To me Ace combat wasnt just a game series, it was an experience. You go into it thinking you just wanna be a Top Gun fanboy. Fly badass planes and be a heroic fighter pilot, earnt hat fame and glory. But as you play, you get sunk into the real reason you (your character) fights. Its not about the accolades or the fame from it, you learn you wanna do the right thing. You get invested in the world that you protect, your wingmen, your country, your friends. By time you reach the end, you have a better understanding of what and who you are. You're not just a fighter pilot, you're a warrior set out to make sure you stop war, not cause it. Ace Combat shows us that a game can reach something inside us and find something we ourselves didnt know was there. Thats why its my favorite game franchise.
TO ALL ACES!!! WE NEED TO DO A PETITION TO ASK BANDAI-NAMCO TO PUT IN ALL PLATFORMS THE HOLY TRINITY AND SOME OTHER ACE COMBAT GAMES!!! If they could maintain the story and do a better remake at AC7 graphics level would be great!
AC7 is the only game of this series that ive had the luxury of playing. But as a girl that has been WILDLY obsessed with aircraft and aerospace since childhood, this series scratches an itch no other game has even come close to reaching for me
if youre looking to go deeper into the flight sim Air combat look into DCS World thats the most deep you can go without actually starting to get a pilots license XD
As @cptncutleg suggested, Project Wingman might be up your alley. The game is made by fans of Ace Combat and more often than not they hit all the right spots as to what made the series special.
Same as funnels in mech games. Standing still is when you get hit, if they're launched in an arch just charge forward, it's a video game, you're supposed to have visual cues.
Nothing short of a love letter to our beloved series, if your previous ones for its music hadn't been enough. Welcome, and long may you enjoy our silly dramatic dogfighting. And don't be afraid to dive deeper in the series! AC6 offers combat on a grand scale, entire battlefields with multiple simultaneous operations and a multi-perspective narrative. ACX is light on story, but is fantastically focused and beautifully captures AC's essence in a portable form, and with a unique music direction. PS: If you loved Blue Skies, by all means check out its rapturous Infinity remix!
The Infinity remix was the absolute best when I first heard it. Wish I could play that game with my friends again, loved the cooperative + competitive aspect that it had too
Nagase: I see light to the east... Morning's coming. Grimm: Our night flight is over. Grimm: I can't wait to see it. The most beautiful sunrise ever! Snow: And the sun will continue to rise, now and forever.
This was my childhood, and It's great to know that it is still being played to this day. This week I saw your livestreams playing the holy trinity and I felt like when I played it for the first time. Thank you Marco for these videos!
AC5 will always and forever be one of my most beloved childhood games. I would play it days on end without stopping, repeating missions after missions just to fly again and again in those war torn but beautiful blue skies. I might not be able to fly in the skies as a Razgriz Ace anymore, but I'll always remember the amazing story telling, the art, and the beautiful soundtrack that is AC5. It's nice to see someone in this time and age especially an opera singer to buy a ps2 system just play, enjoy and show love to the 3 trinity game that made Ace Combat what is it today.
I had been playing the unsung war for 20 years now, and it still breaks my heart every time i watch Chopper go down. The devs made the right choice to put the player right back in the action immediately after he hits the ground
Ace Combat 5 may be the most underrated game ever. It's hidden from the world in this niche genre, but that game has got to be one of the best games of all time.
I must agree. I feel fortunate enough that my very first exposition to Ace Combat was AC5, so it is absolutely special to me in every matter. It consistently feels like it is sandwiched between much more iconic games (AC4 and AC0), but of the main games, AC5 is just SO LONG (28 missions?? AC7 feels SHORT, even though it has 26 missions), filled with fully animated cutscenes. It is deep, emotional and cheesy. Very cheesy. But so is Metal Gear. Perfection.
The Ace Combat OST is something truly special in that not only is it incredible, but they're some of the very few pieces in existence that I can't ever see myself getting sick of. I just had the Sol Squadron theme on loop for a solid half an hour straight, and I'm still not sick of it. The monastic men's chorus is too much of an allure.
The flight where Chopper (Davenport) goes down, that fight after he crashes goes from "this is just a game" to a full on "shit got real" in a very sudden way. Especially so soon after recovering Nagase from the winter woodlands from her own ejection.
"Into the Dusk" Synonymous with silent fury, blinding rage, heartbreaking sorrow , searing vengeance, unbridled wrath, flooding tears (so many freaking tears), and shocking disbelief. "I'm gonna miss that voice..."
I have got to say, I am extremely happy to see a content creator that reviews music like you get into this fandom so many of us have been a part of. Watching your reviews of Razgriz is what brought me to your channel, and I'm very thankful for that. Then watching you go on the same journey that many of us did when we were younger gave me even more appreciation of the passion the creators went into. The game play is extremely fun, even when replaying it dozen of times. The stories personalize the characters around you and make you connect to the world. The challenges push you and get your heart racing as you edge closer to beating tunnels, aces, the time limit, etc. Then the biggest part to wrap it all up is the music. You can turn all dialogue off and play simply with the OST on and get EXACTLY what is going on. All from a "silly plane game". I hope that you can continue playing through the next few games in the series and get your take on those as well.
Welcome to the club! The Ace Combat community happily welcomes you! It's a fantastic series, so there's no shame in being obsessed over it! Zero is my personal favorite of the series, and I remembered when I first nabbed Ace Combat 7, I'll never be able to experience that first playthrough again because I was transported back to when I was young playing the Holy Trinity. It was incredible, and I'm not afraid to admit I shed some tears.
it sincerely warms my heart to see people in 2024 looking at the Ace Combat series for the first time and seeing what we as fans have seen for SO long in this underdog of a series. So much beauty and majesty in what just seems like an arcade fighter jet sim. There is SO much depth under the surface. Similar to another of what I consider one of the true games to have the initials of AC: Armored Core. Ace Combat has HEART. NGL though,you got BALLS to go through 5's tunnel run at full speed in a MiG-31.
Ace Combat got me into aviation. It got me into planes, and I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up. I never could be, but that love for the series never died. I met lifelong friends connecting through the love of Ace Combat. It inspired me to do research, learn how to make videos in a way that wasn't just turning on my capture program and talking. I, legitimately, would not be who I am today if it wasn't for this series, and it warms my heart every single god damned time I see someone new learning about the series. I'm glad it reached someone special in you, too.
Man, this level of media literacy is a rare sight in gaming related channels these days. We can really tell that you've experienced, understood and thoroughly enjoyed every minute details and that's the greatest thing ever. I hope you'll play Ace Combat 6 as well, the story isn't as well written as the PS2 ones but the game is an absolute blast nonetheless. You HAVE to experience the Liberation of Gracemeria in-game, I'm sure you'll love it.
Even when I prepare myself, some songs like Into the Dusk and Journey Home just forces the emotion out of me. Right before the final assault in 5 when all the allied forces are joining up and joining the choir is such a good moment in the game. That song needs to play at a video game concert and as shy and quiet as I am I would stand up and happily join in the song lol. These games are a work of art. I mean the loading screen before each mission has a poem for crying out loud! Thanks for celebrating this series with us Marco!
Nobody really blames you if you think Zero's story is not as good as 4 and 5 Zero felt a lot more like world building than actually telling a story with its various interviews in which some are missable depending on the playstyle routes you took. But me saying that is not a negative at all, its just a different and actually quite an interesting way to present Strangereal's lore without following a directive flow
if anything it made me want to fly every route to make sure i got the story the belkan war was part of my trinity (A.K.A the ones i got prior to assault horizon) 3 (Mobius 1) Zero (Galm 1) 6: Fires of Liberation (Garuda 1)-Glory to Gracemeria!! zero and 6 i played to death, i rented 3 and finished it in about two sittings
While I prefer ACZ's story myself, i think it's true strength is the ambience, rather than the events themselves. It's a grittier, more sober approach to war that worked really, really well.
