FromSoftware is well-known these days for their many successful games such as the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Elden Ring. However, as I noted before, FromSoftware’s history extends well before these games with two particularly notable series being King’s Field and Armored Core. While we’ve yet to see a new King’s Field game or even a rerelease of the older titles, it was with great excitement that we learned that FromSoftware is making another Armored Core game. So, with the upcoming release of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the history of these video games.
The first Armored Core game was released for the PlayStation in 1997 and was FromSoftware’s first non-King’s Field game. As with all other entries of the franchise, the player controls a highly customisable mech that proceeds through selectable missions with third-person shooter gameplay. Along with single-player, the game also contained a local multiplayer mode that allowed players to fight each other in large maps. While I’m unsure how the game performed commercially, it must’ve been successful as it led to numerous future entries.
Over the course of the next 16 years, FromSoftware released a barrage of Armored Core titles with the first to follow the original being released a mere 5 months later, that being a prequel called Armored Core: Project Phantasma. This was followed in early 1999 by Armored Core: Master of Arena, a sequel to Project Phantasma and takes place concurrently with the original. Merely 1 year later, they released Armored Core 2 for the PlayStation 2 and, besides a major graphical upgrade, the gameplay remained very similar to previous entries. In 2001, Armored Core 2: Another Age was released and was notable, at least in the Japanese release, for introducing online multiplayer to the franchise.
Armored Core 3, released in 2002, swept away the continuity of the previous games and served as a story reboot of the franchise. Despite this, the gameplay continued to only see minor tweaks, mostly to do with customisation of the mech itself and the continued development of the multiplayer component such as allowing more players. Over the course of the next three years five Armored Core games were released, Silent Line: Armored Core for the PS2 in 2003 which introduced a first-person mode that could be activated, Armored Core: Nexus for the PS2 in 2004 which added dual-stick support, Armored Core: Nine Breaker for the PS2 in 2004 which focused so heavily on arena mode that it removed the story missions, Armored Core: Formula Front for the PSP in 2004 which served as a launch title for the system and was the first Armored Core game developed specifically for a handheld device and Armored Core: Last Raven for the PS2 in 2005 which reintroduced story missions that served to conclude the narrative established in Armored Core 3.
Armored Core 4 was released in 2006 for the PS3 and the Xbox 360 and served as another story reboot of the franchise. The gameplay largely remained the same although an effort was made to make it a more fast-paced experience. As well, this title is also notable for being the directorial debut of Hidetaka Miyazaki, the man who would direct Demon’s Souls and transform the future of the company. Armored Core: For Answer was released in 2008 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and was once again directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. For Answer modified the customisation of the mechs from its predecessor alongside a smattering of other new gameplay mechanics. Armored Core V was released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012 and returned the gameplay to the more methodical style of the earlier games while introducing a few new abilities. The final Armored Core game that was released before the writing of this article was Armored Core: Verdict Day in 2013 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and introduced a faction based persistent online world.
Many of the criticisms of the franchise are legitimate with many entries not introducing enough new gameplay elements, causing many of the games to feel too similar, and the controls were often awkward and clunky but it proved unique within the field of games and is known for its loyal fanbase. Taking all this into account, it’ll be fascinating to see what changes FromSoftware makes for Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, the first Armored Core game in a decade! Let me know your thoughts on the history of the Armored Core video games, if you have played any of them and, if so, what you thought about them, how you think Armored Core VI will compare to prior games, whether you knew that Hidetaka Miyazaki’s directorial debut was on Armored Core and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.