This is my first lore video and really enjoyed making it 🥹! If you would like to see more of a deep dive of any aspect of Armored Core, please leave a comment ❤️
we're all have a moment of being Iguazu in our lives... the question is did we ever move away from that point or let it simmer.... waiting for that moment to lash out... at someone who actually deserve all the fruits of their hard labor while we sit in the side line?
It's kinda crazy how everyone except for Iguazu takes Michigan's attitude as nothing more than what you'd expect from a strict drill sergeant, and treated with upmost respect down to the MT forces that he also operates in the same way. Iguazu is the outlier in how he takes Michigan's treatment poorly, and when you see how easily riled up he gets around you, just imagine how he feels with Michigan. It's tragic because Michigan still sees him as a worthy Redgun, someone he stuck his neck out for when his own MT squad is trying to talk him down during the mission to take him out.
Iguazu was tormented by Michigan because Michigan was trying to make Iguazu better, probably because he could see the potential Iguazu has. Unfortunately this style caring doesn’t work with Iguazu and Michigan is unwilling to change.
@@samnunnink7575 Well that and Michigan beat the breaks off of Iguazu and Volta so bad it’s implied one of them needed surgery to fix the damage, because they tried jumping him and got put in their place
See I never noticed the ambient ringing at all until someone pointed it out to me! But now the clarity in the audio towards the end of the fight with Iguazu makes sense
The irony of it is that before you came along, Iguazu had everything: He has a friend in Volta, a sort of mentor in Michigan, the prestige of being part of a feared AC group, the stability of a well-paying job by being part of that group. Yet he chose to throw that all away just because some nobody who just happened to be better than him hurt his pride. You, the freelancer who definitely had nothing to your name, started getting the success and recognition Iguazu felt he deserved. Iguazu could've been you if the roles were reversed.
I don't know to me it makes him look even more pathetic, I would maybe understand if he had nothing going for but knowing this it's even stupider to go into such petty crusade. Still a funny character tho the man is crazy for sure.
Unlike 621, his surgery didn't leave him a quadriplegic that breathes through a straw; piloting is all 621 has, at least he can actually live a life outside of his mech.
I disagree. If anything Iguazu has the opposite in his eyes (we can see it in a different way from our outside view). Volta was never really his friend they just had something in common, and then Volta changed and they no longer had that thing in common. Michigan wasn’t his mentor but instead tormented Iguazu with his constant mocking and shaming. And he didn’t have a well paying job because every cent he made probably went towards paying off his debt. He’s a gen four which means he is emotionally unstable and probably also mentally ill. What people don’t realize is that Iguazu went through everything 621 did, he went through all the troubles and hardships and yet 621 is leagues better than him. That’s why he hates 621 so much.
It's interesting to hear a more sympathetic take on Iguazu. Most commentary/analysis has centered on his insecurity, rather than take a deeper look at his underlying motivations. Great video.
I think it does him injustice not to look into why he behaves why he does. I’m not stating it makes him redeemable, just how far he had to fall with the right catalyst.
Of all characters in this game, Iguazu is the one I feel the most for because his is a deeply relatable story. As story progressed he turned from another random NPC Pilot into a character I felt more and more sorry for, and more relatable to. No matter what he tries he cannot prove himself. He can't justify why it's possible for someone so similar to ascend beyond gen 4 limitations, but he can't. He aspires for more, this is very obvious, but he's always unable to ever achieve it. I've been in that situation, where someone (Or people) who should be the same as you, rise above what they should be capable of and leave you behind. but with me it was turned inward, rather than outward into envy or anger. I never asked "what makes you special?" but rather "what makes me inferior?". I was not able to achieve my goals either, despite others doing so so easily. His character is written as though the writer too had experienced (or deeply studied) this, because it's a very familiar feeling. The truly tragic part is that Iguazu really was special. He never gave up despite everything, his perseverance and determination was legendary. Maybe given enough time, he would have finally succeeded.
