Best Armored Core games, ranked

The Armored Core series is a long-running franchise developed by FromSoftware, a Japanese company better known for creating the Dark Souls series and more recently, Elden Ring. After a decade-long hiatus, the Armored Core series returns with the release of the highly-anticipated Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon.

Since we still have some time before the release of Armored Core 6, you might want to check out the rest of the games in the series. The Armored Core franchise is quite long with multiple entries, so we have created a list of the best games in the series.

Honorable mention

But before we get started with the best mainline games in the series before Armored Core 6, the following entry is an honorable mention in the franchise that you might want to check out.

Armored Core: For Answer

Compared to the other entries on this list, Armored Core: For Answer brings a different energy to the series. Being a direct sequel to Armored Core 4, the plot of Armored Core: For Answer follows the ending of the previous game, taking place 10 years after the LYNX War. The surviving corporations banded together to form the League of Ruling Companies to take over the world once more.

Players are put in the shoes of a LYNX agent themselves, in charge of a powerful new version of an Armored Core. The game’s story takes players through several twists and turns in a post-apocalyptic ruin of a world, which ends in one of three different endings depending on the choices the player has made throughout the game.

The most noticeable change to the series was the addition of new features in Armored Core: For Answer. Armored Cores now have a new interface with features, such as Quick Boost and Over Boost, that change the way a mech can maneuver around the battlefield. New weapons and blade attacks were added as well that cause much more devastation than they did in the previous games.

Armored Core: For Answer is widely considered to be one of the best games in the series. While we wait for the release of Armored Core 6, let’s take a look at the best mainline games in the Armored Core series.

Best mainline Armored Core games

Before the release of Armored Core 6, there were five other entries in the mainline series. While all of them have introduced something new to the franchise, not all of them were as fun to play as the others. As such, this is our ranking for all the mainline Armored Core games in terms of fun and innovative gameplay mechanics.

5) Armored Core 4

Armored Core 4 was released in 2006 and is generally considered by fans as a reboot of the Armored Core series after the events of Armored Core 3. Even though it is the fourth entry in the mainline series, it is the 12th overall game in the Armored Core series. This game takes place after the events of a global scale war decimate the world, with corporations now taking charge instead of leaders.

These corporations now control their mechs and hire a variety of Armored Cores to fight each other over control of their regions. The player character is the pilot of a new next-generation Armored Core as a neutral entity between the many corporations fighting each other. Compared to previous entries in the series, this game has a much darker atmosphere and a sinister underlying plot.

Related: Will Armored Core 6 have crossplay?

In terms of gameplay, Armored Core 4 is a faster-paced game when compared to its predecessors. The gameplay focuses more on mech warfare and customization, sometimes way too much, which led to a lack of focus in the overall presentation and a lack of variety in the game’s environments. The missions were also considered to be too straightforward, simplifying the gameplay.

While the game still has a marked improvement over its predecessors, the other entries in the series boast a better overall performance.

4) Armored Core 5

Armored Core 5 is the final mainline entry in the series before the decade-long break until the release of Armored Core 6. Being the newest entry in the franchise besides Armored Core 6 means that the game still looks aesthetically pleasing even by modern standards. The gameplay displays a lot of improvements over Armored Core 4 as well, with a couple of new features added to the game.

The first major change to the series made in this game was the introduction of OVERED weapons, which are ultimate weapons. These weapons deal devastating damage at the cost of your other Armored Core’s weapons being disabled. The trade-off was worth it in most scenarios since these ultimate weapons end fights quickly.

The other major change to the series was the ability to switch modes in your Armored Core. Switching to “Scanning Mode” would allow you to scan all enemies and collect information about your surroundings while conserving energy. “Combat Mode” redirects all power to your weapons, rendering your Armored Core unable to recharge its energy.

The rest of the game’s features fell short, however. With the return to a more tactical style of gameplay rather than fast-paced action, it took a while for most players to adapt to the changes.

3) Armored Core

Armored Core is the first entry in the franchise as a whole and it was a promising starting point for the series. Since nobody knew what to expect, players were pleasantly surprised by the gameplay of the original Armored Core. The customization features of each Armored Core, including their entire arsenal of weapons and accessories, was a revolutionary feature back in 1997.

When it comes down to the game’s story, it follows a post-apocalyptic storyline where the Earth was wiped out by an event called the Great Destruction. The survivors of this extinction event holed themselves up underground while corporations took control of several sections of the planet. The corporations fought each other while the survivors took control and formed mercenary organizations.

To fight each other, these corporations hired the Raven mercenaries and their army of Armored Cores, powerful mech warriors that battled each other with a plethora of weapons. The missions that these Armored Cores accept take place on various terrain from uninhabitable deserts to space stations.

The original Armored Core introduced several new concepts which were then improved upon in the next two mainline games in the franchise.

2) Armored Core 2

The main sequel to the original Armored Core, Armored Core 2 was widely considered by most players to be a vast improvement over the first game. The mech customization aspects introduced in the first game were taken up a notch in Armored Core 2. Managing your loadout is more essential than ever, so ensure that your Armored Core isn’t too heavy or is using too much power to function.

In terms of storytelling, the game is a direct sequel to the first Armored Core game. But the story of the game takes us off-planet, with Mars as the central setting for Armored Core 2. Players have to fight off new threats including a new faction called the Frighteners that has overthrown the central government. Their leader, Leos Klein, looks to throw a wrench in the balance of power.

The core gameplay loop is the same as the previous game and will be carried forward in the later games, which is completing missions and earning money to improve your Armored Core. This is also the first Armored Core game for the PlayStation 2, so the graphics have greatly improved from the days of the original game.

Armored Core 2 is also the first game in the series to introduce more tactical-oriented gameplay, which might not be too newbie-friendly. This makes mastering the game highly rewarding, a key trait that influenced the later Soulsborne games to become so popular.

1) Armored Core 3

Considered by many Armored Core players as the best game throughout the series, Armored Core 3 also takes up our No. 1 spot on this list. If you talk to old-school players of the Armored Core series, this is the one that would pop up in their memories. The most iconic game in the franchise improves upon the formula of the first two games by defining a new style of gameplay.

Armored Core 3 introduced a faster style of combat compared to its predecessors’ slow-paced and more tactical-oriented combat. This gameplay style rewarded quick reflexes and decision-making over careful planning, which some players disagreed with but the majority were quick to embrace. Even though mech personalization remained largely unchanged, new customization parts were added.

Related: Armored Core 6 system requirements: PC specifications

If there is one part where the game doesn’t shine as much, it would be the storytelling. The story reboots back to the old Armored Core days back on Earth where the player is a mercenary struggling to thrive in a world ruled by corrupt corporations. Many players felt like this was a step back and too simplistic compared to the previous two games.

The saving grace of the story, however, would be the new threat in Armored Core 3. A powerful AI called The Controller threatens to take over the world’s Armored Cores and destroy the remnants of humanity. Eventually, humans band together to take down the threat and save their species from extinction.