if it's any good after

armored core nexus was actually the first armored core game with dual analog controls edit: nexus was also the introduction of just restarting missions when you fail instead of losing money and the chance to play the mission

Definitely gonna give this a watch after work, I love your videos :)

I'm really enjoying these. I havent played any of them, as Armord Core 6 will be my first one, but I'm currently watching let's plays of them.

Fabulous work keep it up

Bullets for the machinegun Energy for the lasers Engagement for the algorithm

Armored Core 4 was my first Armored Core. The storytelling in the game really drew me in. In hindsight I look at the previous games, and I can appreciate the empty storytelling for world-building in those games as well. Because armored Core 4's story is so personal for the characters involved, and not specifically about money, but more about independence, it really helps you feel the feeling of Freedom when your Mech so much stronger than previously it could be. It really contrast the previous games gun for hire/ money is everything approach. Even the company's are less personal in those games since usually there's another Force involved outside of the companies that is the major overarching threat. In Armored Core 4 the threat is the Kojima particles looming over everything, but it's so far in the future for the characters that they can't worry about it. All you can do is pilot your Mech and trying to make sure everything turns out fine. But this is still Armored Core and while there's usually a silver lining it never turns out fine.

Can't wait for all your future AC videos so i can watch them again but continuously

This was my favorite of your retrospectives on AC thus far

Please do cover the other spinoff titles! That'd be lovely

Commenting so that the algorythm stays favorable :) Well done Aesir, can't wait to hear your thoughts about 4A.

I thought I was hearing 'Kojima particles' and it still made sense, like something he'd make up just to make a mechanic make sense, a la nanomachines

Joshua attacked Anatolia because if he didn’t do that, Omer would destroy Joshua’s home “Aspina” And he is the friend of Fiona…which made it more sad

Outstanding evaluation.

We are getting closer to the "Armored Core 6 • Non Retrospective" video!

I think AC4 and 4A are my Favourite games in the series. Both are just so fun and the ost is perfect.

I think one of the reasons Joshua uses Aretha-00 is that it's an old prototype Rayleonard Craft, and we had just destroyed Rayleonard. It's the perfect opportunity for Plausible deniability on the part of Omer, "nu-uh, that was a rayleonard craft, they just retaliated like the maghrib liberation front did." Omer's hand doesn't get revealed until Hard mode, where upon beating the mutant core an Omer Lynx tries to finish you off. Antolia's Mercenary I think gets blamed(probably via propaganda) for the fall of Anatolia, going by some dialogue in FA from Otszdarva, an Omer Lynx

RE: Play as the mech and not the pilot: I don't know that it is confirmed anywhere, but I got the understanding from the flavor text that the reason you pilot a NEXT as a LYNX and not an AC (or a Normal) as an original, is that you really are LINKED to the machine. You either already are a Human+ or something equivalent. AC4 pulls harder on some themes of gundam than the other AC games do, particularly in the "high performance mecha for special types of humans" and "very useful techno-babble particle" departments.

Enjoyed the video

I remember buying a copy of this game at a gamestop in 2011, and the employee warned me it has bad reviews. However, I've been a fan of Armored Core since the ps1, so I know that most bad reviews are coming from people outside of the niche. I later put the game in my ps3, and I actually really liked it. About a year later, I got For Answer and that was a much better game. I think whats so interesting about 4 environment/world wise is that we get to see when earth surface world nations existed and large cities stood before all the chaos.

Aspina (Joshua's home) and Anatolia (Merc's home) are being deleted by Omer because they were the only last 2 independent factors. Basically, Joshua's plight was a lost cause and only did it to just buy Aspina some time to flee. He was also put on the ARETHA so he dies after using it. But they sent their own merc to finish the job (HARD MODE). Ultimately, the last part of the game was filled with irony. Omer being one of the smallest organization became the biggest tyrant at the end. Akavit-Rayleonard backs Anatolia (because the father of NEXTs is there) and Aspina and yet Joshua and you were sent in to destroy your biggest sponsors.

I love these Retrospectives of AC. It's interesting that you are going to do 4A, when you have skipped most of the other 'sequel/spin off' games. Not that I'm complaining.

oh thanks for the content, now i can understamnd the story amd what armored core is

it is said too much Kojima particle radiation can cause one to hide in cardboard boxes, and read minds, an ability countered only by plugging the controller in the other slot.

