The "WORST" Ace Combat Revisited

[@fightertales]

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[@clonecommando-cn6bo]

PROS: Customize your aircraft. Kick ass soundtrack. Special missions with helicopters and heavy aircraft. Cinematic dogfight mode points. Graphics ahead of its time in 2011. Special Eagan skin. CONS: The grave mistake of involving real world combatants and the annoying stereotypical ever going conflict. Stupid as fuck dialogue for most characters. You can’t give much of a shit for anyone in the story. The mistake of not using fictional experimental fighters such as the wyvern or fenrir or even prototype fighters like the f-15 mtd or the f-16 xl. The game is too short of missions. Just like ace combat 6. The story is stupid and doesn’t make sense and worse with the dream as the tutorial mission, why could it not be something else. Ground assault mode is the preferred way to attack surface targets. A few missions are made and written in a stupid and overwhelming way. You can’t properly earn ranks. The game is a “what if” scenario fighting in major cities. It feels like call of duty when it should not. There is only one gunship mission. The traditional realistic flight mode is impossible to work with the game mechanic. Every main character sounds like they work in an office building instead of the Air Force.

[@clonecommando-cn6bo]

@@mrandrossguy9871 there is no whining here. my only complaints to ace combat 6 is the less missions and only one experimental fighter that just one of the bad guys has..i have the flight stick controller for fires of liberation

[@clonecommando-cn6bo]

@@mrandrossguy9871 rather surprised with how fast DFM reacts with the graphics...you are right and at the same time AH is in a specific way out of the ordinary

[@adiamond563]

yo why cant i join the server again?

[@mikedrop4421]

Shooting down nukes? Blowing off your wingmans canopy with 20mm cannon fire to help him escape? Attacking surface combatants with A10's? No, the most unrealistic thing in this game is functional Su57's 😂

[@jackthorton10]

Besides that , realistic Ace Combat game :)

[@nomoss9600]

Nice burn! Kilo level, even.

[@anggisuwandi2404]

​@@jackthorton10and don't forget, the only AC with actual protagonist and his dialogue with storyline like Battlefield series where it tried to cover multiple people perspective at once. To me, the only thing that annoys me the most is the Dogfight

[@jackthorton10]

It’s funny how things work out @@anggisuwandi2404

[@SSpider41]

​@anggisuwandi2404 DFM was built because of the arcade Version they had in Dave and Busters. I saw that shit and was like 😮 oh no, this is literally the first mission of ACAH.

[@AWACS_Snowblind]

It was definitely, without a shadow of doubt, one of the Ace Combats of all time.

[@WynnofThule]

@@AWACS_Snowblind In the end, it truly was an Ace Combat

[@chiseledmedal2634]

Sucks when a writer gets snubbed and then shit on by fans

[@fightertales]

I completely agree. Happens way too often too.

[@Swattii]

The story wasn't even the worst part either, just shitty fans being shitty.

[@Komyeta]

ACAH is the best for • Voice Acting/Dialogue • Sounds • Destruction Physics (The Very First Ace Combat Game to have Plane Gore) • Jumping/Ejecting NPC Pilot • Michael Bay Explosion Effect • The Plot between two Rival aces, Markov and Bishop • Flyable Bombers and Choppers • In-Game Pilot Cutscenes to make the game feel more grounded Imagine new strangereal AC game have ACAH-level cutscenes and dialogue

[@ArifxDD]

Breaking news. Yuktobania asking for another war again against Osea

[@scoutgaming828]

The gunner aiming part is hurting my eyes

[@afallencheetah6610]

The game wasn't perfect, but its sure wasn't a bad game. For me, I played it senior year and was one of many reasons I would join the Air Force. I remember the day I learned I was going to be a aircraft maintainer for the F-22 and I was so happy! the plane I had grown up using in video games, I was going to work on them! Still to this day, I love those birds and I have plenty of memories of my time in service, both good and bad.

