Best Armored Core game for a newbie or in general

[klaynexas3]

So, I know there are about 15 of these games, and not one of them I have gotten around to playing. Recently I have interest in it simply because I have never really played that many Mech games but for some reason want some of it in my life. I wasn't sure where to start but then thought "From made a good amount of Mech games. I like From, and even if it's a different team, they've made a shit ton, so obviously they're doing something right." It is, however, a little overwhelming at first to try to jump into a series that has so many games. So I ask you Escapist, which ones are the best, and which ones are the best to start with?

I ask for both, because I imagine one that's easier at sucking a new timer in doesn't necessarily mean it's the best that the series has to offer, so it would be cool to know about for later down the line if I do get heavily invested in. I also ask which are the best versions of the specific games, as I own any console that could play that specific version.

I also have two side questions, one is should I skip any entirely?

The next one is is the first game worth playing? I like seeing how a series starts, even if it isn't the best it has to offer, it's just interesting seeing where it started to where it has become, but of course if it just doesn't play well I also don't want to waste my time or money.

 

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

I would say each sub series (every number starts a few games of its own universe, sometimes connected to a previous number but not majorly) has its own good, bad and quirks, and without knowing what you like its difficult to make a judgement.

That said, the most newbie friendly one is the 4 sub series, 4 and For Answer, they are fast and control like a shooter, unlike the rest of the series where you have a targeting window that limits weapon lock on this window is invisible and basically the whole screen. This makes the skill in the game more about using your boost and flying effectively since the ease of aiming makes it feel more like a bullet hell rather than a shooter.

The next easiest one is Armored Core 5, it uses smaller mechs and is more about urban warfare, so its the most like a first person shooter but you still have mech quirks and have to master a kind of mech parkor to move around well, also weapons more than other games really have a mastery to them, each weapon has a damage type, each piece of armor had a specialized defense, so there is alot of min maxing and tweaking to do so i would say its more indepth than any other, but due to control's second easiest.

Then id say take your pick, as Id say all of them hold up today, Armored Core 1 and its sub series are the easiest after that due to not dealing with radiators and having simple part set up, And armored core 2 builds off that. They both have the Human Plus option, where you get bonus abilities and new game plus by failing and getting in to dept, your progress is restarted but you get to keep all your parts and get new abilities, which is what i recommend as in Armored core 1-3 your mech has to kneel in place to use any sort of shoulder cannon, and one of the bonuses is to be able to move and shoot shoulder cannons.

Armored Core 3 is basically the final iteration of the normal Armored Cores, before 4 and 5 really changed them around. So the game is the most refined but also the hardest as the Human Plus is gone and replaced with OP Intensify, which is basically turns the human plus super abilities into truly end game items. because you need to beat the game once to get it then find and complete challenges to unlock its functions. Which means that if you want to use shoulder cannons you need to learn how to turret.

Also one more thing to mention. You cannot use analog sticks before Last Raven, maybe Nexus but definitely Last Raven. You use the Dpad plus shoulder buttons to move around. Its actually feels pretty good once you get used to it, and for immersions sake feels like you are controlling a mech not just telling a character to do crap on the screen. But it is something to learn and all of the 1-3 games have fully rebindable controls so you can play around.

So I guess I would say they are all ok, the only one you should avoid is Ninebreaker, because its basically an arena pack with a bunch of generic missions and no story. Infact any unique parts you can find appear in Last Raven so you can skip it.

About that. Consider each sub set of games as playing them in order means you can get parts that you can trade up and for, only in 1 and 2 can you be human plused, not in their sequels. Here ill make a chart

Playstation
Armored Core
Armored Core Project Phantasma
Armored Core Master of Arena

Playstation 2
Armored Core 2
Armored Core 2 Another Age

Armored Core 3
Silent Line Armored Core

(While canonically part of the same subseries, engine changes prevent part transfer)
Armored Core Nexus
Armored Core Ninebreaker
Armored Core Last Raven

Playstion 3, Xbox 360
Armored Core 4

(Due to different publishers outside of Japan, going from Sega to Ubisoft, parts cannot transfer)
Armored Core For Answer

Armored Core V
Armored Core Verdict Day

Every game not separated by an empty line lets you move your parts up and every new number is a new "series"

That is what i know and what advice i can give sorry if it seems erratic and i repeat myself but i wanted to get the info out there to help out someone because this series deserves more fans.

If i dont make sense quote me and i can clarify

 

[Xeorm]

From what I remember the games don't really follow one another. Instead, the storylines in each one are very self-contained, and you can even start in the offshoots of each section.

Personally, I found 3 to be the easiest to start with. Feels like a mech game with an interesting control scheme that makes it feel more like you're piloting a mech compared to a normal shooter. Main reason I had an easy time with 3 is the arena was a good source of easy money that allowed for plentiful access to some choice parts.

1 might be easier, but I think the very old graphics might be a little off-putting, but that's me. Great series though, for sure. I loved the uniqueness of the games, and would have loved to play some more. Wasn't a huge fan of 4 due to the major changes it made, but maybe others have different feelings on that.

Do note if you get one of the 4 legged variants you can use shoulder mounts while moving. No need for the easy mode options.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

4 or 5 are good places to start. 4 cause it's lots of fast paced fun (Without being too overblown in its speed like For Answer) and 5 cause I find that one to have the best combat, balance of skill, and gameplay. I'd start with those personally if you want to get into the series. Of course, that's more of the newer style of AC. Anything before 4 had some major differences before the series was updated. 3 is a good spot to start with those games in mind, but I personally prefer the faster paced gameplay. Being able to boost dash is probably my most favourite addition

 

[Rebel_Raven]

The first Armored core is getting a release on PSN, if it in't out aready. It might be a cheap, nice introductory into the series. Mind you the game is from the late 90's and I've forgotten how wellit holds up, but a lot of the basics are there.

I certainly played the hell out of it.

 

[Slenn]

I really enjoyed 3. You can mix up the button bindings so you can play however you want. And it's got awesome weapons and mech parts to choose from. The missions are fun and challenging with good variety. Silent Line is an excellent expansion to the game, if a bit harder. I always went for floating mechs with energy weapons so I wouldn't have to worry about adding a boost. I would highly recommend starting with 3. It's not exceptionally hard, but it has a decent difficulty curve.

With any of these games I'd say that even with a perfect setup you'd still want to do practice.

Anything earlier than 3 might be hard to control since 2 and below didn't use the right analog stick. You only had the left and the directional pad to turn and move around.

Nexus tends to be more strait forward in its mission briefings but sometimes they can be difficult to execute. You HAVE to watch the mission briefings before going in, because more often than not you'll suffer tremendously if you don't have a particular part (say a night mission and you don't have night vision for your radar/head.)

 

[Aeshi]

Most of what I was going to say has been said, so I'd just like to point out that:

- All AC games past Nexus use a vastly different/better control scheme to the earlier games (1->Silent Line), so starting with the later games and then going back to the earlier ones will be absolutely excruciating compared to doing it the other way around.

- Even the most newbie-friendly games in the series will be brutal, this series does come to use from the people who made Dark Souls after all.