Скачать или смотреть Armored Core - PSX/PS1 1997 Full Playthrough (No Commentary)

My playthrough of the first Armored Core. Played over a couple of nights then edited together.

The game was played and recorded on an Nvidia Shield TV Pro (2019), and emulated using the libretro Swanstation core. Internal resolution was upscaled 3x to make everything a bit clearer on my 65 inch OLED TV. No other post-processing used.

I have played this previously on the PSX as a kid. My cousin owned the game and we put some good hours into it back in the day. I remember some parts of the game and other parts I had completely forgotten.

The recent popularity of From Software games and the release of AC6 made me want to go back and play the first entry in the series. I liked the game as a kid and I still like it now. It has it's own take on the mech genre and its own unmistakeable style.

Like a lot of early 3D games of this era, you need to wrestle with the camera at times, and the horizontal traversal of your AC can sometimes feel painfully slow. The voice acting is serviceable but compared to some other English localised voice acting of the time, it's not too bad at all.

The music is pure 90s kino and I've since listened to the OST separately on its own because it goes hard.

The story is pretty oblique, but given From Software's later efforts this shouldn't be suprising. The post-apocalyptic/corporate proxy war setting holds up though and I don't think more exposition would have improved the game.

I like how the last mission is delivered with no forewarning. I just wish it didn't involve the tedious climbing up to reach the fight with Hustler One. That part took forever for us as kids and wasn't anymore enjoyable now. It's the only part in the game like that and it really exemplifies the weaknesses of the camera and controls. I cheesed the last fight specifically so I didn't have to repeat climbing up those platforms again. And because Nine-Ball is a beast with that grenade launcher.

I think for future game playthroughs I'll play around a bit with some post-processing settings to smooth out some of the hard edges that upscaling brings and limit some of the wobbly textures. Maybe add a CRT filter if I can find one that I like and isn't too obtrusive.

I've got Castlevania SOTN and Metal Gear Solid lined up next.

Chapters for each mission:

00:00 - Opening
03:00 - Raven test
08:50 - Eliminate Squatters
12:13 - Destroy Unknown MTs
15:39 - Stop Security MTs
21:29 - Rescue Transport Truck
25:21 - Reclaim Oil Facility
32:05 - Remove Gun Emplacement
38:35 - Stop Terrorist Threat
49:25 - Worker Robot Removal
53:30 - Rescue Survey Team
1:05:27 - Terrorist Pursuit
1:14:00 - Destroy Fuel Depot
1:20:20 - Guard Freight Train
1:25:30 - Prototype MT Test
1:30:05 - Attack Urban Center
1:36:04 - Secret Factory Recon
1:42:24 - Stop Gang, "Dark Soul"
1:45:21 - Guard Wharf Warehouse
1:50:39 - Repulse Enemy Attack
1:57:48 - Exterminate Organisms
2:05:13 - Stop Security MT
2:15:41 - Prototype MT Test (Part 2)
2:21:47 - Guard Airplane
2:25:25 - Recover Capsules
2:34:45 - Destroy Base Computer
2:43:51 - AC Battle
2:46:28 - Release Organisms
2:57:43 - Remove Base Occupants
3:10:26 - Destroy Intruders
3:16:10 - Stop Gas Exposure
3:25:19 - Exterminate Organisms
3:30:37 - Retake Air Cleaner
3:37:34 - Chrome Uprising
3:41:23 - Mop Up Chrome Remnants
3:46:39 - FMV
3:48:49 - Mop Up Chrome Remnants (Part 2)
3:55:32 - Destroy Floating Mines
4:23:48 - Ending FMV
4:24:36 - Credits