The Meaning Behind Armored Core 6 Names

Let's find out together about the origins and meaning of all (well, most of) the names used in Armored Core 6.
Because of course our favorite thing about From Software games is when they make up absurd names from the most obscure sources, right?
What do you mean, "I don't care?"
Too bad, I'm still spending an inordinate amount of time looking everything up and then making a video about it anyway.
►Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:39 Classical Inspirations
06:32 Factions and Pilots
10:16 Makers and Parts
► Thanks to Reddit user u/Bekqifyre for figuring out the origin of Chinese names!
►And as always, a very special thanks to my lovely wife for all the support ❤️
►Music:
Armored Core 6 OST - Fight Or Flight
Ace Combat 3 OST - Transparent Blue (edited)
Armored Core 6 OST - Steel Haze (Rusted Pride)
Ace Combat 3 OST - Alert (edited)
Ace Combat 3 OST - The Protocol (edited)

[@addypalooza]

Since a lot of people mentioned it in the comments, I highly recommend watching Garrulous Goldmask's video about Alchemy and AC6: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYDTcpWip9Znh5Isi=JhAoy6NpJVbqV_Fz Outstanding research work, and, while I find some of the connections somewhat tenous, the inspiration for the meaning of Coral and Ayre is definitely there!

[@HattaTHEZulZILLA86]

Iguazu... from a name of a river that I DO NOT want to go on a relaxing fishing trip... or a swim...

[@shadowking8575]

This is also apparent.

[@GrislyGrizz]

So Chartreuse is a type of liqueur made by Carthusian monks of La Grande Chartreuse. The secret formula is known by only 3 monks at a time. It comes in two versions, green and yellow Chartreuse. In AC6 Chartreuse's AC is green and yellow, and there only 3 pilots active at a time in Branch. Somebody at FromSoft likes their alcohol 🤣

[@ruby_240]

My god this Is genius lmao

[@mat3393gjh]

That ac is certainly a real killer in the 3v1 mission. I use it all the time to test new builds, via mission replay. Just like the final ‘beat igwazu (that sack of salt)’ mission

[@remymabboux6480]

Bro, I am French, and when I first saw that, I was like "Holy shit! I know this!" My grandparents live in Grenoble, which sits right between the Alps, Vercore, and Chartreuse. I've gone hiking there a few times, its pretty nice.

[@phantomviper211]

Personally I think that Snail's callsign is him intentionally braking the naming convention because he thinks he's better than everyone else

[@HaloForgeUltra]

Or it's a misspelling of Smail, a British Psychologist. Probably made in a translation because his AC looks kinda like a Snail in some fashion.

[@walkin6443]

It's because the amygdala looks like a snail roughly and because snail is the brain of the Vespers he is therefore a snail/spiral/amygdala.

[@Avalonedge]

621's official Redgun callsign from the pre order bonus AC data set is "G13 Tenderfoot", which is a real Lake too ;)

[@MaidenlessScrub]

how nice of Balam to send us an entire AC for our job lol

[@beanbeater]

@@MaidenlessScrub michigan is such a cool guy

[@vulnerablerummy]

i also think tenderfoot is the total opposite of mad stomp, the dead last ranked AC. while we, on the opposite will rise the top of the rank

[@ucanhhuynh7183]

tenderfoot also means newcomer, novice, inexperienced beginner. Explained why almost everyone in Redgun seeing us as amateur, except Michigan since he treats all of his soldiers equally.

[@Deadput]

That is not the callsign, that is the name of the AC data much like how the default is named Loader 4, the name is in the same field as the AC names of other characters like Liger Tail for Michigan or Mad Stomp for Rummy. However Raven itself follows the line of River names due to the existence of the Raven river in Canada As I was writing this I went to the fandom AC6 wiki and saw somebody in the trivia section also say that Tenderfoot was the callsign name...which no, it's not and whoever is saying that is spreading misinformation, if that was their callsign the other Redguns would actually say it instead of G13 or G13 Raven.

[@beefs0ck911]

I'm confident that the HAL- designation is a direct reference to the HAL-9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Walter tries to kill you in the HAL frame, and HAL tries to kill Dave. Both are following their ambiguous directives to a fault, and because you, like Dave, interfere with Walter/HAL's end goal, the only reasonable action is to put you down like HAL decided to attempt with Dave.

[@sureyeah3678]

or they could just be the reference of Bryan Cranston Hal from Malcon in the Middle, and Walter from Breaking Bad lmao

[@DaBlaccGhost]

HAL is always a concept in computing its the interface between the kernel architecture to interface with hardware. Hardware Abstraction Layer

[@declicitous1763]

HAL could be a shortened version of assistant no. 1s (Walter’s father) name, but I don’t know which name it’s short for

[@Pandadoxical]

I do think that'd be cool af, but it could also just be his name in a weird way. HAndler wALter -> HAL. Kinda simple but still a possibility

[@WildArmACF]

I like to think they also refrence Hal Emrick from metal gear

[@RashFever26]

12:58 The NGI parts are named after Nagai, the main professor of the Rubicon Research Institute, in the same way that WLT = Walter.