Gnarly bass tone at the start 😎

I'm really interested in your opinion on 6 when that comes out, because not only is it completely based on the idea of Human+ (aka. selling your body for money), the pilot is also now fused *into* the Armored Core itself, meaning you quite literally "play as the mech" now, therefore explaining the differences in control scheme.

for me 4th game was the best before AC6. Now AC6 is the best. Speed, smart mech and guns management, tough enemies (sometimes TOO tough, yes, i am talking about you, Ibis.). Pure joy.

I rented Armored Core 4 back in 2008 or 2009. I fell in love with the vibe of the game, despite it feeling very desolate and eery. The gameplay had me hooked and I no-lifed the game before I had to renew or return my rental copy.

Man I never really got to interact with Joshua much cause I always killed the enemy NEXTs too fast for him to even show up. Then on hard mode he becomes an enemy so if hard mode is canon for 4 Joshua basically spends the entire story getting his ass whooped by Anatolia's Mercenary on like 5 separate occasions, then when he finally comes to help defeat Sol Dios he messes up and gets wounded again. Rusty is basically what Joshua was trying to be in many aspects if we're comparing 4 to 6, but whats funny is if hardmode is canon Joshua ends up taking on the role of Iguazu as the constant loser XD

Hell yeah

Its actually funny you mention the "older games you feel like you are the pilot but in 4 you feel like the mech." because in actuality, that never changed. The LYNX are called that because the NEXTs utilize technology that leg the LYNX "link" to the machine, making it feel like an extension of their own body, this is the Aptitude mentioned through the games, and the Aptitude points you gain as you progress through missions and the arena. Why one of the first guys you fight in one of the 2 games who was a Normal pilot turned LYNX even says "A NEXT is supposed to move like THAT?" because he didn't have a high aptitude. This Aptitude goes up as the pilot gets better, as evident with Roadie between games. But yea, tldr; You do still feel like you are the pilot, because the story actually explains that is what piloting a NEXT is actually like.

Man something tells me you’d love the story of ACFA. Good review and I hope you continue look in on the series :D

5:42 Metal Gear Solid isn’t the first anti war mech game made by kojima… ten years earlier he made two other Metal Gear games… and before Metal Gear Solid he made Policenauts…

I'd argue Armored Core V killed the franchise, For Answer was a roaring success, whereas V (and Verdict Day) which was heavily skewed toward co-op multiplayer ended up rotting on the floor.

After like 30 years ACore is comming to pc. Hopefully with remasters too.

AC4 is a weird one for me. I started with 2,and played almost every game since then growing up. 4 and 4A are easily the most fun for me... But i didn't remember them as much as 3 and Last Raven as an adult... And i can't put my finger on why. I have replayed them as and adult, and i think 4A is my favorite as a complete package... But there is something about 3 and it's continuations that stick with me

I actually enjoyed Armored Core 4 for what it is when it came out, and feel it is an underrated title. Maybe I was just excited to see an Armored Core game on an Xbox for the first time? But everyone only knows For Answer is better because of hindsight, but For Answer wouldn't exist if AC4 hadn't come first. To say the game "ruined" the franchise is a gross misinterpretation of what the 4th gen games are. They're just different, and that's neither good or bad. I could not get into Armored Core 5, because I've never cared for online multiplayer. Armored Core had fostered a largely single-player experience up to that point. But I would never say the gen 5 games ruined Armored Core, it was just different. And they clearly didn't shove Armored Core into an online multiplayer franchise as AC4 increased the general speed and tempo of the games.

I started playing this franchise back when Armored Core 2 came out. Never played the original title sadly. I played everything from AC3 to present. And you know what, I consider Armored Core 4 Answer to be the best game in the franchise. Though, I do like the designs and pace of AC V. I can definitely see an argument about how the sudden fast pace changes move away from the original core of the game's origins, but at the time, and even still to this day, I don't see it as overhauled change, I see it as natural evolutionary progression within the universe itself. Because I'm so comfortable with the AC formula overall though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad disappointed in the repair kit feature for AC VI. We don't need that, WE are good at these games. Buuuut at the same time, I'm not gonna let that small detail sour my impressions on the game.

