Armored Core 6 is an Allegory for Alchemy
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มิ.ย. 2024
- Even though Armored Core 6 is a mecha game, the game’s story and lore include a surprising amount of symbolism from alchemy. Now the main goal for many alchemists was the Philosopher's Stone, which would famously transform lead into gold. But it was also believed that the Stone could provide a limitless fuel source and extend human lifespans--which is also the case for the Coral found on Rubicon in AC 6.
What's more, many alchemists believed they could unlock the secrets of the Philosopher's Stone by studying one substance that bore a striking resemblance to the Stone's properties: coral. In fact, one name for the Philosopher's Stone was "tinctura coralli," or the "tincture of coral."
So in this video, I detail how alchemists thought of coral and its clear parallels to the Coral in Armored Core 6. And following the groundbreaking work of Carl Jung, I also explore how the game itself can be seen as an allegory for alchemy, since it tracks the three stages needed to create the Philosopher's Stone, culminating in Coral Release for the Alea Iacta Est NG++ ending.
Spoilers for Armored Code 6 and the Collected Works of Carl Jung, Volumes 12-14.
MadLuigi, "Armored Core 6: All Endings Explained (Story and Lore)"
• Armored Core 6: All En...
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Coral and the Philosopher's Stone
03:18 Nigredo: the Raven's Head
04:22 Albedo: Snow and Ash
04:59 Rubedo: the Red Sun
06:23 The Three Primes
07:50 Iguazu is Salt
08:52 Fire can't destroy Coral
#armoredcore6 #armoredcore #jung #alchemy #carljung - เกม
So... a C-Weapon is a full metal alchemist
I'll see myelf out.
Me: "Nah... I'm not buying it"
7:55 ***Iguana shows up to represent Salt**
"Okay he has a point."
This is absolutely incredible. It literally ALL checks out, every bit of symbolism and down to the very colors represented. Fantastic work man.
Yup exactly. I’m sure everyone felt the symbolism all over the story but only this explanation gives everything such a perfect unifying context/analog.
Thank you! I was floored when I kept seeing how well everything fit!
Holy shit. The lore goes deeep than I ever thought it would be.
Yeah! I was amazed at just how many parallels there were (and how deep they ran) between alchemy and AC 6.
First time diving into Fromsoft game lore? If so, you'd best strap in, because this ride can go hard.
@@wispfire2545 Not my first. My first dived are Dark Souls 3. I'm just surprise that Armored Core 6 have a lore tied to alchemy which is unexpected for me. Past Armored Core game that I played didn't have much deeper lore like this before or maybe no one did a lore diving into old games like this video.
It's insane to think that some people are saying the story in this game is "shallow". The lore is absolutely mind blowing
*specially* Game journalists
even if you skip every cutscene and dont look for lore, its a good character drama.
Any time anyone says that about a FromSoft/Soulslike game, it just means they haven't dug deep enough to find out just how deep it goes. Just like playing the game, finding the whole story takes work.
@doomspud6302 AC6’s story is more straightforward than the stories of the souls games. Those people just didn’t pay attention to anything.
Act Man lmao
Fromsoft tries to make a game without Alchemy references challenge.
This is insane. This is making me see Armored Core and Ravens in a different light
Yeah this is insane reminds of me ac6 subtext about sex reading which is also wild
@@Tatominator could you give me some context about that ?
@@Tatominator explain
@@MK-vi2cmabsurd's channel the tragdey of g5 iguazu ac6 lore reupload
I goddamn love this esoteric lore deep dive we'd normally get into a Souls game into AC6. I never played any souls games, as I never had either the hardware, the money or the time for it. My first experience into FromSoft games was into AC6, but I've always loved watching the Dark Souls/Elden Ring deep dives.
Keep up the great work! Subscribed
Thank you! I was blown away when I started to notice all kinds of esoteric symbols kept popping up in AC 6.
Someone on reddit mentioned that The 'white women' and 'red man' mentioned in the one passage in the video also carry over to Walter's and both of Ayre's AC's
Absolutely!