@@SoloWing88 Zero is a world builder with more "up close and ersonal" story, its not as deep as 04 and 05, doesnt mean its bad tho, but i get it that the story seems short
I don't normally type when I'm listening to these videos but much like you and how a piece of gaming music ties you to your father. AC5 and its songs do as well. I was never really GOOD at the games. But for all the bad times I might have had- AC games was one of the things me and my father bonded over. We could spend hours replaying the same mission to get that elusive S and unlock all the planes. Yet, as a kid I vividly remember when Chopper is shot down and this song starts to play during the big swarm mission I saw my dad cry. But even then when I was younger and I saw him crying I saw how he still stayed focus on the game and its mission which told me he truly cared about the events taking place. The game made him feel as though he lost someone important to him and in truth I think this game was one of the few ways he could comfortably let out the loss of his father. I won't deny that I also teared up a bit, this game and its music has been my unconscious go to when I need a means to convey to others how I'm feeling but unable to speak it clearly but the music has also been there when I needed a boost of encouragement. The song of the Razgriz making you feel empowered and strong even when the world seems to be its darkest. These games, these songs from AC3 and on have all been around when I needed them most. Honestly I fear when the next game comes out as it seems every time a new one comes its an harbinger of something bad down the line...but then they also tend to be the reliable companion that help hold me together and push forward.
I was 9 years old when I got AC 5 from gamestop in 2005 because I thought it looked cool. I had never played a vehicle combat game and I never bothered with the tutorial, so I struggled a lot, but I was so invested that I brute forced my way through. I conquered that game, and then I replayed it like 20 times, slowly mastering every mission. As an adult, I have played through every console AC game (and X). It's my favorite franchise, and that's mainly thanks to the music. It ties the games together beautifully.
THIS GUY GETS IT! Marco, you have no idea how many people I've seen retroactively review and experience these games and completely MISS the heart of them. Like, you truly understand it. You were able to go back to the feelings we had so long ago with such ease, and not a lot of people can do that. Not only do you get it, you convey your understanding with such clarity and heart that I can honestly re-experience them with you, and that's a real gift.
Ace Combat 4's soundtrack especially the song "Emancipation" is what stood out the most for me. The mood is just so great with the radio chatter and the news station in the background. That whole level was just immersive and a wonderful experience and i'll never forget how much I truly loved that level.
You got me with the “ i have so far to go” 😢 blue skies is my favorite and when im depressed it makes me feel better i also play blue skies for my doughtier to put her to sleep
I've used it to fall asleep, too! The original is such a soothing track, which makes the Infinity version so much more hype by turning it into a kick-ass battle theme.
This is how I sound to all my friends when trying to explain Ace Combat and being on the otherside.. I fell in love with this childhood series of mine all over again. Been playing since Air Combat/Ace Combat 2. Fly on you beautiful Ace and thanks for this video.
I like the contrast of 25mins of heartfelt and moving music smash cut to Zero's FUCK YEAH!!! "Yo, Buddy" So glad you've become such a spokesperson for the series trying to get more people to give it a go. Because you know... its just a silly little plane game.... :D
Was a fan of AC back during my childhood. Forgot about it after X came out. Then 7 dropped and reminded me how much I loved military aviation. Started working out the next morning after finishing it so that I could go see a recruiter. Been tanker aircrew for 4 years now. I owe it all to Project Aces for reminding me what I should be doing with my life.
When I bought Ace Combat 5, I bought the big deluxe box that came with a dual flightstick controller! 👍 I had never played Ace Combat before but I do like simulators. So when I saw that they were offering this game with a big ass controller I figured it must be something special. And it was. 😉 The controller sat in my closet for years so I finally posted it w/game on eBay and made $125 a few years ago. 💰 I hope whoever bought it enjoyed it as much as I did.
Slightly off topic, but another thing I love about Ace Combat is the sheer AMOUNT of symbolism just crammed into every single nook and cranny. Take for example, the birds. In AC4, you have seagulls - associated with cunning, survival, perseverance, but also the fact that the game starts and ends over the ocean. In AC5, you get doves, obviously representing the game’s message about peace, but in ACZ you get pigeons - home, loyalty, maybe even a homage of the pigeons of WWI, a much more somber, more humble bird. And, of course, AC7’s ravens: loss, ill omens. To that extent, there’s also Trigger, the beast, the “Dragon”, staving off the Ravens to rescue the princess (Cosette) in the tower (space elevator). It’s amazing.
Reminds me so much of the Star Fox 64 tunnel run at the end. You do that on the highest difficulty, having everything 100%'d to that point? You actually follow a sort of spectral version of his ship, and you can just hear the pride in his voice.. It is *incredible*
As you talk about AC5 and play *that* song, it reminds me of the emotions I went through playing that game as a kid. The trailer that plays if you let the game linger on the main menu for too long blew me away, the music was beautiful as we went, and then THAT moment hits above the colosseum. I cried. It was the first time a game made me cry, and made me worried for the characters I’d grown attached to as I went through the rest of the game. The stakes were real, we weren’t untouchable, and that slow song brought a moment of tender mourning I haven’t experienced in another game. I’m so glad you see AC5 for how beautiful it is.
I'm with you on this. I played dabbles of ps2 games with my uncle at my grandparent's place but wasn't captivated enough at the time. Played Ace Combat 7 and now I'm hooked and trying to find the holy trinity as I have a PS2 still. Also really like the world the games build in them
I remember my first Ace Combat game. It was almost 20 years ago when my brother took me to the local Best Buy and let me pick out any game that I wanted, being obsessed with fighter jets, when I saw Ace Combat 5, I instantly grabbed it. Little did I know the journey it was going to take me on, and I haven't looked back since.
I’ve only ever completed the 3DS Ace Combat game but I loved it. Over the years I probably played it around 6-7 times by now. I loved the bossfights, the music and the atmosphere. Such a fun game.
I'm thrilled you discovered my favorite franchise of all time. Ever since I was a kid, I've adored those games all the way from 4 to currently 7. I started with 5 and I still get emotional to this day when I play through it. I feel safe in saying it's one of the only games that I would consider have a "perfect story"
AC04 was the first game I ever played when I got my PS2 all those years ago. I still have my copy of AC04, along with AC5 and Zero. When I built my first PC a couple years ago, the first thing I did after I got it running was install PCSX2 and fire up AC04. It was also the first game I played on my Steam Deck. More than 20 years later, it's still as amazing as I remember.
Ace Combat feels so special, the world, the lore, the stories it shared in unique ways and the soundtrack - oh lord the soundtracks that stick with you even after you finish the game. I've played so many games that are directed to be emotional, tragic and want you to feel, yet to this day i don't even think about them, but i think about Ace Combat, "when I close my eyes, the sky in my dreams... is a deep, dark blue. "
Sea Of Chaos, one of the few moments in gaming where I couldn't stop having manly tears streaming down my face the whole time as "The Journey Home" was playing throughout.
I would definitely recommend Project Wingman and its soundtrack after watching you play the holy trinity. Jose Pavli went off with “Calamity”, “Kings”, and “Showdown” to name a few and you’d get a kick out of them
First off, welcome home. Check in with pops to get your hanger key and imagine getting Ace Combat 4 as lad a few months after 9/11. I was 10 when the asteroids fell from the sky. Heavy stuff for a kid, really glad I got to enjoy these stories as a growing lad.
As someone who started with 6 and then went back to play the holy trinity, I have to say. The first mission theme for AC4, Sitting Duck, has got to be honestly one of the best themes in the series to set the tone of the story. You just got done learning of how the ISAF is literally on the backfoot against the wall, and it comes in with the drone of the alert alarms. It made me absolutely absorbed into the masterpiece of a game I was about to play, and for that, it ranks top for me, even over Comona and Megalith.
To say the Ace Combat had a major impact on my life would be an understatement. I've been using this username online since 2003, I've gotten my pilot's license, and even became an air traffic controller. Glad you enjoyed it as well!
This silly plane game was a big part of my childhood, thanks for bringing back a lot of that nostalgia Marco. Amazing soundtrack to jam out to when working out, and sometimes tear up to.