Man I'm so glad Walter got a good doctor to check on us before sending our butts to Rubicon. Otherwise we might be hearing ringing instead of Ayre's voice like Iguana
As you continue playing, you really get the sense that Iguazu is the game's punching bag. Feels out of place having him as the final boss. Just goes to show that even if you're the world's smartest A.I. you should never underestimate Iguazu's potential to mess everything up.😂 On a bit more serious note, he is very human. He refuses to accept responsibility for his own failures and shortcomings. His goals are shallow and he can't accept his own limits. I believe Michigan is good for him, but he can't see it. How much of this is because of his augmentation is hard to tell. However, you can tell he wants to be taken seriously, but can't find the path. He never gives up, never surrenders, and tries to find his own path forward. In summary: Iguazu is very driven, and a passionate individual that lacks the proper insight to move forward. In fact, most of us have probably been in his shoes at some point in our lives. In those moments, it's best to humble yourself and take advice from others rather than beating your head against a brick wall in an attempt to move forward.
He's Just Like Evangel from Armored Core Last Raven. Iguazu is Evangels Inferiority complex made manifest and cranked up to 11 and just like Evangel, Iguazu pilots the last stage mech like Evangel did in one of Last Ravens endings.
I truly feel sorry for Iguazu, the dude needed a guidance But considering his personality and background, I bet he will likely consider the gesture from us as "pity", which is understandable
Yoooo, I ADORE lore narrations. And your voice fits well with this type of format. Fun fact about Iguazu, is a guarani word that means "big water." Which also a reference to Iguazu falls that connects Paraguay-Brasil-Argentina. And from what I understand from Coral at AC6, is a mineral that is from oceans, and his name is connected with the same element, so it's fitting those two are connected.
Oh very cool! Thank you for sharing the meaning of his name with me. I shouldn't ever overlook that Fromsoftware typically chooses names that give characters more meaning!
@@Ashewyn any names fromsoft chooses has a rationale behind it! I just realized that Rubicon was referring to the Rubicon river, which Caesar crossed when he said, "alea iacta est." Which so happens to be the name of the true ending. You might already know this, but it blew my mind.
He does have narcissistic traits, but he doesn't show much in terms of grandiosity or even a lack of empathy. At most, he is just really stubborn and is desperate to feel some sense of self-value. V.II Snail on the other hand shows many more traits of narcissism.
As much as how I like to make jokes about him being salty and a puching bag for 621, I still can't deny the fact that he's one of the most "human" character in the game.
Iguazu is one of those characters that I think is written off as that one guy who has a grudge, but going through all 3 routes really makes you realize who he is. I really liked his character. That won't stop me from hating him tho hehe. I'll still trashtalk him and call him out on needing help from so many other machines in the final battle.
While I don’t disagree with your characterization of Iguazu as a tragic figure, I think you’re too harsh on Michigan. The Red Guns aren’t abusive, it’s tough love from a tough father figure
The Coral surgery is definitely what makes them connect to their AC. It sits closer to the Human Plus program, but it may not be that different from the Allegorical Manipulation System (AMS) either. Both of which made people better pilots, but Human Plus was used to pay off debts and was done with implanted cybernetics. AMS was based off of a pilots compatibility with the system which was for the most part set.
When I first beat him I thought there was gonna be another phase since he goes to attack again & I was genuinely worried😅 I had to play a tank the 1st time cause I couldn't figure out how to avoid his melee attacks.
Really great, humanizing look at a character everyone in and out of universe treats like a punching bag. O paper, he's everything that C4-621 is. But somehow, there's something that propels Raven to greater heights and Iguazu to new humiliation. And I think that's where the connections with characters like Rusty and Ayre come in. People willing to treat you like a human being among the countless others who use you or can't properly express affection and respect. There's the ludonarrative as well that the player character can retry countess times, but the former makes more sense to me in the scop of the narrative.