[@TheRibbonRed]

It's an ok game but a bad Ace Combat game. If it was an original IP, I'm sure it'd have a more lukewarm reception.

[@Mobius118]

I’ve grown to love it and accept it in the Ace Combat franchise, as it provides a break from the typical format (though I’m a big fan of said format), giving a fresh air combat game experience when I want it It’s refreshing to see project aces tried something new. While I much prefer games like AC04, ACAH let’s me come back with fresh feel for the wonder that are games like 04, Zero, 6, and X

[@TheRibbonRed]

@@Mobius118 can't really see it as a "break" when you're forced into DFM to finish most missions.

[@monitorlizardkid8253]

like I said in that other comment, assault horizon is reasonably fun, but the other ace combat games are downright phenomenal. I'd give assault horizon 3-4 out of 5 stars, but I'd give the really good games in the series 7 out of 5 stars.

[@PeachDragon_]

No offense but this is exactly why I didn't join the air force, only a few chosen get to actually fly

[@jacksonschadt7573]

One thing that’s interesting about the Spooky in this game is that it’s equipped with the Fulton STARS system, which came into play at the end of the mission. From what I know, the only Spec Ops variant that used the STARS was the MC-130E Combat Talon, until the system was removed in the late 90s.

[@Butter_Warrior99]

Ace Combat 7 was an ethereal experience for me, mainly because I was mainly a no lifer for FPS games.

[@TTV_Breezer]

Ace combat gay

[@codyayo6158]

Ac 0 was like the mgs3 of the series and ac7 was like the mgs4

[@ayyyyph2797]

​​@@codyayo6158not really sure if the MGS4 analogy is correct, but the MGS3 analogy is prt apt, being the gritty prequel with a distinct style compared to its previous titles

[@nukclear2741]

Honestly... same.

[@ObviouslyDeven]

@@TTV_Breezer dont you play fornite and cod?

[@holden5478]

Ace Combat was the first game I owned on the OG Play Station. Dad was an Air Force crew chief so of course. I can still remember my dad getting upset about how unrealistic the A-10 was depicted in the game. That was his plane before he switched over to C-17s. Anyway, I ended up getting every Ace Combat after that. Loving each one as much as the last. Even AH.

[@thetrueinferno7993]

Game might not be fantastic, but that Soundtrack is A+++

[@josephhelgersonjoseph6115]

Music for AH was composed by Rio Hamamoto and Keiki Kobayashi. The latter gave us “Zero”, “The Unsung War”, “Liberation of Gracemeria”, and “Daredevil”

[@mahamann7734]

24:27 "You have provoked a gang war"

[@karmac2359]

As one of the like twenty people to have completed Assault Horizon on Steam (Singleplayer and Co-op) I can confidently say it's not bad, it's just not a good Ace Combat. The turret section, DFM, and the Spooky/Spirit sections really make it feel more like some kind of Call of Duty spin-off, when they come up. The rest of the time, it's classic blowing shit up in cool dogfights to an awesome soundtrack.

[@Parabueto]

Yeah about twenty is probably right; my copy on Steam would CTD every time I tried to play and I could never find a way around it and instead of patching it they just pulled it from the store, so great. Not sure why I bought it on steam because I had a console copy, but eh.

[@isaacmacqueen9695]

I want a flyable B2 bomber in a future game. It was the one level I had no issues with and it justified dfm for the ground for me

[@karmac2359]

@@isaacmacqueen9695 oh I won't lie the bombing part was cool, especially the naval warfare mission just absolutely demolishing boats

[@livingreverie5951]

I think a permanent positive is that Ace Combat's Music had never failed anyone can talk shit about AH all they want, but you can't disagree in that the Music still delivered.

[@johndonker319]

The Combat Approved parody was so on point

[@alexs1954]

“Baby, it’s my show” Falcon’s flashing his claws.