[@allinairhanson6886]

Y'know, walter could also be a last name, as his father was a researcher in the RRI, and it could be in reference

[@underwater1997]

Nagai could also be a reference to Go Nagai, the mangaka who wrote Mazinger which is one of the OG Super Robo/mecha manga and anime

[@user-vi5hb1jh4h]

For the planet's name "Rubicon 3", 3 in Roman numeral was "III", looks similar to 川 which means "river" in chinese. So "Rubicon 3" maybe also the other reference of rubicon river.

[@lucamckenn5932]

I'd say less may be and more definitive fact in my opinion. There's nothing to contradict your idea, and even several things in universe lead credence to the idea that Rubicon 3 is the crossing point for humanity. The die is cast, after all...

[@Graknorke]

​@@lucamckenn5932 The "possibly" was to the III -> river connection, not that Rubicon was referring to the river.

[@shaleverlias]

Adding onto this, I interpreted the three stars in Father Dolmayan’s insignia to represent Rubicon 3; three stars on a red “river” of coral. As for the scales, and this is admittedly reaching at straws, perhaps it’s a representation of his own feelings on the RLF and Coral; they’re unbalanced, tipped a little in favour of one side, but not domineeringly so, just as Dolmayan himself seems far less fanatical about his own organisation’s goals than most. He even seems a bit hesitant about it with how he speaks to 621 and his own people. Or perhaps it’s just a neat piece of imagery for a leader. Scales typically represent justice, after all.

[@vulnerablerummy]

wanna add my 2 cents, they give 'cinder' nicknames to those who survived fire of ibis. if you spell it in japanese, it becomes 'shinda', which is also a word in japanese (死んだ) meaning "has died". so cinder is probably a fitting name to those people who has died once in the fire of ibis

[@allinairhanson6886]

Tbh kinda reminds me of how cinder is used in dark souls I guess,

[@HasekuraIsuna]

Wow, nice catch! I played the game in Japanese and it didn't even cross my mind.

[@dumbsterdives]

it thematically fits too, because the cinders like Carla and (technically) walter have lived only to destroy the coral ever since, like vengeful spirits of the dead that can't pass on until their unfinished business is complete. Doubly so because, no matter what ending you get, both die for the second and final time in the end

[@bombomos]

I think Melinite's explosive weapon names are more a play on words with how the weapons look and what they do. Songbirds-Twin nade launcher Earshot-biggest explosion(cover your ears) Dizzy-second biggest explosion(might make you dizzy from the shockwave) Little Gem- smallest bazooka Majestic- extremely simple and streamlined. Looks the least like a bazooka and more of an over sized pistol Iridium- its a compound used in high explosives. So a small package that has a big blast

[@addypalooza]

Yes, unless we find something more accurate, I agree that the names sound like play on words on the specific weapon. Again, not everything needs a deep meaning behind it!

[@fredg7296]

@@addypalooza Rock/Metal references. Majestic (bazooka): 8th studio album by Gamma Ray, a German power metal band. Little Gem (bazooka): Song by English rock band The Verve. Dizzy (grenade): Dizzy Reed, Keyboardist for Guns N' Roses. Iridium (grenade): Song by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquility. Earshot (grenade): American alternative metal band. Songbird (grenade): A) Song by Oasis, B) Song by Fleetwood Mac

[@PuriNateyNate47]

Songbirds are probably in reference to canaries that were brought down into coal mines

[@addypalooza]

IMHO the problem with musical references is that there's so many bands/musicians/songs that you can find anything if you just look hard enough. In this case the references look very random to me, not sure that's the theme.

[@C4six-two-one]

Songbirds is a reference to the fact that they mate for life and usually sing their "song" as a duet.

[@knightclub9668]

I have a few things I want to add about the Vespers and their names and emblems and what they mean on top of their names. First, an added little detail I noticed about Snail is that he fights like a cone snail. He tries to get close and stab you with really stupidly deadly piercing weapons like the lance or stun needle. Also Snail's Balteus (The Snalteus) has the vague look of a snail if you look at the side of it, with the oversized back body. Second: I want to bring up the Vesper emblems because they are all really really cool and include a lot of references to both the characters and the original person they reference. V1 Freud's symbol is a hand reaching out from a metal surface and grasping something. Zooming in you can see that he's holding a very tiny green chemical symbol. I can't see it well enough to tell but I believe it's either Dopamine or Adrenaline to symbolize how the only reason he fights is to ride the high from combat. V2 Snail's I'm not confident about but I think there's a couple possibilities. First: It could symbolize how he's the real power instead of Freud, the man behind the man. Second: It could be a cone snail but I'll confess that is stretching a ton on my part. Third: I think I've seen a similar symbol show up a couple of times in Pop Culture bastardizations of Dark Triad psychology. It's either the symbol for machiavelianism or narcissism and like, I convict Snail on both charges. V3 O'keefe, This one is pretty easy. Georgia O'Keefe is most famous for her drawings of flowers. O'keefe's symbol is a sunflower & eye? hybrid with a disturbing looking colouration. V4 Rusty you already talk about, maybe also a Fenrir reference in there somewhere but I don't see it. V5 Hawkins: Like with the reference in Hawkins's name this is an enigma, but I do think it's the key to figure out which specific person named hawkins V5 is named after. V6 Maeterlinckt: Her symbol is a bunch of marionettes on strings with a mosquito on top. Maurice Maeterlinckt was kind of an eccentric nutjob who had so much OCD about his plays that he spent a few years composing plays that were done entirely with marionettes because he didn't trust his actors to be perfect enough for his taste. The mosquito symbolizes how she's an annoying piece of shit to fight. V7 Swinburne: He threatens everyone with re-education and his portrait is a diagram of a lobotomy. V8 Pater: Pater's symbol has two fetuses mirrored from eachother, his AC is named "Two Sided" or something like that, and although I've not heard it, apparently there are a couple of times where he has two polar opposite dialogue lines for certain things like Hawkin's death. One final thing. There is a Raven river in Canada, so even G13 Raven contributes to the consistency of the redgun naming scheme.

