My favorite thing to say to people who ask "which one to play?" is "whichever one you think looks the coolest" The answer is frequently FA though lol

I started with armored core 1, and I’m rather surprised it became one of my favorite games of all time. The atmosphere, the music, the gameplay, and so much more are so deeply engrained into my head and I would totally wipe my memory to play it again

What stood out form me in Last Raven and I don't recall it being in other titles (Not as prominently at least) is that both you and your enemies can damage and destroy different parts of your AC, so imagine you have your head part with built-in radar functionality, but the enemy destroys it; you loose that functionality for the rest of the mission and have to buy that head part again.

If asked this same question, I think I would answer "Silent Line, For Answer or Verdict Day. Each represents a generation well." I would say Last Raven, but the difficulty there is off-putting to anyone but a souls fan (who will get that recommendation instead of Silent Line.) Yes, I know Silent Line is pre dual stick controls, but throwing new players into Last Raven would be wrong and Nexus... just doesn't represent that well. Yeah, it's okay, and I'd tell them "If you can't stand Silent Line's controls, Nexus." but ultimately the pinnacle of each generation was Last Raven, For Answer and Verdict Day. Because Gen 1-3.5 were iterations on the same formula. Edit: Honestly, you make a really solid point for starting with AC 1, brutal learning cliff that it is, ancient design and all.

I just recently started with AC1, going through the series in chronological order :) This is the franchise I never knew I needed. It's so much fun

Found this after blowing through last raven to 100% completion in 4 days, and just wanted to say your script here is really good. I wasn't expecting much of the robo voice but the writing is excellent. Subbed!

Armored Core, Project Phantasma and Master of Arena music is so good ❤️

RIP AC newcomers when they have to get to grips with gen 1 control schemes Jokes aside, I really like the fact that the AC franchise is getting so many new fans. Hopefully that’ll cause fromsoft to make more AC games. (Just imagine fromsoft releasing modernized versions of gen 1-3 or a modernized formula front on console🙏🏾)

I started with Nexus 😬Then 4A became my favorite, now I'm not sure whether AC1, 3 or LR is my favorite. I can't wait to see where 6 fits in with the rest

I won't lie, Last Raven was my first entry into the series as a whole and man was it a gut puncher of shenanigans yet shear awesomeness

Honestly dude don't feel bad, silent line was my favorite as well. You are right I do believe that if new players want to give the older ones a try, number one definitely has to be on that list. It's where it all started it was ahead of its time.

You can tell I'm new to this channel when it's so jarring to hear the TTS used by Zentreya arguing back with your voice explaining everything. But this is really well put-together, thanks for this!

My general recommendations AC3-SL-LR, AC4-ACfA, ACV-ACVD these games should give you a macro look at AC in general, and then play AC1-MoA, AC2-ACAA, AC:FF-ACNB and Nexus and see what they were doing with a magnifying glass PS there has been no AC game thats a semi direct reference to MoA in a narrative sense where your missions will depend on how far you progressed in the arena and how your arena content is blocked by the schenanigans happening in the story. And I firmly believe that Nexus was first and foremost remaking the OG trilogy missions in 3rd gen engine hence why the heat mechanics are so off balance when it comes to playing Nexus like a 3rd gen title as it forces you to pace 3rd gen back into gen 1 which is an idea fulfilled by overheating yourself through boosting

While I absolutely love For Answer and find it better than 4 in almost every aspect, Joshua’s fight to me is much more memorable than any of FA’s final bosses. The 5v1 at the end of the genocide route is definitely notorious though.

I'm new to the series, started with 3, played it a bit and reaaally liked it. Midway through the campaign I started Last Raven (adhd moment) and have done 3 endings already. REALLY liking this one, and didn't find it as hard as people make it to be. This video was super useful because of the "play 4 before For Answer" thing, cause I was definetely going to play For Answer and leave 4 alone lol So I'll at least try 4, so as to get used to the faster controls (should be fine since I only played lightweight meele-only on 3 and LR) Nice video

Fuck yeah, HAvent finished the video, but recommending to start at the very beginning is a MUST, specially for the newcomers. You have to understand where we come from, where it all started, in all of its clunky unforgiving glory; and give thanks that you can upscale the resolutions and the loading times, while present, are much MUCH SHORTER than in the actual hardware. If you don't play at least 15 minute of the original AC title, you won't be able to appreciate where we are TODAY.

