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Hello, /v/. Could you introduce me to the Ace Combat series?
What are the worthwhile games in the series? All of them? Which ones should I avoid like plague?
Are the plots at all good, or should I just ignore it and go straight to the fun? Also, are the plots connected between the games?
Which games in the series would you recommend to start with? The PSX originals, or the more popular PS2 sequels? Maybe the PSP games?
I also hear one of the more recent ones was released on Steam. Is the port good?
Thank you for your help.
>>318750960
PSX games aged like milk and AC3 (Electrosphere) is butchered in the US so you can start with 4 (Distant Thunder) then Belkan War and Fires of Liberation if you have a 360
All the other are meh to shit tier.
Avoid at all cost Assault Horizon. It's fucking garbage I'm still shocked I even played more than 5 minutes to this shit. Literally Call of Duty with planes, in an even less fun form.
The best games are the three that are considered the "Holy Trinity," meaning Ace Combat 4, Ace Combat 5, and Ace Combat Zero.
If you're emulating, I'd stay the fuck away from 4. 5 and Zero emulate passably, but have some pretty annoying visual bugs. The gameplay is fine.
Gameplay-wise 4 is a bit different from 5 and Zero. 5/Zero are my personal favourites, but 4 is good as well, and by some people considered the best. It's a matter of preference. If I had to pick a #1 favourite in the series, it'd be 5, with Zero just barely behind.
Ace Combat X : Skies of Deception or whatever the name was is alright if you want more Ace Combat after finishing the holy trinity. Just don't expect another masterpiece.
By the recent one on steam I'm guessing you're talking about Assault Horizon. Assault Horizon never happened. It's not an Ace Combat game. The only good thing is a few pieces of the ost.
It's passable if you just think of it as a stupid spinoff, and get it on a big sale. Multiplayer's alright, and some singleplayer missions are surprisingly decent, inbetween the on-rails turret missions. I haven't actually played AH, so take this with a grain of salt.
>>318751381
Oh, and ACX emulates flawlessly.
Story-wise 5 was the best IN MY OPINION. Zero was also great. 4 Is very, very good still.
>>318750960
4, 5 0, maybe 6.
Don't bother with the ps1 games.
>>318750960
>I also hear one of the more recent ones was released on Steam. Is the port good?
Assault Horizon? The port is good, the game is not.
Just emulate the ps2 games. They are each self contained, you can play them in any order.
if you want a challenge in 4 never use QAAMs, they make the game insanely easy-mode
>>318750960
04 & 5 are god-tier. Zero bored me, but is widely praised among other AC-bros. 3's Jap version MAY be getting localized sometime in the next 20 years, so you might want to check that out when it finishesif it does.Infinity is maximum jewery.
How's Assault Horizon Legacy? Despite the name, I've heard it's actually a remake of 2.
>>318752941
Yes, and it's good. That said, it has the silly maneuver system from Sky Crawlers that functions a bit like a QTE. Wait for a bar to fill, press Y, bam, you're behind your enemy.
You don't have to use it, though.
>>318753031
Alright so Assault Horizon Legacy, 4, 5, 0, 6 if I ever get the chance, X and 3 if it ever gets properly translated are the only ones to play?
>>318750960
4, 5 and Zero in that order are a great way to start. If your specs are decent you can emulate them, should be fairly doable with the right settings. My PC is 4 years old now and I could play them all in the default cockpit mode, only dropped below 60FPS in 3rd person view and some rare heavy weather missions.
>>318753202
That's about it, yeah. Infinity built an interesting world for itself, but ruined it with the multiplayer part.
>>318753031
that's not how assault mode works
you get close enough behind the enemy and the game will tell you when youre close enough, after which you press the dog fight mode (dfm) button
some enemies can only be shot down in dfm or are very hard to shoot down outside of dfm
i fucking hated that missile mission (just the shoot down the missile part) and the chopper missions
the support plane mission was ok but i wish it wasnt in there
otherwise it's a great looking game
i wish ace combat 6 for xbox was ported... or has it been?
>>318753902
Yeah, but I wasn't talking about Assault Horizon. I was talking about Assault Horizon Legacy.
>>318753902
>i wish ace combat 6 for xbox was ported... or has it been?
Nope, shame because visually AC6 is absolutely the best looking Ace Combat game. Ace Combat 6 wasn't a bad game at all, hell aside from the cliche story, it's just a hair below the Holy Trinity.Go dance with the angels
>>318754137
The AC6 story was shit, yeah, but I fucking loved the huge battles. Seeing all those missiles streaking across the skies was beautiful.
>>318754217
>call an assist on my target
>suddenly 50 missiles converge on this poor sap from every direction
>>318754217
>He doesn't know about the Round Table
Dead man.
>>318754604
I do, and B7R was nothing compared to some of the huge battles in 6. That said, Zero was the better game.