AC6 honestly keeps surprising me with how narratively dense it is when you take a minute to look closely - I honestly should have expected it from Fromsoft but it's still impressive to see how they went about keeping that intact from their fantasy settings to AC6's sci-fi without missing a beat. Fascinating video, I never would have considered any of this myself.
This might just be me but looking at the Coral Release while it does look like a black hole it also looks kinda like a solar eclipse
Having named my ACs Albedo, Rubedo and Nigredo, I feel justified
I named my Ac "Z-mobik with double AKs"
Mine is Valravn.
Oh, I called mine "balls"
Mine is called "Genocide Hero"
Mine’s called Sovereign Noodle
I thought I couldn't love a game more.
As a person who's studied hermeticism, kabbalah, the tarot, alchemy and anything esoteric, and I huge ac6 fan. I cannot tell u how much I love and appreciate this video. And it gave me a deeper appreciation for ac. I never even pieced any of this together. Instant subscription
Thank you so much! And it's wild seeing how esoteric elements have gotten quite a bit of a revival through gaming!
@@garrulousgoldmask I know it always makes me happy when I see little hints in games and movies. Have you played lies of p ? It's littered with symbolism, I haven't seen anybody talk about it yet
Same!
And I have! When I played the demo and picked up the “Monad’s Lamp” in the first minute of the game, I was hooked. Having a Soulslike incorporate the esoteric was a refreshing change of pace from how so many in the genre neglect the story and worldbuilding aspects of their games.
That said, I'm still on the fence if I'm going to do any lore videos since I'm not sure how many people have played the game & a lot of the symbolism was rather on the nose (pun absolutely intended).
In any case, Max Derrat did a great video on the Gnostic elements of Lies of P, if you haven't seen that already!
@@garrulousgoldmask I haven't seen that but I'm going to check it out thanks! But quite a lot of people have played it it's super popular right now. I'm assuming by on the nose you mean like, not very hard to notice ? But yeah and also there's the square and compass symbol almost exactly like the the ones the freemasons use all over the place. The trinity sanctums and the messages in them were pretty interesting too
The number 621 is also special and significant too!
I wasnt expecting dagoth ur to narrate alchemy texts in an armored core video
Coral Jung
this had me rolling :D
It's insane how many connections there are to alchemy, expected this to be unhinged but was rather eloquent and deep.
Thank you! And unhinged but eloquent and deep is definitely the vibe I'm going for!
@@garrulousgoldmask Well then you nailed it!
I don't know how anyone who studies FROMSOFT lore could miss this. Coral is the ether and the prima materia. Great video
Thank you!
Holy crab the parallels
If coral can't be destroyed by fire then that means when walter passes his legacy to us and we burn rubicon we are resetting the story. Either 621 has to burn rubicon again or 621 will find someone else to carry his burden.
Given the way NG+ is referenced in-game, and the fact we "disappear in the fires" in that ending, it's being a bit meta there. Most dosers behave differently in NG+.
Im impressed to see someone take the viewpoint of alchemist on a storyline that, even after hundreds of hours on my part, would have never sparked that connection for me. This has definitely altered my perception of the story.
Thank you for sharing.
I love how much depth there is to AC6 for those that are willing to look for it. There's so much packed into the game, not just gameplay, but really clever subtle writing too.
Instant sub. The theory sounds batshit insane at face value, but the connections you made made me think about the lore of the game in a totally new way. Thematically, AC 6 is about the death and rebirth of humanity, with Coral acting as the catalyst and mechanism by which humanity reaches it's next stage of evolution. It's not much of a stretch to directly compare this concept to alchemical transmutation.
Yes, absolutely! The designers truly knew what they were doing when they were making all of those alchemy allusions.
And I specialize in theories that sound batshit insane but break open the doors of perception!
