Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

[Late Bloomer]

Has From indicated anywhere what this game will actually be like? I haven't played any of them, but even if I had, it's been 17 years(!) since the last one was released and will be 18+ by the time this comes out, so... I think it's fair to say that the main resemblance will probably be the title and that there are mechs in it.

Steam Page

Dynamic, Fast-Paced Mech Action
Based on the knowledge gained during joint development of their recent titles, Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware seek to deliver a new action game. By combining FromSoftware’s longstanding expertise in mech games and their signature robust gameplay, ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON will be a new action experience.

In ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON, players will assemble and pilot their own mech with 3D maneuverability to move freely through three dimensional fast-paced missions. Take on difficult challenges and overwhelm your enemies with dynamic movements that make full use of ranged and melee combat. Players can enjoy a variety of actions that can only be truly realized with mechs.

Its not much. But a lot of people discussing the game on Steam and YT are thinking its going to be a soulslike

 

[mediocrepoet]

Has From indicated anywhere what this game will actually be like? I haven't played any of them, but even if I had, it's been 17 years(!) since the last one was released and will be 18+ by the time this comes out, so... I think it's fair to say that the main resemblance will probably be the title and that there are mechs in it.

Steam Page

Dynamic, Fast-Paced Mech Action
Based on the knowledge gained during joint development of their recent titles, Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware seek to deliver a new action game. By combining FromSoftware’s longstanding expertise in mech games and their signature robust gameplay, ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON will be a new action experience.

In ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON, players will assemble and pilot their own mech with 3D maneuverability to move freely through three dimensional fast-paced missions. Take on difficult challenges and overwhelm your enemies with dynamic movements that make full use of ranged and melee combat. Players can enjoy a variety of actions that can only be truly realized with mechs.

Its not much. But a lot of people discussing the game on Steam and YT are thinking its going to be a soulslike

"thinking it's going to be a souslike"
That's... odd. I mean, this alone "Dynamic, Fast-Paced ... Action" does not say Souls-like to me. I'd expect something closer to Sekiro with Mechs (whatever that looks like) than Souls. But really, that seems more like the impression I've had of AC from the few videos I've seen of it over the years. People circle strafing, shooting all sorts of crap at the enemy in an arena, eventually the other thing blows up, I barely comprehend it because I can't even really tell what they're shooting or whether the other one's getting hit by anything.

I'll wait and see, but either way, I'm glad FS is getting a palette cleanser and making something else that interests them. They've been making more or less the same game for like 14 years (excepting Sekiro).

 

[Matador]

Has From indicated anywhere what this game will actually be like? I haven't played any of them, but even if I had, it's been 17 years(!) since the last one was released and will be 18+ by the time this comes out, so... I think it's fair to say that the main resemblance will probably be the title and that there are mechs in it.

We don´t known, but I very much doubt it will be Armored Souls. I expect classic mission structure, but with more elaborated ones.

I expect the same formula as always but expanded due to higher budget. I think Miyazaki will try to make the ultimate Armored Core game with the resources he has now. You can see he tried that in AC: FA with much less resources, and succeded to a point, the missions there are much more impressive in scale, spectacle and design than older titles. He is a hardcore AC enjoyer first and foremost.

I also think the game will sell a lot, and will be a hit. Medieval fantasy is milked, almost everyone like cool mechas and FROM has enough entity to summon a lot of interest and hype, especially in the current dead gaming industry.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Fun fact: The Director of ACVI, Masaru Yamamura, was the Lead Game Designer of Sekiro.

 

[Matador]

Fun fact: The Director of ACVI, Masaru Yamamura, was the Lead Game Designer of Sekiro.

That's good. Very tight gameplay design in that game.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Has From indicated anywhere what this game will actually be like? I haven't played any of them, but even if I had, it's been 17 years(!) since the last one was released and will be 18+ by the time this comes out, so... I think it's fair to say that the main resemblance will probably be the title and that there are mechs in it.

Keep in mind since as i said i only played the first one but no, this is as removed from Souls as it gets, at least assuming the formula is the same across all of them.

In AC1, you have a big mech with various upgrades you can buy and install and you get to do missions (which if i remember right you can pick and chose so the game doesn't have to play out the same every time) where you are basically dropped into a confined zone and you have to complete various objectives which involve destroying enemy forces or combatants. There's no "roaming" around, no world, and no level design to speak of. The combat is not unfun even with the cancer tank controls but for the most part the main attraction of the game is the customization. You get a lot of options and while eventually you discover some mech parts are just better than others it's still fun to build your machine and see how it performs in combat. Ho, and then later on they added an arena where you get to fight other AI driven mechs which i guess got turned into PvP later on when they added multiplayer in the later games.

