Raven

Lore & Background

In the world of Armored Core: Last Raven, the previously warring corporations have merged into a single organization called The Alliance. A group of mercenaries called Vertex, led by a Raven known as Jack-O, rises to oppose them. The player takes the role of an unaffiliated Raven, a mercenary pilot of a mech robot called an Armored Core. The game's story unfolds over a 24-hour period, with mission choices dictating the narrative ending. Key figures include Evangel, a Raven who rallies Ravens to the Alliance, and Zinaida. The conflict is complicated by independent warlords who set out on their own after the collapse of Raven's Ark. The true purpose of the war is revealed to be finding a pilot called 'Dominant' who is strong enough to stop an AI called Internecine and its destructive Pulverizer weapons.

Reader's Guide

A Raven in Armored Core: Last Raven is a pilot of a mech robot called an Armored Core. Players take on over 70 missions that play out over a 24-hour period. Completed missions provide credits to spend on parts and weapons, and can influence the availability of subsequent missions. The 24-hour period incrementally moves forward with each mission.

Customization is identical to previous entries. Players start the game with 300,000 credits and a basic Armored Core. They can alter the mech with hundreds of parts and weapons, each of which can change the gameplay experience. A component damage system allows for parts to be broken individually over the course of a mission.

For example, damaging its legs cripples its movement, while damaging its arms removes its ability to use hand-held weapons. The player is given the option of which faction to support—Vertex or The Alliance—leading to several distinct endings.

Origins and Developmental Significance

Armored Core: Last Raven is a 2005 mecha-based vehicular combat game developed by FromSoftware. It is part of the Armored Core series and is a direct sequel to Armored Core: Nexus (2004). The game was originally released for the PlayStation 2 and was ported to the PlayStation Portable in 2010. The game is notable for being the debut project of future FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Last Raven concludes the storyline that began with 2002's Armored Core 3. The game was initially released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 on August 4, 2005. FromSoftware partnered with Agetec and released a North American version on June 13, 2006. A European version was released in partnership with 505 Games on October 6, 2006.

The PSP re-release, Armored Core: Last Raven Portable, was released in Japan on March 4, 2010, in North America on May 4, and in Europe on July 14. It includes widescreen support, an ad hoc multiplayer mode, and the ability to import save data from Armored Core 3: Portable.

Narrative Conflict and Factional Choice

The story of Last Raven takes place in the wake of the now-defunct Navis's failed attempt to control recovered ancient weapons technology at the end of Armored Core: Nexus. The remaining corporations have merged into one super-corporation known as 'The Alliance'. A Raven known as Jack-O forms an organization of Ravens known as 'Vertex' from the ashes of the fallen Raven's Ark. Jack-O declares that he will launch an all-out war on the Alliance in 24 hours.

Leading the opposing force, a Raven named Evangel has rallied just as many Ravens to the Alliance. Many Ravens have turned into independent warlords after the collapse of Raven's Ark. The player, one of a surviving Raven, begins by choosing to take a mission for either Vertex or The Alliance. This choice leads to several distinct endings for the first time in the series.

The true purpose of the war is revealed to be finding the Dominant pilot strong enough to stop the AI Internecine and the Pulverizers.

Critical Reception and Legacy

Last Raven received 'mixed or average reviews' on both platforms according to the review aggregator websites GameRankings and Metacritic. The game was praised for continuing the impressive level of customization that Armored Core has become renown for, yet it was also cited as a daunting barrier to new players. GameSpot's review of the PlayStation 2 version claimed the difficulty of the story and arena missions were too steep, and relied too much on trial and error to customize the player character successfully for the challenges at hand. IGN's review of the same console version was slightly more favorable, but still criticized the game's extreme learning curve, the lack of new graphics, and lack of significant innovations to the game's formula. In Japan, Famitsu gave the game a score of 29 out of 40 for the PS2 version, and 26 out of 40 for the PSP version.