Ace Combat: Difference between revisions
Updated wikilink
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (beheaded 4th-level headers, added tropelist) |
(Updated wikilink) |
||
| (29 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{work}}
[[File:ace-combat-wallpaper2_832.jpg|frame|<small>That kind of pilot, they call a Demon Lord. That kind of plane, they call a [[God Mode Sue]].</small> ]]
{{quote|''Focus. Control. Conviction. Resolve. A true ace lacks none of these attributes. Nothing can deter you from the task at hand except your own fears. This is your sky.''}}
'''''Ace Combat''''' is a series of arcade-style combat flight games, involving [[Simulation Game|flight simulation]] levels of graphical detail but without all the fiddly realistic controls; the play style is something between [[Shoot
'''The series currently{{when}} spans
* Playstation:
** ''Ace Combat'' (''[[Air Combat]]'' in North America) - A country is invaded by a terrorist group and, to minimize losses, an elite mercenary squadron has been hired to end the war.
** ''[[Ace Combat 2]]'' - Rebels across the Usean continent take over multiple cities and bases and Special Tactical Fighter Squadron "Scarface" must defeat them.
** ''[[Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere]]'' - In the 2040s, the world is ruled by [[Mega Corp|corporations]] who fight over territorial disputes. The rumors of a new [[Super Prototype]] threaten to upset the balance of power.
* Playstation 2:
** ''[[Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies]]'' (''Distant Thunder'' in the European version) - In 2003, Erusea has invaded its neighbors and by 2004 controls all of Usea. As Mobius One, ISAF's top ace, it's up to you to drive them back and take the fight to them.
** ''[[Ace Combat 5 The Unsung War]]'' (''Squadron Leader'' in the EU) - In 2010, a series of mysterious recon activities leads to a war between the Union of Yuktobanian Republics and the Osean Federation. However, the real cause of the war is not as straightforward as it first appears.
** ''[[Ace Combat Zero:
* PSP:
** ''[[Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception]]'' - In 2020, the Democratic Republic of Leasath launches an attack on its southern neighbor, the Federal Republic of Aurelia, nearly overrunning the latter within ten days thanks to their airborne fortress Gleipnir. As Gryphus One, you lead Aurelia's survivors in taking back your nation.
** ''[[Ace Combat Joint Assault]]'' - Joint Assault deviates from the Strangereal world that every previous installment of the game has taken place in, and will take place in [[Real Life|real world locations such as Tokyo, London, and San Fransisco.]] As Antares, a newcomer to Martinez Security, you fight the machinations of a powerful terrorist group across the world.
Line 26 ⟶ 25:
* XBox 360:
** ''[[Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation]]'' - In 2015, the Federal Republic of Estovakia, after coming out of years of Civil War, invades the neighboring Republic of Emmeria. Due to the use of high-tech weaponry and grizzled veterans, the Estovakians were able to take over the Emmerian Mainland and drive the Emmerian military to Vitoze. As Garuda One, you lead Emmeria's survivors in taking back your country.
*
** ''[[Ace Combat: Infinity]]'' - Taking place in an alternate reality of Earth, players take on the role of Reaper, a new member of the "Bones Arrows" squadron, belonging to the Arrow's private military company. In it, they combat the terrorist group "The Sons of Troia", as well as the fictional nation of "United States of Eurasia". Ace Combat: Infinity borrows heavily from the Strangereal series, featuring iconic locations such as Stonehenge (Ace Combat 4) and Avalon Dam (Ace Combat Zero). '''Please note: As of March 31, 2018, Ace Combat: Infinity's servers have shut down, rendering it unable to be played or downloaded.'''
