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These two videos are still so good, man. Hope you make more some day.

Watching this after nearly losing my job and facing up to five years in prison for petty crime… It hits home. The determinism hidden in the fact that I played this game most recently and desire nothing BUT freedom after a short stint in jail… Are our lives really our own? Are we not actually owned by the police and the law? They can take us away at will… We did not create certain laws ourselves. We are forever at the mercy of guns and badges… In the bondage of red tape… Slaves to the rules of people we’ve never even met. The Armored Core Corporations are just our jobs. Without their mercy and employment, we starve.

I’m cool with them taking inspirations from the west but what makes eastern sci-fi unique is their own culture. I mean Akira and ghost in the shell , and even vampire hunter D are great. So hopefully they use a blend of cultures and not just copy the west.

The feeling of Blade Runner being in ACVI was remarked on pretty accurately in this video.

I don't mind AC6's music. Stuff like Rusted Pride and Contact With You are fantastic but it really feels like the soundtracks lost so much unique identity compared to previous games.

well, it's said and done, it seems the consensus from people who have actually been fans of the series for a while is ACVI's ost is... OK. which is an unbelievable thing to admit because it's freaking Armored Core. it's a got a few standout tracks out of nearly 50 total, the rest is immediately forgettable

Even though some the speculation didn’t end up as fact in AC6, this video is still fantastic. I’d never played an Ac game before this one, which I’ve now beaten on NG++ and am close to S ranking every mission, this video still really resonates with and I believe captures the themes of AC6 in a very true and philosophically sound perspective. I’m happy I stumbled upon this series and this video. Thank you for making something, that at least I find, meaningful and impactful!

I hope you have time to make a video about the Coral residents on rubicon next

One of my favorite videos

Original armoured core came out in 97 I believe. By this point, at least the high profile anime movies AKIRA and Ghost in the Shell were both well known in the west, and the subculture was sizable and influential.

Waiting for the next vid bro 😎

Playing games since Commodore games. AC6 is one of the best games i ever played. Everything in this game is exactly as i love it. Art design, colors, sounds, music, story...everything. Armored Core is back.

I think our relation to Walter is a desperate possibility - now that the game is out right in the start Walter mentions that "even a merc with fried brain can start a new life" with money we are about to make. We are survivors of "Human Plus" program making us mute and potentially have more brain damage like paralysis, stunted emotions etc. and we are controlled by Walter swinging reversing either side effects or total Human Plus procedure as reward for completing whatever is the ultimate mission we arrive to Rubikon to achieve.

Hi, would be a great idea to revisit this topic now that the full soundtrack has been released. Tracks such as "The Man Who Passed The Torch" has distinctly Blade Runner synths at 1:50 & 2:20 parts of the song. Most of the other tracks also retain those bit-sounds we often associate with 2010 futuristic games and arcade games so the spirit of AC is still there and the westernization works imo in great favor to the overall atmosphere and theme of this Armored Core. Its good to hear Kota Hoshino back in his element, accompanied by the talented Takashi Onodera and Shoi Miyazawa, as well as their vocalists.

Amazing, the way you present the information and how you make the viewer question its own existence. Greatly enjoyed the video.

Macross!!! <3 <3 <3

I'mnot sure that all AC merc pilots are 'hounds' I think maybe some mercs have more freedom while there the unlucky ones like 621 who get stuck with people like Walter. Who takes the lowest of the low. he seems to care little for his 'hounds' but the other AC pilots don't have this emotionless part to them. Then again you are augmented, it seems even coral might be involved. But I feel like armoured core in the short time I've been looking into has always had a sort 'Subjugation masked as freedom' idea to it. Many of the ravens in the past consider it freeing to work for themselves, to be powerful and sought after, not beholden to anyone.... but the very nature of their job requires them to take work from the very people they want to avoid. The corporations. Average people and even communities can't pay the high cost to hire a raven/merc. Refusing work isn't an option due to needing to show a willingness to work, and to pay bills for the very expensive AC. A sdingle failed mission could bankrupt you. So you don't even get the privilage of being picky with jobs unless more than one arrives and there's only time to do one.... but quite often it's just picking another brand of horrible for a evil company. Terrorize striking workers, or remove squatters who just happen to be in a place the company wants. Both can be bad, but you don't have the luxury to say no. At the end of the day for all the 'freedom' the ravens claimed to have, they are still slaves to the paychecks of the companies. Which also breed a total lack of morality cause you start to not care what the job is..... it pays, that's all that matters. You aren't even a morally grey protagonist anymore, you are morally irrisponsible. Sadly that thought process on the 'raven' bit is about you, your character has stolen a dead mercs license who's codename was raven. Clearly just a bit of a nod to the older fans. You are Raven, but you are also a hound.