[@TheIntratec9]

@knightclub9668 If Maeterlinck chose Marionettes, then it ties into in-game's Maeterlinck's trust issues, and risk-averse perfectionism.

[@dumbsterdives]

Pater's "two-sided" personality likely refers to how, when you're fighting him in either the mission to attack him and Hawkins or the allmind mission where you fight him in an LC, he VERY quickly jumps from grieving to being excited over getting to take the rank of his dead friend. Like, when you take him out after Hawkins, he whines that "I just made V.IV!" It's also mentioned in his profile that he has an unnervingly cold undertone to his demeanor despite usually coming off as polite.

[@MatsYoo]

V7 emblem also contains a fetus if you look closely

[@RongoBingus]

I think the name "Ayre" is a reference to a type of shingle beach. This type of beach only forms from rough tide and big waves, which interesting since she often talks about coral as an ocean or tide. Also I think Red's name is a reference to the red sea, since it famously gets split in the bible and red has a mental breakdown

[@GrislyGrizz]

I saw somebody else say "Ayre" is a French word for the peak of a musical soundwave.

[@corvusdominus9835]

It sounds similar to fire.

[@doncoria9505]

In spanish its similar to air: "Aire"

[@KigaiOkasu]

The Air analogy might also be why her Ephemera AC is called Echo.

[@OmegaEnvych]

It's more of overall AC trivia but KRSV or Karasawa is a reference to original Armored Core producer, late Yasuyoshi Karasawa.

[@xpcube]

Rusty's name may be a reference to the wolf painting made by Leon Kelly, titled "Rusty, Number 617". 617 also happens to be the number of the hound that took down the laser in the story trailer, make of that what you will

[@DisappearBlade]

Rusty being 617 would be a crazy twist considering he knows as Walters hound 621 is not the real Raven, but rhere are probably better reasons. Still that's a great find.

[@aftertone3146]

@@DisappearBlade That's a badass theory tbh

[@negative6442]

Rusty is also a very common dog name

[@ethanwashington6789]

this is probably why Rusty specifically calls 621 "buddy" throughout the entire game, despite seemingly being friends with people like O'keefe and Flatwell for a longer time than us

[@TH-mf1hn]

And we know Rusty has practice using an assault armor blast to get away!

[@Suimega]

One more very important thing about Rubicon : the origin of the name most likely comes from "ruber", the latin word for Red (you also have this in the English word rubicund that comes from the latin rubicundus) due to the alleged red color of the river. Considering the planet is literally drowning in Coral it's no coincidence

[@addypalooza]

That's a very good point and one that I forgot to include in the video, thanks a lot for pointing that out!

[@DragonaxFilms]

The "Vascular Plant" bit is so hilariously on the nose, I love it. This is an excellent breakdown, there's so much cool stuff packed into this game.

[@chrisv9866]

There's a video that came out fairly recently by Garrulous Goldmask that touches on how Armored Core 6 has heavy Alchemy themes, Coral being believed to be similar to the Philosopher's Stone, and Ayre being referenced to as the soul, it'll definitely help with some of the names

[@phexphe5427]

That video is genius and honestly so revealing, clicked this video wondering if the creator knew of those themes since they define so many of these flavor elements in the game

[@ColtonGamingTV]

Was going to mention that video but then saw your comment.

[@MrCantStopTheRobot]

The Greeks understood the Soul to be a person's Air. They top off and complete their Soul when they take their first breath as a newborn; their body releases (hopefully) the final traces of their Soul when they breathe their last.

[@negative6442]

FromSoft games have a lot of alchemy references, it's honestly astounding.