** ''[[Ace Combat Assault Horizon]]'' - In a departure from past games, Assault Horizon is set in the real world instead of Strangreal (hence why this game is not titled [[AC 7]]). You take on the role various pilots in the 108th Task Force, a mixed arms force made up of NATO and Russian personnel. The 108th's mission is to combat a growing rebel movement in Africa, aided by Russian mercenaries who possess a terrifying new superweapon codenamed "Trinity".▼
* Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows:
▲** ''[[Ace Combat: Assault Horizon]]'' - In a departure from past games, Assault Horizon is set in the real world instead of
* Mobile Phone:
** ''[[Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion]]'' - In 2020, the Democratic Republic of Leasath launches an attack on its southern neighbor, the Federal Republic of Aurelia, nearly overrunning the latter within ten days thanks to their airborne fortress Gleipnir. You play as Falco One, [[Hero of Another Story|another Ace Squad who took part in the same war with Gryphus One]], in an attempt to liberate your country of Leasath's control.
** ''[[Ace Combat: Northern Wings]]'' - The player takes command of Grendel Squadron, a secret squadron created by the Kingdom of Nordennavic, a small, neutral nation on the Anean Continent, to [[Mysterious Protector|covertly influence wars]] that may threaten their homeland. It is set across a seventeen year period during wars featured in 04, 5 and 6.▼
▲** Ace Combat: Northern Wings - The player takes command of Grendel Squadron, a secret squadron created by the Kingdom of Nordennavic, a small, neutral nation on the Anean Continent, to [[Mysterious Protector|covertly influence wars]] that may threaten their homeland. It is set across a seventeen year period during wars featured in 04, 5 and 6.
* Nintendo 3DS
** ''[[Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy]]'' - Despite the name, Assault Horizon Legacy (called ''Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble'' in Japan) returns to Strangereal. It's a remake and retelling of ''[[Ace Combat 2]]'', with you taking on the role of Phoenix (aka Scarface One). ''AC2's'' wingmen Slash and Edge make a return, as does the enigmatic Z.O.E.
* PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows:
** ''[[Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown]]'' - Returning to the world of Strangereal in 2019, tensions over a [[Space Elevator]] have boiled over into open war between the Osean Federation and the Kingdom of Erusea. Players take on the role of "Trigger", an Osean pilot forced into the penal unit Spare Squadron following a tragedy, as they fight to repel the invasion of the Erusean military.
Also worth mentioning is ''[[The Sky Crawlers]]: Innocent Aces'' for the [[Nintendo Wii]], a [[Licensed Game]] of the ''Sky Crawlers'' anime. Though it has no direct ties with the
In 2011, the Strangereal series, specifically the third installment ''Electrosphere'', seems to have been [[
'''Release order'''
# ''[[Air Combat]]'' (1995)
# ''[[Ace Combat 2]]'' (1997)
# ''[[Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere]]'' (2000)
# ''[[Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies]]'' (2001)
# ''[[Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War]]'' (2004)
# ''[[Ace Combat Advance]]'' (2005)
# ''[[Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War]]'' (2006)
# ''[[Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception]]'' (2006)
# ''[[Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation]]'' (2007)
# ''[[Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion]]'' (2009)
# ''[[Ace Combat: Joint Assault]]'' (2010)
# ''[[Ace Combat: Assault Horizon]]'' (2011)
# ''[[Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy]]'' (2011)
# ''[[Ace Combat: Northern Wings]]'' (2011)
# ''[[Ace Combat: Infinity]]'' (2014)
# ''[[Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown]]'' (2019)
'''Strangereal chronology'''
The original/main continuity of the ''AC'' series is set on the [[Constructed World]] of Strangereal. The first two games were originally not really part of it but have since been [[
# ''[[Air Combat]]'' (1995)
# ''[[Ace Combat Zero]]'': Belkan War (1995)
# ''[[Ace Combat 2]]'' and its remake ''[[Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy|Assault Horizon Legacy]]'': Usean Rebellion (1998)
# ''Ace Combat: Northern Wings'': (1999 to 2016)
# ''[[Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies]]'': Usean Continental War (
# ''[[Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War]]'': Operation Katina (2006), Circum-Pacific War (2010)
# ''[[Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation]]'': Anean Continental War (
# ''[[Ace Combat
# ''[[Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception]]'' and ''[[Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion]]'': Leasath-Aurelia War (2020)
# ''[[Ace Combat Advance]]'': General Resource Conflict (2032)
# ''[[Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere]]'': Usean Corporate War (2040)
{{franchisetropes}}
* [[Ace Pilot]]: Entire series is based on this trope and [[Improbable Piloting Skills]], wingmen and allied aircraft excepted. Supposedly {{spoiler|Mobius One}} may be considered ''the'' trope namer for ''4'', ''5'', ''Zero'', ''6'' (and maybe ''X''), especially if you take ''Ace Combat 5'''s Arcade Mode ("Operation Katina") as canon, where {{spoiler|Mobius One (with the help of [[Mission Control|AWACS SkyEye]]) defeated a ''de facto'' resurgent Erusean military and at the final battle six X-02 Wyverns using only a [[Cool Plane|F-22 Raptor]]}} a year after the events of ''Ace Combat 04'', where he was the lead element in every major ISAF operation of the Usean Continental War of 2003-2005.