The game is also surprisingly grounded. While some of the designs of the mechs is a bit animu and you even get a sword as an upgrade option for the most part the aesthetic is relatively realistic. No overtly cartoonish stuff.

All in all i woudln't call it the best game i've ever played but i liked it enough to finish both it and the expansion and i even did the arena. I then took a big pause before jumpin on the PS2 version but i got side tracked by other shit in the interim than completely forgot about it.

 

[Lyric Suite]

BTW, now that i'm remembering i'd argue the way the story is told in AC1 is actually typical of FromSoftware. In the setting, the earth has been ravaged by conflict or something like that and people now live underground and human civilization is basically ruled by two giant corporations fighting with each other. You are basically a mech for hire, and you can do missions for one or the other as you see fit. There's a bit of non-linearity as depending on which side you favored the most you get different missions at the end but once you are done with the game you can actually complete any alternative mission that was left out by your choices so this really doesn't amount to much, but hey.

So in this context, the only info you get to figure out what's going is in the e-mails you get that brief you on the mission and the description of the pilots and so on. That's why i noticed that the writing wasn't as good in the expansion because you are compelled to read all the text in the game just to get a sense of what's happening. It's not super obscure like Souls, but it definitely has that hands off feel to it, and combined with the grounded sci-fi aesthetic, the game actually has a nice atmosphere to it.

As soon as i'm done with KCD i may actually jump on the PS2 version as i'm curious now.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Ho, also, while i called the tank controls cancer, i actually kinda of enjoyed that aspect of the game. You actually... have to git gud precisely because of how difficult just controlling the mech is, but it also makes sense because... you are controlling a mech so why would you move like a human. But maybe i'm just a glutton for punishment but i suspect one of the reason the later games are super fast is because they made the controls easier and less janky.

 

[Matador]

Let's go guys.

 

[somerandomdude]

I'm predicting it's gonna be a souls-like, all the way down to a dodge roll with iframes.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Heh, it's starting, people already making videos about past AC games:



The shit he talks about towards the end is something i completely missed (game isn't hard enough for you to fail it and see it) and it's cool as shit. Good old FromSoftware man.

 

[Dadd]

One thing for sure is that there will be a sword made of "moonlight"

 

[Lyric Suite]

One thing for sure is that there will be a sword made of "moonlight"

There's one right in the first game:

https://armoredcore.fandom.com/wiki/LS-99-MOONLIGHT

 

[Ialda]

Been a fan of the franchise since ACFA so I'm down for this. Glad the leaks from last year were real.

Hopefully it will push people to check on the older titles and realize how based the OSTs are :

 

[Lyric Suite]

Fun fact: The Director of ACVI, Masaru Yamamura, was the Lead Game Designer of Sekiro.

Miyazaki worked on three AC games before he did Demon Souls so i think this idea that FromSoftware doesn't have any people who understand this series ought to be a bit unfounded i think, even assuming Miyazaki doesn't do much of anything besides collecting cash at this point.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Anyone who's interested should check out 4 and For Answer.

Basically the ones made by Miyazaki.

Can anybody explain the hate this guy gets here he seems to have been involved in most of the best shit From has ever done.

 

[deuxhero]

Anyone who's interested should check out 4 and For Answer.

Basically the ones made by Miyazaki.

If that were the criteria, people would recommend Last Raven (which is known for its absurd difficulty and little else). In-fact, 4 proper is generally considered kinda meh and it's just that 4A is crazy awesome.

Also while we're shilling pre-Souls From games, play Lost Kingdoms 2.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Anyone who's interested should check out 4 and For Answer.

Basically the ones made by Miyazaki.

If that were the criteria, people would recommend Last Raven (which is known for its absurd difficulty and little else). In-fact, 4 proper is generally considered kinda meh and it's just that 4A is crazy awesome.

I'm not going to argue that everything that's good about FromSoftware comes from him and nobody else but the guy has a solid pedegree as game director so giving him shit is just trying to be a try hard contrarian. Many such cases on the Codex.

 

[Dadd]

The contrarian position is largely a reaction to Souls games' surge of popularity and increasing mainstream attention. There is no doubt that his games consistently have moments of brilliance.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Anyone who's interested should check out 4 and For Answer.

