Series playthrough: Ace Combat - the PS1 trilogy
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Back story
My first proper experience with Namco's Ace Combat series was when I bought Ace Combat 4 for my PS2 on a whim. I’d only tried the series prior through a demo of Ace Combat 3. I was very impressed by AC4 and continued playing through the other two releases on PS2, before moving on to the underrated and excellent Ace Combat 6 on Xbox 360.In recent times I’ve dabbled in Ace Combat 7, but I feel the formula has become somewhat stagnant. However, I recently decided to go all the way back to the roots of the series, on home consoles at least. Skipping the two arcade releases, on Namco's System 11 and System 22 hardware respectively, I started with the first release on PS1.
Let’s take a flight back in time and look at the first two releases in the series!
Review
Played on: PlayStation
When it comes to massive overhauls, Ace Combat 2 is a clear example of a sequel that excels in improving the original experience in every single aspect. Not only does it visually jump a leap in quality, but it also sets the blueprint for the entire franchise for years to come.
The presentation and structure has shifted from simplistic and arcade styled, to unique and characteristic for the series. Menu design and mission briefings have been massively overhauled, and the music has shifted in tone. While it has a more believable depth to the war unfolding through it's mission briefings, it still doesn’t have the character focused, anti-war cinematics the series would become synonymous with. It's about taking on mission after mission, picking up the story through mission briefings.
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Visually, the aircraft have clearly been beefed up with more polygons, representing their real-life counterparts within their 32-bit limitations. Gone is the stupid livery from AC1, replaced by proper camo paint schemes. Each aircraft has moving parts like airbrakes and flaps. It's satisfying seeing aircraft like the F-14 Tomcat switch on it's afterburners, sweep back it's wings and speed up! The ground detail is also hugely increased, with far more usage of 3D terrain and buildings. The landscapes look more real and especially the cities look much more believable as a result.
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Released: 1995
Beginning with clearing the name confusion; the first Ace Combat on PS1 is called Air Combat in the West, while Ace Combat in Japan. Further adding to the confusion is that it's based around Namco's release on the System 11 arcade hardware, where the game is titled Air Combat.
Beginning with clearing the name confusion; the first Ace Combat on PS1 is called Air Combat in the West, while Ace Combat in Japan. Further adding to the confusion is that it's based around Namco's release on the System 11 arcade hardware, where the game is titled Air Combat.
However, the arcade Air Combat from 1993 proved tricky to port directly to the lower amount of memory on the PS1, thus it was a reworked and a different game when it reached Sony's 32-bit home console in 1995.
An early PS1 release in other words, visible in it's simplistic 3D visuals. We have a Mode 7 reminiscent ground texture, sometimes even without textures, as a flat plain, sprinkled with sparse 3D objects like buildings and small mountains.
An early PS1 release in other words, visible in it's simplistic 3D visuals. We have a Mode 7 reminiscent ground texture, sometimes even without textures, as a flat plain, sprinkled with sparse 3D objects like buildings and small mountains.
The sky and horizon blend together simplistically and have an almost texture-less polygon aesthetic, with a few 2D clouds to give some sense of movement through the sky.
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As usual for the Ace Combat series, the playing field is a square shaped, limited air space. In this first release of the franchise, there's a short distance between max height and the ground too. 3D models of the aircraft are crude, painted in a colourful, but goofy, livery on each aircraft. Reminiscing more of an airshow aircraft than something you’d send to war.
Despite all this, the visuals work. It runs fluid, albeit a 30fps locked title, and manages to vary colour schemes, locations and environments with its limited visuals. The bare fundamentals for the Ace Combat series are present, it just lacks a clear design and art direction, feeling more like a 3D showcase of 32-bit hardware, than a distinct and unique title of its own.
There’s a bare bones plot going on too, explained through mission briefings. A terrorist organisation is attacking the fictive country of Usea in an area called Skully Islands. As a mercenary air force, with silly aircraft liveries, you need to stop the terrorists. In addition to standard mission briefings, which drop hints at what you need to focus on, the map screen is quite neat.
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As usual for the Ace Combat series, the playing field is a square shaped, limited air space. In this first release of the franchise, there's a short distance between max height and the ground too. 3D models of the aircraft are crude, painted in a colourful, but goofy, livery on each aircraft. Reminiscing more of an airshow aircraft than something you’d send to war.