* [[Adventure-Friendly World]]: Strangereal was created solely as [[Anthropic Principle|a setting which permitted]] repeated full-theater international conflicts for [[Ace Pilot
* [[Aerial Canyon Chase]]: Pretty much every ''Ace Combat'' game requires the player to do this for some reason. Sometimes there are enemy planes or helicopters skulking in the canyons or other narrow passageways or tunnels, just waiting to achieve missile lock.
* [[AFGNCAAP]]: It's very rare to find out anything about the character's name, appearance, or even ''gender''. A few of the games have played with this, notably ''Electrosphere'', where it turns out the PC is an {{spoiler|[[Tomato in the Mirror|AI, designed to test if one pilot could turn the tide of a war.]]}} ▼
** This trend was finally broken by ''Assault Horizon'', which had multiple playable characters with visible faces and speaking roles.▼
* [[Airborne Mook]]: Enemy aircraft, naturally. Enemy aces qualify as [[Elite Mooks]] or better, especially when they come in squadrons.
* [[Airstrike Impossible]]: A recurring mission type, with at least one in every game.
Line 85 ⟶ 91:
** The actual models of the missiles are all different and accurately based on a real missile at least similar to the missile's role; for example on the F-14 the XLAA resembles the AIM-54 Phoenix, whereas the Typhoon uses Meteor BVRAAMs.
** Also, ''Electrosphere'' gives the airplanes slightly different names as part of the game's futuristic feel, such as the Eurofighter 2000E Typhoon II and the XFA-36A (McDonnell Douglas X-36).
* [[Aliens Never Invented the Wheel]]: The Strangereal has technology that generally meets or exceeds that of the real world of equivalent year, but lags far behind in nukes and nuke delivery. This is central to the world's function since MAD makes fights between modern fighter jets far less frequent.
* [[All There in the Manual]]: A number of details, such as the full history of the Ulysses asteroid, aren't covered in-game.
* [[Alternate Universe]] / [[Constructed World]]: Strangereal.
* [[And Now for Someone Completely Different]]: The only player character to definitely return in a later game is Mobius One (player character of ''04,''
* [[Armies Are Evil]]: Subverted in most games after ''2.'' Especially considering when you see cutscenes of pilots and soldiers from the opposing army doing what they were trained to do without any complaints.
* [[Armored Coffins]]: All the planes in ''3'' are piloted via a so-called COFFIN system, which is a kind of neural interface that allows you to steer them with your brain but has no ejection seats whatsoever.
* [[Arrow Cam]]: Holding down the missile button will cause this to happen.
* [[Artificial Brilliance]]: Ace pilots, when compared to the standard mooks. Yellow Squadron will use the [[wikipedia:
* [[Awesome Yet Practical]]: The Wyvern and FALKEN have been computer-modeled as flyable in X-Plane with modern early 21st century technology, while things like the weapons-grade [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] have military prototypes already in progress.