[@Creeperbros74]

10:37 Final someone acknowledges Hawx 2 for the Wii only problem is there was no AC-130 mission in the Wii version cause the Wii version is entirely different from the PC,Xbox,and PS version and if I had the chance I would talk for hours about the wii version of Hawx 2. H.A.W.X. 2 for the Wii is an underrated gem.

[@Acejak1234]

I got to play it like a year or two ago, it was a pretty fun experience

[@himwo.]

In my opinion, DFM has its roots in the "forgotten" game by Team Aces: The Wii only "Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces" tie in to the Mamoru Oshii movie (which is an adaption of the first book in a series of novels). Innocent Aces had more beginner-friendly controls than any previous Team Aces games, as it wasn't (so to say) weighed down by the legacy of a Simcade franchise behind it. Plus, being on the Wii, you kind of wanted a form of waggle-the-controller gimmick in there anyways. Thus you defeated enemies by staying on their tails long enough to do a special dogfight manouever. Sounds familiar, right? I think that approach, of making an Ace Combat game that could please both the fans (with the plane gore) and the newcomers (with accessible controls) is what mostly harmed ACAH as it couldn't truly satisfy either end of the market.

[@fightertales]

Sky crawlers was great.

[@akagigaming22m]

in some areas yes the game can be not so great but the way they implemented game play of missions like the door gunner mission or flying helicopters or piloting bombers makes it somewhat unique makes it somewhat different and as for someone like me spending thousands of hours on this game alone and the entire series id say yes it lacks some quality in areas but the more games Namco makes for the series it gets somewhat better so yes there is a good and bad side to AC assault horizon and to be honest if reviews aren't enough then try it for your self since everyone's entitled to our own opinions.

[@Zack_Wester]

I think for a lot of ace combat player the Door gunner mission, the Helicopter mission and so on was the fact that they was a mission. in ace combat 4 you had 18 mission, ace combat 5 was 27-30 mission ace combat 6 15. ace combat assault was 16 mission where 6 mission you did not play a airplane and had 3 tutorial for each new gameplay style of mission. had the door gunner, helicopter, AC130 all been side missions the player can choice to play for extra credits then I think it would had gone down a lot better. because ace combat player wants to fly Aircraft not helicopters especially if it eats up mission slots. also I do need to look this up as I think the English dub of ace combat 5 was a bit bad. Another thing and this is clearly seen in ace combat 4 is the feeling of the war been more then just the player yes the player does a whole lot of work tipping the war 18 times in ISAF favor but did not single handedly win it... .there is a analyze of the ace combat 4 whole war that explains how all 18 mission plays in into the big picture. from what I understood of ace combat assult was that the game was just so... all over the place. something ace combat 7 got a lot of slack for.

[@Jump-Shack]

One thing I always loved about ACE assult horizon is the variety of vehicle types you can play especially types that normally. Along with that the damage model in the game is something I wished ace combat 7 had.

[@WKJP47ThunderBolt]

GOTTA STAY FLY! GOTTA STAY STRONG! ACE READY! ALL DAY LONG@

[@fightertales]

I can hear it.

[@Tank50us]

I loved that song

[@terrynewsome6698]

The black sea fleet operation keeps getting more realistic... I don't know how to feel about

[@pejj300gamer2]

The most unrealistic part of the attack on the Russian Fleet it that the carrier is not being towed lol 😂

[@fightertales]

Savage lmao

[@tetraxis3011]

Back then the Kutznetzov was fine. It was in like 2017 when a fire wrecked the Kutznetzov engines.

[@fightertales]

@@tetraxis3011 The Kuznetsov has never been in "good" condition since the fall of the Soviet Union.

[@isaacmacqueen9695]

That would be funny to implement. Imagine a super carrier with cwis all over but throw one missile at the tugboat in front and it gets destroyed

[@oddball_the_blue]

It used to be one of the reasons I went to my local airport in the UK - It actually had a pair of Air Combat machines for the longest time until they remodelled part of the terminal for them to be never seen again. (I really hope they weren't scrapped and are at the local Arcade Club just getting fixed up).