Despite all this, the visuals work. It runs fluid, albeit a 30fps locked title, and manages to vary colour schemes, locations and environments with its limited visuals. The bare fundamentals for the Ace Combat series are present, it just lacks a clear design and art direction, feeling more like a 3D showcase of 32-bit hardware, than a distinct and unique title of its own.
There’s a bare bones plot going on too, explained through mission briefings. A terrorist organisation is attacking the fictive country of Usea in an area called Skully Islands. As a mercenary air force, with silly aircraft liveries, you need to stop the terrorists. In addition to standard mission briefings, which drop hints at what you need to focus on, the map screen is quite neat.
Here, each mission will unlock the next in a linear fashion. However, sometimes you can choose between two missions, resulting in different paths through the mission map. I appreciate that you can back track and take the other missions branches before reaching the end, without needing to replay the entire game.
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Otherwise, the options available throughout the campaign are extremely basic with hardly any information. You can at least access a shop to buy better aircraft and save/load your game. For most missions you can bring a wingman too, which will take some of your earnings and, in theory, protect you. I found the wingman option extremely limited and hardly felt its presence, so I ended up skipping using the feature.
There’s a small bit of difference between each aircraft handling, with some models more suited for ground attack sand other for air combat, but it's mostly just about top speed and turning angle thanks to more power in the engines. Missions are short, allowing you to either speedily attack the main targets or take your time and take down all targets. Taking down all the enemies will consume more time and fuel, but results in larger earnings.
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Otherwise, the options available throughout the campaign are extremely basic with hardly any information. You can at least access a shop to buy better aircraft and save/load your game. For most missions you can bring a wingman too, which will take some of your earnings and, in theory, protect you. I found the wingman option extremely limited and hardly felt its presence, so I ended up skipping using the feature.
There’s a small bit of difference between each aircraft handling, with some models more suited for ground attack sand other for air combat, but it's mostly just about top speed and turning angle thanks to more power in the engines. Missions are short, allowing you to either speedily attack the main targets or take your time and take down all targets. Taking down all the enemies will consume more time and fuel, but results in larger earnings.
Overall, I felt like this release had some of the fundamentals for the series in place, but it lacks a unique look and personality. Dogfighting and ground target attacks feel typical Ace Combat, even though the enemy clearly lacks intelligence to properly battle you. It's a strict arcade affair, with no depth or proper story. Hit enemy aircraft, get points, get better aircraft. Repeat.
It's interesting going back and playing early PS1 releases, but this is not a must-play in any manner.
Review
Played on: PlayStationReleased: 1997
When it comes to massive overhauls, Ace Combat 2 is a clear example of a sequel that excels in improving the original experience in every single aspect. Not only does it visually jump a leap in quality, but it also sets the blueprint for the entire franchise for years to come.
The presentation and structure has shifted from simplistic and arcade styled, to unique and characteristic for the series. Menu design and mission briefings have been massively overhauled, and the music has shifted in tone. While it has a more believable depth to the war unfolding through it's mission briefings, it still doesn’t have the character focused, anti-war cinematics the series would become synonymous with. It's about taking on mission after mission, picking up the story through mission briefings.
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%202024-05-17-21-55-25.png)
Visually, the aircraft have clearly been beefed up with more polygons, representing their real-life counterparts within their 32-bit limitations. Gone is the stupid livery from AC1, replaced by proper camo paint schemes. Each aircraft has moving parts like airbrakes and flaps. It's satisfying seeing aircraft like the F-14 Tomcat switch on it's afterburners, sweep back it's wings and speed up! The ground detail is also hugely increased, with far more usage of 3D terrain and buildings. The landscapes look more real and especially the cities look much more believable as a result.
Although the stats and actual feel of the aircraft are strictly arcade, there's rewards for investing you hard earned cash in new models. More powerful aircraft give you a strong advantage against the enemy pilots, while heavy firepower aircraft like the A-10 Warthog gives you the firepower to crush ground targets in great numbers. Again, there's not really such distinct difference between the aircraft, but they feel better to control thanks to analogue stick support through the DualShock.
There’s larger variety in mission types, combining both new objectives and scenery to keep the experience exciting and look unique for each mission. Memorable moments of destroying buildings in a city, to sinking ships at a harbour, flying at night or in a sunset, or blasting down a canyon. Ace Combat 2 nails all the tropes of arcade flight sims, early in 1997.
