Part 9: Shit Gets Real

Well, this is it. The war between Chrome and Murakumo Millennium is about to come to a close, as the next few missions are gonna be a deciding factor in the conflict.


The first mission that marks the turning point is this, Retake Air Cleaner.


We just got a terrifying communique from the terrorist group "Imminent Storm". They said that they are occupying the air cleaner above Isaac City.

This unit takes air from above-ground, cleans it, and sends it down to the underground city. It is literally the City's lifeline.

Their demands are for the immediate dismantling of Murakumo Millennium who they say has become the ringleader or social decay. Their false accusations are brash.

Their recent activities have been a string of failures thanks to you Ravens. This is a desperate act of desperate men willing to die with honor. Eliminate them quickly.

Note that the air cleaner has an extremely complex structure due to repeated retrofits with the expansion of the underground city. Be careful.


If you helped Chrome with the factory mission, you'd get a mission that involves the other terrorist group as the target, and dealing with them deals a huge blow to the other megacorp.

Retake Air Cleaner


So, this area has a lot of vents, and a lot of enemies and mines planted around them, so it's easy to get lost and take damage if you aren't paying attention. But eliminating the terrorists no longer becomes our primary objective, unfortunately.



Yeesh, Imminent Storm is even more desperate than we've assumed. Also, there's no timer for when they say they can halt the fans for 10 minutes, and I've never waited around long enough to see if that does anything. Probably not.



Now, there is a secret part in this level. There are two ceiling vents in this main chamber, and the one in the southeast corner leads to the part. Fly up into it while destroying the grating and claim the part. It's a dual missile back part that takes up both shoulder slots, so as you can imagine, it has no real use for us besides selling for more credits.


Now, there are so many vents in the side walls, but none of them contain the gas canister we need to collect. We actually need to head downward.



In the opposite corner of the room from where the vent leading the secret part was, there's a vent on the floor we have to go down. There are some more mines and a few bishops, but it's nothing hard to deal with. It's a pretty straight path to the objective.


This is a spot to be careful at, because between you and the canister is an MT called the Whirlwind. Because of their not being much room to move around, don't shoot too much or at all unless you can guarantee it won't hit the canister. Doing so fails the mission.



Another mission accomplished with no issues. We've also got a new mail, so let's see what that's about.


And eventually, Chrome will be destroyed as well.

But this process was a necessary one, necessary for our rebirth and that of all humanity.

I'll be in touch.

Yep, Chrome is pretty much fucked now.


But, like Imminent Storm, Chrome is taking some desperate measures of their own, as you can see from the mission title Chrome Uprising.


The Chrome have finally started an armed uprising. Socially, they have been in a cornered position, but it seems that they have finally made their move.

We wish no unnecessary fighting, but their mere presence is a danger to all humanity. If we don't crush the bad seeds, the roots will again begin to spread. Justice is ours.

Our elite troops have come under attack in various regions. The war situation is going just as we had expected.

However, we miscalculated. We had to fight pitched battles against Chrome detachments appearing above-ground. Several military bases were attacked and suffered crippling blows.

According to reports, the enemy is a small detachment of 5-6 MTs, but their capabilities cannot be taken lightly. They are probably Chrome's latest models.

From the enemy's attack vectors, their next target is probably a military base in the Zahm Desert. We want you to head to the base ASAP and engage the enemy detachment.


This mission actually has three enemies to deal with, so it's a quick one. As for the type of enemy we'll be facing, it's probably not harder to figure out.

Chrome Uprising



The CHAOS MT model makes its third and final return, with three of them on the scene. Turns out us participating in those tests actually did contribute to the war effort for Chrome. Whatever.

It is only three enemies, and the map is only a small military base, but the CHAOS MTs are pretty resilient and love to hop around a lot. Just keeping a lock on them without sustaining to much damage from them is the key to completing it.



Honestly, what else is there for me to say about this one? Besides, the real exciting mission starts after this one.


Let's start the briefing for the next mission, Mop Up Chrome Remnants.