I'm so glad I found you, just by happenstance on when i was relisting to the ost i wanted to see if anyone reacted to 'Into the Dusk'. AC5 is my all time favourite ps2 game by far, and i think exceeds all the others, including 7 which was the only other one with a similar comradery vibe. When you play this you expect it to just be a high octane, fly fast, shoot targets and not blow up. But this game gives you a story, a relationship with every pilot in your squad. You're soaring dodging missiles and yet Chopper is bantering in your ear while Edge just can't get over the loss of the original flight lead. Archer a mechanic comes up nervous but you really feel empowered as he praises you as his inspiration for improving making you feel like a true Ace pilot. The stadium scene was heartbreaking as the music cuts to nothing but quiet radio chatter. The penultimate mission, when your allies join you in song, and even enemies inspired by the Demons of Razgriz come to your aid. Oh.. and the Arkbird, a beautiful creation of peace and protection that you have to bring down feels like putting down a beloved companion shattering all the hope you had built. And even hearing enemy radio, while a bit unrealistic but hearing the confidence in their radio falter as you kill all their allies, to them outright fearing and disbelieving you like a fairy tale. You'd never guess where i got my gamertag inspiration from eh :) I'd love to hear your thoughts when you first played through those 2 so famous missions with the submarines and the cluster missiles. The music of the first one, shocking and scaring you as all the nuggets can't match your reactions to reach 5000 feet. Hearing the panic of your squad ushering them. And then the second one with the hrimfaxi, the moment that music starts it's almost like PTSD you know what is comming. It'd be great to have how you experienced those missions.
Always saw your vids being recommended on my feed - and often enjoyed watching, but it's because of this appreciation for Ace Combat that I've decided to subscribe man. Ace Combat 4 changed my life as a kid... it has been one of the few games that to this day still elicits tears from my eyes. The Agnus Dei of Megalith, the mission itself, is a testament to the power of hope. Made me truly feel like a hero.
Marco, I want to let you know, I've been a Strangereal diehard for years. I bought 7 when it launched and the spark was so strong it made me buy and play Ace Combat 1, 2, a Japanese copy of 3, 04, 5, & Zero within a heartbeat. The music was stellar, the storytelling was exactly as passionate and emotional as I had wanted from something like this, and most importantly it felt like the people who make these games KNOW what they're about and how to keep it consistent while always shaking things up. I was working on a huge video essay about what Ace Combat means to me. You took the words out of my mouth (well and also that one timmm guy who made a feature length video essay about the games that rules). I'm still gonna make mine, but know for a fact that your passion is felt and we fellow Aces love to see that you GET IT! I find it actually somewhat hard to get people into these games because of a lot of reasons that I fine are very fair apprehensions to have. I want to leave you with one fun fact: back when the Tokyo Olympics were being held the line-up of video game songs played was stuff like Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, Sonic, NieR, even Soul Calibur....... But the one outlier on the lineup? First Flight (arranged from Blockade in Ace Combat 04) from Ace Combat 5 by Keiki Kobayashi.
You really need to play Ace Combat 6 which is the swan song of the early Ace combats as its Ace Combat at its most intense and still holds up very well graphically.
I watched all of your ace combat streams and loved every second. Watching you shed tears where years before I had shed tears was incredibly moving. And this analysis equally moving and emotional and spirited. Ace combat: makes you feel like God and holy hell stand between you and an impossible goal. And it also makes you feel like rolling up the sleeves, slapping off the dust and getting that shit done! Thanks for your work on this!
I identify very strongly with your experiences in this trilogy, everything you had to say really resonated with me. It's why Ace Combat is my favorite game franchise and 5 is maybe my favorite game ever
I could write an entire thesis on the amazing-ness of EACH of the Ace Combat games. Shattered Skies (4) did an amazing job of a slow-burn buildup of radio chatter where enemies start to notice you a few missions into the game ("It's the plane with the Mobius strip!"), and as it progresses, they get more and more anxious of your presence until at the end of the game they talk about you like you're some sort of mythological god, which segues into Unsung War (5) where you are directly compared to a mythological figure. But 4 had such an amazing final battle, including the rather epic ground fight going on which dominates the radio traffic during the mission - reminding yours is not the only battle in the moment, and in fact you're part of a multi-faceted force taking down Megalith. You never directly see any ground forces, but you still feel their presence because the radio chatter does such a good job. And the intro to that final battle was so incredible too. Remember how the mission briefing was oddly quiet? It didn't have the normal background music. Then in the next part, where you're doing plane select, all of the sudden you're getting a pretty damn good rallying speech by the commanding officer. Then you launch into the beautiful and touching cinematics that pep you up for your upcoming fight, which frame this battle in such incredible drama as your allied AWACS has to fly through the meteor shower as those religious music tracks kick in. Then finally the mission starts, with one of the most epic and incredible soundtracks ever made, with the entire battlefield looking apocalyptic with the deadly meteor storm raining down around you, while your allies radio in as part of your squadron having adopted your symbol, and you take on an entire squadron of elite enemy fighters while it all plays out. It's breathtaking, it's majestic, it's moving, it's unforgettable. It's one of the most amazing gaming experiences I've ever had. You could tell they had some incredible, INCREDIBLE talent for mission design and someone wanted that mission to be their magnum opus. I also really like the story of 4 because it gives you such a vastly different vantage point than the missions themselves do - you're sitting there blasting away enemy forces, but there's civilian lives and dramas and turns of fate that are playing out while you're doing your dogfights. It's an excellent, sobering, and grounded reminder of the real stakes of the game - it's not just silly and fun dogfights, people's lives are radically altered because of this war and their experiences can't be forgotten. And you are inextricably tied to their fate and the events that play out in their lives. See this is the problem, that's another huge ramble from me about AC4 and I wasn't even trying. AC5 was of course, amazing as you pointed out. I really liked Zero for how it told the stories of opposing and allied pilots and how you effected their lives. I think overall this is one of my favorite bits of the holy trinity - they kept the storytelling incredibly fresh, very focused, meaningful, and emotional through all three. And each one was an excellent game, boosted into legendary status by incredibly cinematic and legendary final battles. I am overjoyed anytime someone new gets to experience these games, like you have. And you, through your background and profession, enjoy and understand these on such a deep level. I'm so happy you got to play these games, experience these music tracks (I have to imagine they hit different when you get to experience them in the missions they came from, as opposed to just cold listening to them on RUclips), and see the things us fans have been raving about all these years.
I have played every Ace Combat since 3. I love the series and nearly cried when I played the first mission on Ace Combat 7 because my entire childhood hit me all at once.
If there’s ever been an underrated game that NEEDS to be remastered, it’s these three. It doesn’t even need much. Just update the graphics to 4K and leave everything else exactly how it is.
Ace combat broke something inside me 20 years ago. It's an indescribable mix of sadness, joy and pride. And a tremendous amount of feeling above and humbled at the same time. Oftentimes when I recall a good example of a scene from a videogame be it a specific aspect or the overall composition, It's from the ace combat franchise.
The insane time signatures in some of these missions, not to mention. Blockade with 7/4, then Tango Line with its 11/8. It's so wacky but it makes it so genuine, so unique. It's difficult to pull off but they sure do it!
To me A.C. games really struck with me along the years, they simply roots inside you and you remember them always. not only for the gameplay but for the music too, this games really made me aprecciate the music of videogames in my childhood and to the rescent days. Ace Combat is something that simply changed my life to the point i was making the tests to join my country air force but saddly got turned down and joined the navy. This game leaded me to a point in my life that i never ecxpected to be and its a "silly planes game". Ace Combat will always be attached to me along with his magnifficent songs and melodies. It makes me happy that you enjoyed the games that formed the man i am now.
Ace combat 4 was the first video game I ever played and I put countless hours into it on the PS2. Ace combat 4 will always hold an immovable spot at the top of my tier list.
i've never played these games myself but ive known about them throughout my life as just basically a dog fight shooter where you just fly around in jets in pvp but im so gladi discovered your channel to be able to dive into what i could've easily missed as a shockingly deep and vast discography of beautiful music on top of an already cool jet fighting franchise. you did the same for me with learning about octopath which is easily one of my favorite games of all time now, your channel is really sparking my love for videogames in a way that i feared i was losing for a while now
I've been thinking about the point you made about how Ace Combat wants you to push through no matter what it throws at you, because the only way is forward. It's a feeling I thought I can't relate, but once I actually give it a serious thought I remembered the first time I played 0 or 7, despite starting from all the way from 4 back in my childhood days, there are some missions that puts me on edge despite feeling confident from playing previous games. Something about the tunnel in 4 did not prepare me for the tunnel in 7 kind of edge, but of course, plane only can go forward, especially backed with good music that wants you to push through. I hope Ace Combat 8 will give more of these, great video!
