Armored Core

The first game in the series and it debuted on the then new PlayStation. With impressive design work by Kawamori Shoji it became an instant success and that zeitgeist has inspired successive iterations.

The main attraction to the game was the ability to customise one's own mecha, called an Armored Core, and take it into combat in order to earn money as a mercernary. As such the designwork is unique in the mecha pantheon because each Armored Core can be built upon a unique configuration of parts and paint schemes.