Ace Combat Zero Analysis (Part 2): Trust and Borders | Gitai
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- Ace Combat Playlist: • Ace Combat
/ gizougitai
1. If you haven't played Ace Combat Zero, I recommend you do, but you shouldn't have a problem following along with the video.
2. This video is written under the assumption you've watched both my AC04 and AC0(Part 1) videos. Do what you want.
I read every comment.
"Asian hypersusceptibility to motion sickness." (1996)
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
Gameplay footage was recorded using PCSX2 version 1.5.0-dev-3209 using the Widescreen and Progressive Scan patches for the NTSC-U running in DirectX11 hardware mode, native resolution for an attempt at accuracy. Despite that, there are still visual artifacts, and for that, I can only apologise.
External material used includes backstory from ACES AT WAR: A HISTORY, and various multimedia that is either documented verbally in the video, or shall remain undocumented for this video's safety from RUclips.
And thanks, friend. See you again.
Rest In Peace Second Lieutenant Patrick James Beckett 1973/1974-1995 he kept to his morals despite the hell he fought in
To me one of the most fascinating aspects of Zero is that Pixys interview takes place a few months after the end of the Continental War in Ace Combat 4. This indicates that while Erusea was defeated, the violence continued in Usea, possibly due to previous grudges between different ISAF states or through an attempt to take more land from the defeated Erusians. Possibly it could be that because of the power vacuum left behind Erusea’s defeat the ISAF states began to squabble over the resources amongst themselves. I believe this is one of the most interesting aspects because it shows that even after all of the exploits of Mobius 1 and the supposedly righteous cause ISAF had, they were reduced to potential infighting over previous disputed borders. The fact that no other games in the franchise comment on this bugs me to no end.
Pixy could be fighting free Eurasia or some Eurasia military who still continued the war in fact Eurasia
I used to hate PJ but as soon as you try to understand him he becomes someone with my ideals and beliefs it’s a shame he didn’t survive the belkan war but as Larry would say “There’s no mercy in war. People live and people die. That’s all there is to it”
Some essence of PJ's final actions transcend that.
It's questionable if he intentionally sacrificed himself for Cypher, but in saving one more person, PJ arguably saved the world.
@@GizouGitai yup especially because ulysses was around the corner as well
I've always thought of him as a parody of AC5's characters naive and almost cartoonish view of peace, I think it's pretty intentional that he sounds like Grimm.
What this video reminds me however is how he grew out of it and turns into a more grounded character (depending on your Ace style of course). Starts by thinking that fighting could lead to peace, questioning whether peace is achievable in the first place, and dies as a literal unsung hero.
PJ and Pixy's dynamic in this game is one of the most intriguing part of the game for me, Pixy is there to harshly criticize him (and by extension AC5) while at the same time criticizing Pixy himself using PJ as a comparison.
A bit of me really wanted PJ to survive.
Yes
Thank you for taking the time to make this. These games are niche and have a lot of unqiue heart to them and I’m glad someone is finally analyzing them with the love they deserve.
I do have a different interpretation of the final battle you may be interested in hearing. I saw it more as a suicide attempt by Pixy. After finding out he was Belkan it kind of changed how I saw his actions. Especially with the cut dialogue from Hoffnung, during that mission Pixy becomes the very monster that killed his parents and orphaned him. He’s bombing a civilian city, killing parents, making more war orphans like himself. The guilt of that shows imo in how he fights Cipher. He speaks like he’s not going to survive the V2. Leaving the future to others. And if he fails, well Cipher will gun him down. I saw him not ejecting as him trying to die. He even says it. He should have died that day. And I think he meant it in both senses.
Also how you talked about Espada 2’s one-sided feelings for her flight lead. It reminds me of Pixy and Cipher. Pixy clearly thinks highly of Cipher and wants their companionship as shown in mission one. But you know Cipher is mute, seemingly uncaring and focused soley flying. It’s a lot like how Espada 1 is. I find that to be an interesting parallel to say the least.
Anyways thank you for making me think about this game again from a new angle. I wish I could express how much this means to me.
That's certainly a theory, but it might be adding a tad too much between the lines. Definitely interesting though.
I do enjoy suicidal characters more than I'd like to admit. Would make for a fun fanfic. And it wouldn't even result in homoerotic intercourse.