AC1 will probably be the most accessible Raven Era game in terms of actually buying the blasted thing, if you happen to have a PS3. You can get it digitally for $10. The prices for the other games are absolutely exploding right now, and functioning PS2s aren't exactly growing out of the ground. If you're lucky enough to have a collection of these games, PLEASE do your best to keep them.

Gameplay and music caught my eye and gonna try the newest entry and would love to play the ps2 ones like nexus and silent line

I am very much enjoying my time with Armored Core as I play through the games for the first time in prep for Armored Core 6, and was kinda blown away by the first one out of the gate. No tutorial, no hand-holding. Just fight or die. I only found one secret part (the generator on the skyscraper) and went and grabbed the moonlight after first completion. 9-ball is a bastard. I think AC1 and MoA are fantastic. Phantasma is a bit too short but holy hell do the last 10 opponents in the arena kick my ass. Currently on AC3, and boy is it good.

See you on Rubicon, Ravens!

Thumbnail has AC1, 3, and 4 Video recommends AC1, 3, and 4 Thx for no clickbait👍

Thank you for this video. It really helped me to decide which AC to play first

I'd just like to say, Armored Core: The Last Raven was my first AC game as a kid, and I sucked at it. At my very best, I could _barely_ defeat the simulator AC, so I was always softlocked whenever I got to a point in the game where the only available missions had me fighting another AC. And you know what? I _loved_ it. Not the getting stuck part, but I loved the game, atmosphere, the design of the ACs and the freedom of building your own (seriously I spent HOURS building many different ACs just for fun) the music was pretty good and I have a positive opinion of the franchise even though I never beat it and didn't play another game in the series. (Unless you count some dabbling with AC 4 which I couldn't get the hang of at the time) That is, until AC 6. When it was announced, I was casually intrigued. When it finally released, and people were speaking positively about it, I thought to myself "Maybe it's time to get back in the saddle." And bought it, and I'm glad I did. It's been a blast through and through, and now that I'm much older I'm able to actually progress and beat the game (though I'm pretty sure 6 is easier than last Raven but I digress) I'm glad I started with LR because even though I wasn't good at it, it gave me an appreciation for the Mech genre (that and Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf) and I was able to appreciate the name "Raven" being my callsign.

My suggestion for anyone to start playing any of the games is to start at the beginning of any of the generations such as 1, 2, 3, 4, and V before 6 comes out. Because it's hard to play any of the extension such as another age, silent line, project phantasm, for answer and verdict day . Play the game without the title and just the number since the extensions is best played after you beat the numbered games to have the extensions easy by importing the previous games's saves into the extension. And yes you can transfer saves to the next game and it will help you play the other games. Nexus has graphical overhaul so neat that game first, transfer it's data to ninebreak and then last raven. Formula Front is a stand alone game so you can play that any time you want

What a legend ! Awesome video, see you on Rubicon fellow Raven !

fantastic video, i agree with just about everything you said here. i personally always recommend ac3 as the ideal entry point. last raven is easily my favorite but you are correct that it is NOT the place to start, lol.

There is a good reason to convince new players to complete AC3 before entering ACSL: Human+ must inherit from AC3's save

This was a good analysis and advisement video for newcomers. A.B.I.I. should be very proud of the product you produced! ^

Thank you for the solid overview and your optimistic outlook on the new wave of AC players coming with Rubicon. Hopefully I can beat Gen 4 by the time I get my hands on Rubicon.

I god damn Love AC4. It may actually be one of my favorite entries entirely because of the narrative of Anatolia's fall, and how it leads into 4A. It also just straight up has the best OST across the franchise. I miss you, Joshua.

Funny you would mention Master of Arena difficulty lol, that was my first besides the demo disc for the original. The two fights that stood out to me was the human plus guy and the final fight against Epyon/Zeta/Wing Gundam. Had to spam the “Large Missile” on him

Great video for newcommers!!

