Is this worth a second playthrough with the hardest settings?

[Necrophoria]

So I usually play games at "normal" to get the "intended" game experience. This game however left me feeling so empty towards the end, since the ability to grind lets you make the final stages laughable if I have to be honest.

With Y being announced, and the recent release of Iron Saga vs, I am getting that classic anime super robot itch that sadly Armored Core isn't able to satisfy. I know that later this game released a somewhat "hardcore mode", and I was wondering just how much this affects gameplay.

Anywho, would you recommend it, and what was your experience like?

[Valthejean]

I'm honestly wondering the same thing. There definitely is a bit more "lacking" in this one over others. Take my favorite game: Z2.2- Saisei Hen. That one had a ton of replay value with the sheer number of secret unlocks and diverging story branches. Plus, the animations were brisk and dynamic, and really full of energy. I struggled every playthrough trying to whittle my team down enough to deploy, because I wanted to deploy so many more than I could.

In this game, I struggle to fill the full roster because they just don't excite me as much. It's not that the mechs are BAD per se, but animations are so flat and dull in a lot of places, and even dynamic kills are few and far between. And I'll be honest, the OG mech is really, *really* underwhelming (at least compared to something like Li Brasta or Gunleon.) I looked at the wiki for the branching narrative in this one, and it really doesn't give you anything special. You get to use a secret mech for like, one mission that only has one attack, and then you lose it.

.....god I miss the Z trilogy.

[Cyflan]

Super Expert Plus is really the only mode that's truly difficult, and it's a huge jump from any of the lower modes, with all the limitations it places on you.

Up to you whether you think it's worth it.

[WhatsSmoking]

Plus give a few rare items if you want them.

[Sardorim]

Sorta.

Upgrade costs get absolutely stupid in higher difficulties for no reason.

[RiO]

If you want all the trophies, you're going to want two play-throughs anyway. One with Edge and one with Az as the lead.

Also- with all the carry-over, picking normal difficulty will make the second play-through too easy to pose any kind of challenge at all. The game isn't very challenging to begin with; but doing that, would just push it into plain old unfun-slog territory.