We as raven could only hear ayre after a extremely high exposure to coral Iguazu could somewhat hear all of them without all that exposure So I figured him to be that type of guy to see greatness In everyone but himself thus feeding In to his Inferiority complex
He is by far the most human written character from soft has ever made he became a monster for selfish reasons If we look into the final allmind fight you can also see the potential he had however he was blinded by envy so much that he never truly realized his potential. Yes raven CAN AND DOES EVERYTHING BETTER THEN HIM however that's how life works there will always be someone better then you but that doesn't mean you cannot focus on what YOU CAN DO BEST and still succeed in it.
remember when 621 started taking missions everyone was kind of not giving him proper respect.. but he gained everyone respect overtime.. that's why they kept calling him these different names for fun.. but 621 never let those things impact his emotions.. iguazu could've made 621 his friend like what rusty did.. but instead of respect his jelousy forced himself to think of 621 as a rival.. but he failed miserably.
A character who suspected everyone was talking negative about him behind his back, never once expecting to receive recognition, never once told how he was respected by very few. Always charging forward with desire and brute force, never looking to the possibilities of the future and always dwelling on the mistakes of the past.
You did great work here in explaining him. But in the end I still can't help but to punk him at every turn just based on all of his salt. Still great work on the video over all.
My favorite detail is that at the last moment, Iguazu's attempt at one last overclocked laser blade attack is what finally destroys his AC and kills him. Iguazu's recklessness got the better of him at the end, for the last time.
I honestly think the biggest deciding difference between 621 and Iguazu was that 621 managed to converse and become partner's with Ayre while; Iguazu only ever heard annoying ringing driving him even more mad.
A significantly better perspective on this character and his story. While its easy to brush Iguazu off as "insecurity" that is merely a cop out buzzword that serves as a weak substitute for truly understanding. Ayre/Coral fans are the majority, therefore it makes sense that they would rather ignore the possibility that the Coral had questionable motives.
Walter simps trying not to justify the annihilation of millions (potentially billions) of innocents through the most outlandish of theories challenge impossible
@@bluewingedknight7762 the annihilation of 90% of the population is certainly a better alternative than the annihilation of 95% , right? You can pretend that these outcomes are born in a vacuum all you want, but some are clearly better than others if you value human life and autonomy.
As a new player im super glad you made sure to cut alot of end game stuff as i havent finished my third ng+ . I ended up feeling the same. But more with swinburn. If you let him live his own comrades send him to a reeducation camp. After that i kinda have to take him down every single time. For his own good
The power was out in the depths the balam mc and ac officers were all seprated and locked in different depths . G5 was stuck in that vualt while it was pitch black just festering over 621 and proabbly thought balam locked him in there to die
I had to pause the video and take a hard look at the paint job. Double zimmers is one thing but a crime against fashion core is another Hold up, i just noticed the decal. Based paint job i take it all back
(Long comment, apologies) I'd like to add a bit Regarding what was said around the 6:22 mark Yes iguazu IS susceptible to manipulation and blinded by rage, HOWEVER he is still a competent pilot as he is 5th in line at the redguns. (Unfortunately he encountered 621 who is a protagonist) Iguazu is by no means a bad pilot, just held back by his own insecurities and you just so happen to be the final straw that breaks him mentally causing him to lash out in such a way.
I feel like the reason Iguazu hates you so much, is that he sees himself in you. He retreats and makes excuses everytime he thinks he gets in over his head. He only gets failings because he doesn't believe in himself. When he sees some no Name Merc able to out compete him, this merc manages to achieve feats he could get, yet he doesn't. When he asks what makes you so much better than him, he isn't just asking why Raven is the protagonist, he is also asking why this mercenary who does things he could have been able to do if he had the confidence to continue even in danger. He is one of the Pilots with the highest potential to be the best if he only had the self confidence to keep going, yet he couldn't. Michigan is clearly a caring man when in the Intercept the Redguns, when Albany was insulting him, he immietdaly hops to his defence and complements him. In the Japanese version during the Alea Iacta Est ending, Red calls Iguazu, Iguazu-Senpai, which in Japan, to my knowledge is a sign of respect, don't quote me on that one. He had a group that cared about him and had masive potential to be better than Raven yet he wasn't. Not because of Raven or the Redguns but because of himself. His ultimate defeat came because he lost his pride and developed Self confidence issues, ultimately causing his downwards spirl into his fate. Iguazu and Raven have an interesting mirror narratively, that a lot of people skip over. Admittedly, I didn't like Iguazu at first, but after playing through the missions and listening to other's opnions on him, I grew to care for his character. Iguazu's self loathing was ultimately cause his hatred of you. The Nameless Freelancer who had it all, and the proud Redgun who didn't have anything. Raven was only better than Iguazu because Raven didn't stop where Iguazu did. He kept getting better and going on missions while Iguazu was happy to rest on his laurels until Raven ultimately surpassed him causing him more self loathing.
