The Raven is a fan-made title given to the player character of every Armored Core game.
Overview[]
Regardless of any circumstances, The Raven is never given a name, age, face or gender (though often implied to be male), nor do they ever speak, and is simply referred to by all other characters as Raven. The only exception is Leos Klein and Fritz Byne (novel), who is The Raven of Armored Core: Master of Arena. The capability of each Raven depends on the player, though in every AC game the said Raven prevails as the "perfect weapon"; becoming either a "savior" or "destroyer".
Through the course of Armored Core history, each Raven from their respective title ultimately find themselves attaining feats that are supposedly impossible; dethroning the notorious rank 1 AC Nine-Ball thus branding them the title "Nine Breaker," saving the world from destruction, opening a path to freedom, and even to things some would consider as trivial, releasing an ally from their suffering and mere survival instinct.
History[]
Armored Core[]
The Raven appears during the Murakumo/Chrome conflict and proceeds to fight both of the corporations, until one succeeds over the other. They are deemed a threat by the Hustler One AI, being assigned missions intended to kill them. They eventually fight their way to the central computer of the Raven's Nest, which is the AI itself, and destroys it.
Armored Core: Project Phantasma[]
The Raven accepts a mysterious request from an unknown client, later revealed to be Sumika Juutilainen. He then proceeds to help her crush the Doomsday Organization. He repeatedly fights enemy irregular Stinger multiple times and finally destroys Project Phantasma.
Armored Core: Master Of Arena[]
Unlike in previous incarnations, The sole purpose of The Raven, also known as Annihilator, Leos Klein or Fritz Byne, is to kill Nine-Ball as revenge for killing his family. Over the course of the story, he crushes many Ravens, including Nine-Ball and his Seraph version. With the defeat of Nine-Ball, he becomes the first ever "Nine Breaker" in the Arena.
Armored Core 2[]
The Raven is a mercenary who comes to Mars and is eventually caught up in the Civil Commotion of Mars. He single-handedly crushes the Frighteners and then proceeds to stop Leos Klein's plans as well as defeating him in AC to AC combat twice.
Armored Core 2: Another Age[]
The Raven works for almost every side in the struggle on Earth, ranging from the Indies rebel group, to the Corporations and the Earth Government. He single-handedly kills many Ravens, and foils Antares, a skilled Martian Raven, from maintaining control over the Earth Orbital Elevator.
Armored Core 3[]
The Raven, known as Citizen No. 0824-FK3203, works first for the Corporations and then the terrorist group Union. He defeats the Controller Agents and then destroys The Controller itself, allowing humanity to access the surface.
Armored Core: Silent Line[]
The Raven, known as XA-26483, works in cooperation with the Corporations to investigate what lies beyond the Silent Line. He defeats multiple I-C003-INs, enemy Ravens, and finally the IBIS, thus freeing the second Layered.
Armored Core: Nexus[]
During the conflict surrounding the new resource the company Navis found, the player character takes contracts from all sides and subsequently rises to the top of the Ravens' Ark rankings for their many activities in the region. Shortly after Navis's downfall, they are hired by Kisaragi to prevent the activation of lost technology weapons at the facility underneath Borbos Mine, but despite their efforts, which includes defeating a powerful unknown weapon, they are unable to prevent the release of the unmanned suicide weapons. Regardless, they make a final stand on top of Bayload City against a seemingly endless swarm of the suicide drones.
Armored Core: Nine Breaker[]
Armored Core: Last Raven[]
During the war between the Alliance and Vertex, The Raven operates according to the payer; in some endings, he remains neutral and in others he sides with a faction. By the final mission, he is identified as the "Last Raven."
Armored Core 4[]
- Main article: Anatolia's Mercenary
Rescued by Fiona Jarnefeldt, The Raven works as a Lynx for Anatolia, and is hence known as "Anatolia's Mercenary". His actions contribute to the initiation of the Lynx War, in where he defeats many other Lynx, including Berlioz and his elite squad. In addition to his impressive kill count, he single-handedly destroys Rayleonard and severely cripples BFF. After defending Anatolia from Joshua O'Brian|Joshua O'Brien's 00-ARETHA, he leaves Anatolia with Fiona.
Armored Core: For Answer[]
The protagonist of Armored Core: For Answer was never mentioned to have been a mercenary pilot at the time Normal ACs where at their epitome, and so is not considered a Raven. The default name for their NEXT is "Strayed".
Anatolia's Mercenary returns as a non-playable character, now working for Line Ark and known by his NEXT's name "White Glint". He is defeated by either CUBE or Strayed, although his death isn't confirmed.
Armored Core V[]
Although not initially stated to be a Raven (later referred to as the "Dark Raven" in Verdict Day), the protagonist of Armored Core V is an AC pilot that comes from an elite family of Mercenaries. At first he worked for the Corporation for at least one mission, but changed sides to the resistance and worked exclusively for them. While working for the Resistance, Fran and Rosary served as his operators, with Rosary also providing logistical support with her helicopter.
At the beginning of the game, the mercenary seems to have an almost precognitive dream about his final battle with RD.
In Armored Core: Verdict Day, the protagonist of Armored Core V is referred to as "The Dark Raven" by Blue Magnolia.
Armored Core: Verdict Day[]
The protagonist of Armored Core: Verdict Day is (presumably) also a mercenary, partnered with Fatman and Magnolia Curtis (Stork pilot and retired mercenary, respectively). He goes on multiple, unrelated missions, being secretly eyed at by the Foundation and Reaper Squad. During the course of the story, he defeats approximately 40 other Mercenaries. He eventually eradicates the Reaper Squad single-handedly.
After defeating the Leader of the Reaper Squad, the protagonist and Fatman vow to continue fighting against The Foundation's weapons, determined to prove that they are the "exceptions" to The Foundation Man's cynical view on humanity.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon[]
- Main article: C4-621
The player character is Augmented Human C4-621, a mercenary AC pilot who later goes by the borrowed callsign "Raven."
Trivia[]
- Since Raven is a title shared by many pilots, few have appeared as NPC across the games, with the most notable ones being the infamous Nine-Ball, the master computer who guides humanity; Leos Klein, leader of the Frighteners; Jack-O, Evangel and Zinaida, leading Ravens of the 24-Hour War; Joshua O'Brien, who is often referred to as White Glint, and Anatolia's Mercenary who takes up his mantle; and Rb23, the Raven operating on Rubicon 3 whose callsign was stolen by the protagonist of Armored Core VI. They share one thing in common, even with the player character, in that they fight for what they believe in, hence leading or fighting for various factions, organizations, and beliefs. This also means that whether they are heroes or villains, including the player character, is sometimes a matter of perspective.
- It’s implied that Leos Klein is the player character of Armored Core: Master of Arena. Leos Klein holds the title of Nine Breaker, a rare, elusive title given to those to have bested Nine-Ball in the Arena, a title which the player attains at the end of Master of Arena as well. They also have similar builds and weapons. If this theory is true, it would make the Raven of Master of Arena the first and only Raven with a confirmed identity.
- Ravens can often receive optional human or Armored Core upgrades to gain gameplay bonuses, which are Human PLUS and OP-INTENSIFY. Lore-wise, Ravens as well as other AC pilots with these upgrades usually perform better than those without.
Videos[]
External links[]
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 Heroes
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Armored Core to Master of Arena Armored Core 2 to Another Age Armored Core 3 to Last Raven Armored Core 4 to For Answer Armored Core V to Verdict Day Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
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