Special report for all Ravens! It has been decided to disband the Chrome group that planned a military coup d'etat using new robotic weapons.

Murakumo Millennium will control and inspect the remaining assets of Chrome, so that they can be reused appropriately later.

Now that the confrontation is over, there may be less and less for you Ravens to do. Hopefully this is a sign that mankind is moving towards a peaceful future.

It's not over yet. We have a job for you. We need you to survey a Chrome military base. Some remnants of the group may still resist, but their strength is inconsequential.

We want you to check the situation in the interior of the base and mop up any resistance you find there. Your pay should be adequate.


This is it. This is what was promised to you if you guys voted for the Murakumo path. While the mission briefing makes it sound easy and trivial, there's a big surprise waiting for us. Let's begin.

Mop Up Chrome Remnants




Not even hitting the ground, and a bastard is dead already. Though I kinda wish the physics worked in a way that landing on an MT from a high enough distance and speed would just crush them. That would be awesome.



This entire base only has Bishops as enemies to deal with. Only two shots from the KARASAWA to take them down, and they do so little damage anyway. Just keep killing them and making your way to the top of the base.


So we've cleared out the base, so let's head back outside to complete the...



Jesus fucking Christ!

Gentleman, this right here is the Devastator, the largest MT in the entire game and the only one of its kind we'll ever face. It's really quite memorable, if only because of its size. I mean, sometimes when you're piloting a giant robot like an Armored Core for so long you can potentially lose a sense of scale, especially if it's in an environment that's designed for huge machines than people. So how do you reinforce that sense of scale? Make you feel tiny as shit in comparison, and that's what the Devastator does.

If you want to know just how huge it is, just look at this.


The AC probably is only as high as its foot, maybe its shin. This is as close as I was able to get to the thing, but it's HUGE!

It's main weapons include a plasma cannon, and a cluster of eight missiles that all fire and home in at once for nearly a thousand AP's worth of damage.



Case in point.

Luckily, our KARASAWA still does a shit ton of damage even against this thing and it's got more than enough ammo left to take it down.



And that's the mission. As well as the end of the war.

Guess what's next? A CUTSCENE!

Cutscene: Chrome Defeated



The struggle for market share between Murakumo and up and coming Verge Company is becoming more and more intense. Future developments look interesting.



...so, nothing has changed after all...




So, as to be expected when there's no real competition, corporations decline and fall apart. This would also be the same result if we sided with Chrome. But like it says, it's only the beginning of the real end.


Which means we've still got another mission, Mop Up Chrome Remnants...wait, what?


We have heard a rumor that a former Chrome military facility has recently been visited by an unknown group.

The true situation is unclear but we have eye-witness reports of resumed weapons. Although supposedly already dismantled, the military superiority of Chrome was awesome in scope.

It is not surprising that some may still be loyal to Chrome.

But still they are only remnants of the group. They probably have no serious weapons. This job may not be satisfying for Ravens, but we want to eliminate apprehension quickly.

Enter the base and attack them as you find them. That is all.


So now it's a mission from the Raven's Nest, and it's at the same base that we were at last time. This is certainly weird.

Mop Up Chrome Remnants (2)


So instead of being dropped down the long shaft in the last mission, we're basically going into the base in reverse order...only there is nothing.


Seriously, it's fucking empty.


Once you head a certain distance in the facility, you'll get this message to return.


Along with several enemies spawning. And they're more powerful and aggressive then the Bishops. It can be pretty easy to lose AP during this part.


It's best at this point to just avoid the enemies and get out of there. Especially because of what's waiting for you outside.



A familiar voice greets us. Boss Savage.


Here our energy weapons are especially beneficial because his AC Sledgehammer is designed to withstand shell hits, but has low energy defenses. He doesn't last long.



At least we still got paid. But that mission was quite fishy.

Next update is gonna be dedicated to the final mission, because there's A LOT I have to say in particular about it. It's also a memorable mission, but not for the exact same reasons that other missions in this game are memorable.

Here's a hint: It's a right fucking bastard.

I'll be in touch.