#project aces

[lodgeofthecat]

Yellow Squadron is Afraid of Me!

Today we're playing Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies

[smash-64]

2024 Game of the Year Countdown

#3: Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

Sony PlayStation 2, 2006

Rounding out the PS2 trilogy of Ace Combat games is the prequel to AC5, what I consider to be the best AC game of them all: Ace Combat Zero.

There is one thing that comes to mind when it comes to jets and flight games: air-to-air combat. Yeah, you can pick an A-10 and bomb the enemies into submission. You can use long range SODs on ground targets, too. But Ace Combat has always been about air-to-air combat. Every cover of the game has always depicted a fighter, not an attacker or a bomber. And Ace Combat Zero knew this. The developers gave us something that has never happened since, for some unknown reason, and it was the best possible thing: enemy ace squadrons as boss fights. 

We got a main enemy squadron in AC04, and there were a few antagonistic squadrons in AC5, but ACZ decided to focus on pilots. We get not only enemy squadrons, but their patches, unique paint schemes on their aircraft (obtainable after defeating them), names and files on pilots you encounter, and even interviews with pilots you shot down. I’m not really sure why they used real life actors in the interview scenes, only to use separate voice actors for their dubbed lines, but either way, it comes off as a really unique experience. We see how our activity as a player impacts the characters. We see how they feared us, respected us, or sometimes even resented us.

The fact that the game takes place 15 years prior to what would be “current day” allows the story to be told in a documentary-style fashion. We see returning locations and characters, as well as events as they actually happen that were only referenced in AC5. It’s cool to live some of the history from other games.

The story, however, isn’t quite as tight as AC5. While 5 had some weird twists and was a bit overly dramatic at times, Zero focuses less on the larger war, and more on individual characters and the legacy we leave as the player and main ace. This makes quite a few missions feel fairly random when it comes to why we’re doing something or why the enemy is doing something. In fact, it feels like one mission doesn’t really lead to the next for part of the game. However, there does come a time in the story where things become more personal, and that was a welcome twist.

The superweapons of ACZ are similar to those of AC5: extremely powerful, but lacking any sort of build-up. And then, you destroy them immediately. This is a big failure since half of AC04 was about fearing the main superweapon, and it drove both the story, and the player’s motivation. Instead, we see little threat from these absurd superweapons, which makes them nothing more than a MacGuffin for a level idea since they do nothing for the plot. This would be more of a negative if not for the true boss fights: the ace squadrons.

Enemy ace squadrons are the main selling point of Ace Combat Zero, and they do not fall short of the mark. These are the toughest enemy pilots in the franchise, or at least up to this point. Previous aces were fast and turned quickly, but that was about it. These aces can have different tactics and some have essentially cheat abilities that allow them to move faster than possible. It makes these fights stand apart from the rest of the game, as well as the rest of the series. When you enter one fight against eight MiG-31s, you will almost certainly be overwhelmed. You’ll have to adjust your tactics on the fly, as well. 

As I mentioned before, shooting down these enemy ace squadrons will unlock various interviews with the lead pilots, and you get to see how shooting them down changed the course of their lives. Some are still hurting from this defeat, even after 15 years have passed. They each have unique personalities and while it was slightly jarring to see actual human actors instead of drawings or CGI, it was a fun change. Some of their performances are really good, as well. The melancholy of Gelb 2 is almost tangible and I question why he chose to stay in Directus. 

Just as with AC5, ACZ has the inclusion of Dolby Pro Logic II for surround sound and we get the same powerful and dynamic sound effects, along with my personal favorite soundtrack in Ace Combat history. The sound/music team chose a classical guitar as the main instrument for much of the soundtrack, and it gives it a wonderful flair and unique sound. “Zero” is a well-known and epic climax to the game, but “Mayhem” is another great tune. “Prologue” is an interesting way to ease us into the tension and excitement of this tale of war, and “Epilogue/Near the Border” is honestly a top five all time favorite AC track, and one of the best credits tunes in gaming. It delivers a beautiful flamenco vibe with a touch of melancholy as the game leaves us with dozens of black and white still photos and an incomplete feeling, since the story hasn’t yet been concluded. 

This is also the only Ace Combat soundtrack available on vinyl. While I don’t have a record player, I did think about buying it anyway just for the album art and novelty of it.

My replay of Ace Combat Zero has made me realize that the game excels at dogfights, sound and music direction, gameplay, and it brings a unique aspect to the story with seeing how we, as players, affect the other pilots taking part in the war. AC5 might be better at overall storytelling, but ACZ is still the peak of the franchise when you take everything in. 

[soaked-doors]

it’s that time of year again

[vrailaru]

take a step into my mind palace

[snailianz]

"But Trucy... happy, smiling Trucy... she was my light."

[feralforbeanix]

He loved her immediately I'm gonna cry

[sakuritah]

Maya meets Reimu! 💜❤️

[lungthief]

seven year gap smoke breaks & breakdowns (aka phoenix wright and ema skye’s friendship is very important to me)

[ltorekdraws]

wrighteortj brainrottt

[ministarfruit]

day 15: haunting ♡

(femslashfeb prompt list)

[sleep-deprived-luka]

Niigo playing Uno, because whimsy hasn't died yet

[fanartsandstuff]

I just love ao3 authors

We live in a beautiful era of people not giving a single fuck

[satsuha]

rip jove justice you would've loved apollo's loud ass voice

[mellosdrawings]

Yesterday was Desmond's death anniversary and I somehow managed to miss it, so here's a little thing I did years ago when Spiderverse came out, coz that sentence worked far too well with AssCreed.

[periwinkla]

I was in the mood for some drama-kissing narumitsu I suppose ♡ also this was supposed to be a sketch... ehm......