Rewatching the vid for the second time, and god damn me if you weren't right! Also, to comment on the "grand scale" part in the beginning - turns out that this is one of the reasons for a different approach to OST as well. Google "Malgré l'intensité de l'action, FromSoftware souhaite qu’Armored Core 6 ait une", the article is in french but google translates it flawlessly, has some insights from the devs on the thought process during music creation. I found it interesting. Looking forward to more of your stuff

I WANT FREQUENCY!!!!

A lot of that first trailer definitely made me think of 2049 and it's focus on "brutality" as Villenuve put it. Both Armored Core and the cyberpunk genre (which I'd pretty much consider Blade Runner a part of) have a huge focus on gigantic uncaring corporate entities consuming people as cogs in a bigger machine, to the point where the human element disappears and you might forget what being human is in the first place.

Man the last track that you use sounds like a sythwave version of Detach from the soundtrack of Interstellar. Can you post that track in the comments or can someone else please?

Dude...how did you come up with this story line 2 months ago?..l just saw the new story trailer released a few days ago and what you said 2 months ago is 100% on point. Wow!!!

This game feels like it was designed for me specifically

I think the whole purpose of the game is asking you what you think about the dilema in question. It wants you to answer for yourself and decide what you believe in. Since AC allows you to choose what missions you take, I wouldn’t be surprised if the game gives you no answer at all, instead letting you go through the experience and reach your own conclusion. Are you really a raven? Or are you a dog? And when you find out what you think the answer is, what do you think about that? Is that subjugation preferable to the bleak hopelessness of freedom against an anti human universe that doesn’t care about you? Or is that freedom enough to keep you going? I would much prefer if the game wants you to think about it moreso than trying to answer that question for you. What you choose to believe is your reality, whether it’s predetermined, or chosen out of your own soul

Ayo brad my boi, plz tell me your cooking up so gold out of that story trailer hope your doing alright love your vids

after seeing the new story trailer, this video got me mind blowing

It's interesting that the newest trailer seems to reflect the ideas from your video.

Im a very big sucker for symbolism (too stupid to appreciate deeper things without video essays to guide the enlightenment into my brain) and while it is kind of obvious, I feel like we should be taking note of anybody with monikers like "Mad Dog" "Wolf" "Crow" "Vulture" "Eagle". Particularly the "Mad Dog" one, I have a very strong feeling someone like that will appear, although who knows how plot relevant they will be. But I will have my suspicions when someone like that appears. I'm imagining that our character, 621 will probably not have a happy ending. Much like the later Bladerunner film with Ryan Gosling, I feel like we will end up either sacrificing our lives and attaining freedom in death, or accepting our chains and dying anyway.

I noticed you’ve changed the thumbnail since the Story Trailer dropped.

I hope the game is as deep and well-written as this video implies. Given FromSoftware's storytelling, I wouldn't doubt it. The only part I have my doubts on are the feelings of hope, as that seems to almost always be missing from Armored Core. For the most part, they always seem to strip your humanity and morals away the further into the story you go. Your choices of missions become more limited as you either antagonize or destroy corporations and competition, often leaving you with only one course of action towards the end of the game that always seems to result in more bad things happening. Either way, I'm excited to see what's coming. Thank you for the excellent video!

Not to mention Coral seems like analogous with Melange from Dune as I saw someone point out. Of which the director of the newest movie also made the new Blade Runner. Seems like maybe Fromsoftware has been doing some sci-if homework and I hope to see their storytelling evolve and flourish from their exposure to these ideas.