* [[Back From the Brink]]: Each game typically starts with the air base from which you launch as the allied forces' last remaining base in the area, which you must defend from enemy bombers escorted by starting-game fighters, giving the player a quick "tutorial" in air-to-air combat with easy targets. Subverted in ''Ace Combat 5'', where most of your flight was killed by an unknown reconnaissance flight during the game's intro during peacetime. ''Ace Combat 6'' subverts it again in that the "back from the brink" bomber intercept is the second mission (appropriately entitled "On the Brink"), the first mission being an aerial defense of the capital at the start of the war only to be ordered to abandon it. And it's averted completely in ''Ace Combat/Air Combat'', where you simply enter the contested state and immediately attack recon planes and bombers on their way to attack another target.
Line 98 ⟶ 105:
* [[Battleship Raid]]: Most games feature boss stages where you face a giant enemy aircraft, battleship or group of such aircraft: the Aigaion, Hresvelgr, Arkbird and SOLG are all examples of this trope. Averted in ''Air Combat'' - it's planes, mostly (ground targets range from a skyscraper taken over by the rebels to oil refineries), though the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2DZtpJV2lo final mission] has a giant battleship.
* [[Bigger Stick]]: Getting better planes.
* [[
* [[Bloodless Carnage]]: Justified.
* [[Bragging Rights Reward]]: Special paint schemes for superfighters in other games, are only unlocked after beating the campaign on the highest difficulty.
Line 109 ⟶ 116:
* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: More dramatic and realistic elements have crept in over time.
* [[Chasing Your Tail]]: And ''how!'' (A perfectly [[Justified Trope]] for a game about air-to-air combat.)
* [[
* [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard]]: Enemies usually can maneuver better and lock-on much faster than you can even when using the same plane as you, and some bosses' superfighters have capabilities you'll never get.
** You know this trope is in full effect in AC5 when enemy planes can ''fly through the goddamn ground'' to evade you. When it's the last target on a timed mission with 10 seconds left, controllers will be thrown through television sets.
* [[Console Wars]]: After being a [[PlayStation]] and [[PlayStation 2]] exclusive for its entire run, when the series made the leap to the
* [[Conservation of Ninjutsu]]: Both used and averted. Your character does become a [[One-Man Army]] with many kills to his name, but any time an ace squadron shows up you will face a much tougher fight since they'll attack together.
* [[Cool Plane]]: Nearly every single fictional aircraft in any Ace Combat game is either the best plane in the game, one of the best planes in the game, behaves very uniquely or simply extremely good-looking.
Line 125 ⟶ 131:
** There's also severe differences between how to evade all the different superweapons, as well. Stonehenge in ''04'' requires you to be below 2000 feet, burst missiles from ''5'' require you to be above 5000 feet, and Excalibur from ''Zero'' is essentially a test of how fast you can react to things.
** Chandelier from ''6'' required you to fly as straight and level as you possibly can, since you had to fly down its barrel.
** Try switching between ''Ace Combat'' and ''[[HAWX]]''. The controls are virtually identical... except the buttons for guns and missiles are switched.
* [[The Determinator]]: The player-character is often this; surviving countless attempts by the combined armed forces of entire nations to kill him with barely a scratch.
* [[Dodge by Braking]]: The Pugachev's Cobra and its variants are maneuvers both you and some enemy aces can pull off. Just make sure that they're not flying at the same altitude as you are, or they'll opt for a very humiliating machine-gun-kill. The Yellows are fond of doing this. On the other side, if they try to Cobra and you are going slowly enough to not overshoot, it's a big invitation to light 'em up.
* [[Dogfighting Furballs]]: A hallmark of the series.
