Armored Core: Project Phantasma is a 1997 third-person shooter mecha video game developed and published by FromSoftware for the PlayStation. Project Phantasma is the second entry in the Armored Core series and a prequel to the original Armored Core.

The Story Behind Armored Core - Project Phantasma

As the player completes more missions, they develop a rivalry with an Armored Core pilot named Stinger, who is in the employ of the Doomsday Organization. The story is set two years before the original Armored Core and follows the player's investigation of the mysterious Amber Crown complex, a testing ground for the shadowy Doomsday Organization and their dangerous research codenamed Project Phantasma. Project Phantasma is the second entry in the Armored Core series and a prequel to the original Armored Core.

FromSoftware partnered with ASCII Entertainment and released a North American version on October 7, 1998. The player's continued success drives Stinger to merge with Phantasma and challenge the player to a final fight. Stinger, desiring the strength of the Phantasma weapon, attempts to use it against the player.

How Armored Core - Project Phantasma Plays

Returning from Armored Core is a split screen multiplayer mode. An import feature allows players to bring their character from Armored Core into the game, retaining all of their customization and weapons from the original game. Project Phantasma continues the core gameplay of Armored Core, in which players choose missions to engage enemies and earn credits.

Replay mode allows players to watch an exact recreation of their last battle from multiple perspectives. This mode retains the PlayStation Link Cable functionality introduced in the first game, allowing players to connect two PlayStation consoles together and fight each other on separate televisions. In order to do so, they would need a save file from the original game on their memory card.

Why Players Still Load It Up

As the player completes more missions, they develop a rivalry with an Armored Core pilot named Stinger, who is in the employ of the Doomsday Organization. Gameplay is largely identical to Armored Core with the addition of new weapons and customization options available to the player. GamePro said that the game "will give any mech partisan a good fight.

GameSpots Joe Fielder noted that the depth of the missions, despite being fewer in number, was a welcome addition, stating that they required "more thought than merely 'Destroy!'" In a review for AllGame, Shawn Sackenheim praised the Arena mode, summarizing the experience as able to keep players "busy for weeks". Sumika and Stinger were test subjects for the project. AllGames Sackenheim also commented that "the single player missions ended too quickly", but seemed to disagree on the Arena being that short.

Armored Core - Project Phantasma — Frequently Asked Questions