The third installment of FromSoftware's Armored Core series, released in 1999 for the PlayStation.
In a particularly brutal battle between the corporations, a young man's entire family is killed. A few months later, the man registers with the Raven's Nest, intending to seek revenge on the Raven he deems responsible for the incident: Hustler One, pilot of the notorious Nine-Ball. But his vendetta will drag him into a deeper conspiracy...
Expanding on the popular feature introduced in Armored Core: Project Phantasma, Master of Arena focuses on the titular Gladiator Subquest and makes it part of the main story. Though mission gameplay is still present, most of your playtime will be spent fighting other Armored Cores in one-on-one bouts. In addition to the main story is a bonus disc featuring extra arenas, unlockable parts and the ability to train your own AI AC.
Master of Arena's story is continued in Armored Core 2.
The game provides examples of:
- Ascended Extra: Some of the Ravens that were seen in the first game's ranking board but not encountered during missions can be fought in the legs-specific arenas here.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Progtech's HQ is assaulted by MTs and Nine-Ball, though Elan Cubis quickly figures out they have no interest in harming their assets beyond what's needed to draw the protagonist out.
- Badass Boast: In the first mission, Hustler One attempts to intimidate the protagonist by blowing up the hacker you were supposed to apprehend and dropping one of these.I don't care who you are. No one can defeat me!
- Blamed for Being Railroaded: After doing one request too many for Progtech, Lana Nielsen becomes furious with you and resigns as your operator even though there's no way to back out and get a different sponsor. This is a Justified Trope: Lana is an extension of the Raven's Nest AI and is setting you up to fail, so fairness was never on the table.
- Defiant to the End: In the ending cutscene, a junked and sparking Nine-Ball Seraph still raises its cannon, attempting to take a final potshot at the protagonist before finally breaking down.
- Double-Meaning Title: Ostensibly the game is about the protagonist's goal to defeat Hustler One/Nineball, the number one Raven in the arena. The final mission reveals that the entire arena setup has been created by Nine-Ball to control humanity, making it the Master of Arena in more than one way.
- Foreshadowing: At the end of the first mission Hustler One makes a surprise appearance and blows up the target before you can get to him. While highly intimidating to see the often reclusive number one Raven, not much is made of why he made an appearance in such a small time mission at the time. The end of the game reveals that your handler and Hustler One are one and the same. It wanted to throw you for a loop while driving you forward on its chosen path.
- Honest Corporate Executive: In contrast to the exploitative and manipulative corporate overloads in the previous and future games, Elan Cubis is a reasonable, supportive guy.
- Lightning Bruiser: Nine-Ball Seraph hits and tanks damage even harder than his regular incarnation and gets an upgrade in the form of a pair of wings, allowing him to zip around the area at truly ludicrous speeds.
- Old Save Bonus: Players can transfer a save from the original game or Project Phantasma to carry over their garage and money. Unlike Project Phantasma, the secrets parts from the previous games are available in the shop here, though players will still need to transfer a save if they want to use Human Plus. Strangely, making use of this feature skips the opening cutscene establishing your character's backstory and motivation.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Nine-Ball believes it is acting in the best interest of humanity. That countless innocents have to die as part of the endless warfare perpetuated by the Raven's Nest is beside the point.I was created to protect mankind and this world. I intend to fulfill this task.
