The story is the polar opposite of AC1: simple (it’s good vs. evil as opposed to evil corporation vs. evil corporation) and told in a straightforward way. It’s also super short. Even though the story feels like an abrupt 180 from what made the original so great, I still enjoyed developing a rivalry with the proto-Iguazu Stinger and having a Raven sidekick in Sumika. The biggest improvement Project Phantasma brings to the series formula is the arena. I love that you get to pick which map you duke it out on. I assumed it’d be like AC6 where each fight has a predetermined map. I always picked the space station level. The mission design felt like a big improvement, too. There’s a lot less missions so it makes sense that there’d be less stinkers, but the story campaign didn’t have any low-points at all for me, which I definitely can’t say for AC1. Overall, it’s a good expansion on the original but doesn’t match or surpass its greatness.

Hmm... a generally positive time, but a mixed bag. I started with this one because it's technically a prequel to Armored Core 1, and that was silly. It was fine, but it was silly.

Controls are... crusty. To say the least. Even for PS1. I was able to adapt given a few hours, but even once firing while boost-strafing in circles starts to feel "normal" it never feels smooth. Interacting with consoles and doors and such feels pretty consistently bad. This lack of fine motor control also made me prefer standard outdoor brawls to anything that involved going into a confined space. Missions in general are hit and miss. Some feel very slapdash.

The arena is a highlight, and it's great, both as fairly interesting content and as a way for a player to "grind" and power up their builds in order to get through the next mission. Looking forward to more.

more of the same for better or worse

the new arena mode is decent fun, but I find the plot significantly weaker and lacking the darker tone AC1 had going on, felt a lot safer and more generic

a Lot less missions, entirely linear and lacks the more open ended mission structure AC1 had, and the missions are generally dull and forgettable, a few were decent

overall an Okay prequel that's kinda forgettable and one-upped in every single way by MoA and the original game minus some small additions

é tipo uma DLC do primeiro, todos os menus e visual do jogo são a mesma coisa, ele usa a mesma OST também (eu ACHO que com algumas tracks novas?). História mais linear e com mais diálogos, achei um downgrade comparado com a do AC1 mas não é ruim, os personagens são bem legais. O design das missões é diferente, adorei as várias lutas contra o Stinger, principalmente as 3 últimas, uma coisa q eu posso dizer desse é que a última missão é melhor que a última missão do primeiro, com de fato uma boss fight legal pra encerrar.

A great, sort of, "DLC" for the first game. The story itself throughout main missions was kind of dull, and you aren't really acting like a mercenary doing others' bidding to get by in this game (which I didn't mind that much since doing missions with a companion is kickass) but it isn't necessarily Armored Core. Most of my time in this game was actually spent in the "Arena Mode" which is a brilliant game mode where you battle against higher ranking ACs to become number one. Really made me change my build and actually think about the parts I'm using.

Better paced than Armored Core, and the difficulty introduced by the latter half of the arena fights encourages experimentation and reveals the systems' depth and variety in a way that game never really managed. It sacrifices a lot of style by shifting to a conventional narrative, but there is something funny about your client being a pitch-perfect hardboiled fiction girl-in-need while exclusively appearing in her mech. Highlight of the game was all fifty arena participants having unique logos and single-sentence bios.

I don't know if I needed more Armored Core 1, but this is just that! Everything good I said about that game still applies here, except for the story.

This game's story is a lot more direct. You follow a linear mission structure with little room for variance and the plot plays out in a much more standard manner. You have a companion for a majority of the runtime, there's an antagonistic rival who shows up to taunt you throughout and all in all, it was all a tad trite. There was a peculiar morality to Armored Core 1; you were a mercenary for hire, which meant being given some unsavoury jobs. I personally chose to ignore those in favour of other missions, which actually ended up skipping them entirely. It was simple but effective and I enjoyed being in that role a lot. In this, you're an action hero. There's no ambiguity, you are the good guy and while that's fine, I wasn't at all hooked.

The game's balance also feels a little off. Levels are generally longer and will whittle down your resources constantly. I'd fail a mission realising what I really needed to do was just ignore all the enemies. I just didn't like the objectives as much this time round, nothing stood out as particularly obnoxious, but in that same regard nothing was as special to me as some of the levels in the original. The final boss was a pain though, I tried for a while with the build that had decimated the rest of the game(s) only to unload all of my ammunition into that boss only for it not to end. I switched to a rocket weapon from the shop and annihilated him in 30 seconds, which came off rather limp. I know these kinds of fights are probably a staple of the series, but the core gameplay on the PS1 just doesn't really facilitate the faster pace as much as I'd like.

I enjoyed it enough. It's Armored Core at its core, but Project Phantasma doesn't bring enough new to the table to warrant its own existence. I didn't even mention the arena mode because I fought one enemy and knew I wouldn't get much out of it. Again, in a title that controls better, these 1-on-1 encounters might shine bright, but they're far too dull here.

it's more armored core. same controls, same ac customization, same premise for blowing shit up. it's just as thrilling as its predecessor with the greatest addition being arena mode. a fun side mode to gain loads of cash and glory. while it does remove the constant fear of financial obliteration that the original game holds, it's still such a fun side mode to feel like the youre top dog. another benefit this game has over the original is ACTUAL storytelling. fromsoft is known for their esoteric storytelling via the environment, npc interactions, and item descriptions. the first armored core really only does its storytelling through mission debriefings and was lacking in getting the player to feel that they have a bigger role in the plot until the very end. not necessarily bad writing, just kinda missing the mark that they subsequently perfected with later games (but had somehow already done better with the first king's field??). this game lets you know the stakes and your significance in the plot from the beginning. but that's all it does better. its characters, mysteries, and overall writing arent as captivating or compelling as the first game. there's some cool ass yet janky in-game cutscenes, though. a neat expansion. moving on to master of arena now.