* [[Do Not Do This Cool Thing]]: The series insists, firmly and often, that [[War Is Hell]]. However, you play as an [[Ace Pilot]], arguably the most glamorous combat role of all time, and frequent radio chatter indicates that your arrival on the battlefield single-handedly restores friendly morale and causes enemies to panic. Also, as
* [[The Dreaded]]: You. Yes, you!
* [[Dude, Where's My Respect?]]: ''Beautifully'' averted; by the time you're halfway through a given game, your [[Improbable Piloting Skills]] will be legend among friend and foe alike. Half the fun is listening to the enemies panic when they find out you're on the field.
Line 138 ⟶ 144:
** Lets not forget that the... 3 minutes that take place between the end of "Avalon" and the beginning of "Zero" completely restocks and repairs your already flying plane who has no support to speak of from anyone but a nearby [[AWA Cs]] unit.
** The Playstation 1 games do have a fuel meter, but this is really just a [[Call a Hit Point a Smeerp|disguised timer]], since it empties at a steady rate regardless of how you fly.
* [[Enemy Chatter]]: A staple of the series, it seems that everyone and his
* [[Enemy
* [[Escort Mission]]: There's a few here and there. They can be a pain to get through sometimes though.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]:
** Yellow 13 from ''Shattered Skies'' isn't all that evil, to be honest, but he does still show disapproval when some of his countrymen set up an AA gun on a hospital.
** In ''Skies Unknown'', despite Erusea being the aggressor in the war with Osea, the idea of [[Rogue Agent]] Captain Torres running around with nuclear weapons is unacceptable enough to the former that even though they could easily gain victory if they would just get out of the way and let him nuke Osea's capital to force a surrender, they instead choose to leak the plans of his super-sub to Osea so that he can be stopped before a million civilians get killed.
* [[Expansion Pack World]]
* [[Fatal Family Photo]]: Inverted with Jaeger in ''7''. Despite regularly talking about telling his son about what happened during the war, he makes it through the whole game even though [[Anyone Can Die]] is in effect.
* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: What happens to {{spoiler|Mihaly}} in ''7'' as a result of the final boss fight with him. {{spoiler|He survives the destruction of his plane, but the injuries sustained leave him unable to fly again - a horrible way to go for an [[Ace Pilot]].}}
* [[Fighter Launching Sequence]]: A few times, naturally. Sometimes you have to actually play through the takeoff sequence yourself, to boot.
▲* [[
▲** This trend was finally broken by ''Assault Horizon'', which had multiple playable characters with visible faces and speaking roles.
* [[Fragile Speedster]]: The X-29 has consistently tended to fit this archetype, though its missiles aren't weaker than usual. So is it's "cousins" the F-5E and F-20A in their respective games.
* [[Frickin' Laser Beams]]: Hi, Tactical Laser System! Although it acts rather like a [[Laser Blade]] rather than a traditional laser gun.
* [[Friend or Foe?]]: Failures to distinguish ally from enemy play a major part in ''Skies Unknown'' -
** An early mission ends with Trigger apparently killing a major political figure. Later, it is revealed that {{spoiler|the killing was actually done by an enemy unit with spoofed IFF.}}
** {{spoiler|Full Band}} is killed after he is marked as an enemy, leading to Count shooting him down. Whether it was done intentionally with malice aforethought, intentionally for a good reason, or accidentally is left ambiguous.
** Late in the game, events lead to widespread IFF failures. Chaos follows, both in the story and reflected in gameplay by the need to properly identify targets' affiliations.
* [[Friendly Fireproof]]: Go ahead, drop that cluster bomb ten feet from friendly ground forces. They won't feel a thing. Or try to send a couple rounds through your wingman's cockpit if he's being annoying.
* [[From Nobody to Nightmare]]: Every last one of the player characters.
Line 151 ⟶ 168:
** Ace Combat 6 "final" mission. You've won the war, people are celebrating, and your "mission" is to do a patrol while fireworks explode in the sky. Then one of your wingmen says "I'd like to say: Mission Accomplished". Cue enemy fighters and transcontinental missiles.