[@IHiggs]

This info is from an old reddit thread I couldnt find anymore but Rusty being rank 9 - Class B in the Arena is the cheeky little reference to 9 Ball (Rank 9/B). 9 always had a significance in Armored Core games due to the original boss of AC. Rusty is shown to be one of the best pilots in-game that could handle more than he shows but chooses to hold back to not blow his cover so he stays at rank 9 in the Arena. White Glint in AC4 was also considered the best pilot of his time but was also Ranked 9 in AC4

[@Year_of_the_Dell]

Late to mention but he also does rush you at the start of every fight, very similar to 9 Ball

[@dumbsterdives]

the white glint parallel also works well in this. Rusty has a somewhat similar vibe to Joshua Obrien, and some similar plot beats (fights alongside you often, sees you as a friend, gets caught up in political machinations and forced to fight you) and either of his potential deaths are similar to how White Glint goes down in 4A, with him fighting to the last to defend his people but inevitably dying whether you side with him or not

[@DaedalusMkV]

Presuming that Dolmayan's flag emblem is borderline prophetic, the six stars in the blue field might represent the six pilots of the RLF (five fingers plus Rokumonsen), the three stars in the red field represent the three Coral entities we encounter/hear of in the game (Ayre, Allmind and Dolmayan's Coral entity Seria), while the black field with tipped scales represents the danger Dolmayan sees in the balance being lost leading to Coral Release. There are a few other ways it could be seen, including as a look at the endings of the game - Liberator of Rubicon sees quite a bit of the cast survive the ending. Fires of Raven wipes out the population of Rubicon, but leaves the rest of humanity alive. Alea Iacta Est sees the end of the human race, in exchange for the possibility of humanity being absorbed into Coral-based consciousness. For an alternative interpretation of Snail there is the Buddhist parable of 108 snails sacrificing themselves to protect the Buddha's brain while he meditates in the sun, which would be a mirror of Snail sacrificing augmented humans to protect himself as he tries to perfect his augmentation, and his logo resembles the Arhat Robot statue of a buddhist monk (the art angle). Though I personally subscribe to the 'Freud's brain' theory. Finally, regarding Carla, based on her dialogue in the Fires of Raven route she's a lot older than she looks, and the sketch portrait for RaD mentions that the artist finds Carla familiar - which he should, since there's another sketch referencing Nagai's research team which shows Carla wearing the same outfit and having the same hairstyle. We can be pretty confident that Carla is Assistant 2 and Walter is Assistant 1's son from the sketch and Walter's story about the boy and his father's carnival of horrors. Carla's nickname is ironic because she was not burned by the Fires of Rubicon - unlike the rest of the Rubiconians she had already escaped the planet with Walter when Nagai burned the Coral. Unclear how she's still spry - and seemingly unaged - despite being over 70 during the events of the game. Might be whatever augmentation she went through at the RRI made her age slower than most. Lots of interesting imagery in the portraits. RLF portrait shows effectively three groups - Dolmayan and Freddie (who both try to assassinate the player in certain routes on Dolmayan's authority), Ziyi and Rokumonsen (both very optional encounters the player is encouraged not to engage), and Flatwell, Dunham and Rusty as a third group (the 'reasonable' RLF members we can work with if we want to). The RaD portrait shows Rummy passed out while Carla and a laptop presumably containing Chatty confront a wrench-wielding Brute. The Redguns have Michigan and Nile collaborating while Volta, Wuhua and Red hang out drinking and Iguazu tries to sneak away. Vespers have Freud standing alone, Swinburn, Maeterlinck, Hawkins and Pater following Snail, and O'keeffe and Rusty hugging each other (both being spies and all). Branch doesn't depict Raven - who the artist never got to meet - and gives only the vaguest hint about what the Operator looks like aside from long hair. Finally, there's a picture of two assassins and a hiding man - Coldcall and Sulla being the assassins, and Nosaac being the hiding man. Every AC pilot in the game except the protagonist, the real Raven and Allmind's sock-puppet Kate are in those portraits. Too bad the artist hates faces so much.

[@allinairhanson6886]

Also important to note that Kate might have been put into a computer in some way, or at least her identity was likely wiped from any records when she joined with allmind

[@zjuraeventide8949]

​@@allinairhanson6886Kate is Allmind. It's much clearer in the japanese version, but Kate's just a front for Allmind while she tries (rather poorly) to put on a fake voice and persona.

[@L0608948]

Based on the presence of a fish in Ziyi’s emblem, I’m reasonably confident in suggesting that Yue Yu is meant to translate into 跃鱼, or ‘leaping fish’. Good video.

[@forecastlotus3899]

I thought that was a wing, that's a fish? Ooooooh, her emblem is supposed to be sideways water, it is a leaping fish

[@novaprime8918]

For the inspiration of the ones you couldn't find, Coral, since in AC6 is a biological entity it could be a reference to coral reefs, and how they tend to grow in big clusters. And Rummy, my mind instantly went to the alcoholic drink, aka rum. Which is associated to pirates thanks to the Pirates of the Caribbean. I however am unsure if pirates did drink rum. And this last one is definitely a stretch but Rusty could reference how older parts cause a machine to break apart, but wouldn't be expected Rusty does sound at most late 30s early 40s.

[@whoknowswhocares8892]

With rusty it could be multiple play on words. His emblem is a dog and “Rusty” is a pretty popular dog name at least in America. Another is applying it to his frames name. “Rusted Steel” just like the muzzle on his emblem signifies that as a vesper his potential is stunted and cannot be utilized fully

[@todd3143]

i’m pretty sure coral and ayre are both alchemy references

[@mindlessmyriad]

Rusty is quite literal. His AC has lots of rust on it

[@wrasse1155]

The coral in AC6 is similar to irl coral in having symbiosis with other species and living communally without individual bodies. I think it would be cool to see more references to species of coral, growth patterns, anatomy, ect.