I've never even thought about linking AC6 to alchemy, but this makes a lot of sense, and I feel like looking at it through this lens adds a lot to the story
Long comment incoming, sorry in advance lol
This is a really interesting video! I think there's something to quite a lot of this, even if I think some of the connections might be too much of a stretch, like SOL meaning soul instead of Sol as in Sun (although given ALLMIND alters SOL for their final fight, there could still be something alchemical there). One thing I'd like to mention is that ALLMIND actually says that their chance will come again if you fail their version of taking down the Xylem, which very heavily implies that the Coral (which they need for their plan) would not be completely wiped out even if the Observers succeeded in burning it again. Additionally, 621 was off world before the events of the story, so there's likely more coral augmented humans out there still.
Another thing to point out about the name Rubicon (much of which I assume you definitely already know, given the depth this video goes into!) is much more thematically tied in-game to the Rubicon river and Caeser's fateful crossing of it. But there's a bit more than just the name and people referencing the die being cast. Sulla, who was ALLMIND's original candidate both for release and for making Contact with Ayre, bears the name of a Roman general-turned-dictator, whose acts heavily influenced the Roman political landscape just before taking power. He would only be dictator between 82 and 81 BC, which would lead to Julius Caesar both taking inspiration from his military takeover of Rome and criticizing Sulla for not hold the position long enough. All of this makes me wonder if there's alchemical references present that are specifically more Roman-centric as well, but that's not a topic I have any knowledge on. I would love to hear if you had any ideas!
In general, this video solidifies a lot of my interpretations of Coral Release. Both ALLMIND and Ayre talk about how ACs represent their pilots in an idealized form, especially in reference to things like the Integration program's arena descriptions and Ayre's talk about ACs and how choosing from "infinite selections" to form your own AC is the "essence" of humanity and the key to "biological evolution." Throughout the game, you can see how ACs outwardly represent their pilots, especially in cases when they change their build. Rusty's push towards his lofty goals is accompanied by a change to a much more aerial STEEL HAZE. Iguazu, who starts the game guarded and constantly sniping at everyone around him, uses a shield that he hides behind an a linear rifle to take potshots at others from that relative safety. When we meet him in the Depths, not only is he much more open about his feelings (telling us about the problems with his augmentation and that he believes everybody's laughing at him), but he's dropped the shield for an ALLMIND laser orbit and now has ALLMIND arms, signifying both him becoming more direct and aggressive and the beginning of his relationship with ALLMIND. You can see this change happen over the course of his final fight very clearly, using a shield and a swarm of allies that try and keep you away from him at first, culminating in him eschewing nearly all ranged attacks and the control of ALLMIND to just go in on you with his claws.
The function of people's ACs is a reflection of their souls, which I believe is part of why we see LOADER 4 in the final cutscene instead of the player's AC. It represents 621 and their connection to both Raven and Walter, as well as their origin. This idea was what led me to the same concept of Release needing three components as presented here: the human's soul, the power of the Coral, and the AC as a perfect and powerful body to house them in. I think this conception of nature of release is the most supported one by the game's text, regardless of whether or not someone buys into the alchemical explanation. it just fits in too well with everything, though of course the specifics are up to interpretation.
Thanks for the video and for reading this if you got this far!
Thank you for watching (and for taking the time to leave such an in-depth comment!)
So for Ayre piloting a SOL series, I meant that more as a link to the Jung passage about how the red sun contains sulphur, which represents soul. So in a roundabout way, SOL = soul!
Oh those great catches re: ALLMIND'S dialogue and Iguana’s attacks and movements! It's incredible just how detailed FromSoft can get. Like having an AC pilot named Sulla on the planet Rubicon! Especially since he was going to be the trigger for Coral Release, the name Sulla works so well on so many levels. Though I hadn't thought about looking at the game through a specifically Roman alchemical lens; I might have to do that!
And that makes a lot of sense for why LOADER 4 shows up in the final cutscene, when (aside from the opening mission), it's always been the player’s specific AC.