* [[Glass Cannon]]: The F-5E and MiG-21 in the [[PlayStation 2]] games, and the A-4 in ''2'' is this, though since you usually get these in the beginning of the game, the player doesn't need to worry about biting the bullet. The Mobius F-22 and Yellow Su-33 in ''AC6'', (as Downloadable content) is also this, but it pays off when you have wicked maneuverability. On Ace mode all your planes are a [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]] against missiles so the question is how much Cannon and [[Fragile Speedster|Speedster]]/[[Lightning Bruiser|Lightning]] you're packing.
* [[Good
* [[Good Weapon, Evil Weapon|Good Plane Evil Plane]]: It has been noted that in almost every game, the protagonist squadron and sometimes his allies usually fly Western Fighter Aircraft (usually American) while the antagonist ace squadron(s) usually use high-tier Russian fighters (often a variant of the [[Cool Plane|Su-27 Flanker]]). This is however subverted multiple times.
** Scarface One from ''2'' prefers to fly the Su-35 Super Flanker (which is statistically the best normal plane in the game, surpassing even the F-22) while four of the five Z.O.E. aces use American jets.
Line 160 ⟶ 177:
* [[Harder Than Hard]]: ''Ace Combat 04'' and subsequent games have Expert and Ace difficulties. They also have an Easier Than Easy difficulty (Very Easy). Note though that some goodies (mainly ace appearances) only occur on certain difficulties. Just to clarify for anyone not clear on the concept: on Expert difficulty, one missile instantly kills you, and ''that's not the hardest difficulty.''
* [[He Who Must Not Be Seen]]: You never get to see the main character either which is especially obvious in ''Ace Combat 5'', where the between-mission cutscenes show the rest of your squadron frequently, as well as some other allies and enemies.
* [[Heroic Mime]]: The main character almost never
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in 5; see below.
* [[High Altitude Battle]]: [[Captain Obvious|Obviously.]]
* [[High-Speed Missile Dodge]]: Without countermeasures it's the only defense against enemy missiles. Yes, despite what some people claim, [[Aluminum Christmas Trees|this is a basic tactic taught and used in Real Life]]. It just [[Reality Is Unrealistic|doesn't look the same]] as it does in (most) fiction because fictional missiles usually lack proximity fuses.
* [[Homing Projectile]]: Missiles, both friendly and not.
* [[Honorable Enemy Ace]]: "[[Only Known by Their Nickname|Yellow 13]]" of ''[[Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies]]'' of whom narration notes "His heart felt compassion towards the weaker enemies he downed" pilots a Su-37 (uncommon, but not exclusive to Yellow Squadron in this universe) with yellow trim and is able to survive multiple sorties with player character Mobius 1 (who would himself be an example were the story shown from the other side). Near the end {{spoiler|after catching a child engaged in sabotage against his side, he allows the child to escape rather than kill the child or take action that would result in such an execution}}.
* [[Hyperspace Arsenal]]: The ''least'' number of missiles any plane in the series carries is around 50, frequently you'll have many more, and ''then'' you have special weapons on top of that - don't be surprised if you use third-person view and see ordnance 'magically' re-materialize on your plane's wings! Oh, and ditto for the gun both due to a lot
* [[Idiosyncratic Difficulty Levels]]: The highest difficulty level is [[Harder Than Hard|Ace]].
* [[In the Style Of]]: Directly comparing the "Megalith [[Agnus Dei]]" with the standard rendition, or "Zero" with "Unsung War", the differences in rendering make it difficult to tell that they are meant to have the same lyrics.
Line 205 ⟶ 223:
* [[New Game+]]: You can start a SP New Game to restart the campaign with your attained money, unlocked planes and paint jobs (and in ''Zero'' with your Ace Style Gauge where you left it in the previous campaign), or do Free Mission(s) to bump up your ranking and/or time, shoot down named aces, and in ''5'', ''Zero'' and ''X'' gain money. (Note that in ''Zero'' your Ace Style Gauge is only affected by the campaign, so feel free to be merciless in Free Mission.) Free Mission also has a Free Flight option (except in ''X'') where you can fly around all by yourself with no time limit or objectives.