[@hamstermk4]

I love the credits picture of The Pig and Anamarchy silhouetted against the Door.

[@windscar15]

I meme on this game a lot but I remember playing the demo and thinking it wasn’t bad but different enough for me to pass it over. Getting away from Strangereal was the biggest mistake in my opinion. Modern geopolitics are so unpredictable and controversial that having a fictional world to comment on them seems infinitely more fun and interesting than another generic “Russians bad “ plot. AC7 is the peak of the franchise and I’d love to see some non-aerial warfare spinoffs set in Strangereal. There’s a lot of potential there if Namco were willing to take the risk.

[@ZaydinTTV]

Honestly, might be controversial but I feel like AC6 was the best overall gameplay wise because the sub-missions helped you feel like you were part of a bigger war and having the reoccuring friendly units at least gave some personality to these other characters. Yeah, Garuda Team/Talisman were still core parts of winning the war in AC6 but they didn't do it alone. Plus the spectacle of a full allied attack wiping out everything on screen in front of you was always so satisfying.

[@smellygabacci]

I remember in the demo, the helicopter and fixed wing missions were offered as separate choices in the campaign. I wonder why they changed that

[@Spaced92]

Russians bad plot is kinda the only way to do a realistic Ace Combat game unless you go HAWX. No one goes HAWX.

[@windscar15]

@@Spaced92 only reason it’s realistic is because the only other peer adversary is a major trading partner that will not just ban the game outright but ban any of its citizens or other trading partners from doing business with you. That said, I agree with you on HAWX. That’s just Ubisoft milking that delicious Tom Clancy license for all it’s worth.

[@黎雄-q5v]

That Zero quote at the end was slick af

[@RookFox]

Ace Combat Assault Horizon was my first Ace Combat game back in 2016. Funny thing is I only did my first ace difficulty run of it only a few months ago though I never had any bad opinions on it. I love blowing things up, it's fun. I'm glad it exists. Great video :)

[@JMTrof117]

Enjoy the vid, Falcon! I'm a big Ace Combat fan myself and have enjoyed the main series of games. I couldn't get into Assault Horizon myself, so your look at it was interesting, and I think some things in this could make a return to the Strangereal games. The bomber and chopper elements (minus the door gunner bit, since most first or third-person shooters have done that to death) are the main ones. The bombing version of the DFM mode makes more sense, and it'd be cool to do a penetration mission with a B-1 or other bomber. Another idea is maybe actually fly a C-17 on a Special Forces insertion mission, akin to that one part of Clancy's 'Debt of Honor.' Glad to hear the game had a good MP element, though will admit I've always seen AC as a single-player experience, at least for me. Personally, for me, the game with the best story is Ace Combat 4, and I might be a bit biased as that was MY first AC game. I had played flight sims before on PC as a kid, and well, always kind of sucked at them. However, Ace Combat gave me a bit more freedom, and I loved the anime animation-style cutscenes even though they were still images. I think telling the story from the grown-up kid's perspective and getting a sort of look at the rival Ace of the game was a cool idea. Ace Combat 5, yeah, has story and writing issues, but I'll admit that one made me a fan of the universe as a whole. Learning about Strangereal and making that alternate Earth feel more expansive. Zero was good, and I've never quite finished AC:6 cause it does get a bit boring storywise. Ace Combat 7 had a few flaws, but I think it looked great and reinvigorated my love of the franchise. Hope you'll talk more about Ace Combat games or aviation games/media in general that left an imprint on you.