1:20 lord dagoth, is that you? Tell me moon and star, why do you want this shiny red rock, it's completely worthless, almost nothing compared to the heart of kagrenac
THIS MAKES ME LOVE THE GAME EVEN MORE! AS A STUDENT OF PSYCHOLOGY AND FAN OF JUNG I AM BLOWN AWAY. I JUST DISCOVERED YOUR CHANNEL AS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE ALGORYTHM AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS IS THE FIRST COMMENT IVE EVER LEFT ON A TH-cam VIDEO. I WATCHED THIS VIDEO LITERALLY WITH MY JAW DROPPED AND MIND BLOWN! TIP COMING YOUR WAY. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
The blatant Sol. Oh my god.
I have played and watched armored core countless times and never have I seen it as an alchemical reference, what kind of water where you drinking to suddenly think, Oh it's actually all alchemy. holy shit, great job man.
Thank you! I actually got this idea while reading Jung for a **different** video on alchemy, but in Elden Ring. In an offhand remark, Jung mentioned that coral was sometimes a symbol for the Philosopher's Stone. So that made me wonder if alchemy was going to be present in the game (and had me anticipate the release of AC 6 even more!)
Ofc it is. At this point all FS games are probably about alchemy
Ah you also watched those stupid vids
Now that you mention it, even Metal Wolf Chaos has some alchemical symbolism... 😅
I thought the three refinement processes we're akin to the 3 playthroughs you have to do, refining yourself and your vision of what's happening each time.
I was thinkering with the idea that the numbered factions (Red guns and Vespers) were numbered so in relation to the Tarot (the Jungian Tarot to be exact). one of them representing the regular archetypes (Red Guns) while the others are the inverted ones (vespers).
Haven't realy done any research on it, but I like that the student pilot and Raven are given the honorary " G13" number by the red guns or the Arcana of Death
Oh that's really interesting! I'm not familiar with Tarot but I could definitely see how the numbers could hold special meaning (especially since the names are already thematic, i.e. rivers for the Red Guns and intellectuals for the Vespers).
Love the video and the connections you drew from history and alchemy. Although I can’t verify any of this easily without a deep dive myself. Loved the conclusions you drew and the extra joke about iguazu being salt.
Thank you! And I made sure to include citations if you ever want to take your own deep dive into alchemy.
Wow! Great video man!
I didn’t know much about alchemy, but now I see how these references fit into the plot of Armored Core 6!
Wow, that's an interesting connection. Coral fits its alchemy counterpart too well for it to be only a coincidence, it must've been an inspiration. Although I'm not sure how deep that inspiration was and how well writers knew alchemy. So conclusions might be only speculations.
Also thank you for explaining about alchemy itself!
Thank you! Considering that Elden Ring is suffused with so much alchemy symbolism, I definitely think it's within the realm of possibility that some of the designers carried over that knowledge into Armored Core 6. Plus the alchemy elements fit too well for all of them to be a coincidence...
5:52 "Since a state of conflict is too inimical to life to be endured indefinitely" - I think this line goes beautifully with Ayre and the Coral release. During NG++, Ayre has a realization of something like "Maybe conflict is the essence of mankind". She realizes that as long as mankind exists, there will be conflict, and conflict itself is what makes human, well, human. Yet, she choses to continue with the Coral Release, because even if conflict is our core value, it's just too much a burden to just 'accept' and live on forever. Especially for Ayre, who really yearns for coexistence so dearly.
Since, I quote "Alchemy is the understanding of the relationship between consciousness and matter", hence the title Armored Core. Holy shit its even in the game title
Love your videos. You're able to touch on a deeper level of the message of the games. I daresay... the collective message.
Thank you so much!
Given also the importance of Alchemy in ER, it does not come as a surprise that designers and developers reused similar concepts in AC6. Congrats for the interpretation!
Thank you! And I actually got this idea this summer while researching an alchemy video for Elden Ring! I was reading Jung and he offhandedly mentioned that coral could be linked to the Philosopher's Stone. Which of course only made me even more eager to anticipate AC 6’s release!
Ravens always were, a symbol of freedom in AC universe. Ravens, the mercs inside the ACs are trully the only humans capable of being free of corporate service. Through literal brute force... that is.