As with many Ace Combat titles, the time it takes for a single playthrough is of much discussion. I recall a review in the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, issue 27, from Christmas 1997 back in my teens. It basically killed my interest:
The main complaint in this review, outside of praising the visuals, is about the game length. Fair enough criticism; it’s a fast completion if you hit easy and speed directly for the main targets in each mission.
There’s larger variety in mission types, combining both new objectives and scenery to keep the experience exciting and look unique for each mission. Memorable moments of destroying buildings in a city, to sinking ships at a harbour, flying at night or in a sunset, or blasting down a canyon. Ace Combat 2 nails all the tropes of arcade flight sims, early in 1997.
As with many Ace Combat titles, the time it takes for a single playthrough is of much discussion. I recall a review in the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, issue 27, from Christmas 1997 back in my teens. It basically killed my interest:
The main complaint in this review, outside of praising the visuals, is about the game length. Fair enough criticism; it’s a fast completion if you hit easy and speed directly for the main targets in each mission.
But the journalist misses the point entirely. It’s about replaying missions for larger scores, choosing an alternative path in the mission branches and obtaining money to purchase better aircraft. It’s absolutely a genre meant for replaying. You don't buy a racing game to do each race once and never again.
A shambles of a mediocre score and a missed opportunity to put this release in the spotlight for players with no flight genre experience, especially those afraid of all of them being advanced simulators. And sadly yes, I was one of those sceptical buyers which skipped the purchase. I'm glad I fixed that now!
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It's an underrated sequel for sure, laying the foundation many years prior to what we perceive as the franchise's golden days on the PS2. Although one single playthrough is short, many of the later sequels are too, it's a fantastic flight action experience and a reminder of how far Namco could push the visuals from initial release titles to new levels altogether in later releases, on the same hardware.
All the art style, just look at that cover art, through mission briefings, the green HUD and layout are recognisable so early on for the franchise! It suffered the old "too short" narrative of reviews back in 90's, but in modern times it's a welcome sight put next to massive titles lasting tens of hours.
It's problem, from some, may be the lack of a proper cinematic story which the franchise became synonymous with later. However, when you just want to fly around and blow up aircraft, AC2 feels refreshingly to the point, free from the melancholic vibe the franchise would turn into. It pushes the PS1 hardware in all the right places, resulting in entertaining and visually appealing flight action!
Review
Played on: PlayStation
Released: 1999
Namco’s third instalment of the franchise takes a huge shift in tone. It goes from a current day war scenario to a futuristic, minimalist, presented story with heavily anime inspired cutscenes. Even dipping its toes into sci-fi.
With an impressive detail on the ground textures, and overall sleek, modern design of cities and skylines, combined with a stylish HUD, it’s a solid and unique visual package. Especially considering the ageing console hardware of the PS1 by 1999. While it's artistically cool, there's a distinctly toned down colour variety, with greens, grey and mild orange tinted sunsets, compared to the bolder colours of Ace Combat 1 & 2.
Namco’s third instalment of the franchise takes a huge shift in tone. It goes from a current day war scenario to a futuristic, minimalist, presented story with heavily anime inspired cutscenes. Even dipping its toes into sci-fi.
With an impressive detail on the ground textures, and overall sleek, modern design of cities and skylines, combined with a stylish HUD, it’s a solid and unique visual package. Especially considering the ageing console hardware of the PS1 by 1999. While it's artistically cool, there's a distinctly toned down colour variety, with greens, grey and mild orange tinted sunsets, compared to the bolder colours of Ace Combat 1 & 2.
While the ground may look more realistic, the crude draw distance seems more obvious here than in Ace Combat 2. There's something about those massive square tiles appearing on the horizon that's distracting. The aircraft are detailed, but have a dull white and grey livery.
Whereas AC2 hit the sweet spot of utilising the PS1 hardware, midway in it's life, AC3 pushes the far end. You can see the ambition, but the hardware just doesn't quite stretch far enough. The end visuals are impressive in a lot of ways, but rough when it comes down to raw polygon count for large distances required in a flight sim.
