Back in 1997, the PlayStation was very much in its stride, offering up a whole world of games all built around 3D graphics. It was also a very inclusive platform that changed games forever. However, one of its formative games, Armored Core, has often been overlooked – at least until very recently.
In fact, it wasn't until 2023, with the release of Armored Core VI – some 26 years after the release of the first Armoured Core – that the series was even taken seriously by gamers the world over.
With that in mind, here's a breakdown of every major console release in the Armored Core series from someone who has played and finished every one (most of them in Japanese) since the 1997 original.
Armored Core (PS1)
Armored Core was the first game in the series was released on the original PlayStation. It featured mecha designs by veteran designer Shoji Kawamori, who is best known for his work on Macross. The game had you pilot a mecha called an armored core, or AC for short, that was built from various parts. The gameplay is split across third-person action and backend mecha customisation to tackle each new mission.
The functionality of how you targeted enemies was also unique, as you had a lock-on window that you had to get your enemies into before your weapons would track them. You also had manually fired weapons, such as rockets, that were used more on stationary targets.
This was also the era before dual-analogue controls, so looking up and down was handled by the shoulder buttons. For many outside of Japan, this was a big ask, but with a little bit of practice, you could become a Raven, the game's name for the mercenary organisation you were a part of, in no time.
Sadly, Sony didn't really support the game outside of Japan, and in places like the UK, only the first game of the subsequent PlayStation trilogy was ever released.
Armored Core: Project Phantasma (PS1)
Project Phantasma was a direct follow-on game from the first and dealt with the Wednesday Corporation building something called, you guessed it, Project Phantasma. The story campaign was subsequently a lot shorter and harder, with the latter being down to the carryover of save data from the first game.
The other big addition was an all-new arena mode, as the previous game had only included a ranking menu. These introduced new arenas for the series as well, which tied into the burgeoning multiplayer scene that was building up in Japan.
For the Japanese version, the game also featured famous Japanese voice actors, and more emphasis was put on the story. The final showdown against the monster that was Phantasma was suitably disco-fuelled, as one of its many attacks was something out of 70s disco.
Again, in places like the UK, the game never saw a proper release, but the US did get the game, which is at least something.
Armored Core: Master of Arena (PS1)
As the name implies, the arena mode and multiplayer in general had become a big focus of the series in Japan by this point. The result was a completely overhauled engine and updated balancing, focusing more on multiplayer matches for Master of Arena.
The game came across two discs, with multiple new arenas and the ability to create your own AI-controlled AC. The story was also fleshed out again and returned to the original villain from the end of the first game, Nineball.
The final fight against Nineball Seraph, a much larger and transformable version of Nineball, is still one of the highlights from the PlayStation era of these games.
Again, this never saw a UK release, but did get a US one, and was more well-known on account of its impressive multiplayer setup. The two-disc release also meant linking up PlayStations for more dedicated multiplayer matches was more openly supported, compared to the regular splitscreen mode.
Armored Core 2 (PS2)
Armored Core 2 was one of the launch window games for the new PlayStation 2 and was one of the only times the Armored Core series saw any real promotion outside of Japan. The story this time was set on Mars, a century or so after the original trilogy.
More emphasis was put on the story this time around, and it also had some great music by Mijk van Dijk. Naturally, Shoji Kawamori returned to design the mecha, and this time his designs could be rendered in a lot more detail, something he praised the game for around that time.
The game itself was a lot slower compared to the PlayStation games, but it also added new classes of parts, such as inside parts and extensions. You also had cores with an Over Boost function, which could propel your AC forward at great speeds.
However, all these new features and functional additions came at the cost of performance, and the game had serious performance issues. Large missile volleys in particular would slow the framerate down to a crawl. It was also quite unbalanced in multiplayer, on account of the insanely overpowered Karasawa Mk2 laser rifle, which not only did huge damage but would stun opponents in place.
Armored Core 2: Another Age (PS2)
Another Age was a direct continuation of the story from the end of Armored Core 2, and returned the player to Earth. It was also entirely mission-focused, with over a hundred playable missions.
Greater attention was given to multiplayer balancing this time around, although the Karasawa Mk2 was still a menace. It was also the first game in the series to support online multiplayer, via USB modem, although this was only included in the Japanese release.
The new Lost Field endgame bosses also paid tribute to the PlayStation trilogy of games, with enemies such as Phantasma and Nineball Seraph making a welcome return. You even fought the regular Nineball.
Another Age was an interesting entry to the series, not least due to its huge mission count, and it definitely has its dedicated fans both in Japan and abroad.
Armored Core 3 (PS2)
This was very much a return to form and more in line with the original, faster-paced PlayStation trilogy. Given an all-new setting, not to mention a new engine and major graphical overhaul, Armored Core 3 played very nicely and balanced out things like the Karasawa to be more sensible.