Really, AC's 4th gen is an outlier in the series with its lynxes and Collared. Most of the pilots there are directly associated with the corporations that control them, with very few being independent.
well Ravens were a thing in AC4 far as i remember, Anatolia's Merc was one, and is constantly being called a Raven, by the Lynxes, but the Lynxes use it as diminutive term, because they're of course.... the shiny new toy of the corporations.
also the whole AC4 and FA theme to me feels like its trying to make everything feel grandiose, chique, knight'ish even, and the Lynxes of Collared see themselves as some form of special cast of noble knights with etiquette and conducts, while out cast Lynxes and other Mercs are basically how old Ravens behaved, mostly insane, or unhinged.
while Raven mercs from the other games are just... people that would do all sorts of atrocities without blinking, for that moolah. (of course the cooler and chad group"
edit: AC6 is the second outlier now, 621 are... more like a person that was pushed into AC-piloting, The Raven, the real one, seems to be on the old notes of "being a raven", alongside Raven's two buddies, Raven even has an operator, like, a real one. i like to imagine that while Raven doesnt show up to contact with us, they're on their own playthrough of some kind, and out there in different planets and star systems there are many more like Raven and friends, bringing misfortune to the poor sods they get contracts on. Funny to imagine that Ac6 we basically play the stories we usually hear happen on data-logs on the old games. while the character we would play as, is actually an npc
One of the best lore analysis I've seen. It all fits too well. It's interesting to see how FS develop their lore at such symbolic level
What a wonferful analysis! Alchemy certainly seems to be favourite theme in recent FromSoftware games, being a major theme for Elden Ring too
Thank you! And yeah, FromSoft is absolutely enamored with alchemy and esoteric symbols. I actually got the idea for this video while researching an alchemy video on Elden Ring!
I always thought that the story of AC6 was about the strength of the human spirit but this video is giving me a new perspective. Great video
i still think it is predominantly about it, Iguazu literally overwhelming ALLMIND and shutting her out of battle mid fight, both ALLMIND and Ayre actually. he's literally throwing them out of the stage and going 1on1 on us.
and 621, basically braindamaged pilot plowing through most shit thrown his way.
iguazu gets a lot of shit thrown his way, but he is, alongside us, the embodiment of the indomitable human will... well i guess he's the insane perspective on it.
Why not both?
And thanks!
@@GERAT023 I feel Walter can also be used as examples, although a bit less than iguana. With him powering through the re education and lowering his weapon upon seeing we have found a friend and also with the fact that after 50 years he returns to complete his mission and honour his friends wishes, his will to complete the job shines through.
I’m sure there’s also a case for rusty, Michigan and his 50 MT squad and others but I don’t know how to write about them
Good job dude, very well done video! Very impressive.
Thank you so much!
Holy shit the salt/iguana joke fuckin GOT ME MAN
Well damn, I thought it'd be a stretch, but you've convinced me.
Please do more of this video of armored core 6 and alchemy
Im geniunly disturbed how clean your case is
Alchemy is a meme and you've probably seen it a lot but just didn't get the references
lol I love that you called it "coal" in the context slider bar thing
People still don't know about story of ac 6. It break my heart that people don't understand story the developers work hard for
Would the different endings also reflect this theme? Fires of Raven being Negredo. Liberation being Albedo. Alea Lacta Est being Rubedo; integration. The snake devouring itself on Sulla's emblem suggesting the cyclical nature of things. The game after all encourages you to do at least 3 playthroughs
Also I think where you fight the Iceworm is absolutely ash. It drifts and flits and it doesn't act like snow. Its grey not white. And its about the halfway point of the story which would align perfectly.
Also random thought didnt they find a huge deposit of coral under the ocean? Idk if im remember correctly. Coral the plant is also found in the ocean. And bodies of water are often associated with the collective and individual unconcious. Which would perfectly align with the Jungian concepts and integration.
The Liberation ACs are also named after fingers on a hand. Hence Thumb Dolmayan. Without looking there's absolutely some connection there with the Hand of the Philosopher/mysteries. Symbol of the Apotheosis - man become god.