I dunno how I missed the entire Ace Combat series until AC7. The series has all the jet combat trappings wrapping characters and story that we all know and love. Instead I played batshit crazy half-VN jet game Airforce Delta Strike on the PS2, and then bland, gung-ho Tom Clancy’s HAWX on the PS3
Into the dusk was such a hard hitting song due to the mission it was played in. When Chopper was killed it genuinely felt like you lost someone close to you and then on top of that they play this banger I still remember actually saluting at the end of the mission when they do his fairwell and it was really heartbreaking. Quite literally the best game of my childhood I still play to this day❤
To me ace combat is the game series only ever known to make me cry as its such heart warming stories and very in depth writing, Ace Combat 5 with chopper, It just i still play them over and over i still have my discs and a disc drive in my pc to just emulate them and its fun as hell.
Ace Combat 5 is my favorite game of all time. In no small way, it's what made me an aviation nerd and inspired me join the air force years and years later. It's a masterpiece, even as a middle schooler I knew it was something special.
Now you gotta watch the video on Ace Combat by timmm, gotta get a model of your favorite aircraft in the series (CFA-44 Nosferatu), gotta go to college to become an aerospace engineer, sell your soul to companies that profit off war, make a mercenary group, insight conflict in the Middle East, get the attention of America, become the most infamous air group, fight for a future only you understand and believe in, die a horrible death in a last stand against the enemy knowing you fought for what you believed in and entrust the future to the next generation to continue the fight. Playing Near the Border in your cockpit as you tumble back to Earth, rejected by the heavens. Rinse n repeat.
Just an example of the music pulling you into the story, specifically with Ace Combat Zero: In Contact, with each strum of the guitar, the camera moves closer to Cipher (the player's character), then stops as he closes his eyes; and when the first orchestral hit drops, his eyes snap open, wide and pupils dilated, as he activates a "power" that those close to him call the Wild Eyes. In this state, his situational awareness is heightened to the very limit, and he controls his plane as if it's an extended of his own body. And he is able to dominate the airspace.
I am so glad that i start this series with zero 1st. it made 5 peaked even harder since i treat 5 as a sequel to zero's story than a prequel story to 5. a great journey with a bitter sweet beginning with 0 and soul cleansing ending with 5
the reason ace combat is so great to me is, they didn't even really have to do anything aside from make it a power fantasy with planes to make it good, but they went hard and made an incredible story for each game, an incredible alternate world, and then topped it off with an absolutely BANGIN soundtrack and they had no reason to go as hard as they did with it and so the series goes from a funny epic plane game that makes you feel like top gun to an incredible story driven singleplayer experience that has you so invested in it.
i dont no way , way every buddy forgot the avalon . . its just absolutely stunning . . i always got tears in my eye when i play this mission in my childhood . . memories . .
Fun fact. You can fly through the rail-gun onboard the SOLG in AC5, firing missiles at the bulkhead until an opening is created, allowing you to escape completing the mission.
The music by itself is great. The games by themselves are great. But the experience of those two together, when the story kicks in, is the true form of why AC is *an experience.*
Seeing someone experience it for the first time brings it all back to me. You feel that music and it invest you in the experience. Now i gotta get you to hear some The Seatbelts or Ilaria Graziano
Originally I played ace combat 7 because my friends begged me too and I wanted to confirm my hypothesis of it being a Japanese plane game with magic [not far off]. Years later and here I am an absolute ace combat nerd who knows most if not all of the small intricate details and all of the lore. Ace combat isn't merely a game series, it is an experience and frankly it modern terms IT IS JUST PEAK. Also when he said "We are angels flying through the sky" my first immediate thought was "GO FLY WITH THE ANGELS!"
Man, you translated everything a true ace combat series fan feels about the game music. I thought I was the only one who still plays the ace combat OST masterpieces while I'm driving to the barracks lol! Try Sentry's Brunt (Ace 7). I felt equally emotional as you did when I first listened to it - because it brought me back to Blockade and the good old times I played Aces 4, 5 and Zero when I was a teenager. Greetings from Brazil, buddy. Nice job!
There's a particular motif that I love in 5, which is shared between Ballistic Missile, Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi. They essentially are the same song, but with key differences that highlight the situations at the time they're played. Ballistic Missile (plays during the second act of "Rendezvous", when the burst missiles destroy all but one of the carriers) is slow paced, mostly subdued, and reflecting a cold, calculating killer hiding in plain sight. The sonar sounds are diffuse and imprecise, almost blending into the song itself. There's only a hint that the attack was caused by a submarine. It creates the aura of being prey, stalked by an unseen predator. Scinfaxi (plays during the second act of "Front Line") picks up the pace. The sonar pings are crisp and act as their own instrument, almost, signaling that the enemy is here, and we can destroy it. As much as it tries to run, it can't hide anymore, and it has to fight. This creates the aura of a level playing field. Hrimfaxi (plays during the second act of "Demons of Razgriz") takes all of the pacing increases from Scinfaxi and ramps the panic and urgency up to eleven with the addition of wild, distorted guitars permeating the entire song. Unlike its sister ship, Hrimfaxi couldn't run or hide from the beginning. It attacks out of panic, out of desperation, fighting to survive. The roles have been reversed - both in the widespread context of the war and the personal vendetta against the submarines that have caused so much destruction among your allies. Now, the sub is a cornered prey, desperately trying to fend off an attack by its predator.
![Ice On My Teeth - ATEEZ エイティーズ 에이티즈 [Music Bank] | KBS WORLD TV 241115](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/c-n92OgbbwA/mqdefault.jpg)
ONE OF US, ONE OF US, ONE OF US.
One of us!!!
ONE OF US!!!
ONE OF US!!!!!!!!
ONE OF USSSS!!!!
ONE ON US!!!!!!!
To me Ace combat wasnt just a game series, it was an experience. You go into it thinking you just wanna be a Top Gun fanboy. Fly badass planes and be a heroic fighter pilot, earnt hat fame and glory. But as you play, you get sunk into the real reason you (your character) fights. Its not about the accolades or the fame from it, you learn you wanna do the right thing. You get invested in the world that you protect, your wingmen, your country, your friends. By time you reach the end, you have a better understanding of what and who you are. You're not just a fighter pilot, you're a warrior set out to make sure you stop war, not cause it. Ace Combat shows us that a game can reach something inside us and find something we ourselves didnt know was there. Thats why its my favorite game franchise.
TO ALL ACES!!! WE NEED TO DO A PETITION TO ASK BANDAI-NAMCO TO PUT IN ALL PLATFORMS THE HOLY TRINITY AND SOME OTHER ACE COMBAT GAMES!!! If they could maintain the story and do a better remake at AC7 graphics level would be great!
And then you blow up the yellow targets for points and profit
@@samueljo7910 Was it worth it? How many points did you get?
you took the words right outta my mouth.
The Ace Combat games could be described as if the Armored Core mechas were given combat aircraft skins and if the story was from the Metal Gear saga.
"Aw man, my rock and roll records, they're still in my room! It took my forever to collect those!" - Alvin H. Davenport
AC7 is the only game of this series that ive had the luxury of playing. But as a girl that has been WILDLY obsessed with aircraft and aerospace since childhood, this series scratches an itch no other game has even come close to reaching for me
It throws me back to one of my first games. European combat flight simulator. It scratches such an itch
Have you tried emulating the ps2
I’ve never done it myself for the ps2 but if you have some time to figure it out it will definitely pay off.
if youre looking to go deeper into the flight sim Air combat look into DCS World thats the most deep you can go without actually starting to get a pilots license XD
If you love AC7's gameplay, try Project Wingman. You get stalked by an enemy pilot who gets so annoyed by you that he nukes his home city.
Twice.
As @cptncutleg suggested, Project Wingman might be up your alley. The game is made by fans of Ace Combat and more often than not they hit all the right spots as to what made the series special.
"All you're left to do is move through, move forward." Oh yeah just weave through the missiles, what are you nuts?!
