Support NeoGAF

[Chairman Yang]

Ace Combat was always a series that fell under the radar for me (no pun intended). I heard good things about it from way back in the PS1 days but never actually tried it out.

That changed with Ace Combat 7. I bought the game, along with the bonus remaster of AC5. I started playing, was instantly smitten, and then immediately stopped playing. Why? Because when I know I'll love a series, I want to go back as far as possible and play it from the beginning. Better to go from oldest to newest rather than the other way around, right?

The PS1 games seemed too dated to me, so I skipped them. But I went on a buying spree for the series a while ago (all used and fairly cheap). AC4, Zero, 6, Assault Horizon, Assault Horizon Legacy+ (which has nothing to do with Assault Horizon and is actually a 3DS remake of AC2), and Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces for the Wii (supposedly a good game in the same vein by the same team). I didn't get the GBA/PSP games because I don't have the systems, and I guess the free-to-play game is now completely gone?

Now I'm knee-deep in Ace Combat 04. I don't know how I would've felt on release, but playing it for the first time now, it's aged remarkably well. It's super-smooth which really helps the visuals, the controls are intuitive, and the mission design is great, with a nice mix of scripted stuff and open flexibility. I'm really enjoying the story and modern day-ish setting. As a whole, the game feels very slick, especially for something nearly 20 years old.

What are the highlights I have ahead of me? What are the low points? Am I missing anything important? Is Ace Combat really as underrated of a series as it seems to me?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

AC4 is the best game to me, although I haven't played them all. AC AH is shit. And AC6 only ran at 30 fps on 360.

I've played these and rank them as follows Can't rank AC7 as I barely played it. But if the first few levels are an indicator, AC7 is good and harder than the other games.

AC4
AC2
AC5
AC6
AC AH

 

[R6Rider]

I've never played 6, and Assault Horizon is quite different than the rest. Even the PSP ones are pretty good.

7 was fantastic and they still drop content here and there for it.

 

[Chairman Yang]

AC4 is the best game to me, although I haven't played them all. AC AH is shit. And AC6 only ran at 30 fps on 360.

I've played these and rank them as follows Can't rank AC7 as I barely played it. But if the first few levels are an indicator, AC7 is good and harder than the other games.

AC4
AC2
AC5
AC6
AC AH

Yeah I heard bad things about Assault Horizon, but already had it on PC from a Humble Bundle or something. I know it's not considered a "real" Ace Combat game, but I'll give it a try eventually regardless.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Play it last! lol

 

[Tazzu]

Don't listen to the haters. AC6 is excellent and has some of the most interesting mission in the franchise. AH on its own is a fine game too.

With that said, AC7 has so far been really disappointing.

 

[Pagusas]

Ace Combat 6 is indeed amazing and has some of the best music in the series.

 

[ExpandKong]

Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces for the Wii

Never heard of this one and I've been on a bit of a Wii kick recently so I looked it up. It's based on an anime movie that was based on a series of novels and looks pretty much like an Ace Combat Wii game. Sounds like it might have some of the special maneuvers you can do from Assault Horizon.

It's got Classic Controller and GameCube Controller support, but also a unique control scheme where you hold the nunchuck in your dominant hand and the Wii Remote in your off hand.

Sounds pretty neat. I've got a buddy with a huge Wii collection, might have to hit him up and see if he has it.

I do like these games but the only ones I've actually finished are 4, 5, and the 3DS remake one. 7 seems a bit harder than the others so far.

 

[Birdo]

Don't care if people don't like AH, it has one of the best OSTs.

(I wish there was a version without this shitty rap part)

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Can you not buy AC 5 on PS4? I swear it was an AC7 bonus so surely it should be available?

 

[Chairman Yang]

Can you not buy AC 5 on PS4? I swear it was an AC7 bonus so surely it should be available?

My understanding is that the real airplane licensing has prevented old ACs from being resold. However, there might have been a loophole in the contract that allowed the remaster to be given away for free as a pre-order bonus.

I think it's not available normally anymore, but I vaguely recall it might be through codes sold physically or something? Sorry I don't know more.

 

[Fbh]

I need to play some of these someday.

All I know is zero has the most hype final mission song ever:

 

[mcz117chief]

I played almost all of them and I enjoyed most of them. The only ones I didn't enjoy is 7 and 3. My favorite is probably Zero but on other days it is 5, they are both absolutely brilliant. Assault Horizon is different so you have to forget it is an Ace Combat game and just enjoy what is in front of you, if you can do that you will have a great time guaranteed. It is very different but also very enjoyable, but you must ignore almost all of your Ace Combat instincts. Just don't force a square peg into a round hole. The psp Ace Combat X is also excellent, if you decide to play it on an emulator.
When it comes to Infinity, oh man, what an incredible ride that one was. I have spent hundreds of hours on that one and enjoyed about 99% of that time. I have the fondest memories of that game.
Ace Combat 7 is just meh, I didn't hate it or anything but it didn't scratch that Ace Combat itch for me at all. I have, however, spent dozens of hours on the remaster of 5 which is just incredible. The high resolution really makes the game a pure joy to play again. Only thing that is brutally broken is the right analog stick that controls the camera, it is almost unusable, other than that it is perfect.

 

[molasar]

Don't care if people don't like AH, it has one of the best OSTs.

(I wish there was a version without this shitty rap part)

Is a track called 'Fighter' not good enough?



Anyways AC:AH is the best Ace Combat game.

 

[R6Rider]

Is a track called 'Fighter' not good enough?



Anyways AC:AH is the best Ace Combat game.

That song is like a clusterfuck of 3 songs put together.

 

[ZoolNL]

I’m the old gamer. I loved part 2 and the 3ds game.