* [[No Name Given]]: In addition to the player characters, several enemy aces like Yellow 13 and most of the AWACS spokesmen go only by callsign.
* [[Nose Art]]: A staple of the series, from about ''[[Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere]]'' onwards. Shooting down certain enemy [[Ace Pilot
* [[Nuclear Weapons Taboo]]: Subverted with the implicitly stated {{spoiler|and sometimes detonated}} nuclear arsenal from various games. What's interesting about this is that while nukes exist, nuclear ''proliferation'' doesn't seem to.
* [[Occupiers Out of Our Country!]]: Happens in just about every game.
Line 235 ⟶ 253:
* [[Reality Ensues]]: The gamebreaker-ness of the QAAMs can be interpreted as what happens when you put a nigh-undefeatable real-world heater in a world where the standard missiles are overfed tabbies that can be shaken off without needing countermeasures.
* [[Recurring Boss]]: In ''4, 5, 6, X'' and ''Joint Assault''.
* [[Red Baron]]: Typically, as your skills become more and more recognized, you or your squadron get a nickname, referring to a plot point or squadron logo. For instance, Gryphus One from ''Ace Combat X'' becomes known as "nemesis" by the obviously uncreative enemies, and "the southern cross" by allies, since the constellation is painted on your aircraft, there's the "Ribbon" in ''04'', and the Razgriz squadron (alternately the Demons or Ghosts thereof). But yeah, the best is the "Demon Lord of the Round Table" in ''Zero'', hard to top that.
** Possibly rivaling that, one enemy in the sixteenth mission refers to Mobius One as "the Grim Reaper." This doesn't happen too often, though.
** And one of the minor allied pilots from Ace Combat 6 (IE one of the ones you can't unlock a profile about, but is still identified in subtitles) is literally the Red Baron.
Line 248 ⟶ 266:
* [[So Last Season]]: [[Zig-Zagging Trope|Zigzagged]] with starting planes. See the article for the rundown.
* [[Sorting Algorithm of Weapon Effectiveness]]: With few exceptions, the later a plane is available, the statistically superior it is. On the other hand, missiles and other special weapons don't get better on later planes.
* [[Space Elevator]]: The International Space Elevator "Lighthouse" is the alleged ''casus belli'' for ''7'''s war and plays a large part in the game's events.
* [[Speed Run]]: Taking the fastest plane available through the enclosed-area [[Scrappy Level
* [[Spinventory]]
* [[The Squad]]: Mostly averted in ''04'' (you almost always have four wingmen flying with you, but none are explicitly named, and in the final mission it's subverted in that {{spoiler|Mobius Squadron is really ''just'' Mobius One plus a squadron's worth of pilots in Raptors with his insignia}}), used in ''5'' ([[The Captain|"Heartbreak One" Bartlett]], [[Player Character|Blaze]], [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|Edge, Chopper]], and [[New Meat|Archer]]), and it's pairs in ''2'' (Scarface 1/"Edge" or "Slash", though only in certain missions... and there are supposed to be other pilots in Scarface), ''Zero'' (Galm 1 "Cipher"/Galm 2 "Pixy" {{spoiler|then PJ}}) and ''6'' (Garuda 1 "Talisman"/Garuda 2 "Shamrock").
* [[Stealth
* [[Strictly Formula]]
* [[Super Prototype]]: Most of the superfighters, though some of them are subversions.
* [[Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder]]: In ''7'', the purpose of penal units like Spare Squadron is to act as expendables in probing the Erusean drone network for weaknesses that the proper units can exploit, and several characters die in the process. Trigger and a few others manage to thrive, though, and eventually win a pardon and transfer back to a proper unit.