I hadn't thought about the playthroughs like that, but that could work! I agree that the Fires of Raven could signify nigredo, though the connections between Liberator of Rubicon and albedo don't seem as immediately clear. In any case, Sulla absolutely seems like a symbol for alchemical transformation.
And good thinking re: the ocean and the hand imagery! It's also notable that when you're sent flying after defeating the Sea Spider, all of the Coral is in the air, emphasizing its sulphur nature (and that could also stand in for the collective unconscious).
Yeah I got that as well. In the second playthrough Ayre is influencing the campaign more and that spirit fills everyone on Rubicon. Her influence and your actions unify the human population closer to something that can be in alignment with symbiosis or at least coexistence. The final ending boss fight leaves me a bit confused though because why would Allmind need to fight when coral release was moments from occuring and we weren't there to prevent it? Was it symbolic of our built-in necessity for conflict and the final fight was symbolic of leaving that behind as we cast the die?
this is amazing and completely changed my perspective on the story and its symbolism
Glad to hear!
This video is literally god like, holy hell. I love From Soft and thank you for making this video.
Amazing connection, thanks so much for this. I love all the alchemical elements in FromSoft's games.
I've been itching so bad to talk about irl corals in connection to AC so I'll put it here.
Real life corals are composed of polyps that in stony corals will build an external skeleton made of calcium carbonate (salt) crystals. The bright color of coral is due to symbiotic algae known as "zoozanthellae" (the name of my AC🤭). The algae feed the polyps through photosynthesis and are protected inside the coral.
So in a way the whole coral we see in reefs is composed of the polyp animal with the symbiotic algae living inside it, which are all living in a colony made of the calcium carbonate skeleton.
I hope that context can add some food for thought about AC's coral and alchemy. It's been absolutely rotting my brain.
Incredible video man. This game really got to me emotionally and I think your connections to these materials shines a light on part of why it meant so much to me.
Thank you so much! And I was pleasantly surprised to see how Armored Core 6 could be an allegory for personal transformation
The lore of Armored Core 6 can be shit like this and yet Game journalist will *still* say "it doesn't has a deep story tho"
Thank you Dagoth-Ur for my marine biology lesson.
pretty cool video. my bf even forgot this was supposed to be abut ac6.
also, his name is Iguazu, but i did laugh when you called him iguana
Wow. More research might be needed on this, but so far this theory checks out.
Interesting video, thanks for sharing this interpretation.
And thanks for watching!
Oh I guess they weren't done with this topic in Elden Ring.
Considering how many scientists from different fields are referenced in the game, and considering that alchemy is an area of interest for anyone claiming to be academic, then it's no surprise that the authors of this story drew from academia as inspiration. It seems to be a feature of games from Japan, who have not forgotten how to read books. The irony, here, is that the material is western in origin as our IQ in the west plunges further toward room tempurature...
must've been one hell of a trip/feeling discovering all of this lining up😅
All this has only increased my curiosity about my favorite Pilot in the Game: Sulla. A First Gen Pilot with affiliations to Handler Walter and ALLMIND? Cool enough... but with this added context, HIS EMBLEM becomes insanely... emblematic. A three headed Oroborus, twisted into a shape that looks an awful lot like Tria Prima picture. Add on, Its a black snake, eating a white snake, eating a red snake, back into itself... Its starting to feel like he was us before us... and maybe has more connections with the Fires of Ibis than we even know.
Absolutely! I actually forgot about the color scheme in his emblem but it definitely seems like an intentional allusion to the alchemy underpinnings. Plus Sulla in ancient Rome was a precursor of sorts to Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon...
@@garrulousgoldmask I think you've started to stumble upon some of the deepest narrative points in this game. The Coral, the Rubicon, Emperor Sulla, the Tria Prima, the Philosophers Stone.... I hope they make a sequel and get even DEEPER in this lore.