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

My understanding is that the real airplane licensing has prevented old ACs from being resold. However, there might have been a loophole in the contract that allowed the remaster to be given away for free as a pre-order bonus.

I think it's not available normally anymore, but I vaguely recall it might be through codes sold physically or something? Sorry I don't know more.

It's a pretty shit situation. I pre-ordered it and never received my code. Make it free for everyone now

 

[JohannCK]

Here's something to read if you're into the series:

Ace Combat Series 25th Anniversary Interview (Frontline Gaming Japan)

Ace Combat's creators discuss the series' 25th anniversary, and its history and future in this interview.

www.frontlinejp.net

Ace Combat was always a series that fell under the radar for me (no pun intended). I heard good things about it from way back in the PS1 days but never actually tried it out.

That changed with Ace Combat 7. I bought the game, along with the bonus remaster of AC5. I started playing, was instantly smitten, and then immediately stopped playing. Why? Because when I know I'll love a series, I want to go back as far as possible and play it from the beginning. Better to go from oldest to newest rather than the other way around, right?

The PS1 games seemed too dated to me, so I skipped them. But I went on a buying spree for the series a while ago (all used and fairly cheap). AC4, Zero, 6, Assault Horizon, Assault Horizon Legacy+ (which has nothing to do with Assault Horizon and is actually a 3DS remake of AC2), and Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces for the Wii (supposedly a good game in the same vein by the same team). I didn't get the GBA/PSP games because I don't have the systems, and I guess the free-to-play game is now completely gone?

Now I'm knee-deep in Ace Combat 04. I don't know how I would've felt on release, but playing it for the first time now, it's aged remarkably well. It's super-smooth which really helps the visuals, the controls are intuitive, and the mission design is great, with a nice mix of scripted stuff and open flexibility. I'm really enjoying the story and modern day-ish setting. As a whole, the game feels very slick, especially for something nearly 20 years old.

What are the highlights I have ahead of me? What are the low points? Am I missing anything important? Is Ace Combat really as underrated of a series as it seems to me?

4 is actually my least favourite of the modern (4 and after) games, mostly because of a few machines I really hate, different control layout from the later games, and the button pressure thing that they thankfully did away with in 5, but it's still pretty good. Each of the games has a stinker mission or two but they're mostly fantastic, aside from Assault Horizon.

A lot of people called 5 and Zero the peak of the series before 7 came out, and I'm personally of the opinion that 6 is just as good.

X and X2 on the PSP are somewhat okay but nowhere as good as the PS2 games.

My understanding is that the real airplane licensing has prevented old ACs from being resold. However, there might have been a loophole in the contract that allowed the remaster to be given away for free as a pre-order bonus.

I think it's not available normally anymore, but I vaguely recall it might be through codes sold physically or something? Sorry I don't know more.

Kouno has said that 5 on the PS4 will never be available again, that it was a miracle that they even made it possible due to all the complications, and that if you didn't get it by buying AC7 on release then you won't be getting it, period.

And IIRC the codes expired earlier this year.

 

[HUELEN10]

Sky Crawlers is legit amazing. Be warned of a ton of underscan tho, so make sure you’re feeding your Wii into a good scaling setup for optimal fun.

 

[xpresstuning]

Great thread, i forgot i wanted to check out Ace Combat 7. I don't think i ever played something like Ace Combat, so i was instantly interested in it the moment i heard it was heading for Steam.

That changed with Ace Combat 7. I bought the game, along with the bonus remaster of AC5. I started playing, was instantly smitten, and then immediately stopped playing. Why? Because when I know I'll love a series, I want to go back as far as possible and play it from the beginning. Better to go from oldest to newest rather than the other way around, right?

That's exactly what i do as well, but i usually first finish the title in question, then i go back all the way.

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

Here's something to read if you're into the series:

Ace Combat Series 25th Anniversary Interview (Frontline Gaming Japan)

Ace Combat's creators discuss the series' 25th anniversary, and its history and future in this interview.

www.frontlinejp.net

4 is actually my least favourite of the modern (4 and after) games, mostly because of a few machines I really hate, different control layout from the later games, and the button pressure thing that they thankfully did away with in 5, but it's still pretty good. Each of the games has a stinker mission or two but they're mostly fantastic, aside from Assault Horizon.

A lot of people called 5 and Zero the peak of the series before 7 came out, and I'm personally of the opinion that 6 is just as good.

X and X2 on the PSP are somewhat okay but nowhere as good as the PS2 games.



Kouno has said that 5 on the PS4 will never be available again, that it was a miracle that they even made it possible due to all the complications, and that if you didn't get it by buying AC7 on release then you won't be getting it, period.

And IIRC the codes expired earlier this year.

I'm not into preordering. The whole reason I pre-ordered was for the remaster. I never got the code and was never able to get a resolution. I'm a huge series fan and was pretty upset I couldn't get my copy. I don't see why they can't release it for free digitally. Buy I am pretty bitter

 

[SkylineRKR]

PS1 games were awesome.

AC2 was great, and I think holds up decent for a PS1 game. The gameplay is largely the same as the latest one. AC3 is only good when playing the JP version.

AC4 and Zero are my faves probably. AC5 had too much anime melodrama. But still very good, and Briefing 2 is best briefing music ever. But singing during a mission... I dunno. What I like about 2 is how simple its been kept. Just trash the opposing forces and retake the country. I hated 6 for this reason. Its story segments were top tier cringe even compared to 5. AC7 is an excellent game that harkens back to the PS2 days (and its the hardest AC I have played on Normal!), also 60fps. But a lot of drones and some unfair missions. Also quite a bit of gimmicks with nature elements.

Assault Horizon was CoDified trash but there is some good in there.

I hope the results of 7 warrant an 8th game for the next generation.