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Gameplay sees a welcome and more realistic approach, though. With noticeably stalls making an impact on recovering control of the aircraft. Jet engines take time to spin up and slowing down too much will make the aircraft lose height rapidly. As such, it's a trickier experience to fly in comparison with the previous titles, a welcome change to add some needed depth to the flight model. The combat retains the same simplicity as the earlier entries.
With time and budget constraints of their hands, the Western releases of Ace Combat 3 are vastly downgraded when it comes to content and overall story. I highly recommend skipping these releases and playing the Japanese version, spread across 2 CD's versus one. If you don't understand the language, you can fully patch it with an excellent translation done by fans, to several languages, from here!
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Gameplay sees a welcome and more realistic approach, though. With noticeably stalls making an impact on recovering control of the aircraft. Jet engines take time to spin up and slowing down too much will make the aircraft lose height rapidly. As such, it's a trickier experience to fly in comparison with the previous titles, a welcome change to add some needed depth to the flight model. The combat retains the same simplicity as the earlier entries.
With time and budget constraints of their hands, the Western releases of Ace Combat 3 are vastly downgraded when it comes to content and overall story. I highly recommend skipping these releases and playing the Japanese version, spread across 2 CD's versus one. If you don't understand the language, you can fully patch it with an excellent translation done by fans, to several languages, from here!
This Japanese release sees an anime presented story of the pilots, alongside and overarching large depiction of a conflict between aerospace companies taking over dominance and control of the fictional Ace Combat world in the future.
These anime cutscenes depict the characters in the story, giving personality to the pilots who all have various interests of their own in the ongoing war. They turn up during missions to talk over the intercoms too. Uniquely for the Japanese release, some missions leave you with vital choices as to which side of the war you should back, in turn leading to the game having several endings. The single disc Western release cuts all this and appears like a shorter, linear experience.
These anime cutscenes depict the characters in the story, giving personality to the pilots who all have various interests of their own in the ongoing war. They turn up during missions to talk over the intercoms too. Uniquely for the Japanese release, some missions leave you with vital choices as to which side of the war you should back, in turn leading to the game having several endings. The single disc Western release cuts all this and appears like a shorter, linear experience.
Much like Colony Wars, review here, there are many missions available. 52 in all, however, you don’t play them all in one playthrough, they're unlocked depending on your choices you make. A single playthrough is a tad longer than Ace Combat 2, but there are tons more missions to play should you choose differently in the story. Taking in account you're playing the Japanese version, the Western one has a lot of missions removed.
That said, there's a ton of repetition in the objectives for each mission, further emphasised by the length of the Japanese release. In a strange way, it kind of makes sense with some of the cuts for the Western release. A lot of the missions are repetitive and hardly memorable.
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Overall, I enjoyed AC3, it's similarities with Ridge Racer Type 4's artistic design is welcome, although it becomes a little too sci-fi compared to what I'm seeking in the franchise. The spaceship like aircraft aren't my thing in a game partially based on reality alongside aircraft from our time just feels a little off.
The story is interesting for sure, but it's a huge change from what you're used to with the previous instalments and falls into a lot of typical anime tropes. Complete with whiny and stressed anime characters staring and shouting you down on screen. I'm sure a lot of people will like this focus, but it's a little too far away from what I associate with the franchise.
The extra difficulty in power transfer to the jet engine is a nice improvement, sadly removed when Ace Combat 4 turned up. Plus, the way this title can be replayed numerous times is, much like Colony Wars, impressive. While repetition kicks in in replays, it's a great way for fans to dive into many hours of entertainment.
For the proper experience, play the Japanese release. The anime cutscenes and the focus on actually having a background story will be very welcome to some players. Others, like me, I'm a little on the fence. There's something that just didn't quite catch me with AC3's futuristic story and design.
Summary
It's been a fun trilogy to play through, going all the way back to this series roots from the early days of 32-bit consoles, all the way to pushing the PS1 hardware to new heights in it's sequels. I definitely continue with the PS2 trilogy at a later date.
If you want to try one of the early Ace Combat titles on the PS1, then AC2 is the one to got for. It will fit like a glove for those familiar with the series! It goes straight to the flight action with lots of cool, current aircraft and varied missions and visuals.
Are you the type that prefers the story and lore of the series, then check out the JP version of AC3, just don't go expecting it to be like AC4 and onwards.
Enjoy and take flight!