The emphasis was also much more on machine guns and rifles this time around, which made the combat feel more visceral. In addition, we also had things like the quad-legs given their own walk animation (previously they just glided around the place) and the new Exceed Orbit cores.
These had inbuilt units that would pop out and add extra firepower, either solid or energy (with the latter replenishing once re-docked). The arena and multiplayer also saw a big expansion, with the latter now supporting up to four players.
The story and general presentation were also very well done, with the ending having elements referenced from the first Armored Core, which was a nice touch.
Armored Core 3: Silent Line (PS2)
Pretty much the zenith of the PlayStation 2 era of games, Silent Line was a much more balanced and polished game, with a sizable story and missions, as well as trainable AI.
The story dealt with events after Armored Core 3 and a mysterious location on the surface of the planet that was impossible to reach. It turns out that there was a lot more ancient technology hidden underground.
The missions were a lot more varied and innovative in Silent Line, with all sorts of unique restrictions on how to successfully complete each one. The arena mode was also similarly great.
In general, it was probably the best of all the PlayStation 2 games in the series. The music was also fantastic, and is arguably one of Kota Hoshino's best game scores to date.
It was also a slightly more technical game, what with the now massive roster of available parts. Not to mention that it just played really well, and improved upon most of the prior games in lots of subtle as well as major ways.
Armored Core Nexus (PS2)
This was technically still within the third generation of games, but Nexus had a very major engine and backend overhaul. Most of the same parts were still present, but they behaved in various hidden ways.
The most obvious changes were weapon recoil effects and a greater emphasis on heat. In that, your boosters would generate heat, and so you had to manage that with your build and playstyle accordingly.
You could also tune parts, and this helped in managing your heat distribution. Some missions were also set in total darkness, requiring you to equip new head parts that included night vision.
This was also the first game in the series to feature dual analogue controls, and it also featured an extra disc with remade missions from earlier games in the series.
The music was again fantastic and gave the whole game a very haunting feel.
Armored Core: Ninebreaker (PS2)
This was an odd game, effectively one long training mission with a new Nineball boss at the end; Ninebreaker understandably came under a lot of fire from fans at the time.
However, having played through all of the training missions and beating the boss, it did make you a better player and helped you to understand all the subtle changes in handling and balancing that had been made from the third-generation games.
It's still a decent game, but not for everyone, and it divides long-term Armored Core players to this day. It also focused on balancing out the multiplayer after Nexus, which made for smoother and more varied versus mode.
Armored Core: Formula Front (PSP)
Formula Front was actually three games, but I'll get to that. The first release was on the PlayStation Portable and had you create ACs with a specific AI set of commands and then had you battle other AI-controlled ACs in a brightly colored Formula One-esque league. The important thing here is that you didn't control the ACs directly, much like the classic PlayStation game Carnage Heart.
In Japan, all of this was tied into an online mode where you could upload your ACs and battle against other players. This is where the PlayStation 2 version came in as well, but this also afforded manual control, like the other games in the series.
It was this manual control that was later added back into Formula Front International, where the looking up and down controls were handled automatically.
These were definitely an interesting departure for the Armored Core series, as the more vibrant colouring and livery definitely helped to visually liven up the series.
Armored Core: Last Raven (PS2)
Last Raven was the last of the PlayStation 2 games and the final entry of the mid-generational shift brought on by Nexus. It was also a very difficult game, with one of the first missions killing off most experienced players instantly.
The story was also a bit different, as it had more branches this time around, as the whole thing was set over the course of 24 hours.
It was arguably one of the most balanced PlayStation 2 games for multiplayer, but the customization was now very complex with all the various recoil, heat, and other nuanced mechanics overlapping in a very involved way.
This was also the last of the "classical" Armored Core games, as after this, each generation went in wildly different functional directions.
Famously, this was one of the first games Hidetaka Miyazaki worked on at FromSoftware as planner (the Japanese equivalent of a game designer).
Armored Core 4 (PS3)
Initially released on the PlayStation 3 and then the Xbox 360, Armored Core 4 was unlike any of the previous Armored Core games.
Firstly, the familiar lock-on window was gone, and the game speed had been ramped up to insane levels. With twitchy Quick Boosting being a new mechanic, the ACs themselves were now protected via spherical energy shields called Primal Armor and were generally just way more powerful than their earlier counterparts.
Originally called Project Force, with the trailer showing grunt ACs from Last Raven getting obliterated by the new mecha, it later became Armored Core 4. The game also had a darker tone, both visually and in terms of the story, but the main difference was just the massive increase in speed.