What a fantastic and loving review, clearly done by someone who holds this series and its message in very high regard. It really bothers me how Ace Combat either A) Has a reputation of generic anime drama trash, or B) just a mindless jet plane shooty kaboom game. It makes me genuinely happy seeing someone putting so much effort and care into presenting this game and its themes authentically and respectfully. While it can seem at a glance that Ace Combat is just a time-killer, simple minded shooter game, it's clear even after cursory inspection that there is much, much more than meets the eye with this series. Ace Combat games always have me enjoying the hell out of myself and pouring hours and hours into it like an addict in the beginning, but every single time, without fail, I'm always quiet and reflective as the end credits roll. It astounds me how effectively and deeply these games get across their messages.
I remember when I was younger, I still loved this game but I never quite understood it, I always just played the missions and skipped all the cutscenes, but when I was a teenager turning into a young adult, a serious look and an honest consideration of this game's themes and messages turned into a very important lesson that I needed to learn about the importance of the responsibility I have as an adult and as a member of society to make the effort to understand the people around me, and to seek peaceful solutions to conflicts and disagreements, rather than, as you said, digging in my heels like Pixy did and stubbornly fighting for what I thought was right. This game helped teach me how crucial it is, as well, to understand my own actions and volitions as well as those of other people. For a long time the ending sequence made me feel a strange emotion that I couldn't quite categorize, but after watching your review I've come to understand now that it's something like a bittersweet closure. Pixy and Cipher grew apart, became enemies, clashed and then went their separate ways, but in doing so, Pixy grew so much more as a person than he ever could have had he continued his Mercenary lifestyle. Every single ace that Cipher shoots down had to have felt some resentment regarding being bested, but time and hindsight has allowed pretty much all of them to accept the events that took place and lay down the grudge, which allowed them to take an objective look at their own intents and actions, and truly understand them. Cipher was a fearsome pilot and a terrifying adversary, but what a truly Ace Combat-style twist of fate that such a dangerous individual should be the catalyst for so many people to grow and better themselves.
Anyway, that's what I've come to believe, and I think that's enough. Thanks for reading my text wall, and I really hope to see your thoughts on other AC games in the future.
How people view the Ace Combat series from outside is too upsetting a topic for me, and it might've been why I made these reviews. (To shout into the void of youtube obscurity so that there's at least someone saying it out loud.)
Videogames aren't looked upon seriously as an art form no matter what most people say. Nobody fights in its corner.
Most people realise it *can be* when they're a depressed adolescent. You try to collect your childhood nostalgia, desperately, and get slapped with a more adult understanding of something taken for granted.
You had the true Zero experience. You went back, and looked from a fresh perspective, and came to a deeper understanding. It might've been a bit unconventional, but that's your journey, yours alone.
Other AC games? In the future. I do have more to say. I don't want to stick to one series, though, especially when I obsess over scripts so long. I have many more hills to stake my claim and die on.
Good stuff.
32:29 Like someone said, in the end, Wizard 1, out of all the aces, is the one who achieves his goal. He did achieve his A World with No Boundaries, even if it is inside his cell.
Such a good comment, proves how much depth and style these cut scenes have.
Seeing this video (plus your 04 and Part 1) makes really appreciate Ace Combat's story even more. The nuances it has, the themes that the creators put in are something else compared to any AAA game writer. I hope with the next Ace Combat game that the team will bring the same or higher quality writing.
Your analysis on the duel between Cipher and Pixy, the story and it's inspirations, the music and it's composition is fucking peak Ace Combat Zero analysis. I don't think it can get better than this. I've always wanted a remake/director's cut of Ace Combat Zero with better translations of the text and external story material added into it. I've always felt it needed it the most. Your videos make me want it more. I keep watching them. Criminal that I'm unable to give them a like a second time. Godspeed Gizou!
What brought you here?
@@GizouGitai
I looked up reviews on Ace Combat and found your video on AC4. Loved it!
@@mikedude2724 thanks, buddy.
I have a couple of theories about the encounters of certain squadrons, particularly the Gelb, Espada, and the three AWWNB squadrons.