[@Neb_DCS]

This was the first and last Ace Combat game i played, not because it was bad, but because i *LOVED* it that much, before it, I used to play hawx because it was good and worked on my old pc, and before that i played (f22 lightning 3) and games of that sort, I really wanted a combat flight sim and I found nothing that gave me this with the same excitement/quality/graphics/music at that time except for ACAH, i first tried the demo on the 360 and just fell in love with it and kept playing it a lot, untill I found a copy, and I bought it right away, I played it sooooo many times that I remember bishop's last lines word for word. After that I played FSX and that of course didn't have combat, and then I found DCS, and that's what I keep playing and making YT videos about, using ACAH soundtracks because it is THAT good. And playing in a fantasy world with some fantasy weapons/aircrafts didn't appeal to me so I never tried any more AC games. I still love this game, and its story. And I'm glad I found someone of AC fans who appreciates it as it is.

[@itsumayo]

I remember playing Ace Combat 7 as my first one. Then played several more including Ace Combat 0, Ace Combat 4, Ace Combat 5, Ace Combat 6, and even Project Wingman. I’ve completed all of them on the hardest difficulty so I felt ready for Assault Horizon. Of course the first disc I get is European and is region locked for my Xbrick 360. So I have to buy it again. I boot it up and I’m slightly pleasantly surprised. Until the second half of the game. My goodness. This test of human endurance would make Sisyphus himself sweat bullets. I’ve turned Markov into Swiss cheese more times than I can count. Yet he still manages to blast me with a CFA-44 Nosferatu ADMM even when I’m behind him. By the end I wanted to rip my own fingernails and teeth out one by one instead of sit through this experiment of mental pain tolerance. The little unique features of this game are just a spray bottle spritzing onto the burning ruins of Hoffnung. I am going to leave the two discs I own of this abominable wreck to rot and dust over on my bookshelf for the rest of time. Every time I look at the disc cases I feel nothing but the ire, rage, and insanity of both Captain Torres and Crimson 1. I hate this game with my entire soul.

[@erickjoestar1561]

17:25 man I always forget that Illich was supposed to be a boss fight, when I first got into this mission I was so impatient I fired 8AAMs and took him down without even giving it a second thought lmao

[@DewanAsifReza]

8AAMs? The highest that you can equip is 6. Which aircraft were you using?

[@erickjoestar1561]

@DewanAsifReza F-14, if I'm not mistaken

[@DewanAsifReza]

@@erickjoestar1561 The F-14 can be equipped with 6AAMs. There is no plane in the game that can equip more than 6AAAms, and yeah it is possibly to take out Illich if you spam your AAMs on easier difficulties, but Makarov is a completely different beast altogether. From one Ace to another, it is best if you engage him in DFM mode and use your machine guns and your defualt missiles against him, no use wasting your AAMs against a bastard who's carrying more flares than missiles. Good hunting.

[@erickjoestar1561]

@DewanAsifReza oh yeah I learned that the hard way. Skipped DFM most of the game, and when I had to fight Illich I was in a bit of a hurry, so I just splashed him quickly and moved on

[@DewanAsifReza]

@@erickjoestar1561 Everyone in the Ace Combat community loathes this game's DFM mode, I personally don't mind it. Btw, if you avoided DFM mode throughout the game, how'd you defeat Markov a.k.a. Akula in the final mission? There's no way to for you to clear the final mission without engaging in a very long and scripted dogfight with him. Also I'm curious as to which your two most used fighters are. Mine are the F-14D and the Shinden-II.

[@ImmaLittlePip]

Honestly while being the black sheep of the franchise ac6 definitely takes the cake of having a terrible story and bad character One thing assault horizon did do is kinda save the franchise by selling well but thank god for ace combat 7 reviving the franchise

[@roanferguson8873]

Alright Genette, voiced by Matt Mercer. I'm sure they were smiling about how they told some rookie MiG driver that they were banging their mom while using several different kinds of slurs

[@stgjr]