I´m commenting very late on this video, but if you decide to try an AC before 6, then my rundown of AC as a whole is: BEGINNER ENTRIES: 4th Gen, AC4 and F.A - The 1st reinvention of the wheel, the most accesible, fastest and most flashy games of the series, excellent storyline although with some rough edges, and an incredible customization in For Answer. 3rd Gen, AC3 and S.L - Only putting the beginning games of the 3rd gen saga, mostly because they have an incredible atmosphere that was eventually lost in consequent entries, but also they reinvented some concepts story wise from the 1st gen in a genious way, and they´re the last games to have the old tanky controls, but still more polished than gens 1 and 2. IF the mentioned games somehow didn´t capture you the way you were hoping for, then wait for AC6, since this generation is going to be a much more impactful generational jump than the 4th and 5th gens, since not only it reawakened the AC series from lethargy, but also once again, totally reinvented the wheel in terms of gameplay and visuals while remaining faithful to the original formulas of beloved gens like 3th, 4th, with some elements of 5th, and for the icing on the cake, the storyline will likely have the potential to reach the heights of LR and FA but better since modern FromSoft excells at storytelling and lore. EXPERIENCED PLAYER ENTRIES: 3rd Gen, Nexus and L.R - The hardest AC games IMO, not only for the colossal expansion in the customization front, but also for the new mechanics like heat management, a harder debt system but not like the insanity of 1st gen, unfair AI at times, and unpredictability of some battle outcomes in general, however all of this pain is worth it (again IMO) since it gives the classic generations of Armored Core a closure, specially Last Raven with the sense of finality of being literally, the LAST of all the Ravens. 5th Gen, AC5 and V.D - One hell of an underrated generational jump, the second reinvention of the wheel, which unfortunatley was not well received mostly back in it´s hayday, however, is has mostly to do with the shifting focus from single player to multiplayer, making the campaign of AC5 quite lackluster as a result (at least in the west) but the true shock comes from the realistic war concepts that were incorporated into the games´s overall feel, gameplay, design of the mechs and generally, the ideas of the japanese of how the west imagines mechs as actual replacements for IRL war machines like tanks, bombardiers, etc. (speculations say Chromehounds influenced the shit out of the 5th gen, but probably it was all of the shooter war themed games at the time), to finish this, 5th gen is worth a try for Verdict Day alone, specially for customization and the very ending of the game. 1st and 2nd gens, AC1, P.P, MoA/AC2, A.A - Where it all started, the now recognized cult classic 1st generation, not only for this specific IP, but also for being the best contributor to the mecha genre in videogames, one of many treasures the PS1 era of gaming, and the genesis of FromSoftware alongside King´s Field. The passing of time didn´t help these poor gems, as they´re the most unpolished iterations of the tanky controls, and the very first control schemes for the Armored Cores, but having said that, if you´re willing to put off a fight against the controls, then you´ll be surprised at how much depth these little mecha games had for the time they were released, in a console full of hardware limitations, and nailing the fantasy of being a mercenary for hire by ruthless corporations for gaining a profit doing the dirty work for them, introducing the magnificent concept of the arena, and having one of Mecha´s most iconic villains, Nineball Seraph/Hustler One. EXPERIMENTAL ENTRIES: From different generations, F.F, N.B and the mobile games - Games with interesting proposals for gameplay regarding stuff like the arena combat, weird management of some parts of your AC, and the novelty of them, although, the existance for these titles is sort of a mystery, since they served no purpose for the main sagas, and stood out like a sore thumb, specially Nine Breaker since it didn´t bother incorporating a campaign lol.

Gonna start with AC 1 I think, god help me trying to master the controls and stay sane. Ps, that outro song is a banger, if that's from the AC series then that's a good sign

It's kinda funny that as a newbie to AC, I also would consider MoA to be my favorite of the PS1 and 3/SL to be my favorite PS2 entry. I still haven't gotten to the PS3 entries but I'm eagerly anticipating them. I also want to thank you for not immediately writing off the PS1/2 games for being "clunky and dated" and recognizing them as still having gameplay merits. I don't think it's fair for people to ignore some legit great games on the virtue that they aren't intuitive or look dated because underneath the roughness, you can see how the franchise evolves, what the devs wanted to experiment with, and how they ultimately shaped the direction of newer entries. With AC6 coming out soon, I'm reminded of another franchise with the initials "AC": Ace Combat. While I started with 7, I loved it so much that I went back and played every past game starting from 1. From there, I discovered my favorite entry in the series (Zero) and I gained a greater appreciation for the older games and what they did do better than 7 as well as how those older games influenced 7 to make it the game it turned out to be. All in all, it's still worth it to play the old games because they still offer something to the player despite newer entries seeming more appealing due to modern controls/settings and graphics.