''i know, let's try spinning, that's a good trick''
Same as funnels in mech games. Standing still is when you get hit, if they're launched in an arch just charge forward, it's a video game, you're supposed to have visual cues.
Yes, I'm nuts
My goofy ass slamming the throttle to full to try exactly that
hehehehehe
Godspeed, Chopper...
You didn't become obsessed nor was this an accident. You heard the call, and you answered it. It's a blessing to have you on our wing.
Nothing short of a love letter to our beloved series, if your previous ones for its music hadn't been enough. Welcome, and long may you enjoy our silly dramatic dogfighting.
And don't be afraid to dive deeper in the series! AC6 offers combat on a grand scale, entire battlefields with multiple simultaneous operations and a multi-perspective narrative. ACX is light on story, but is fantastically focused and beautifully captures AC's essence in a portable form, and with a unique music direction.
PS: If you loved Blue Skies, by all means check out its rapturous Infinity remix!
The Infinity remix was the absolute best when I first heard it. Wish I could play that game with my friends again, loved the cooperative + competitive aspect that it had too
Literally always cry at "Into the Dusk" anytime I hear it.
**Join me in saluting... Captain Davenport!**
o7
07
Nagase: I see light to the east... Morning's coming.
Grimm: Our night flight is over.
Grimm: I can't wait to see it. The most beautiful sunrise ever!
Snow: And the sun will continue to rise, now and forever.
o7
o7
This was my childhood, and It's great to know that it is still being played to this day. This week I saw your livestreams playing the holy trinity and I felt like when I played it for the first time. Thank you Marco for these videos!
It's the MAN. The MYTH. The LEGEND.
LUCAS! QUE SORPRESA VERTE AQUÍ LOCO :0
AC5 will always and forever be one of my most beloved childhood games. I would play it days on end without stopping, repeating missions after missions just to fly again and again in those war torn but beautiful blue skies. I might not be able to fly in the skies as a Razgriz Ace anymore, but I'll always remember the amazing story telling, the art, and the beautiful soundtrack that is AC5.
It's nice to see someone in this time and age especially an opera singer to buy a ps2 system just play, enjoy and show love to the 3 trinity game that made Ace Combat what is it today.
Whatever it is, The Holy Trinity just amazed me with all aspects, story, music, combat all blended perfectly in fricking PS2
I had been playing the unsung war for 20 years now, and it still breaks my heart every time i watch Chopper go down. The devs made the right choice to put the player right back in the action immediately after he hits the ground
It was an honor to watch and help guide you along your ride through these games. Thank _you_ for shining a light on these underrated games!
Ace Combat 5 may be the most underrated game ever. It's hidden from the world in this niche genre, but that game has got to be one of the best games of all time.
100% !
I must agree. I feel fortunate enough that my very first exposition to Ace Combat was AC5, so it is absolutely special to me in every matter. It consistently feels like it is sandwiched between much more iconic games (AC4 and AC0), but of the main games, AC5 is just SO LONG (28 missions?? AC7 feels SHORT, even though it has 26 missions), filled with fully animated cutscenes. It is deep, emotional and cheesy. Very cheesy. But so is Metal Gear. Perfection.
Nothing else comes close......
Ace combat 5 is the core reason why im thinking of becoming a fighter pilot
Absolut facts!, man... Im still roll some tears in the Chopper scene...
now that you have played 5 Nagase making her cameo in 7 at the end was perfect
The Ace Combat OST is something truly special in that not only is it incredible, but they're some of the very few pieces in existence that I can't ever see myself getting sick of. I just had the Sol Squadron theme on loop for a solid half an hour straight, and I'm still not sick of it. The monastic men's chorus is too much of an allure.
the liberation of gracemeria mission is a good one from 6
The flight where Chopper (Davenport) goes down, that fight after he crashes goes from "this is just a game" to a full on "shit got real" in a very sudden way. Especially so soon after recovering Nagase from the winter woodlands from her own ejection.
"Into the Dusk" Synonymous with silent fury, blinding rage, heartbreaking sorrow , searing vengeance, unbridled wrath, flooding tears (so many freaking tears), and shocking disbelief.
"I'm gonna miss that voice..."
Rest in peace Chopper
Chopperrr!!! 😢
I have got to say, I am extremely happy to see a content creator that reviews music like you get into this fandom so many of us have been a part of. Watching your reviews of Razgriz is what brought me to your channel, and I'm very thankful for that. Then watching you go on the same journey that many of us did when we were younger gave me even more appreciation of the passion the creators went into. The game play is extremely fun, even when replaying it dozen of times. The stories personalize the characters around you and make you connect to the world. The challenges push you and get your heart racing as you edge closer to beating tunnels, aces, the time limit, etc. Then the biggest part to wrap it all up is the music. You can turn all dialogue off and play simply with the OST on and get EXACTLY what is going on. All from a "silly plane game". I hope that you can continue playing through the next few games in the series and get your take on those as well.
Welcome to the club! The Ace Combat community happily welcomes you! It's a fantastic series, so there's no shame in being obsessed over it!
Zero is my personal favorite of the series, and I remembered when I first nabbed Ace Combat 7, I'll never be able to experience that first playthrough again because I was transported back to when I was young playing the Holy Trinity. It was incredible, and I'm not afraid to admit I shed some tears.
it sincerely warms my heart to see people in 2024 looking at the Ace Combat series for the first time and seeing what we as fans have seen for SO long in this underdog of a series. So much beauty and majesty in what just seems like an arcade fighter jet sim. There is SO much depth under the surface. Similar to another of what I consider one of the true games to have the initials of AC: Armored Core.
Ace Combat has HEART.
NGL though,you got BALLS to go through 5's tunnel run at full speed in a MiG-31.
Ace Combat got me into aviation. It got me into planes, and I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up. I never could be, but that love for the series never died. I met lifelong friends connecting through the love of Ace Combat.
It inspired me to do research, learn how to make videos in a way that wasn't just turning on my capture program and talking. I, legitimately, would not be who I am today if it wasn't for this series, and it warms my heart every single god damned time I see someone new learning about the series. I'm glad it reached someone special in you, too.
Man, this level of media literacy is a rare sight in gaming related channels these days. We can really tell that you've experienced, understood and thoroughly enjoyed every minute details and that's the greatest thing ever. I hope you'll play Ace Combat 6 as well, the story isn't as well written as the PS2 ones but the game is an absolute blast nonetheless. You HAVE to experience the Liberation of Gracemeria in-game, I'm sure you'll love it.
Yessssss I agree, I think he'll be over the moon about the Gracemeria mission/song. I really hope he does it!
Time to Go dance with the angels!!
Even when I prepare myself, some songs like Into the Dusk and Journey Home just forces the emotion out of me. Right before the final assault in 5 when all the allied forces are joining up and joining the choir is such a good moment in the game. That song needs to play at a video game concert and as shy and quiet as I am I would stand up and happily join in the song lol. These games are a work of art. I mean the loading screen before each mission has a poem for crying out loud!
Thanks for celebrating this series with us Marco!
Ace combat changed my life completely, one of the video game franchises of all time.
Nobody really blames you if you think Zero's story is not as good as 4 and 5
Zero felt a lot more like world building than actually telling a story with its various interviews in which some are missable depending on the playstyle routes you took. But me saying that is not a negative at all, its just a different and actually quite an interesting way to present Strangereal's lore without following a directive flow
if anything it made me want to fly every route to make sure i got the story
the belkan war was part of my trinity (A.K.A the ones i got prior to assault horizon)
3 (Mobius 1)
Zero (Galm 1)
6: Fires of Liberation (Garuda 1)-Glory to Gracemeria!!
zero and 6 i played to death, i rented 3 and finished it in about two sittings
A lot of people would blame him though. Unfortunately zeros stans are really fixated.
Zero's story felt rushed, especially by the end with AWWNB.
While I prefer ACZ's story myself, i think it's true strength is the ambience, rather than the events themselves. It's a grittier, more sober approach to war that worked really, really well.