This is at best, a veeeery charitable interpretation of iguazu character. At worst, a desperate attempt to find something compelling to otherwise pretty pathetic character. This interpretation falls apart when you realize that iguazu pain is nothing but pure butthurt. He isn't a scrub like mt pilots are, that pretty much go out there expecting to die, Michigan treatment of him isn't unique, volta got over it just fine, he isn't in the bottom like rummy, and he ways even part of a respect mercenary group. He is just a loser that could never get over himself. Him not being able to grow up, is not him being more human, it just show that he is a failure. It would be more human to overcome his flaw and improve but he never does. He is not tragic. He is pathetic
rip bozo 🤣 no, but good breakdown of his story, he reminds me a little of myself in highschool when i would get bullied, maybe that's why i enjoyed bullying him so much in this game.
well, he was a rank 5 of the Redguns, so he was actually an exceptional AC Pilot, but since he was a jealous, whiny little guy filled with top tier hater energy, people generally tended to overlook that
I think Iguazu might be one of, if not the most talented pilot outside of 621. The fact that he deals with terrible ringing in his ears while piloting a multi G force mech at that level speaks to his mental fortitude and unreal skill. I think the final ending shows how good he was, and maybe how good he could have been had he made proper Contact.
the fact that most people mock or discredit iguazu instantly, makes his character all the more effective it is precisely because most peoples instant reaction is negative, is what shows how most people handle feelings and emotions for better or for worse it is truly a perfect test to see how a person values and handles their perception about first impressions
They mock him instantly cause iguazu is the one to literally hate calls raven after our first mission with him... And it's not like we did anything to him in that mission we just did slightly better and he just instantly got salty He kinda brought that hate to himself
@@dragonslayer3552 exactly what i am talking about, do you really think people who are holding up well and feeling well, would do that? trying to understand his side, without gains for your own benefits, is what can make those people heal
621 has it far worse than him, so while understandable, his salt is unjustified regardless. At least he can live outside his AC and doesn't need to breathe through a straw like 621.
@@sixthcairn 621 is barely functional, and it's debated whether they're even able to survive outside of the life support systems because of side effects of their augmentations, with the ability to speak being questionable (and whether they use a TTS system or can actually talk is a debate). Even with all of the advantages Iguazu has over 621, he can't see past his own shrivelled ego.
Just a small thing about AC history. 9 Breakers are pilots who are in the top best Ravens or have the strongest potentials. 621- 6+2+1 = 9 V.IV Rusty = V + IV = IX (9) G5 Iguazu = G5 and he is Augmentation Generation 4 5+4 =9 In terms of AC lore, it could be said that 621 is the real "9 Breaker." Similar to White Glint, Rusty would make the ideal nine-breaker "A champion of the people". Iguazu is a shadow of you (621), Iguazu possesses that potential however as this video points out very well his reality. You could argue that he briefly turned into a 9 breaker at that point in the video when he enters the second phase and feels free. And just a little more fun observations, Look at Arena ranks of Rusty and Iguazu~
I love Iguazu as a character. He's a dork, a loser, fundamentally human, and painfully relatable to anyone who's ever had feelings of inferiority. I've seen a lot of people clown on him for how insecure he is, but I think most everyone is more similar to him than they're willing to admit, at least moreso than they are to people like Raven and Rusty. This was really great for a first lore vid. Would love to see more!