We know that the round table fights are meant to represent the three paths/playstyles that Cipher takes in the Belkan War. But as for Gelb and Espada, I believe that those two are meant to represent the dynamic between you and your wingman, pixy/pj
For Gelb, they are meant to represent the dynamic between Cipher and Pixy. Both Gelb members field the same aircraft, the Su-37, in a similar way to how Galm fields the F-15C, and their flying styles and backstory behind the fight indicate that they were supposed to be the most dominant duo in the Belkan war, if not for both Galm team and lack of rest. Most importantly, all of that implies that Gelb 1 and 2 see each other as equal comrades that work together to become unstoppable, very much like Galm team, narratively speaking.
As for Espada, we see a very different dynamic; one in which involves a lobsided relationship in which one partner clearly admires the other more or something like that. This definitely describes Espada 1 and 2 well, but in a way, this describes Cipher and PJ. Although not in the same way, its clear that PJ looked up to Galm, and ig wanted to follow in their footsteps to some extent. I believe that PJ sees Cipher as some to look up to, someone to follow to the end, and thus trust that he will bring peace. Although for different reasons, both wingman clearly looked up to their wingman. Further shown how this time, both duos had mismatch aircraft (J-35J and Rafale, F-15C and F-16C), and if you are right, both were probably still "lost" given the context.
This is kind of the IB fan in me speaking, but considering how symbolic they try to be in many aspects of the game, this does feel a little intentional. They can't just leave those two fights up in the air for reason after all.
The observation about Ace Combat games lacking an in-depth tutorial beyond letting you loose in a few low-difficulty starting missions is interesting. Part of the player demographic of the series is certainly aviation nerds who would want to enact famous techniques in gameplay to outmaneuver the enemy. The developers themselves absolutely are those types of people themselves; Ace Combat 7's various pre-release materials like trailers and shorter Twitter clips made explicit mention of and showed off the real-world-inspired things you could pull off with ease in Ace Combat's arcade-y flight physics. And yet, the game itself doesn't really attempt to teach you to do any of it. But over the course of playing an AC game, even a total beginner should still discover one or more effective tactics for dealing with the various ground and air targets in the game, even if it's simply just flying loops, and thus maybe develop a style of flying all their own. And what more could you ask from an action game but a fair challenge with enough gameplay depth to express yourself?
Absolutely. Typical player psychology is to follow the path of least resistance, and that really plays well with an open and creative control scheme. You're super right.
This is an amazing review and I'm glad I found it. Something I noticed while watching is that its not just the wings of Cipher's F15 that are colored, but the vertical and horizontal stabilizers on the back are too. This means if Pixy's colored wing is the one wing Pixy lost; then Cipher has, literally or metaphysically, lost every wing and was grounded himself. This changes the context of Pixy getting shot down by Cipher not because Cipher is a better pilot and Ciphers beliefs and motivations were "correct", but because Cipher maybe also got lost pursuing an ideology, got grounded himself, and saw the error of his ways. If you think the unpainted wing is the one Pixy lost, then is repositions Cipher as the pilot who never lost and always proved his ideals were stronger than other's ideal, meaning Pixy and A World Without Boundaries never really stood a chance against Cipher, showing that their logic and methods were flawed from the start
Hey thanks. And I think you're just about right on that. Part of Ace Combat will always be the self-canon of the player as the protagonist, that you have to consider based on who you are and what you can gather from your implied attitudes at taking up the continued jobs.
What's the role you, yourself, are playing?
Ace Combat has always been great at that.
I had just finally played and beat the game about a week ago and by god it's worth the play time. The music is by far my favorite of the series and the story is also amazing. The interviews for me are what make it more grounded to understand the themes of the game. I honestly hope they make a remaster of it so that more people play this gem of a game. Your analysis of it is still the best of it I have see on youtube and your AC4 video too. Thanks again for making a great video of this great game.
As expected another great analysis. I have less to add here than I did with your video on 04, but I will say that I disagree with your characterization in Part 1 of the second Soldier ace (Schnee 1) as seeking revenge against Cipher. My interpretation of him is a less aloof, more amoral version of Yellow 13: that is, somebody who lives entirely for flying (There's even supplementary lore about him repeatedly turning down promotion so he could stay in a cockpit.) Note that he never says he wants to shoot Cipher down, just that he wishes he could fight him again. In this sense, his view of the player character is of an exciting opponent to duel rather than the target of personal animosity that the word "revenge" implies. That aside, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Ace Combat 3. It's my favorite entry in the series, especially with its commentary on player agency within video games.
