| |
| Shinkai | |
| General information | |
| Classification | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation and military information | |
| Affiliation | Rayleonard ORCA |
| Occupation | Lynx |
| Rank | #33 -> ORCA # 5 |
| Craft | NEXT Split Moon |
| Eras present | Lynx War Economic War |
| Real world information | |
| Appearances | Armored Core 4 Armored Core: For Answer |
Shinkai is a Lynx first appearing in Armored Core 4 and later playing a larger role in Armored Core: For Answer as a member of ORCA. He is ranked 33rd in the Data Arena and fifth in ORCA's chain of command. His skills with close-range combat are unrivaled making him a force to be reckoned with.
Biography[]
Before Shinkai became a Lynx, he excelled as a prototype test pilot for Rayleonard. Since he was still new to the company, he saw limited action which ensured his survival throughout the war. With the end of Rayleonard as a company, Shinkai became unaffiliated. He honored his fallen comrade Anjou, taking Orleans' parts and upgrading his own NEXT. He remained unaffiliated until the onset of the Economic War. With the creation of ORCA who promised to carry out Rayleonard's Closed Plan , Shinkai had a cause worth fighting for.
Quotes[]
- Defend Arteria Cranium
- "...Unbearable..."
- "...The End..."
Personality[]
Shinkai is shown to have a cold, collected demeanor during combat, bearing an air of professionalism as a Lynx. Naturally a quiet man, he chooses to let his skills in combat do the talking. The fact that he still uses the remaining parts of Anjou's NEXT, Orleans, shows degree of respect for his fallen comrades.
NEXT Split Moon[]
Shinkai's NEXT utilizes a silver/white lightweight AALIYAH. Anjou would pass down her experimental parts to Shinkai, and during the Economic War he would replace his old 04-MARVE assault rifle, 02-DRAGONSLAYER laser blade, 03-AALIYAH/M boosters, and INBLUE FCS for Anjou's BLUEXS FCS, S04-VIRTUE boosters, 07-MOONLIGHT laser blade, 09-FLICKER flash rockets, as well as a new, heavier 03-MOTORCOBRA machine gun, and a new-model, Omer-manufactured set of additional boosters. Like Anjou before him, Shinkai focuses his fighting style on the powerful MOONLIGHT blade to deliver the fatal blow.
Parts[]
Armored Core 4[]
NEXT Split Moon in Armored Core 4
- Head: 03-ALIYA/H
- Core: 03-ALIYA/C
- Arms: 03-ALIYA/A
- Legs: 03-ALIYA/L
- FCS: INBLUE
- Generator: 03-ALIYA/G
- Main Booster: 03-ALIYA/M
- Back Booster: 03-ALIYA/B
- Side Booster: 03-ALIYA/S
- Over Booster: 03-ALIYA/O
- Arm Unit R: 02-DRAGONSLAYER
- Arm Unit L:04-MARVE
- Back Unit R: TRESOR
- Back Unit L: None
- Shoulder: None
- Hangar R: None
- Hangar L: None
- Head Stabilizers
- Head Top: None
- Head R Side: None
- Head L Side: None
- Core Stabilizers
- Core R Upper: None
- Core L Upper: None
- Core R Lower: None
- Core L Lower: 03-ALIYA/CLS2
- Arm Stabilizers
- Arm Right: None
- Arm Left: None
- Leg Stabilizers
- Legs Back: None
- Legs R Upper: None
- Legs L Upper: None
- Legs R Middle: None
- Legs L Middle: None
- Legs R Lower: None
- Legs L Lower: None
Armored Core: For Answer[]
NEXT Split Moon in Armored Core For Answer
- Head: 03-AALIYAH/H
- Core: 03-AALIYAH/C
- Arms: 03-AALIYAH/A
- Legs: 03-AALIYAH/L
- FCS: BLUEXS
- Generator: 03-AALIYAH/G
- Main Booster: S04-VIRTUE
- Over Booster: 03-AALIYAH/O
- Side Booster: 03-AALIYAH/S
- Back Booster: 03-AALIYAH/B
- Arm Unit R: 07-MOONLIGHT
- Arm Unit L: 03-MOTORCOBRA
- Back Unit R: ACB-O710
- Back Unit L: ACB-O710
- Shoulder: 09-FLICKER
Gameplay[]
Shinkai appears as an enemy during the mission Defend Arteria Cranium if the player follows the League Path. Together with ORCA's leader Maximilian Thermidor, the two attack the Arteria Cranium in a final effort to take down the Cradles. They are defeated by the combined force of Strayed and Wynne D. Fanchon.