@@SoloWing88 Zero is a world builder with more "up close and ersonal" story, its not as deep as 04 and 05, doesnt mean its bad tho, but i get it that the story seems short
I don't normally type when I'm listening to these videos but much like you and how a piece of gaming music ties you to your father. AC5 and its songs do as well. I was never really GOOD at the games. But for all the bad times I might have had- AC games was one of the things me and my father bonded over. We could spend hours replaying the same mission to get that elusive S and unlock all the planes. Yet, as a kid I vividly remember when Chopper is shot down and this song starts to play during the big swarm mission I saw my dad cry. But even then when I was younger and I saw him crying I saw how he still stayed focus on the game and its mission which told me he truly cared about the events taking place. The game made him feel as though he lost someone important to him and in truth I think this game was one of the few ways he could comfortably let out the loss of his father.
I won't deny that I also teared up a bit, this game and its music has been my unconscious go to when I need a means to convey to others how I'm feeling but unable to speak it clearly but the music has also been there when I needed a boost of encouragement. The song of the Razgriz making you feel empowered and strong even when the world seems to be its darkest. These games, these songs from AC3 and on have all been around when I needed them most. Honestly I fear when the next game comes out as it seems every time a new one comes its an harbinger of something bad down the line...but then they also tend to be the reliable companion that help hold me together and push forward.
Thank you for sharing
I was 9 years old when I got AC 5 from gamestop in 2005 because I thought it looked cool. I had never played a vehicle combat game and I never bothered with the tutorial, so I struggled a lot, but I was so invested that I brute forced my way through. I conquered that game, and then I replayed it like 20 times, slowly mastering every mission.
As an adult, I have played through every console AC game (and X). It's my favorite franchise, and that's mainly thanks to the music. It ties the games together beautifully.
THIS GUY GETS IT! Marco, you have no idea how many people I've seen retroactively review and experience these games and completely MISS the heart of them. Like, you truly understand it. You were able to go back to the feelings we had so long ago with such ease, and not a lot of people can do that. Not only do you get it, you convey your understanding with such clarity and heart that I can honestly re-experience them with you, and that's a real gift.
Aw man thank you so much!
Ace Combat 4's soundtrack especially the song "Emancipation" is what stood out the most for me. The mood is just so great with the radio chatter and the news station in the background. That whole level was just immersive and a wonderful experience and i'll never forget how much I truly loved that level.
You got me with the “ i have so far to go” 😢 blue skies is my favorite and when im depressed it makes me feel better i also play blue skies for my doughtier to put her to sleep
I've used it to fall asleep, too! The original is such a soothing track, which makes the Infinity version so much more hype by turning it into a kick-ass battle theme.
@@SlyAceZeta i remember watching your everything wrong with ace combat 4 videos like 6 years ago
This is how I sound to all my friends when trying to explain Ace Combat and being on the otherside.. I fell in love with this childhood series of mine all over again. Been playing since Air Combat/Ace Combat 2.
Fly on you beautiful Ace and thanks for this video.
I like the contrast of 25mins of heartfelt and moving music smash cut to Zero's FUCK YEAH!!! "Yo, Buddy" So glad you've become such a spokesperson for the series trying to get more people to give it a go. Because you know... its just a silly little plane game.... :D
Thanks Ace Combat I found so much new things to learn about aviation because of you - A dreamer who failed to qualify twice as a pilot
Was a fan of AC back during my childhood. Forgot about it after X came out. Then 7 dropped and reminded me how much I loved military aviation. Started working out the next morning after finishing it so that I could go see a recruiter. Been tanker aircrew for 4 years now. I owe it all to Project Aces for reminding me what I should be doing with my life.
Congratulations for making it there! Fly high, me a fellow fan with watch on from down below 🫡
You said so much about melody, and that’s beautiful, but to me there’s tender inspiration in the first inversions and pedal tones held by the strings.
When I bought Ace Combat 5, I bought the big deluxe box that came with a dual flightstick controller! 👍 I had never played Ace Combat before but I do like simulators. So when I saw that they were offering this game with a big ass controller I figured it must be something special. And it was. 😉
The controller sat in my closet for years so I finally posted it w/game on eBay and made $125 a few years ago. 💰 I hope whoever bought it enjoyed it as much as I did.
Slightly off topic, but another thing I love about Ace Combat is the sheer AMOUNT of symbolism just crammed into every single nook and cranny. Take for example, the birds. In AC4, you have seagulls - associated with cunning, survival, perseverance, but also the fact that the game starts and ends over the ocean. In AC5, you get doves, obviously representing the game’s message about peace, but in ACZ you get pigeons - home, loyalty, maybe even a homage of the pigeons of WWI, a much more somber, more humble bird. And, of course, AC7’s ravens: loss, ill omens. To that extent, there’s also Trigger, the beast, the “Dragon”, staving off the Ravens to rescue the princess (Cosette) in the tower (space elevator). It’s amazing.
The Ace Combat 4 intro was so awe and captivating I was all ears every song was beautifully orchestrated
Reminds me so much of the Star Fox 64 tunnel run at the end. You do that on the highest difficulty, having everything 100%'d to that point? You actually follow a sort of spectral version of his ship, and you can just hear the pride in his voice.. It is *incredible*
"Follow me, Fox"
Zero is just awesome. That combination of Spanish flamenco guitars and castanets? *Chef's kiss*.
Hard mode is doing the tunnel run in a Tomcat AND bagging Hamilton at the end of the run.
THAT is when you know you've mastered the game.
You can't shoot down Hamilton in the tunnel. Those are other mook planes at the end.
As you talk about AC5 and play *that* song, it reminds me of the emotions I went through playing that game as a kid. The trailer that plays if you let the game linger on the main menu for too long blew me away, the music was beautiful as we went, and then THAT moment hits above the colosseum. I cried. It was the first time a game made me cry, and made me worried for the characters I’d grown attached to as I went through the rest of the game. The stakes were real, we weren’t untouchable, and that slow song brought a moment of tender mourning I haven’t experienced in another game. I’m so glad you see AC5 for how beautiful it is.
I'm with you on this. I played dabbles of ps2 games with my uncle at my grandparent's place but wasn't captivated enough at the time. Played Ace Combat 7 and now I'm hooked and trying to find the holy trinity as I have a PS2 still. Also really like the world the games build in them
I remember my first Ace Combat game. It was almost 20 years ago when my brother took me to the local Best Buy and let me pick out any game that I wanted, being obsessed with fighter jets, when I saw Ace Combat 5, I instantly grabbed it. Little did I know the journey it was going to take me on, and I haven't looked back since.
I’ve only ever completed the 3DS Ace Combat game but I loved it. Over the years I probably played it around 6-7 times by now. I loved the bossfights, the music and the atmosphere. Such a fun game.
War Bad
Planes Rad
Musics banged so hard it hit me in the Sacc
Your final sortie..It's almost kinda sad, huh?
-That line summarized my experience playing ace combat 5. It is not a just a game, it's an emotion....
I'm thrilled you discovered my favorite franchise of all time. Ever since I was a kid, I've adored those games all the way from 4 to currently 7. I started with 5 and I still get emotional to this day when I play through it. I feel safe in saying it's one of the only games that I would consider have a "perfect story"
AC04 was the first game I ever played when I got my PS2 all those years ago. I still have my copy of AC04, along with AC5 and Zero. When I built my first PC a couple years ago, the first thing I did after I got it running was install PCSX2 and fire up AC04. It was also the first game I played on my Steam Deck. More than 20 years later, it's still as amazing as I remember.
I did the same thing. I need to get AC5 for PCSX2
Ace Combat feels so special, the world, the lore, the stories it shared in unique ways and the soundtrack - oh lord the soundtracks that stick with you even after you finish the game. I've played so many games that are directed to be emotional, tragic and want you to feel, yet to this day i don't even think about them, but i think about Ace Combat, "when I close my eyes, the sky in my dreams... is a deep, dark blue. "
Sea Of Chaos, one of the few moments in gaming where I couldn't stop having manly tears streaming down my face the whole time as "The Journey Home" was playing throughout.
I would definitely recommend Project Wingman and its soundtrack after watching you play the holy trinity. Jose Pavli went off with “Calamity”, “Kings”, and “Showdown” to name a few and you’d get a kick out of them
First off, welcome home. Check in with pops to get your hanger key and imagine getting Ace Combat 4 as lad a few months after 9/11. I was 10 when the asteroids fell from the sky. Heavy stuff for a kid, really glad I got to enjoy these stories as a growing lad.