Wow... I kinda figured there was some deep meanings the first time played zero but i had no idea that it is even deeper
Again, what an excellent analysis of this game. Just binge watched part 1 and 2 and I'm gonna watch the analysis of 4. Considering how thoughtful your analysis is, I'm looking forward to your Zone of the Enders videos once I beat Z.O.E 1 and 2 first.
One neat little thing (that I'm probably reading into too much) are how the super weapons of Excalibur and XB-0 reflect the Belkan's and World With No Boundries attitudes. Excalibur is firmly rooted into the ground and reaches outwards, stretching to the edge of that country's borders. Laser technology was pioneered by the Belkans and acts as a monument to their strenght and technological prowess, which will influence future games. On the other hand, XB-0 isn't restrained by borders or geography since it can fly. Fitting for a faction wanting to abolish all borders. I agree with your point that XB-0 barely had any setup. All we got was a massive hanger which was present in the first mission with PJ as you wingman once Pixy defects. I think it's only mentioned once or twice in briefings and debriefings.
Also, while I despised the back-to-back missions which didn't let you go back to the hanger in 5, it works to add more difficulty to the final stretch with missions 16, 17, and 18. You can kit your plane with XLAA for multiple aircraft for the Ace boss, Air-to-Ground bombs to make the assault on Avalon Dam and the tunnel run easier, or powerful single missile like QUAMs for the Pixy joust. One special weapon you pick will have the trade off of being less well suited for another mission, adding to the challenge within the established framework of the game.
Thanks a lot.
You're spot on about the superweapons, I wish I'd have noticed that.
If you're talking about the hangar I'm thinking of, it's in a reused map from ACE5.
In Zero, you're breaching Belka's boarders under the guise of a black op nuclear inspection so they didn't have to declare war. Comms note that hangar as suspicious.
In ACE5, you destroy that hangar and bury Belka's nuclear arsenal underground -- which they shouldn't have given their surrender treaty in ACEZero.
So whilst there's a parallel to some contemporary inspections by America into the middle east, there's also muddied waters in that those inspections would later have proven valid, despite the dirty tactic.
@@GizouGitai The hangar I'm referring to in Zero in the is from the reused map in Ace Combat 5's "Closure" but it gets overshadowed because it's entirely missable. The confusion is coming from the fact that the mineshaft holding the nukes which built into the side of a mountain was an objective to destroy in 5 and was the focus of mission 23, while XB-0's dome shaped hangar is nearby on the airbase and it's marked as a yellow target so most people will avoid it. It also spawns an infinite number of AA guns in pairs so people will likely just blow up the 2 AA guns and move on. Plus, the hangar depicted in-game is way too small to house XB-0 as it appears to be way larger.
As a matter of fact, PJ and the Belkan ground forces comment on it's destruction. PJ says > immediately after. You can see this at the timecode 10 : 10 on Ace Combat Fan's mercenary playthrough of mission 13. At the end of the day, it does tie into your point about XB-0 and Excalibur not being set up early on as something like 4's Stonehenge and being more forgettable for it.
> Picking F-15 like an idiot
EXCUSE ME?!?! I flown the F/A-18C On Gault on ACE DIFFICULTY.
Picking low-mid tier planes shows skill compared to F-22 Easy Modo.
In all seriousness though, nice review.
Wait, I get picked up on *this*, but not the F-35 comment last video?
Thanks tho.
you mean flying draken throught whole game on ace, thats skill
F15C is the plane of an ace \_(ツ)_/¯
The last few minutes of this video made me tear up a little. I love this game and this video to death, you did an incredible job with this analysis.
I got an extra perspective (admittedly from another great video that also analyze this game) on the morality system, the Ace styles. There's not much to say about Soldier as you've already presented it perfectly, however the game has extra thematic hints towards the other 2.
Despite on a surface level Knight is most commonly seen as the "good" morality, the game heavily criticize it not just for nationalism but also on "honor and pride". These Belkan aces you've been fighting against mostly held the Belkan Knights code of honor highly, and what that does is just prolonging the war. As Pixy said *
I did want to make a point of that Rot 1's line, because it's pretty great.
The Japanese line agrees with the word play.
国を負背わねば 速く飛べるとでもいうのか
"Do you think you can fly faster, if you aren't carrying your country?"