[@VisonsofFalseTruths]

Pirates absolutely drank rum. As did most other sailing men, particularly those serving in naval forces ; most navies at the time allotted sailors a ration of rum (and before that, other alcohols like beer or brandy) as a way to both keep morale up on long voyages and for perceived health benefits, the latter of which were realized when run started to be diluted and then have lemon or lime juice, sometimes a pinch of sugar, to make grog, which prevented scurvy due to the vitamin C content of the juice. In fact, the pirates’ affection for rum probably came straight from there, as a good number of pirates were former navy men, themselves, and would have carried this tradition for many of the same reasons. The reason they drank rum in those movies is partially cultural zeitgeist, partially because that’s one of the regions rum was primarily produced and so was readily available in large quantities aboard captured ships.

[@AgentSapphire]

Hal could also be a cheeky reference to the Hal 9000 from 2001 A Space Odyssey. It is an AI that goes rogue and ends up killing the crew because it prioritizes the integrity of the mission over the lives of the crew.

[@beefs0ck911]

Both assist and guide the protagonists to the end, and both try to kill the protagonists for interfering with their ambiguous directives. Completing those directives leads to something catastrophic happening in both cases. I didn't think anyone else would recognize HAL and Walter's similarities in the end.

[@OmegaEnvych]

@@beefs0ck911 In the end both of them were victims of their orders by powers that be. HAL did what he did because he had directives written into him by his creators, and Walter went against 621 because he was captured and brainwashed by (I asssume) Allmind.

[@Spino-hx2mr]

@@OmegaEnvych Arquebus. They had an ENTIRE Program dedicated towards ‘Reeducation’ which is what happens to Swineburn if you spare him. His Mark is also one of Lobotomy.

[@krisridge1985]

​@@OmegaEnvychWhat directives?

[@abdelrahimmohammed1814]

It’s heavily implied that Snail used a brainwashed handler Walter to take out Rusty right after his death

[@DicePunk]

"Snail" could be a reference to the artist Henri Matisse. Named after one of his most his famous works, "The Snail".

[@Kontenjaz]

I just figured it was because he's slimy, but that checks out.

[@barney2159]

A bit far stretched, but Handler Walter = Walter White = Brian Cranston = Hal 826 (Hal from Malcolm in the middle) Hal's 826th line in the series is "They've all flown the nest. We're done.", which is like, idk, related to Raven's nest? And how Raven has flown out of his and found his own path? lol

[@Posaydal]

"They've all flown the nest. We're done." - Walter is handing over the future to 621 (and Ayre) in the ending where he uses HAL 826, and basically allows 621 to fly free, no longer shackled by the past.

[@nineball4544]

Armored Core has always taken inspiration or used real-life events. Armored Core 4 and For Answer were heavily inspired by events and figures from the French Revolution and the Republic. It would be great to see you cover those games in the future.

[@abcdefghijkl123454]

snail could be a mistranslation, as David Smail is a british psychologist that was anti-psychiatry. it's a stretch but maybe his name was meant to highlight his complex with Freud

[@addypalooza]

That's an interesting reference! However, I find it hard to believe that they would commit such a mistake, especially on a character that's heavily featured in the game plot. As far as I can tell, Snail's japanese name (スネイル, romanized as Suneiru) does indeed means Snail.

[@CumCannon420]

​@@addypaloozaFreud's signature laser drone thing is also shaped like a snail, which could reinforce the Dali theory

[@addypalooza]

@@CumCannon420 oh wow, that's a nice find!

[@MKmaki6094]

I still firmly believe that Snail's name is less to refer to a poet, writer, or psychologist and more so to tell us how much of a slimy POS he is lol

[@mareczek00713]

About Carla's age - in some of AC related media augmentation side effects suggest vastly slowed down aging, especially amongst earlier generation augmented humans with Leos Klein looking 40 while being in his 90s. IMO Carla quickly realised OVERSEER won't be enough and building a private army might be in order but that takes time amd she was likely aware that as more of OVERSEER people age and die future generations that did not experience Fires of Ibas night be less eager to join making her willingly risk loss of empathy and psychological trauma for a shot at extending her lifespan giving her more time for building a power base necessary to find solution to problem of Coral.

[@nachalnik5738]

That's actually really plausible considering she always tries to stay positive. Maybe laughter is the way to keep her mind in check after augmentation and what happened to her

[@dumbsterdives]

​@@nachalnik5738Also noting that despite her propensity for jokes and philosophy of getting your laughs while you can, she never really comes off as particularly enthusiastic or cheerful, at most being laid back and casual, as if her emotions are dampened. The only time she shows any extreme emotion is when you betray her and put everything she's spent her entire life working for at risk

[@DresdinSeven]

Everyone here is sleeping on the best name in the game, Monkey Gordo! Gordo was one of the first monkeys to be sent into space, and is also one of the first named characters we encounter (although dead) in this game about being in space.

[@benjaminotalora363]

I hadn't noticed before until this video, Rusty's Emblem as a vesper is a muzzled wolf. Really neat detail considering his background

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

Even smaller detail, the muzzle is gone when you see him after his first boss fight.