I started with master of arena and it was great

btw, fun fact, my first ac game was Last Raven. It changes how you experience gen 3 a lot XD

I'd say AC3, 4A, Silent line and Last raven

good video, now im the suscriptor n°1000

Start with armored core 6. If you love it go back

damn, im glad i started with armored core 3 on psp then. what i found funny the most is that if you get op-intensify in 3 and then transfer your save over to SL, your op-intensify is fully upgraded. i mainly play Armored core for the upcomming 6, which is why i kinda abused that.

Where to start? Yes.

I clicked because of 2 things, AC In the title & I heard Zen in the beginning

I started with nexus, just because of the controls, enjoyed it and was surprised that some didn't, then arena in nine breaker and finally last raven, where I was met with an interesting problem, camera movement somehow become much more stiff, borderline unplayable, especially when fcs locks onto something it's really hard to get it unstuck and giving the fact that all the ac encounters in this game love to jump and change directions all the time itg became even more of a problem

Still remember the demo disc with Armored Core and Red Alert. Yet the first full version of Armored Core i played was AC2 and i loved it, then got AC:Nexus and loved that too. That was the end if my AC journey since nowhere was any AC title sold in my country. PS3 online store with it's only PSP version of The Last Raven could eat a dick (No PSP, no fun) It wasn't until earlier this year i got my hands on a good psx emulator and played all of AC1, Project Phantasm and Master of Arena. All i can say is this: If after a week of not playing AC, you jump into a arena fight (no map with celling) and can in 2 seconds remember how to (L)ift and Lowe(R) your targeting cube AND keep it on target while said target is offscreen? Congrats, you're a Raven now

Mannn I missed Apple Boy. Also Silent Line is everyone favourite game!

"A Next? Next time, get some B*tch*s!" - MT and Normal Gang.

As a complete noob, 4 was fantastic. Short missions kind of easy but a real blast and very easy to emulate. For Answer is almost as difficult as hardmode in 4 it feels like. And it has some graphical glitches when emulated, they can be fixed but at a performance cost. Highly recommend starting with 4.

I’ve been oggling ACFA since 2017. Ironically my favorite part of darksouls 3’s aesthetic is the lifeless wide deserts and something about filling lifeless deserts with lifeless machines is kind of my favorite. Odd preferences I know but setpieces and characters are the best part of games for me, I am a sucker for story but ACFA setting is carried by the setpieces

hehe, i literally got into this because of the music (i think from AC4) literally a week ago (i presume because of 6 geting viral) and now i found out that the game absolutly rocks. It somehow reminds me of metal gear on the design of the mechs and stuff. Welp, wish me luck while i download AC1

Silent Line is not just your favorite game, to most 3rd gen players , SIlent Line was the best game in that generation. Nexus went and fucked up the balance so hard that Ninebreaker was made to essentially correct all of the fuck ups Nexus did.

Im starting with Verdict Day because its the only one i have immediate access to, and i forgot i even had it. Also i have an old save file of AC 5 before i traded the game in years ago. I don't remember what kind of parts and weapons i bought, but I'm pretty sure i had quite a lot.

been playing through the series chronologically, I'm currently almost done with AC3. I've avoided guides and even videos about the games I havent played yet because I want to enjoy the unspoiled freshness of the games, and so far that's making it really fun :) also side note, are Formula Front and Nine Breaker worth playing? People seem to exclude/hate on them for some reason? idk if I should include them (especially considering I probably won't be able to beat all the games before AC6 comes out)

I'm very new, but I was wondering if ACIII would be on the list. I loved playing AC1 for a while, but the very low framerate and stuttery strafing made it a bit of a chore, personally. Visually I liked it but it runs at something like 24fps most of the time and that made it that much worse to get used to the controls. Sucks because the story was just getting interesting. So I figured I'd jump to the PS2 and I realized that AC3 is basically a reboot that lasted all the way until the end of oldgen, and, yeah. It's fun. As a new player, on hard mode at least, I think there's still some significant pressure on your cash in AC3. I won't end up in debt but it's hard enough to keep my AC up with the missions getting tossed at me. Maybe I just suck. I actually think Arena Mode fixes an issue with the first game: There was a clear way to play efficiently. Fast AF to avoid damage, energy weapons. Get that cash. With Arena Mode as a secondary way of making (less) money focused around 1v1 duels, it encourages me to actually try different strategies.

I glad i did Play Armored Core 4 and For answer. Those 2 are my First Armored Core Games. I did play them while i have my ps3 long time ago but It Gone or Broken. So Yeah. I also play Armored Core On PS Vita. They were Fun Except the one that Ultimate zinaida Killed me too many times!