That's a spicy take. Which faction does Sulla represent in game? I seem to remember him being an independent mercenary and but was at a PCA controlled watch point? I wonder what those other numbers that died before you represent. Someone said 621 could mean salt but I didn't get the reference there to extrapolate what that could mean for the other pilots sulla killed before 621
I do wonder why Fromsoftware is theming alchemy/occult practices in two very different games. True alchemy wasn't actually minerals, but how one can change and/or manipulate people and one self into something different. Think of it as a physical application to the spiritual one. Soon as I saw Rubicon in the title I knew there had to be deeper meaning to what the story was.
the result in lapis... water all over the place in alea acta est. definetly an end of the work to turn rubicon into the philosophers stone
If Ayre is Sulfur, Iguazu is Salt and Raven is Mercury...
What is ALLMIND?
This reminds me of a review that didn't like the Coral, saying that Corporations being greedy for their own sake would've been enough. They should see this video.
Daaaaaamn this makes game even greater
sulla’s icon is 3 snakes eating one another, one white, one black, one red. was he supposed to be the one to carry out coral release, all by himself? and the other one would be rb23/nightfall? cus he’s categorized as phase y-3, and also the raven symbolism.
the rlf also seem to fit quite well? they’re forged in ash, and call for coral to abide with rubicon. if you see rubicon as that black part, then this symbiosis is helping both coral and rubiconians to thrive, similar to what a philosopher stone would do to a person?
and in the process of achieving the alea iacta est ending, ayre learns that fighting leads to evolution, so at the end, we’d be spending our lengthened lifespans doing nothing but fighting anyway. that doesn’t sound worth it does it?
also, it’s iguazu, not iguana xd
Oh good memory! Yeah, Sulla was supposed to be the trigger for Coral Release at one point, according to one of the data logs. With his symbol being three snakes eating each other, it's definitely an allusion to the ouroboros, but I totally missed that the snakes are black, white, and red!
And the RLF was founded on the ideals of coral Symbiosis, as we learn from Father Dolmayan, though in the game he's become disillusioned and couldn't go through with Coral Release (which is why he had a coral waifu, but not any more).
As for the NG++ ending, while it's certainly the case that there's going to be a lot of fighting in the future (this is still Armored Core after all), I personally see that ending as surprisingly hopeful since now you're in a position where you can fight for your freedom against the corpos, as opposed to just being a tool in their hands. This is also supported by how the clear blue skies and water make the ending look much more cheerful than what we've seen in the rest of the game. But that's just my interpretation!
@garrulousgoldmask but do you think that the rlf also fits the philosopher stone thing just as much as all mind, ayre, and the ac? the rlf is the white part (ashes), the coral is the red part, and the planet rubicon itself is the black part (being burnt and everything singed into coal and tar and black stuff). the "philospher stone" here is the symbiosis, because it's lengthening the lifespan of the parties involved.
leading up to the third ending, every ending leaves some sort of doubt, intrigue, or regret. the fires of raven burns every coral away for real (because the fires of ibis was an in the moment plan that wasn't detonating a convergence of coral, allegedly) because the entire planet is ignited. everyone on it dies. the liberator of rubicon fends off the corps and the pca, but before the third ending, we don't have a clear answer as to how rubicon will defend itself against more threats, because half of the rlf is killed in that ending, and their weapons, machines, and defensive infrastructure destroyed too. after the third ending, we know that the liberator of rubicon doesn't deal with allmind, who now still has access to a convergence of coral and an old gen pilot capable of contact.
which is why i think you should play the entire third ending again, with ayre's analysis dialogue, because i still think that it's the most disturbing ending of them all. as i mentioned, ayre in that ending believes that conflict is evolution, which is why as the music swells up and drops, she activates combat mode at the very end of the ending. however, that isn't to mention the fact that every pilot registered to allmind is now dead or forcefully consumed into allmind so they can wake up as human-coral hybrid, and that's only if they survive the process. the most unsettling thing in that ending is that the coral release happens amongst the stars, as in it forces every human being caught in its blast (whether that's multiple star systems, or galaxies, or the entire universe) to undergo old gen augmentation to experience contact and become a human-coral hybrid. it's also established that old gen augmentation isn't that successful to begin with, so half of human life, maybe more, is just gone, while the other half is forced into machines and now has to share their mind spaces with a coral being. i don't know about free, but that's definitely a war crime we just committed
Absolutely epically great video
This is incredible, after I finished the game i came to the same exact conclusion! It's entirely about Alchemy, although i didn't know about some of the stuff you mentioned like how the Philosopher's Stone was called the "tincture of coral". I like to study and read about the occult, so when i'm reading Berserk or playing FromSoftware games i always notice whenever they intertwine occult/spiritual teachings and the like into their works. It makes the stories and games feel way more real and visceral. Also gives them a timeless charm. Thank you for making this video and coming to the same conclusion as it made my day seeing someone else share those thoughts!