[@lucamckenn5932]

Ironically emblematic of the idea that Rusty is a tame hound to the eyes of corpos, whereas 621 is more comparable to tge nasty cyborg junkyard dog with a mean bite and a nasty attitude.

[@xxSturdyWingsxx]

LMFAO I cracked up when you flamed Salvador Dali. Great video, the writing and symbolism in this game was superb

[@BrotherCaptain36]

A common saying is "Thumbing the scales" which means cheating or stacking the deck.

[@divineterabyte5181]

Actually, lemme give my ideas for all the other names: Rusty: Rusty, #617 Ayre: medieval spelling of air, referencing alchemy Walter: another alchemist reference, but I forget who Coral: alchemical reference, coral is deeply tied with the philosphers stone Belius: commonplace name for Babylonian god Bel Marduk, keeping with the PCA's classical themes Rummy: card game, known for something workers do instead of their job (theyre rummy in the back room is an old saying, for example) Nosaac: economic philosophy, that is the foundation of rent-seeking behavior, and of monarchal pillaging. Tldr: the most esoteric way to make a "Hustler One" joke, as Nosaac is a Nineball reference Dunham: a term given to people who fight for their land against all odds Flatwell: tbh, no idea, closest i can think of is the fact Flatwell gets used a lot in Japan, typically for racing or mechanic designations (ie: a famous aftermarket part for the toyota 86 or subaru brz is the Flatwell Adjustable Swing Arm) Ziyi and YueYu: both reference fish if I'm correct, loosely fitting with the Coral theme Chartreuse: I would assume named after the painting of the same name, because her colour isnt chartreuse, just like the painting lol The last 3, I have no idea; Coldcall and Deadsled i kinda just think were named that way cuz he looks like he'd be a winter operator, maybe he lives in the ice field region idk

[@insert_name_here8323]

Cold calling is when you contact someone unannounced to sell something. Given that Coldcall is an assassin (i.e. he shows up unannounced to kill people) I think it's a fitting name

[@HaykInWonderland]

Great video, very interesting information! Re: Dolmayan's emblem, I think the red section represents coral, and the scales imply a balancing of it to keep it from expanding from a few (3) stars to many more (6), and not completely desteoying it either (pitch black). Basically the Liberator of Rubicon ending, keeping coral in check, not releasing not eradicating.

[@soundcloudpandapandawa2997]

That was my first ending I hope that's the true ending

[@maxjoechl5663]

14:07 The *Furlong* as a unit of distance is still used today in Horse Racing. The Sagittarius, being simultaneously a horse and an archer, therefore references both the company's name, as well the products it manufactures.

[@Rawkit_Surgeon]

I'm proud of naming my AC Cassus Bellie.

[@chaz706]

On Dolmayan's flag: one thing that struck me is that the 6 stars on the top section are in the shape of a cross. In the Southern Hemisphere: you cannot see the North Star... so you must use a different mark to know where south is. There is no Southern Star, but there is the Southern Cross, which always points towards true south. IRL: the southern cross only comprises of 4 stars however. Edit: Thank you @abonham82 for pointing out that this is a straight up copy of the traditional representation of the southern cross.

[@abonham82]

Close, The Southern Cross has 5 stars, and is usually grouped with the two pointer stars that we are taught to use in order to find it. If you drop the minor star from the main cluster then you have 6.

[@abonham82]

Actually looking at Wikipedia, the first diagram of Crux by Jose Faros depicts it as 6 with a group of three underneath. The six are almost identical to Dolmayan’s

[@chaz706]

@@abonham82 Well there you go. It's totally a depiction of the Southern Cross.

[@jericodawsonmarcos7529]

chatty's ac is called circus probably a reference to the itano circus which is basically the anime missile/projectile/attack spam. it dont help he spams missiles

[@Antemos]

I would suggest HAL being a reference to 2001: a space Odyssey. The main through line being both the eponymous computer and Walter being unable to resolve the dissonance between their mission and their relationship to the protagonist.

[@Attaxalotl]

Ayre is a reference to alchemy, and so is Coral, and a few other things!

[@sindregiske1456]

The different mining and research stations on the Ice Field are named after famous scandinavian pole explorers, like Hjalmar Mine, named after Hjalmar Johansen who was one of the first people to travel to both the north and the south pole.

[@arsarma1808]

Nightfall is a good name for the Branch AC. Branch brought the Vespers to the planet, leading to Rusty's Rebellion, the Dawn. Redshift is the change in wavelength from a source that is moving away. Much how like the universe is expanding and redshifting, the Coral expands.

[@neco_arc_gaming]

this video gives great insight into how much fromsoft pays attention to the details in even the naming schemes. amazingly researched vid.

[@user-lv8dn8gw9z]

Chartreuse is a French liqueur that can either be yellow or green For belius the only thing that I could find is a secondary title (forget the word for it) for jupiter (the god not the planet) and possibly a reference to a babylonian god of war?