I think the thing that's terrifying is that he could have been an extremely capable pilot without the impairment of his coral sensitivity. There's power in determination and perseverance.
There is but one last factor. You. The mercenary who pillaged glory from all odds and all angles of others. The figure of constant success that he never knew. He envied who we were because to him we were perfect. We had a 100% success rate, took his glory, and cast his name in our shadow. He never knew that Michigan respected him and would come to his defense behind his back.
Ahh that gave me chills! When I replayed the mission to kill Michigan and he talks about how Albany doesn't even measure up to him, and he's worth many more of her. I wish he got to hear any kind words.
@Ashewyn he was desperate to shake us off as a bad dream or illusion of luck in his head, but nothing worked. The reality would be that we were real after all. That's why our perspective of him seems perhaps a better image of him than he had of himself. To us he was a praised and loyal Red Gun and we were underhanded.
Here is a delicious case of dramatic irony. Putting Iguazu in perspective, Because he is just a video-game character he has no knowledge of how many time’s he’s actually won. Every time he wins his entire universe resets. or is completely discarded if the player stops playing. He’s literally fighting a time traveling cheater. So long as the player keeps playing, Iguazu is cosmically predisposed to lose. Our success is purely an illusion that he is completely unaware of due to his limited perspective, making our “Victory” all the more hollow.
@gaspachoo5046 A good observation, however the same can be said for every game we decide play. Bowser wins if we lose and it all ends/resets when we shut off the Nintendo. So on, so forth are destined to lose because the developers programed it that way/ the writers of a book or movie wrote it/filmed it that way. Such as the nature of creation, the creator dictates what happens.
the fact that iguazu's rage and envy was so huge that it overpowered an all powerful AI is insane! I do see that in our fights he gets progressively better, he like us had unlimited potential but his recalcitrant nature is what potentially kept him from making proper contact. He managed to beat walter as well, just shows how far he has come. however, he never got the proper recognition he was desperate to get despite his progress. “A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
This is a good video. My thoughts on Iguazu are kind of up in the air. On one hand, I can kind of sympathize with the guy. It's never fun getting upstaged by someone else and can really bruise your ego. How he handles that loss though could've been an opportunity to improve himself, but instead he wallowed in his own inadequacy. Whether he views the player as a rival, I don't really know. What I do find sad is that his last moments he finally comes to terms with his feelings regarding the player. I would've loved to see how he would've evolved if he came to that realization sooner and tried to be better for it. But I guess we'll never know. What is interesting is his will. I can't remember whose video it was, but the fact that through sheer will alone, he was able to overpower ALLMIND to have one final duel with you. Which in of itself is quite an impressive feat. One small criticism and it's not a huge deal. The mission where Iguazu takes a contract from the Coyotes and runs into us. I got that mission on NG+ and Alea Iacta Est is from my understanding NG++ ala the "True" ending. I don't know if there's any significant differences regarding the mission on NG++. The run-in with Coldcall was also in NG+, but again, Idk if there was a difference between the two playthroughs. If there was, then I apologize.
I can't hate him. His entire life revolve around losing and lagging behind and the human+ only make thing worse for him. He can no longer think straight. He can not plan. He can not keep up. But one thing he does not do is give up (or he can not do because he will lose all the reasons to live?)
Great video! Finally someone who sees the tragedy of Iguazu and how human he is and doesn't talk about his as a joke! I love his character and the entire story he has with us, couldn't help but be really sad when we ended the last fight with him
oh how stupidly epic it would be if in the next armored core game we played as Iguazu post ALLMIND, that is assuming that he somehow, for some reason survives this is like the stupidest possibility that visited my head, and i know it, yet i cannot help but wonder
His consciousness could have been assimilated during the coral release and given an AC body if I’m understanding the ending correctly. So I think that survival is plausible.