When the " journey begins" started playing i got goosebumps lol. An amazing track ❤
As someone who started with 6 and then went back to play the holy trinity, I have to say.
The first mission theme for AC4, Sitting Duck, has got to be honestly one of the best themes in the series to set the tone of the story. You just got done learning of how the ISAF is literally on the backfoot against the wall, and it comes in with the drone of the alert alarms. It made me absolutely absorbed into the masterpiece of a game I was about to play, and for that, it ranks top for me, even over Comona and Megalith.
To say the Ace Combat had a major impact on my life would be an understatement. I've been using this username online since 2003, I've gotten my pilot's license, and even became an air traffic controller. Glad you enjoyed it as well!
This silly plane game was a big part of my childhood, thanks for bringing back a lot of that nostalgia Marco. Amazing soundtrack to jam out to when working out, and sometimes tear up to.
I'm so glad I found you, just by happenstance on when i was relisting to the ost i wanted to see if anyone reacted to 'Into the Dusk'.
AC5 is my all time favourite ps2 game by far, and i think exceeds all the others, including 7 which was the only other one with a similar comradery vibe. When you play this you expect it to just be a high octane, fly fast, shoot targets and not blow up. But this game gives you a story, a relationship with every pilot in your squad. You're soaring dodging missiles and yet Chopper is bantering in your ear while Edge just can't get over the loss of the original flight lead. Archer a mechanic comes up nervous but you really feel empowered as he praises you as his inspiration for improving making you feel like a true Ace pilot.
The stadium scene was heartbreaking as the music cuts to nothing but quiet radio chatter. The penultimate mission, when your allies join you in song, and even enemies inspired by the Demons of Razgriz come to your aid. Oh.. and the Arkbird, a beautiful creation of peace and protection that you have to bring down feels like putting down a beloved companion shattering all the hope you had built.
And even hearing enemy radio, while a bit unrealistic but hearing the confidence in their radio falter as you kill all their allies, to them outright fearing and disbelieving you like a fairy tale.
You'd never guess where i got my gamertag inspiration from eh :)
I'd love to hear your thoughts when you first played through those 2 so famous missions with the submarines and the cluster missiles. The music of the first one, shocking and scaring you as all the nuggets can't match your reactions to reach 5000 feet. Hearing the panic of your squad ushering them. And then the second one with the hrimfaxi, the moment that music starts it's almost like PTSD you know what is comming. It'd be great to have how you experienced those missions.
My plan is to work through every song either here, on my other channel, or on a stream
Always saw your vids being recommended on my feed - and often enjoyed watching, but it's because of this appreciation for Ace Combat that I've decided to subscribe man. Ace Combat 4 changed my life as a kid... it has been one of the few games that to this day still elicits tears from my eyes. The Agnus Dei of Megalith, the mission itself, is a testament to the power of hope. Made me truly feel like a hero.
Marco, I want to let you know, I've been a Strangereal diehard for years. I bought 7 when it launched and the spark was so strong it made me buy and play Ace Combat 1, 2, a Japanese copy of 3, 04, 5, & Zero within a heartbeat. The music was stellar, the storytelling was exactly as passionate and emotional as I had wanted from something like this, and most importantly it felt like the people who make these games KNOW what they're about and how to keep it consistent while always shaking things up. I was working on a huge video essay about what Ace Combat means to me. You took the words out of my mouth (well and also that one timmm guy who made a feature length video essay about the games that rules). I'm still gonna make mine, but know for a fact that your passion is felt and we fellow Aces love to see that you GET IT! I find it actually somewhat hard to get people into these games because of a lot of reasons that I fine are very fair apprehensions to have. I want to leave you with one fun fact: back when the Tokyo Olympics were being held the line-up of video game songs played was stuff like Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, Sonic, NieR, even Soul Calibur....... But the one outlier on the lineup? First Flight (arranged from Blockade in Ace Combat 04) from Ace Combat 5 by Keiki Kobayashi.
You really need to play Ace Combat 6 which is the swan song of the early Ace combats as its Ace Combat at its most intense and still holds up very well graphically.
Good flight physics, good graphics, good AI combat, good music, GARBAGE ASS STORY! “gO DaNce wItH aN aNgEl”
@@One_Piloty_Boy The story would have Been one of the better in the series if they just straight up removed The cutscenes.
1:30 I love this song but I ALWAYS hear "Hat's off to God"
I watched all of your ace combat streams and loved every second. Watching you shed tears where years before I had shed tears was incredibly moving. And this analysis equally moving and emotional and spirited. Ace combat: makes you feel like God and holy hell stand between you and an impossible goal. And it also makes you feel like rolling up the sleeves, slapping off the dust and getting that shit done! Thanks for your work on this!
I identify very strongly with your experiences in this trilogy, everything you had to say really resonated with me. It's why Ace Combat is my favorite game franchise and 5 is maybe my favorite game ever
I could write an entire thesis on the amazing-ness of EACH of the Ace Combat games. Shattered Skies (4) did an amazing job of a slow-burn buildup of radio chatter where enemies start to notice you a few missions into the game ("It's the plane with the Mobius strip!"), and as it progresses, they get more and more anxious of your presence until at the end of the game they talk about you like you're some sort of mythological god, which segues into Unsung War (5) where you are directly compared to a mythological figure.
But 4 had such an amazing final battle, including the rather epic ground fight going on which dominates the radio traffic during the mission - reminding yours is not the only battle in the moment, and in fact you're part of a multi-faceted force taking down Megalith. You never directly see any ground forces, but you still feel their presence because the radio chatter does such a good job. And the intro to that final battle was so incredible too. Remember how the mission briefing was oddly quiet? It didn't have the normal background music. Then in the next part, where you're doing plane select, all of the sudden you're getting a pretty damn good rallying speech by the commanding officer. Then you launch into the beautiful and touching cinematics that pep you up for your upcoming fight, which frame this battle in such incredible drama as your allied AWACS has to fly through the meteor shower as those religious music tracks kick in. Then finally the mission starts, with one of the most epic and incredible soundtracks ever made, with the entire battlefield looking apocalyptic with the deadly meteor storm raining down around you, while your allies radio in as part of your squadron having adopted your symbol, and you take on an entire squadron of elite enemy fighters while it all plays out. It's breathtaking, it's majestic, it's moving, it's unforgettable. It's one of the most amazing gaming experiences I've ever had. You could tell they had some incredible, INCREDIBLE talent for mission design and someone wanted that mission to be their magnum opus.
I also really like the story of 4 because it gives you such a vastly different vantage point than the missions themselves do - you're sitting there blasting away enemy forces, but there's civilian lives and dramas and turns of fate that are playing out while you're doing your dogfights. It's an excellent, sobering, and grounded reminder of the real stakes of the game - it's not just silly and fun dogfights, people's lives are radically altered because of this war and their experiences can't be forgotten. And you are inextricably tied to their fate and the events that play out in their lives.
See this is the problem, that's another huge ramble from me about AC4 and I wasn't even trying.
AC5 was of course, amazing as you pointed out. I really liked Zero for how it told the stories of opposing and allied pilots and how you effected their lives. I think overall this is one of my favorite bits of the holy trinity - they kept the storytelling incredibly fresh, very focused, meaningful, and emotional through all three. And each one was an excellent game, boosted into legendary status by incredibly cinematic and legendary final battles.
I am overjoyed anytime someone new gets to experience these games, like you have. And you, through your background and profession, enjoy and understand these on such a deep level. I'm so happy you got to play these games, experience these music tracks (I have to imagine they hit different when you get to experience them in the missions they came from, as opposed to just cold listening to them on RUclips), and see the things us fans have been raving about all these years.
I have played every Ace Combat since 3. I love the series and nearly cried when I played the first mission on Ace Combat 7 because my entire childhood hit me all at once.
If there’s ever been an underrated game that NEEDS to be remastered, it’s these three. It doesn’t even need much. Just update the graphics to 4K and leave everything else exactly how it is.
Thank you for this beautiful insight into your experience. You have put words to my feelings, described why I love this series. Thank you!
Ace combat broke something inside me 20 years ago. It's an indescribable mix of sadness, joy and pride. And a tremendous amount of feeling above and humbled at the same time. Oftentimes when I recall a good example of a scene from a videogame be it a specific aspect or the overall composition, It's from the ace combat franchise.