In-Game Information[]
- In-Game Biography
- Armored Core 4
- Promoted from prototype test pilot to full Lynx with high hopes, his performance has earned him a place in Rayleonard's core cadre.
- Armored Core: For Answer
- An authentic Rayleonard Lynx, the only survivor. He uses special parts passed down to him from his comrade, Anje. His heavy assault craft utilizes a high powered laser blade. A quiet man, he doesn't stand out. One of the original five.
- Armored Core 4
Strategy[]
Shinkai can be defeated effortlessly in the mission "Defend Arteria Cranium" on Armored Core: For Answer by using these tactics:
- First allow Wynne D. Fanchon out of the corridor and maintain a position at the corridors entrance.
- Wait until he engages you, then retreat to the end of the hallway (make sure he follows you or else he will go double team Wynne D.)
- Dodge his MOONLIGHT by floating above him in the corridor, then attack with dual grenade launchers. It should take about 3-4 direct hits on normal and 5-6 on hard.
- Another option is to blade him while in the narrow space, or while Wynne D. is engaged with Thermidor, charging up the large circular Kojima cannon arms to full capacity, as well as a back-mounted. Unleashing both of these weapons at full charge is enough to take any next and most Arms Forts down in a single shot. Works for Thermidor too. Guaranteed S rank, just make sure you hit him.
- OR use a Mudan, Kiku physical blade, or Omer's KB800 Kojima blade to intercept Split Moon's blade charge. Even if you fail to intercept, he'll sometimes get stuck trying to boost past you in the corridor, giving you a precious second to recover and retaliate - all three weapons are guaranteed to out damage him.
- OR simply get him stuck in one of the two big gaps in the floor right below the place where he is first spotted and use Assault armor while standing on the edge above to kill him (You may want to take down Thermidor first, NOT good to get hit by that plasma cannon if you don't have any PA)
Should these easy-kill strategies not be followed, Shinkai's Split Moon is easily one of the most dangerous enemy NEXTs encountered in the campaign. His AI is an expert at evading the player's field of view and timing his swings, and the cramped space makes his craft's blinding speed an even bigger advantage - pretty much the only way to avoid being gutted immediately is to spend as much time airborne as possible, but he's fully capable of flying up to meet you if you dip too low. Simply put, if you choose a fair fight then Shinkai offers one of the most exhilarating challenges of the singleplayer mode.
Gallery[]
Armored Core 4[]
Armored Core: For Answer[]
Trivia[]
- Shinkai's name is a reference to Inoue Shinkai, the swordsmith of Edo peroid.
- You can see his AC in The US version of FA
- In the complete League Path storyline, Shinkai and ORCA leader, Maximilian Thermidor, are presumably the only surviving ORCA Lynx before being defeated by Wynne D. Fanchon and the player.
- An interesting detail about Splitmoon is the heads visual sensors seemingly either turned off or black as night, Thus one the two NEXTS with visual sensors that don't glow like the rest (The Other being Blind Bold). This may subtly depict and tribute to famous Blind Swordmans in TV Shows, Comic books (Manga), and Historical figures.
Speculation[]
The following information is "gray area" content — it may not be completely factual, and/or falls under YMMV territory.
- The fact that Shinkai chose to honor Anjou's memory specifically may have indicated a romantic connection between the two Rayleonard pilots.