Knowing Zentrya is an AC fan made me think she was talking lol. Fuck i cant wait for AC6 Id say the best starter is ether Gen 4 or Gen 3. Gen 2 is my baby, but Gen 3 improves on many aspects

Play them all in release order, skip Ninebreaker, enjoy your new addiction

I started with 4, assuming it was a good entry point pretty much for the reasons outlined here. And yeah, I would certainly suggest coming to grips with what the series expects, as it tells you LITERALLY nothing after the tutorial is over. And I had a great time. But I kept seeing people play AC1, many in a quest to play the whole series before VI. Josh Strife Hayes, Vaati, Writing on Games, and I just felt the itch, I had to try it. And... my god... Start with 1. Seriously. I know the controls are wonky as fuck, just rebind where you need to and give it a genuine try. Even 26 years later, there is something genuinely magical about this title if you can meet it on its terms.

It's a shame that none of the older entries are on the newer xbox's

Last Raven is the only PS2game where you can’t beat using cheat codes, as the game is intentionally made to freeze up when using certain cheat codes, whether it’s from Game Shark or Replay MAX.

I want you to become a Chad Corporation CEO

If you were born in the 2010s you’ll probably feel most comfortable with 4th gen

I know it's popular, but I don't think gen 4 is a good place to start considering just how different it is from the rest of the series.

Coming here after playing AC6, it’s goated. Now. Do I still need to play 4 before trying 4A? Or is my AC6 experience enough to get me going? (I’m not doing the older games you can take my thumbsticks from my cold dead hands).

I've started with 3. Didn't like 2 much except the music. 3 is 2 but everything better.

Start with AC2. AC2 and Another age were by far my favorites. If you go to the PS1 titles you have to take into account that those games were pre-dual shock controllers and the controls were pretty hard to get into. Also, the controls of the first generation do not transfer to any other generation.

All i do is to wait for my copy of 4a to arrive I still have my ps3 so that was a no brainer Should arrive in a week

Very based recommending playing 4 before FA

i only wanted to start with the ps2 titles so i started with Last Raven, big mistake. it was mostly because i didnt want to use the weird controls that the games before nexus had. i could've played nexus but apparently it pretty bad, same thing for ninebreaker, and formula front is japanese only(also very different)

Jajaja, tenía descargado el 1 de PS1 para comenzar la saga y anunciaron el 6 a la semana Me pasé el AC 1, PP, MoA y el 2. Quería comenzar el AA con la partida del 2 pero me dice que no hay datos de AC2 😐

Wait, AC4 had hard mode? I hope one day AC6 have hard mode too.

What control set up should i use for ac3?

Okay so armored core 6. Thanks . Perfect entry. These old games look so blah.

just start with ac6, it's this simple

lmao i thought the video said how to get into an armored core 🤣

AC4 and 4A are the worst armored core games. This is coming from someone who played and S ranked almost all the games. I was also very good at online muliplayer and have to say that AC4 and 4A are more appealing to people who like FPS games, not Armored Core games. Armored core was about your AC build and strategy of the build and how/when to use your weapons. 4 and 4A didn't need much strategy as long as you had the better twitch reflexes. I was highly competitive with the starter weapons because I tended to be better at reflexes. I loved AC4A, but it wasn't true "Armored Core". It was just a fun mech game. ACV was disliked by so many, but it was definitely true to armored core in that strategy of your builds was important again. So the AC4A fans usually hate ACV because they wanted more twitch-based shooter/speed and less strategy but thats what Armored Core always was. ACV was flawed, but it was going back in the right direction. It also had the best level design of all the AC games. They were detailed, had many obstacles for cover, much better voice acting, much longer missions and the most satisfying garage menu in AC since you could choose your garage background and animate your AC. And much more. I would say that AC3 is the best to start, then go to ACV, then go to AC4 if you want to play Armored Core: Supersayain 😂

If you want to play AC6 straight up then I recommend the following warmup: start with Daemon X Machina to have a basic idea on AC customization . . . then move to Zone of the Enders to practice your hard lock mechanics and dodging . . . then move to the Armored Core 4A. Edit: If you want to the dark souls experience in Armored Core ignore all I said and play Armored Core Last Raven as your first game.

in future please don't use this tts voice, it's so overused it's very offputting and cheap feeling

I really really don’t like text to speech voice over videos.