well thats enough of that. (ramble and spoilers below the cut)

good game, true ending against resident punching bag iguazu was kind of a let down but then again ive always thought the "true" endings in fromsoft games were kind of underwhelming. also the boss design didnt mesh with the rest of the game imo, theyre borderline impossible until you figure out a build for them in which case they will immediately explode, causing them to waver between an unwinnable fight or so easy they might as well not be there. its especially disappointing bc the rest of the game is so easy that having the solution to bosses be "learn how to make them just as easy" isnt really Fun. also for my first armored core game it was a bit of a shame to learn that the whole idea of tweaking your build for each mission that i was sold on isnt in this one, aside from two or three specific levels (and even then, most of that is for s ranks anyways).

and despite all that armored core 6 represents basically everything i want a sci-fi story to be. you're fighting a fleet of enemy ships in space in front of a massive super weapon that reaches from the planet's surface into the stars. you have handler walter fighting for his friends, choosing to spare you when he realize that's what you're doing too. youre basically playing as a bag of sentient meat who's only method of interacting with the world around them is through the mech, and so you never see another human beings face, but the connections you make with walter and carla and rusty and ayre still feel real.

it's good you picked a side. sit on the fence and you'll never make any enemies. but you won't make any friends either.