You think being 30 is old? Come back to me when you hit the big Four-Oh. 😛 Been playing these games since my adolescent years with the initial PSX Air Combat. Loved 'em. Didn't take to Assault Horizon but I don't think I ever hated it that much, just didn't much care for it when I tried it. Glad you did have a lot of fun with it and good on you for defending it from the usual self-absorbed gatekeeping fan types. I loved AC04 more than 5. Mostly because the story wasn't as preachy, AC5 goes a bit too over the top with it. Oseans apparently don't get mad that they got attacked without provocation and instead sing anti-war songs at war rallies. I get the wider story of both sides' war hawks being manipulated but it just felt like the writers pushing that element a bit too hard at too many points. Though you can't hate AC5 when you've got Steve Blum voicing a character, heh.

[@cheese5462]

I think AC5 going over the top is why the game's great. It feels like an American action movie. I enjoy AC04's simple and mature story more, but 5's is good in its own right.

[@stgjr]

@@cheese5462 Oh, don't misunderstand me, I think AC5 is a spectacular game, I just enjoy AC04 more. But they're both very good games. I even bought the soundtrack to AC04 twenty years ago, when it cost double what most CDs cost because it was an import from Japan through a game music album seller online at the time.

[@Spaced92]

AC5 preachiness stands out in a series known for being preachy, it's first playthrough is great though and would've been even better if they didn't make the Belkans the bad guys again. Seriously the Belkans are carrying the "everyone will get along" message because everyone knows Belka is a big exception that will make more sequels.

[@Smothtiger]

I really enjoyed assault horizon. For how many missteps it took it had many interesting details. Seeing the planes crumble in air and hearing the native language for the computer. Helicopters were too simplistic bit a fun idea I'd love to see expanded. Still rather hate the turret sections in the side of the Blackhawks.

[@Alex_Guy1011]

This game is where i found out that Leon Scott Kennedy became a pilot.

[@akula966]

Wait, wut?

[@Alex_Guy1011]

@@akula966 Paul Mercier is a VA for Resident Evil 4 (2005).

[@akula966]

@Alex_Guy1011 Who does he voice in this game?

[@Alex_Guy1011]

@@akula966 Leon Scott Kennedy.

[@jarvy251]

I was actually INCREDIBLY excited for Assault Horizon as AH it was the first Ace Combat ported to PC. But I just could not get past the DFM. It just made it unplayable for me. Maybe it was better with a controller, but I didn't want to play on a controller! I was playing on PC and so wanted to use my stick! And if it wouldn't let me, I had no use for it. As a Canadian, the MC being named William Bishop felt like a bit of wink wink nudge nudge but it wasn't enough.

[@Genesis0Nieves0]

I remember watching my older brother play this game, he would rage so hard it was so much fun. Good times... good times...

[@audiosurfarchive]

13:00 goddamn your CA impression is still so good

[@fightertales]

Thank you! It's a fun show to laugh at.

[@timmyhers9253]

My very first arcade combat flight sim was Konami's Airforce Delta Strike for the PS2. I remember playing and grinding it throughout my elementary and middle to high school years. I love its many missions, its unique superweapons, and the surprisingly high number of aircraft that you can unlock. What stands the game out to me the most were the visual-novel like story, soundtrack, and playable anime characters, in which each one have their own unique aircraft to which to unlock and buy as well as story lines. The game does has its drawbacks like the repetitiveness of the 'Stand By' missions, the stiff and heavy feeling flight model, and the story in which can be over the top and cheesy, but I found to love it. It really gives off a unique vibe in which I rarely see in other similar combat flight sims. It was only when I was starting high school in which I got introduced into the Ace Combat series, mainly by its music (AC:AH does have a cool soundtrack don't forget).

[@B-A-L]

I've never heard of this game before and thought I'd missed out on a console flight sim until I googled it and turns out it was called Deadly Skies III in Europe and I have that! I liked it a lot but had problems with controlling the aircraft because they seemed to wobble up and down with even the slightest movement of the joypad. But yeah, the sheer amount of aircraft you could fly really made the game and you could fly them in space!