Basically the ones made by Miyazaki.

Can anybody explain the hate this guy gets here he seems to have been involved in most of the best shit From has ever done.

A lot of it seems to come from people who liked DS2 and who felt that the game's fame as the worst in the series is undeserved, as it was thrown under the bus for not being made by From's "A Team". I even agree with this position to some extent (I liked DS2 a lot more than 3), but I'm not a PvP sperg so it didn't really matter in the end. Most of it is probably tongue-in-cheek (i.e. Muhzaki etc.), though, the guy's value is undeniable.

I for one am very glad From is taking a break from Souls. AC is awesome. I hope they don't retardo it even further. In the future I'd like to see new weirder shit from them. Even a Sekiro sequel. Spam roll souls is just too tired at this point.

 

[Great Deceiver]

*cough* FromSoft games before Demon's Souls suck balls and Sekiro is a strictly inferior game to their Soulslikes.*

* To be fair, I never played King's Field, so it's possible that could change my mind. I have tried and watched a friend play Eternal Ring though and that was ass. I'd heard Eternal Ring is kinda-sorta related in style to KF, so if that's true...

King's Field 4: The Ancient City (the PS2 title) is an easy game to recommend for anyone who likes Souls. A lot of the ideas further developed in Souls are present there in embrionary fashion (including the cryptic narrative hidden in item descriptions and requiring the player to be observant), even if the gameplay is very different. The level design (especially the interconnectedness of the world) and atmosphere are all excellent. I also really like the music, it has an ethereal, melancholy quality and is from a time before bombastic, rote orchestrations.



If you've never played it before it takes some getting used to (the pace of the game is very very slow), but nothing insurmountable. The PS1 games are harder to recommend.

I would love to see a KF sequel. The series has a special place in my heart. However, it'll probably never happen because the modern audience wouldn't be able to deal with it.

AC, especially 4/FA are pretty popamole in comparison. Much easier for them to justify it to their corporate overlords.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Nice sound track.

Is it me or has the music grown stale over time? It started with DS2 but i think i really noticed it with DS3. Like, the notes are all there but nothing really stood out to me. Elden Ring too its nice but also cookie cutter at the same time. If it wasn't for the Wagnerian harmony that sets it apart from the boring epic bombastic orchestral style of modern western games i'd even argue it's starting to get generic.

 

[Lucumo]

BTW, now that i'm remembering i'd argue the way the story is told in AC1 is actually typical of FromSoftware. In the setting, the earth has been ravaged by conflict or something like that and people now live underground and human civilization is basically ruled by two giant corporations fighting with each other. You are basically a mech for hire, and you can do missions for one or the other as you see fit. There's a bit of non-linearity as depending on which side you favored the most you get different missions at the end but once you are done with the game you can actually complete any alternative mission that was left out by your choices so this really doesn't amount to much, but hey.

So in this context, the only info you get to figure out what's going is in the e-mails you get that brief you on the mission and the description of the pilots and so on. That's why i noticed that the writing wasn't as good in the expansion because you are compelled to read all the text in the game just to get a sense of what's happening. It's not super obscure like Souls, but it definitely has that hands off feel to it, and combined with the grounded sci-fi aesthetic, the game actually has a nice atmosphere to it.

As soon as i'm done with KCD i may actually jump on the PS2 version as i'm curious now.

Been too long since I've played the PS Armored Core games but wasn't the final fight against Ninetails, or some name like that? I think I wanted to play the PS2 games at some point but never really started...and I remember watching multiplayer matches of 5 on the (official?) livestreams around ten years ago.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Nine-Ball:

https://armoredcore.fandom.com/wiki/Nine-Ball

 

[Great Deceiver]

Nice sound track.

Is it me or has the music grown stale over time? It started with DS2 but i think i really noticed it with DS3. Like, the notes are all there but nothing really stood out to me. Elden Ring too its nice but also cookie cutter at the same time. If it wasn't for the Wagnerian harmony that sets it apart from the boring epic bombastic orchestral style of modern western games i'd even argue it's starting to get generic.

Yes, it has absolutely grown stale. I've said this before, but the perfect example is Flamelurker's theme in DeS - in the original, it has this somber, funeral march quality and interesting harmonisation/instrumentation, while in the remake it's 100% generic bombastic orchestration with no surprises whatsoever.

The exception to the rule is Bloodborne's OST, which despite being bombastic is also fucking amazing.