This game was the first in the series not to feature any mecha designs by Shoji Kawamori, which was obviously met with some disappointment by fans at the time. The best description I can give is that the older Armored Core games were closer to Fang of the Sun Dougram, whereas the fourth generation was all about Blue Comet SPT Layzner.
This was also the first game in the Armored Core series to be directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, before his later work on the first Demon's Souls in 2009.
Armored Core: For Answer (PS3)
For Answer was somehow even faster-paced than Armored Core 4, with actual rocket boosters being attached to your AC, called Vanguard Overed Boosters. The main focus of the game's large mission count was to take out massive mobile fortresses called Arms Forts.
This game also saw the return of Shoji Kawamori designing the AC known as White Glint, but the Arms Forts also had other guest designers, such as Makoto Kobayashi and Kazutaka Miyatake.
The Arms Forts were all very varied in how you took them down, and they were fantastically huge to boot. Some of the later missions were genuinely difficult, and some were really dark, as you end up wiping out most of humanity.
Like Armored Core 4, the response to this in Japan was mixed, and the high-speed nature of its gameplay wasn't generally appreciated. That said, For Answer definitely found an avid fanbase internationally, although I am not one of those.
Naturally, as a response to all this high-speed action, the Armored Core games took a very different direction for the next two games.
Armored Core V (PS3)
Set a long time after the events of the game from the fourth generation, Armored Core V took a grittier and more military approach to mecha combat. The ACs were also much smaller, taking their function reference from mecha anime such as Armored Trooper VOTOMS.
You also had a new scan mode to find targets in the area and then switch back into combat mode to take them out. It was definitely a more technical game, but also more in line with what Armored Core used to be about, albeit at a smaller scale.
The mecha designs were also handled by Junichi Akutsu (aka Bee-Craft) this time around, which fitted the game's more industrial and military tone.
The missions were also much more involved and longer, with multiple resupply points as you went. This game also took much longer than any of the other Armored Core games to get made, around four years, mainly because it was a huge reboot in terms of how the games worked, not only in terms of the engine but also functionally.
Armored Core V also had a more involved multiplayer setup, with four players and a commander per side. The latter being able to see the whole map and relay tactical data verbally to your teammates. This had already been tried and tested on Chrome Hounds, which was another great mecha game that lacked any kind of real publisher support.
This was also one of the best-selling games in the series, alongside Armored Core 2. This is notable, as it had almost no PR to speak of outside of Japan.
Armored Core: Verdict Day (Xbox 360)
Verdict Day was a much bigger and more ambitious game, with a larger emphasis on multiplayer. This time, players could take part in an online war, again very much like Chromehounds, with each team aiding their faction to victory.
Some of the Arms Forts from For Answer turned up too, with the Spirit of Motherwill being notable.
The story and missions were also much more expanded upon over the shorter mission count in Armored Core V, although they were shorter in length. Much like Armored Core V, I remember playing the online multiplayer for this a lot and having a huge amount of fun working with friends to either take down huge bosses or crush enemy teams.
Outside of Japan, Verdict Day received practically no PR, and it was just silently released, with only the fans really playing it.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (PS5)
It took ten years for Armored Core to come back, and this time Fires of Rubicon received a proper PR push, great localisation, and a much bigger budget.
In terms of gameplay, it was a blend of the third and fourth generations, with the addition of a fixed lock-on setup from the Another Century's Episode games, another great Japan-only mecha series developed by FromSoftware.
So, it was fast, but not crazy For Answer fast, and tried to take more elements from the older games and remix them together. Set on the planet of Rubicon 3, the story is set around a mysterious substance called Coral, which is also sentient. The gameplay also had a bigger emphasis on stunning enemies and following up with now more ostentatious melee attacks.
The focus was far more on the story this time around, although the arena did make a return, and the game received expanded multiplayer after a few patches. The stunning mechanic didn't really work that well in multiplayer, with the balancing being sadly all over the place.
The mecha designs were great, with Shoji Kawamori returning, along with Kazutaka Miyatake and a guest appearance from Takayuki Yanase, who actually started out at FromSoftware back in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox days.
Considering how long fans of the series had to wait, it was nice to see a new Armored Core game again, although the lock-on and stun setup has had its detractors.
And that brings us up to the present day, and with the 30th anniversary of Armored Core around the corner, it seems that the series should have a bright future ahead of it.
As for omissions in the line-up, I left out the mobile-only games as they are little more than a sidenote, and the PlayStation Portable ports of Armored Core 3, Silent Line, and Last Raven are pretty much unplayable, due to the limited controls.
Apart from that, if you really want a ranking of the games from a veteran player who's been playing these games since 1997, then I've shown that below. To give context to the ordering, the ranking is based on my historical review scores for each game, with a B rank being equal to an 8/10 score.