Thanks for this. It made me think about my own life. And I have thought about free will and determinism quite a bit. I think on a material level I’m only a character. But that there’s a larger me who authored my story before the accord. But it’s only speculation. I believe it’s meant to be a mystery. Keeps it interesting.

Their favorite language is Western influenced.

I very recently commented on Absurd's "Dogs on a Leash" video, which I think inevitably broached subjects found here (YT didn't put this one on my feed until today. Bad YT! bad!). I think that the reason you're drawn to these comparisons with Blade Runner is because BR meets a very peculiar form of Japanese aesthetic (for lack of a better term) half away, and it does this by supercharging the feeling of structured, complexly hidden chaos and humanity's shattered sensibilities reflected on it, especially when attempting to raise what seems like a veil in front of it. What makes this "Japanese POV" so particular on top of this layer of an already odd vision of reality is the manner in which characters find a solution, and in no other place is this so reflected as in the conclusions of Evangelion and RahXephon (and similarly minded works), where the mecha concept, the cool robot who saves the world concept, is brought to its inevitable collapse when human experience is not masked by any layers of heroic pretension - on the contrary, a rather naked fragility, ready to splinter with any pressure, takes center stage. The crucial elements of technology, presumed from the get-go to empower human will, merely bridge a human being into the existential vortex otherwise unreachable but always present - the supposed solution is merely a reminder of the problem beneath our feet. The polar opposite of this, the affirmation that human worth is infinite, is found in stuff like Gurren Lagann, a rather fantastical answer to these aforementioned afflictions. The reason I bring this up is because I don't think AC works like this, which extends to AC6. It is much more Blade Runner than it is cool/super robot fiction (generally speaking). But I am rather curious about the paths we pilots might get to take in our AC6 explorations. We have interplanetary catastrophe, an extraordinary substance, oppressive corporations and freedom fighters (at least we know there's a Rubicon Liberation Front). So I'm rather curious what AC6 is doing with this "man on a robot" paradigm. Both from the perspective of previous AC games and the more recent overarching elements of Souls narrative. Anyway, these videos are *it* relative to AC. I hope this is a resurgence of these themes and this way of confronting reality.

Hey, Brad! Wonderful video. I had no idea you were making yt content. We should team up when the multi-player hits.

I'm waiting for your next video 😒

Lacks a discussion on capitalism/free will Great video tho

I am Santiago.

Well done brother. I sub!

Absolutely stellar work, from the composition to the message you are trying to convey, I hope to see more from you!

This is a very well put together video for such a small channel. I wish you all the success you deserve. Keep it up!

So Armored Core has a similar story as Legacy of Kain / Soul Reaver but set in the future without block puzzles? Got it.

Never heard of armored core until they announced 6. Ever since then I’ve been looking for content just like this, thank you

Have we ever been the protagonist in Fromsoftware titles? I think we are mostly the villains

1:03 correction: the term hound/dog is not used at all in the Japanese dub and is solely a translation liberty. In Japanese they just say “him” in a rude way.

The more I watch the new trailer, the more it feels that Appleseed were a big influence in the designs (the movies, at least). As a japanese take on the post-apocalyptic western trope, it sure feel fitting.

The last quote of the trailer really seems to hint that will be the premise of the story "Let's see how high you can fly on bowered wings" "Why hide behind another's callsign?"

READ BLOOD MERIDIAN Really though, it's a great book that embodies the themes you're talking about. Also, a key theme discuss in cyberpunk, as well as pretty much all fromsoft games, is the idea of living in an evil world, one that is completely hostile to human existence, of endless cycles of violence, one that is impossible to change or overcome. In truth, I believe that the cyberpunk genre is fundamentally Gnostic in outlook, that we live in a reality that seeks to undermine and destroy the human spirit, and the protagonists we see, are heroic in their struggle to resist this, even if it is ultimately futile. Cyberpunk for me, represents the Gnostic struggle to overcome the false reality of the Demiurge.

Do I know what's going to happen? No, not really. However the last time An Old Raven tried fighting for freedom, He dropped Phobos unto Mars. Death to the King from The Answer starts playing.

This video is DOPE AF 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