[@LamborghiniDiabloSVPursuit]

Arquebus and Arequebus ADD have some standardization to their parts. VP are the ones produced by Arquebus VE are the ones produced by Arquebus ADD. Going to guess P means: Production and E means: Experimental. Which makes sense since most characters outside of the Vespers only use P-class parts. Except for King and Chartreuse, since I'm going to guess they stole them as part of the VE-42B's flavor text.

[@C4six-two-one]

This is a phenomenal video! Ive looked up individual AC names in the past for their meanings so finding this videonwas like finding buried treasure. Well done!

[@SyntaxDaemon]

I think Rusty's name is just a reference to his years of experience, and therefore, his skill.

[@cibelmancilla]

Great research. Wonderfully explained!! Nice to get so many interesting historical facts "hidden" within a robots game. Love your videos. Keep them coming!

[@beanbeater]

that's fromsoft for ya

[@BigPanda096]

That moment when Rusty joins us and he flies in, my god. Shivers. Fuck that mission felt SO. DAMN. GOOD!

[@DistortedNemesis]

I absolutely adore your pronunciation and insights into this wonderful game. Thank you so much for entertaining and educating me at the same time

[@Auxi_AO]

I think the name Rusty could be in refrence to him being a double agent for the Rubicon liberation front within the Vespers. The rust covers the metal below it similar to how Rusty uses the Vespers as a cover for who he really is.

[@DrBreezeAir]

Amazing job! That was really interesting.

[@patchoulidaze7193]

Not sure if someone mentioned, but Rubicon 3's name is a play on the number 3 in Japanese which looks like a river, and hence also a reference to crossing the Rubicon river

[@TekashiCanabravaIsAutistic]

Man, this is such a great, well-structured video. Congrats on your research!

[@jejalerhou]

This is so cool, thank you for making this vid!

[@abdelrahimmohammed1814]

Someone at FromSoftware must have been a huge fan of Bryan Cranston since Handler Walter and his AC are named after two of Bryan’s most iconic characters. Walter White (Breaking Bad) Hal Wilkerson (Malcolm in the Middle)

[@anukthotawatta982]

actually makes sense

[@abdelrahimmohammed1814]

I’m sure with Walter’s AC being named HAL and the AC being predominantly red it was more than likely in reference to HAL-9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey

[@chucheeness7817]

I just remembered 'Maeterlink' from 'Maurice Maeterlinck' also something from Eureka Seven's orphans Maurice, Maeter, and Link in addition to coral (coral/trapar) and Thumb Dolmayen (Norb) and Fires of Rubicon event (Summer of Love event)

[@slumsalot]

This was a wonderful watch! I feel like you're spot on for Elcano referencing Juan Elcano, especially since their logo resembles a compass, pretty neat

[@Ashen8th]

This is the kind of video I get on KZbin to watch :) Very well researched and put together :)

[@IdealistTCO]

This was a super interesting video. The amount of thought and work FromSoft put into creating the lore of their worlds shows with each layer that you peel.

[@Cleptomancer]

Exellent work. I love lore dumps.

[@Kolsev]

Absolutely not something I thought I needed to know about but enjoyed every second of learning it regardless. Great video, would love to see more 👍

[@thegoodwin]

The name "Ayre" might be reference to a line in relation to Alchemy. Specifically, "The Ayre is the life and the life is the soul." - "A Brief Commentare of Hortulanus the Philospher Upon the Smaragdine Table of Hermes of Alchimy" [Sic] Chapter V. This was mentioned in the YT video called "Armored Core 6 is Actually About Alchemy" by Garrulous Goldsmack.

[@ktvx.94]

My headcanon is that Ayre is a play on "Air" since she's essentially intangible, she's a stream of floating red particles that exist somewhere and you can't see or touch her, but you can hear her. Amazing finds though!

[@PulsatingShadow]

"Aether"

[@moxxxle]

Great vid, love the details and references that fromsoft puts into something as insignificant as names. One note about the Redshift series of weapons: there’s a phenomenon in physics called redshift wherein the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation change, thus changing the colors of visible radiation like light. In AC6 the Redshift weapons are color-shifted versions of their original variants, much like the actual redshift concept.

[@addypalooza]

Thank you for the feedback! I mentioned that the RRI uses "science-related" names because of that reason

[@jacobarto1946]

Haven't played the game yet, but this video is so interesting I might consider doing it... Keep up the great job!

[@axd2155]

Yeah it's great try it

[@MKmaki6094]

@@axd2155 I attest to that, 102 hrs in S ranking the campaign

[@DragonaxFilms]

Absolutely worth it, it's a fantastic game. If you're interested because of symbolism though, be aware that the delivery of the story and themes are kinda subtle (in typical Fromsoftware fashion), so you gotta pay attention and do some digging if you want to get anything out of it other than "big robots go brrr". Also in typical Fromsoftware fashion, the game is absurdly difficult at certain points. It gets easier as you progress and unlock more AC parts though.

[@edo8058]

Great video!! Keep it up!!!

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

8:00 "The answer is 2,000 Albany's Sir!"

[@toecutter9372]

Love the content! Had to sub, brah

[@jake.klusewitz]

Lots of cool insight on the naming conventions!