Nationalism itself is as much a burden as it is a crutch.
You're right to say it's evenhanded on the mercinary front, in the greater context of Strangereal. Because the implications of ZERO's War Economy includes the In-Game plane economy, Ustio's bought army, and the *very implicit* Marxist criticisms of "A World With No Boundaries."
The war economy eventually becomes more powerful than the Nations themselves, in ACE3. Since the series after 3 is more-or-less prequels, the concept of Nationhood continues to get brought up in more dissociative ways. By ACE7, we're questioning what even *is* a nation.
And I hate to discourage a pretty good comment, but you've got an internal contradiction in that reading.
You say Knightly actions would prolong the war, and are therefore immoral, and Mercinary actions are more expedient. That only functions if both sides are Knightly. As Pixy said, if they fly will all those ideals, it'll get them killed -- by Mercinaries.
Knightlihood in your own logic is still expedient, it's just an expedient way to lose.
@@GizouGitai perhaps I wouldn't think honorable knight approach is immoral outright, but in chaotic events such as wars it certainly could be seen as immoral to uphold worthless pride (like nationalism).
I must admit that the reason I wrote the comment is because I'm tired seeing _some_ people thinking the Ace style is just a black and white morality system. It's much deeper than that and I think it should be appreciated more.
This game have plenty of Area 88 influence in it and I would love if Project ACES could try another mercenary protagonist for the next game. It seems like mercs aren't utilized as often after Ulysses but AC7 hinted at a resurgence.
The way you said, "It has to be this way." really fits Standing Here I Realize from MGR:R. There was actually a video where the song was actually playing during the final battle and the comments were saying how the lyrics fit so well with the context. I think it also make sense that the song would fit since Ace Combat since is the Metal Gear of fighter jet games.
Oh this takes me back. You should continue on with the series with AC6/7 or even Project Wingman. But I don't think there is another AC game with as much moral and philosophical aspects than Zero.
Check out Argonbolt video series on Ace Combat
I asume then both of metal gear revengence and ace combat zero have same theme, "the key is not to force believe in others but is to accept the diference betwen what you believe on".
Also one of that game soundtrack really emphasis on the theme of " it was to be this way" as the tittle and lyric of that song was
Grisaia is sick.
thank you for making these. i love these deep dives into the story of these games and it's hard to find them. you really nailed it, good job! it's a crime that this doesn't have more views. I really enjoyed both of these
Fantastic video. I've been looking for a video essay like this and I appreciate the hard work you put into it. I really do think Zero is the best of the series.
A beautiful video I can’t believe I’m seeing this for the first time. I’m subscribing!
I really wish you do an analysis on the rest of the Ace Combat series, there’s basically zero long form content on this franchise and I find it really sad that a game with a lot to say about war doesn’t have many people talking about it
That's the entire reason I made the channel, honestly.
@@GizouGitai I hope to see some videos about 5 and 7.
From what I can remember, Ive seen the final quote before
It may be a quote from a Native American saying of Infinite/Infinity but since its been a long time since I've seen it, I dont know where to start looking
Hot damn. If you can find a source on that, that'd be amazing. Though it might kinda put my idea that it's a Japanese pun on shaky ground.
@@GizouGitai This may be false memory though. From what I can remember is that I've seen that quote, word for word in another game. I'll see what I can recall in my Steam games, and maybe find that quote again!
i can feel the seething rage you have towards pj. I wholly agree with you.
The way you can mix gameplay and story analysis is remarkable.
Excellent inclusion and excellent analytical take on what is hands-down my favourite video game of all time.
Would love to see you have a run through AC7. After AC6 being not great and not terrible, and then the sorry state of affairs that was AC Assault Horizon, I truly think AC7 represents a stunning return to form and I really hope it signals the start of the series’ revival. Would love to hear your take on it, though. Top work and top vid, well done!
Here inb4 this video blows up
Here's hoping, man.
cheers to that
@@LeiteArts10 This video has actually suddenly gotten a massive uptick in views on the algorythm. What the hell happened?
@@GizouGitai another batch of recomendations
Amazing video. I really love your perspective on this game.
U gonna cover AC5 at some point?
Wonderful video. Do you think uou will produce a video on Ace Combat 5?
No plans. I like the game a lot, but I don't have very much to say on it. Maybe I've not thought about it enough.
good content