>>318754217
>>318754456
Yup
Entering a mission and seeing a huge ball of cloudy missile streaks miles away, enemy and frendly AI just going at it
Goddamn it was miraculous
>Ace Combat 7 rumored to be announced at an upcoming japanese game show
>it's still probably not going to be set in Strangereal
>its still probably going to be shit with Infinity's forced fuel bullshit
>Ace Combat is fucking dead
It hurts...
>>318754604
round table was shit, you could clear the entire thing out in 2 minutes
comona was better desu
BELKA DID NOTHING WRONG
OSEAN PIGS GIVE BACK RIGHTFUL BELKAN CLAY
>>318754912
>up next: how to build your own superweapon
Tell me more.
>>318754798
REMOVE THIS
>>318755017
It actually goes on to say "superweak rap posse"
I started with AC2 and played all except AC6 and AC on 3DS and the port on iOS.
Air Combat, AC2 and AC3 are on PS1. AC4, AC5, and AC0 are on PS2. AC6 is on Xbox 360. AC Infinity is on PS3.
I'd say if you can live with the nostalgia factor, AC2 is a pretty solid game on its own.
Fact. AC2's campaign is the exact reverse campaign to AC4's (which was the first on PS2).
AC3 takes things to the future. Mega corporations that rule the world, and the Neo United Nations fight back against them. You fly as a sentent AI on a custom craft. You can download yourself to another craft if you get shut down, which is freaky if you think about it. Also has unique weapons like cluster missiles that fire like rocket pods except they're homing. AC3 is the only AC game to have a flyable SR-71 Blackbird (a modified one); used for super high altitude missions where you as an AI basically go to the edge of the atmosphere to then shoot down satellites, and then dive back in to Earth.
AC4 is the first PS2 AC game and its story is basically about a countrywide invasion by separatists who makes use of a recent planet-wide asteroid impact event, to then take over. The enemies control Stonehenge, 8 anti-Asteroid guns, and try to blast you out of the sky.
AC5, my favorite, is the story of 4 cadets, or nuggets, who try to save their drill instructor, and their country in the process, while revealing a military arms trader conspiracy. It is the longest AC game and has the most planes ever. 4 in your squad means 4 of each craft, and there are up to 3 versions of some craft (the cockpits and minor details are different to observant eyes). My favorite in the series.
AC0 or Zero, acts as an indirect prequel to 5. Not my favorite but its got a karma system. You can choose to shut down, spare or disengage enemy targets. The karma then affects which missions and enemy squadrons you encounter. This element is what I disliked the most about AC0 (non cohesive continuous story), but to each his own.
Is Stealth the closest we got to an Ace Combat movie?fuck you I liked it
>>318755504
independance day is way closer.
>>318755504
Stealth was a neat film, but it has its quirky stuff that actually reminded me of Ace Combat 3.
There's a segment with a giant flying balloon that acts as a refueling station. In AC3 there are "air ships" that can launch aircraft.
AC games worth playing:
AC3 Japanese - Playstation 1
AC4 - Playstation 2
AC5 - Playstation 2
AC Zero - Playstation 2
AC6 - Xbox 360
ACX - PSP
Assault Horizon Legacy - 3DS (remake of AC2 with a very unfortunate localized renaming)
Try them if you're looking for more and can deal with lower quality / aged mechanics / divergence from the style of the above games:
Air Combat - Playstation 1
Ace Combat 2 - Playstation 1
Ace Combat Advance - GBA
Ace Combat Joint Assault - PSP
Ace Combat Infinity - Playstation 3 PSN Free2Play
Ace Combat Assault Horizon - PC & Consoles
Pass:
Ace Combat 3 US
>>318755504
>Stealth
>not Top Gun
Watched TG for the first time this year and I enjoyed it. It's not Prisoners or The Town but it's good.
The PAX games are okay, but it's best to start on the PS2 games as they're the core of the series and the best balance of gameplay and story.
See the chart for info.Ace Combat 3 has a JP and a US version, which is why it's on here twice. Don't play the US version.
Should I play Sky Crawlers?
>>318756717
It's pretty fun. Could be better, but still.
>>318750960
Ace Combat 4
Ace Combat 5
Ace Combat 0
Ace Combat 6
Ace Combat X
Ace Combat Joint Assault
Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy +
Ace Combat Infinity (If you want to see what a HD AC game looks like)
>>318756952
>Ace Combat Infinity (If you want to see what a HD AC game looks like)
But you already listed AC6
>>318756984
>360
>Good graphics
But I agree. I think it has a different engine
>>318757072
What are you talking about, AC6 is by far the best looking AC game.
What do we think of Ace Combat Infinity, lads?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu2XVx90KhM
>>318754720
Don't lose hope.
>>318757829
>>318757651
That's pretty good. Even the VA is excellent. Too bad my internet is shit.
>>318757651
>tfw you realize infinity was the HD collection
>>318759061
>>318756530
Move electrosphere up one tier and you have the objectively perfect list.
>>318759452
What, the JP version or the US version?
JP version can't be moved up until the full fan translation is done, and the US one certainly isn't moving up for obvious reasons.
>>318759061