Great minds think alike! And thank you for watching!
I definitely agree that incorporating the occult intro works of fiction gives them a timeless charm and makes the constructed world so much more believable. And that's all the more reason why FromSoft games can be so enthralling to so many people (myself included!)
Did not see this connection at all! Thanks for the insight!!
But also, Iguana??
cowal sounds way too cute for what they are
So you're telling me, that somehow AC6 AND Lies of P focused around alchemy with Coral/Ergo basically being the same concept? Conspiracy? Dun dun duuunnnn
My brain just ducking exploded
Pretty interesting concept. I've always wondered how alchemists can list the properties and powers of the philosophers stone but nobody can figure out how to make it or has a piece of it. How can you know the properties of something that is theoretical/can't be studied because nobody has it? Makes me feel like someone a long, long time ago was ahead of the curve on larping and just convinced the imaginative masses (or at least other alchemists) to believe in a make-believe rock that could perform miracles.
Look at human history, we moved from such theoritical foundation to current 'Science' so to call it larping is overloooking human's long speculative nature & history. Don't forget even Big bang was a mere speculation once.
There are potential modern Scientific explanations for alchemical rumors like Mercury poisioning hallucinations could have caused one to see & note alchemical properties and as more & more time passed it added to this legend of philosopher's stone.
4:24 That's not entirely accurate given the description of Ravens during the ending of Last Raven's Zinaida story path.
Also the Creation Process of Mannas or Somma
This was such a cool vid thank you!
I love it. Great take.
dude wtf. They cant keep getting away with this
Mind blown. Amazing work.
Where there's coral, there's blood
Remember that 621.
Sullas emblem the three headed oroborus has relations to alchemy, used as a symbol to represent such, Sullas arena rank is 15, the 15th element is phosphorus, "Phosphorus was first made by Hennig Brandt at Hamburg in 1669(...)Brandt kept his discovery secret, thinking he had discovered the Philosopher’s Stone"
Coincedence?!?!?!?11111!?!?
also 621 is the number for salt or MSG.
additional Iguaza fact, his emblem is of three ants fighting a stag beetle, insect fighting is an activity associated with gambling, with iquazu having been augmented to repay his gambling debts.
so it's safe to say iquaza is in the redguns because he bet on the wrong bugs.
Sulla’s emblem is absolutely an ouroboros (and with an alchemical tricolor too!) And that's a really intriguing idea about phosphorus.
Sad, knowing that this game is likely not the game of the year :(
I love this, well done!
Good lore
Incredible video.
I wonder how many of us will appear after Vaati's video
Hopefully you're the first of many!
Brilliant video.
I wonder how does 621 looks like when Inside the ac
iguazu is also a fourth-gen augmented human, and it is implied that he looks like a normal person so who knows
he's a cutie if that's what you're asking
I am glad I watched this
THE SALT!
Was that Dagoth Ur ai voice for one of those readings?
Your ears do not deceive you, Moon-and-Star.
Profound.
i have achived it and its all internal as in your mind body and soul once you know them all as one with reality itself then you shall be free as i was
was that dagoth ur i heard narrating about the coral lol?
Moon-and-Star, your ears do not deceive you.
Is make a lot of sense
is incredible! The author of this lore could be obsesses with combining alchemy with mechs! i guess i was wrong about their going to combine the western into new AC game. Is not western society is the sacred knowledge that we never heard about!