The insane time signatures in some of these missions, not to mention. Blockade with 7/4, then Tango Line with its 11/8. It's so wacky but it makes it so genuine, so unique. It's difficult to pull off but they sure do it!
To me A.C. games really struck with me along the years, they simply roots inside you and you remember them always. not only for the gameplay but for the music too, this games really made me aprecciate the music of videogames in my childhood and to the rescent days. Ace Combat is something that simply changed my life to the point i was making the tests to join my country air force but saddly got turned down and joined the navy. This game leaded me to a point in my life that i never ecxpected to be and its a "silly planes game".
Ace Combat will always be attached to me along with his magnifficent songs and melodies. It makes me happy that you enjoyed the games that formed the man i am now.
Ace combat 4 was the first video game I ever played and I put countless hours into it on the PS2. Ace combat 4 will always hold an immovable spot at the top of my tier list.
i've never played these games myself but ive known about them throughout my life as just basically a dog fight shooter where you just fly around in jets in pvp but im so gladi discovered your channel to be able to dive into what i could've easily missed as a shockingly deep and vast discography of beautiful music on top of an already cool jet fighting franchise. you did the same for me with learning about octopath which is easily one of my favorite games of all time now, your channel is really sparking my love for videogames in a way that i feared i was losing for a while now
I've been thinking about the point you made about how Ace Combat wants you to push through no matter what it throws at you, because the only way is forward. It's a feeling I thought I can't relate, but once I actually give it a serious thought I remembered the first time I played 0 or 7, despite starting from all the way from 4 back in my childhood days, there are some missions that puts me on edge despite feeling confident from playing previous games. Something about the tunnel in 4 did not prepare me for the tunnel in 7 kind of edge, but of course, plane only can go forward, especially backed with good music that wants you to push through. I hope Ace Combat 8 will give more of these, great video!
I dunno how I missed the entire Ace Combat series until AC7. The series has all the jet combat trappings wrapping characters and story that we all know and love.
Instead I played batshit crazy half-VN jet game Airforce Delta Strike on the PS2, and then bland, gung-ho Tom Clancy’s HAWX on the PS3
Into the dusk was such a hard hitting song due to the mission it was played in. When Chopper was killed it genuinely felt like you lost someone close to you and then on top of that they play this banger I still remember actually saluting at the end of the mission when they do his fairwell and it was really heartbreaking. Quite literally the best game of my childhood I still play to this day❤
i also played the holy trinity this month- and i ABSOLUTELY relate to you, i fell in love with it instantly
I still remember the day you reacted to Megalith Agnus Dei after i and some other people recommended it in comments. Good stuff.
To me ace combat is the game series only ever known to make me cry as its such heart warming stories and very in depth writing, Ace Combat 5 with chopper, It just i still play them over and over i still have my discs and a disc drive in my pc to just emulate them and its fun as hell.
Ace Combat 5 is my favorite game of all time. In no small way, it's what made me an aviation nerd and inspired me join the air force years and years later. It's a masterpiece, even as a middle schooler I knew it was something special.
Now you gotta watch the video on Ace Combat by timmm, gotta get a model of your favorite aircraft in the series (CFA-44 Nosferatu), gotta go to college to become an aerospace engineer, sell your soul to companies that profit off war, make a mercenary group, insight conflict in the Middle East, get the attention of America, become the most infamous air group, fight for a future only you understand and believe in, die a horrible death in a last stand against the enemy knowing you fought for what you believed in and entrust the future to the next generation to continue the fight. Playing Near the Border in your cockpit as you tumble back to Earth, rejected by the heavens. Rinse n repeat.
Just an example of the music pulling you into the story, specifically with Ace Combat Zero:
In Contact, with each strum of the guitar, the camera moves closer to Cipher (the player's character), then stops as he closes his eyes; and when the first orchestral hit drops, his eyes snap open, wide and pupils dilated, as he activates a "power" that those close to him call the Wild Eyes.
In this state, his situational awareness is heightened to the very limit, and he controls his plane as if it's an extended of his own body. And he is able to dominate the airspace.
I am so glad that i start this series with zero 1st.
it made 5 peaked even harder since i treat 5 as a sequel to zero's story than a prequel story to 5.
a great journey with a bitter sweet beginning with 0 and soul cleansing ending with 5
“Save me Fountain of Mercy” into the beat drop is WILD! Goosebumps 😩😩😩
the reason ace combat is so great to me is, they didn't even really have to do anything aside from make it a power fantasy with planes to make it good, but they went hard and made an incredible story for each game, an incredible alternate world, and then topped it off with an absolutely BANGIN soundtrack and they had no reason to go as hard as they did with it and so the series goes from a funny epic plane game that makes you feel like top gun to an incredible story driven singleplayer experience that has you so invested in it.
i dont no way , way every buddy forgot the avalon . . its just absolutely stunning . . i always got tears in my eye when i play this mission in my childhood . . memories . .
There is a unused version of the journey home that begins with all the pilots singing and merges into the orchestra song, it's amazing
Fun fact. You can fly through the rail-gun onboard the SOLG in AC5, firing missiles at the bulkhead until an opening is created, allowing you to escape completing the mission.
7:13 just as the music hits, I imagine the BF1 trailer where the soldier in question looks upon a Zeppelin emerging from the clouds of smoke
The music by itself is great.
The games by themselves are great.
But the experience of those two together, when the story kicks in, is the true form of why AC is *an experience.*
17:44 I always get fully body chills listening to The Journey Home
I bought a PS2 specifically for the Trilogy too. I started with Ace Combat 6 on the 360 way back when, and I was hooked since
Seeing someone experience it for the first time brings it all back to me. You feel that music and it invest you in the experience. Now i gotta get you to hear some The Seatbelts or Ilaria Graziano
Originally I played ace combat 7 because my friends begged me too and I wanted to confirm my hypothesis of it being a Japanese plane game with magic [not far off]. Years later and here I am an absolute ace combat nerd who knows most if not all of the small intricate details and all of the lore. Ace combat isn't merely a game series, it is an experience and frankly it modern terms IT IS JUST PEAK.
Also when he said "We are angels flying through the sky" my first immediate thought was "GO FLY WITH THE ANGELS!"
Same thing happened to me when I first played Ace Combat 4 all those years ago in the 2000's, and I'm still hooked.
Also I'm so happy you got to play the games to appreciate the way the soundtracks augment the gameplay
Man, you translated everything a true ace combat series fan feels about the game music. I thought I was the only one who still plays the ace combat OST masterpieces while I'm driving to the barracks lol!
Try Sentry's Brunt (Ace 7). I felt equally emotional as you did when I first listened to it - because it brought me back to Blockade and the good old times I played Aces 4, 5 and Zero when I was a teenager. Greetings from Brazil, buddy. Nice job!
There's a particular motif that I love in 5, which is shared between Ballistic Missile, Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi. They essentially are the same song, but with key differences that highlight the situations at the time they're played.
Ballistic Missile (plays during the second act of "Rendezvous", when the burst missiles destroy all but one of the carriers) is slow paced, mostly subdued, and reflecting a cold, calculating killer hiding in plain sight. The sonar sounds are diffuse and imprecise, almost blending into the song itself. There's only a hint that the attack was caused by a submarine. It creates the aura of being prey, stalked by an unseen predator.
Scinfaxi (plays during the second act of "Front Line") picks up the pace. The sonar pings are crisp and act as their own instrument, almost, signaling that the enemy is here, and we can destroy it. As much as it tries to run, it can't hide anymore, and it has to fight. This creates the aura of a level playing field.
Hrimfaxi (plays during the second act of "Demons of Razgriz") takes all of the pacing increases from Scinfaxi and ramps the panic and urgency up to eleven with the addition of wild, distorted guitars permeating the entire song. Unlike its sister ship, Hrimfaxi couldn't run or hide from the beginning. It attacks out of panic, out of desperation, fighting to survive. The roles have been reversed - both in the widespread context of the war and the personal vendetta against the submarines that have caused so much destruction among your allies. Now, the sub is a cornered prey, desperately trying to fend off an attack by its predator.