[@davidvenegas220]

About Dolmayan's emblem, I believe the stars in the red banner has something to do with the Coral voices and or pilots that can hear them, along with the stars in the blue banner representing everyone else that follows them, and the scale near the bottom representing balance between them.

[@doggieboy773a]

Fun video! Good job on that research.

[@avi_rivera]

This was fantastic!

[@peppascarf6213]

I would have never noticed this without the video, this is awesome, I was too busy blasting and dodgin to notice all the neat names

[@LoveXKnife]

Really fun video to watch!

[@JakesPlaying]

this was awesome, so many references in plain sight that get overlooked.

[@vynlevil]

Nice work!

[@philipbrackett443]

The fact that you used some Ace Combat 3 tracks for background music tells me you have excellent taste and have my sub

[@goddamnfish]

All things considered, the initial "NGI" could stand for "Nagai", who's the head of the research institute half centuries back.

[@addypalooza]

Of course, that must be it! Nice find

[@manum8170]

That was some cool stuff man

[@bidogobedelhobadalo6263]

awesome video!

[@SteveB-nx2uo]

great analysis

[@hyperfixatedd]

Great job!!!

[@Ixarus6713]

This brings a whole new facet to ours and Rusty's story. I use almost exclusively Firmeza frame parts and Institute weapons and inner parts. Firmness and Dawn? Dawn = Rusty finally unveiling himself and fighting for what he believes is right for a change. Finally finding a friend and a potential for true happiness. Hardness = The irregular, the difference maker. An aberration. Raven is a third party who wasn't supposed to get involved. Byt thanks to their indomitable determination, they made it all the way to the end and stand out as a symbol of hope for the RLF.

[@DaigosFriend1]

This was very helpful for a video I'm on the fence on making

[@Dumah36]

very cool stuff. thank you

[@MKmaki6094]

Another interesting connection I saw is Balam's name, which is in reference to a demon from the ars goetia grimoire. Idk much what what he does but from what I've read he like any other teaches men tricks, cunning, and turns them invisible. I suppose given the style of parts they produce, it might be tied to the demon's appearance as well, naked man with 3 heads, 2 of whcih are bovine in appearance, atop a bear.

[@MatsYoo]

A coldcall is a marketing technique, where the caller just calls people from a list, not expecting many answers. The only time we see him is when desperate iguazu hires him. His arena bio contradicts this theory though.

[@ev4_gaming]

not sure if someone said it already, but NGI / HAL / WLT / SOL are the names of people associated to the research institute, NGI is the professor mentioned in the logs, WLT is walter, and HAL and SOL are unknown

[@runikwolf7755]

Really nice video! I want to think that perhaps Dolmayan’s Icon is meant to represent that only three members of the RLF can truly make anything out of judging you: Dolmayan himself, Flatwell and Rusty- there are more that follow and those may be the other 6? Would make sense as Rusty appears to hold much sway over the group as a whole, Flatwell is the de-facto leader during the story and Dolmayan created the movement (at least ideologically.)

[@drewclark2814]

Snail’s name comes from his AC specifically his legs because they cannot walk and only slide just like a real snail. There is also the phrase “slippery snail” this connects to V II because he is a slimy person that always gets away with it.

[@Spleen2ween]

Damn, the names in this game are crazy. Gonna get me back into the game after I no-lifed it at launch. Great research!

[@bewareofscam6954]

terribly interesting video, subscribed

[@user-gn8zu3hl8u]

Cool vid, thanks

[@davidwilcox8913]

Awesome video

[@knocks3454]

Great video! I think Melnite has two different naming schemes based on how much they just *love* explosions great and small. Their heavy weapons (Dizzy, Earshot, Songbirds) are all ironic references to the sound of explosions - E.g. the Earshot has blast radius of like half a kilometer. Yeah I think they heard that. Their lighter weapons are all named after precious or valuable things, in a condescending "Yeah we still love you too, even though you can't shatter my cochlea" kinda way. Little Gem - small but precious. Majestic - The name shares a root word with "Major", as in big or great, which could be ironic considering he's the biggest little guy. The word majestic is associated with gems and jewelry, like crowns. Iridium - one of the most precious metals on earth, more valuable than gold. Almost all iridium comes from meteorites that have crashed into the planet, giving it an association with explosions

[@ausburnesdumbaltaccount9676]

another thing I'd like to add about the Hokushi is the AG-T in the name likely referencing the AGT gas-turbine engines used in vehicles like the M1 Abrams (AGT meaning Advanced Gas-Turbine) . the part characteristics also point to that, with the excellent recharge but poor depletion recovery having similarities to the immense performance of gas-turbine engines being offset by fuel consumption.

[@mpbiggame1010]

Great video

[@soulbro55]

This is some amazing work, I hope Vati and Zuli see this.

[@hijous]

nice use of ace combat 3 ost. great choice

[@divineterabyte5181]

Im pretty sure Rusty is named not after an artist, but an art piece: Rusty 617. Its a picture of a dog, painted with thick, vibrant strokes, but it feels muzzled by attempting to stick to realism; the strokes of paint WANT to jump, but don't. Would that make Rusty secretly 617? Eh, probably not, though id assume that was gonna be the twist at one point

[@kaliduncanel3356]

Thank you