* [[Surprisingly Improved Sequel]]: In-universe. While the first game had many of the elements that make the series what it is, the graphics are hideous to the point of [[Fake Difficulty]] in the first [[That One Level|canyon mission]] and many features were only present in rudimentary form. It was also just old enough to be incompatible with analog controllers, requiring the player to use the D-pad to control the plane. The second game introduced analog controls, better graphics, and something closer to a real plot. The series didn't really find
* [[Theme Naming]]: The series loves doing this.
** [[Animal Theme Naming]]: The Yellow Squadron's ''official'' designation is "Aquila" (Italian for "Eagle"). Over two dozen of [http://acecombat.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_aces_in_Ace_Combat_Zero Belkan aces] are named after various birds ([[Bilingual Bonus|in German]]), and another dozen, after animals (ditto). Aurelia's air force likewise have bird genera for squadron names.
Line 265 ⟶ 285:
** On your side it's easy to single a target out for a full "burst" of special missiles, heaters and gun rounds. Or drop a FAEB/LSWM/MPBM on a single ground target. It's wasteful to the max, but overkill man!
* [[Timed Mission]]: Every one. In the first two games this was represented by a fuel meter, making it slightly more plausible, though oddly enough RTB was almost never an issue.
* [[Title Drop]]: The EU non-numeric titles ''Distant Thunder'', ''Squadron Leader'' and ''The Belkan War'' all show up in their respective games. There's also ''Shattered Skies''
* [[Truth in Television]]: [[Captain Obvious|Most of the planes and how they perform too.]]
* [[Try Not to Die]]
Line 278 ⟶ 298:
** The official planes of the Wardog/Razgriz squadron are F-14 Tomcats.
* [[We Do the Impossible]]: The player's reputation.
* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]:
** In ''7'', Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise starts a war with Osea out of the belief that the Lighthouse [[Space Elevator]] is a vector for Osean imperialism to encroach on Erusea's sovereignty. {{spoiler|It eventually turns out that she's been manipulated by warmongering radicals who demonised something genuinely intended to be benevolent, and from that point she regrets what she's done and starts trying to end the fighting.}}
** ''7'' also subverts this with Captain Matias Torres, who initially attempts to present himself as a Trumanesque figure trying to kill many in nuclear fire in order to force an end to the war before even more are killed. As the story arc goes on, though, the façade cracks slowly but surely, eventually revealing that the decorated Hero of Comberth Harbor has [[Fallen Hero|Fallen]] and all that's left is a [[Laughing Mad]] [[Large Ham]] obsessed with the twisted beauty of a difficult shot that will result in mass murder.
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: In ''7'', Trigger's earliest allies like Golem and Mage Squadrons seem to just disappear after he gets transferred to Spare. They are never heard from again, not even in the final climactic battles where everything and the kitchen sink is supposedly getting deployed.
* [[When All You Have Is a Hammer]]: Your offensive options in the first two games consisted entirely of short-ranged missiles and an even-shorter-ranged Vulcan cannon. ''Electrosphere'' allowed you to swap those out for weapons with differing powers and ranges, and every game after that added special weapons such as bombs.
* [[Wing Man]]: Right from the beginning, with the exception of ''Ace Combat 04.'' They were a complete waste of money in the first few games. Quiet wastes of money.
* [[With This Herring]]: Usually (but not always) you start off with a dinky outdated plane.
** [[Double Subverted]] in ''Electrosphere'', where you start with a sleek, snazzy 2003 Eurofighter Typhoon... in 2040, when fusion-powered super planes equipped with superpowerful lasers are under development.
* [[Wolfpack Boss]]: All the time against enemy ace squadrons.
Line 290 ⟶ 314:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Ace Combat]]▼
[[Category:The Nineties]]
[[Category:Steam]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2]]
[[Category:PlayStation 4]]
[[Category:Simulation Game]]
▲[[Category:Ace Combat]]
| |||