Been playing this and past games and I'm mixed on this

Your comment on how 'getting out of the mech and walking around to do what these menus abstract would be an issue' strikes me as something Daemon X Machina tried to make into a benefit instead of a drawback... to mixed results. Yes, having some upgrades be cybernetics and our player character being a physical presence could tie people more effectively to the character and themes of voluntary dehumanization in pursuit of power... but it was also clunky and limited. (especially since basically every other character wasn't represented in that space.) "There is no metanarrative about how you are perpetuating the system-" Yeah, that was route 1 of For Answer. (And also why that one has to come first.) As for Joshua, I think the fact you can build such a plausible, meaningful _misunderstanding_ of the situation is a triumph. The cover story for Joshua makes logical sense, so well it can fool a player very familiar with the series. I am *_VERY_* happy that your going on to For Answer. It's so important to AC 4's story and themes that disentangling them simply doesn't function. Plus it informs a lot on AC 5 and especially Verdict Day. (As I see it, one could skip AC 5, and do 4/FA/VD as a trilogy story wise.)

This dud: ac4 killed the franchise Verdict day: am I a joke to you?

4 and 4A are my favorite, I miss hyper asymmetrical melee 3km speed demons.

4Answer is the best the series has ever been, anyone claiming otherwise needs to take off those rose tented glasses.

You should do a video essay on Eternal Ring on ps2 soon my friend 👍

The good ol days of pilot skill = mobility advantage, second stage quick boost and high OB, secrets you had to learn by playing. was my fav gen.

What's the music at 31:41?

As cool as you make this game sound, visually it looks the most uninspired until now. It has that grey/brown look that plagued most if the games of that generation. I felt like the other games were playing a lot more with colors, and even though in the customisation screen your mech had some Neon Genesis' Eva colors going on, it did not show during the missions, fortunately a small amount of missions where you can see clearly looked great. But as always great video Aesir.

Dis my shit

Wow, gen 4 gets 2 parts

i'm bummed i'll never play most of the games

The new Armored Core is going to be so good. I already know. Because its Fromsoft.

in some AC4 mission, i just head to the objective and be done with it.

Very great analysis Armored Core 4 and even some history of it with the community though I have my criticisms with this generation that doesn't mean they are bad games, I've seen so many people try to twist that if fact they are great games in their own right My biggest criticism is their departure from lot of atmosphere and mechanics that make Armored Core core games feel like Armored Core, and doesn't mean I didn't spend 60 maybe 80 hours alone on campaign on each game, but I'm always down for power fantasy game and these games may not be the most simulated for Mechs, but for Super robots or Mecha sim this is good Gundam game, Gundam fans can look to the speed the power the geopolitics between companies and even its atmosphere is interesting and incredible anyway. I have many more things to say about gameplay and it's designs but I think this video is really great and shades light on the pros and cons of this game. This is just my rambling about Armored Core at the end of the day, which I'd never thought I'd get have chance to do. Additional note they still have the biggest part that's Core and it's Mission structure in garage and customisation for Mecha

So... when mgs3 like mgs1? Like i need my fix lmao

The plot of this game is basically life in Latin America xD

great video but man do i agree with nearly all of your praise of the game, everything you list as a positive in terms of structure and changes are the very reasons i despise ac4/4a and think miyazaki was the worst thing to happen to Armored Core (though i do very much like his work on the souls series).

Honestly the first 3 gens look like a boring slog in comparison to gen 4 gameplay wise. Especially since ac6 is the only one ive played and i adore the speed of the combat.

Does V not exist to you hello? V WAS the worst one of it all!

I started at AC3 and played LR Nexus AC4 AC4 And AC4A. I never touched AC 5 AND AC5 VD. Personally, Ac4 and 4a feel way better for some reason. AC5 Looked like a freak to my my ACs, which looked like " mutated normals," which made me. not interested, I. Ac5. AC6 Bri gs thing inline thus far.

Why was the franchise ruined for people who thought the series was defined by its visuals? Maybe missed it if directly answered earlier in video, but I don't follow. Just cause improved visuals? I'm not seeing what's so different about the style itself that people would think it doesn't even look like an Armored Core game anymore.

1:34 Just a lie, you are and have not done videos on all the AC games. I mean, you've skiped like what? 6 or 7 games just to get here.

Sorry for the second comment but have to agree on this game ruining the series, never even knew there was a fifth game tell six dropped and I fell in love all over again with a armored core game that actually felt like a armored core game from someone that was there at the start. Four was complete garbage but just like my opinion man.

Yep this one killed it for me. Too many baffling decisions, and For Answer being better doesn't change how bad this was. You listed choosing a starting AC as a positive, but in fact that just largely removes the progression system from the game. You can easily beat the entire game with any of the base ACs. They're basically prebuilt classes in some action game. Mech customization kind of went out the window in this one. Your upgrades are likely to be lateral to the base ACs because they're already middle tier. Honestly you'll probably just make your AC worse if you're new to the genre. I don't understand the plot section. The game does such a bad job of making you care at all about Anatolia. A lot of players don't even seem to realize they are FROM Anatolia because the presentation of the storyline is so bad, and not in the "good" DS way. Are you helping Anatolia? I don't see any of my funds being drained and going to them. I hardly hear a peep about how my actions affect them. I would blame something like low budget or management problems, but you don't need a budget to make some cheesy emails like every previous game had to flesh out the world. You've explained how so many elements of the game were removed because of speed. The HUD, locking, movement, but those things are gameplay elements, but speed isn't a gameplay element. That's more of an aesthetic element. So they've removed what I would consider the meat of the game, the obstacles, puzzles, and challenges such as having to aim, having to move correctly, having to just figure out "what should I do/what should I build," and replaced all of that with... speed, an aesthetic element. That's practically my definition of dumbing something down. Come on, this is a dumbed down, mindless action game. "In that same way, Armored Core 4 is using the core formula of the original Armored Core, but because it has different creative ambitions, it recalibrates the values under the hood to try to deliver on a different kind of experience." Love your videos man but you should really seek a career as CEO or politician because this is grade A corporate jargon. It's like I'm listening to Bob Iger explain why the latest Disney movie failed. Am I ever going to turn this game on again because it recalibrated its values under the hood? Not likely. Somehow worst of all I think is how ugly the game looks. Did this game ever look good? AC6 is gorgeous and probably always will be. Elden Ring is gorgeous and probably always will be. Something like AC3 has aged, sure, but look at that city map at night. Is it not comfy? There's something uncannily ugly about AC4 though. The environments seems boring and dead, and for how spacious they try to seem they're actually tiny and empty. Regarding Miyazaki, I don't sense anything from him in this game, except perhaps his inexperience at the time. I've played through his other games multiple times because they warranted it. I definitely didn't get to explore everything I wanted to in DS1 or 3 through my many playthroughs, yet I feel more than full after just 1 playthrough of AC4. I actually agree there are some cool missions like the flare mission or the superweapon mission, but they are so short, easy, and few in number, I had actually forgotten about it until you mentioned it. It's certainly no Tomb of the Giants. "There would be no way of guaranteeing every build could do the mission" And that's a good thing, because it forces you to engage with the main point of the game, building a customized giant robot to tackle a problem. Every single leg type being to zoom across the ocean effortlessly in some superficially cool yet already painfully dated way is a huge step down for me. In the end I don't believe Miyazaki's vision (if that's what this game actually is) really ever meshed well with the idea of AC. In the past you would have some mission like "destroy the base's power generator" and there will be some gimmicks and obstacles you would have to overcome during the mission. There would be some quaint cutscenes to flesh out the world, and maybe an ambush, maybe the power going out, maybe acid floods parts of the ground, maybe bio weapons attack, maybe the heater goes crazy. But if the game is just about speed speed speed and "enjoying the mech control," well, don't have those kinds of missions anymore. Don't have destroy the chimney. Don't have stand there and defend against the drone attack. Don't even really have mech customization, because they just don't work at all with that vision. Have more stuff like epic presentations and epic battles with crazy opponents and swarms of suicide drones or something. Have giant memorable bosses (Arms Forts). There are already games that do this 1000x better such as ZoE and well, the next game in the series. So basically I see this game as a pointless failure. Honorable mention - breaking stuff which has worked in every previous AC game: You don't get a mission briefing until you've accepted a mission, so now having multiple ACs for different purposes also goes out the window because I can't choose the right one for the mission anymore unless I stumble in, wait through loading screens, die, wait some more, because you know, this game had absolutely 0 thought put into it.

"The game that killed the franchise" >has spin off game >5 exists Uhhhh hmmm

Lets be real you never knew about or cared about AC before the announcement of 6. You only care because Fromsoft has reached the normies.

Here’s a quick history lesson about this trash all these games have horrible metacritic scores and people wonder why this garbage has been dead for a decade 😂