[@ZackeryStang]

We graduated the same year and its scary how much our story relates especially when you said how folks crack a smile when you bring it up in conversation... happier times, you just didn't realize it then

[@mavrick195]

I never got past level 2 of Air combat as a kid. But when I was red reintroduce to the franchise with Ace Combat 5 I immediately fell in love with the series and have played and bought every main line game since. RIP Chopper... why the fuck didn't you just bail out over the water 😢

[@fightertales]

Bad writing :/

[@DesertPunks]

After I wrapped up ace combat 6 as a kid I actually remember the marketing and release of ACAH. I still happily bought and played it, even if I didnt like DFM. But I did remember thinking it was a departure from the classics.

[@RobotPanda15]

Assault Horizon is probably one of my most played games due to the PS3 being one of my longest owned consoles. A lot of memories playing it. The soundtrack is in the top 3 of the series for me, and there's plenty of memorable moments in it. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Falcon.

[@DpNemo]

killing a su 57 with an f14, SOMEONE's channeling their inner Maverric

[@fightertales]

I was doing it before Mav made it cool

[@DpNemo]

gotta admit i always had a soft spot for the f14, such a cool design. i of coarse took it to most missions in AC titles@@fightertales

[@makeitthrough_]

Your pacing is really good, I was like "wait it's already been eight minutes?" lol. Subbed

[@RikkiSan1]

Im a new AC fan coming into the series only last year with 7 but it has honestly become one of my favs, and it honestly came to me at a time when i was going through a serious depression after losing my job and dealing with other things.

[@derptomistic]

My first experience with ace combat was an old demo disk from 2004 that had a demo for Unsung War Let me tell you, that trailer did things to me

[@deezn8tes]

I have vivid memories of playing multiplayer with a buddy of mine. He’d provide overwatch with the DLC SU-37, and I’d go in on the ground attack on the enemy base with a CAS-Spec’d SU-25. I think we MAYBE lost 2 matches total with that tactic…good times

[@LuxAurorae]

My man did you just compare ACAH to Cipher himself?? (great ending!) Nah but while I don’t think I look back on this one quite as favorably as you- DFM is just too much of a fly in the ointment- I certainly agree that it shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. If nothing else it’s a little interesting to see some of the more uh… manga-esque tropes the series is known for transposed into a real world setting, for instance. I also agree that there’s a bit of a double standard when it comes to the series’ storytelling and that too many willfully ignore 5’s foibles. These games seem to be at their most compelling when they experiment with unorthodox narrative formats, I think. At any rate, great video. I love to see any new discourse on this series since it’s one of my favorites now.

[@marshaltito7232]

This game was a lot of fun for what it was, especially since it was the first AC itch I got to scratch for a while at that point. But no Ace Combat game will ever be better than AC: Zero. Zero was the AC anime insanity game wrapped up in an excellent story with the anesthetics loosely based on the death of Yugoslavia. To this day, Zero is one of my favorite games.

[@ArchOfWinter]

The dog fight mode doesn't make too much sense in jet fighter / missile era. If they ever make an Ace Combat prequel game in a Strangereal equivalent of WW2, where close up analog bullet buzzing fighting is king, then the dog fight mode would make sense. But no lie, the helicopter mode was kinda fun. It was a nice break from the usual gameplay. If future Ace Combat game wants to break up the story into multiple character's perspective again, they should put in a few helicopter missions. Not just as a gunship, but stealth infiltration with avoiding radar, non-lethal chase to capture enemy escaping in a car, or giving covering fire before extracting allies from a hot zone.

[@fightertales]

It's not like the game advertised a realistic experience, to be fair

[@ArchOfWinter]

​@@fightertales There's realism and then believability. The tone of the game goes into it. If the story is less serious, then dog fight mode would feel more believable. There is a certain romanization/dramatic of air combat and pilots before the age of jets and missile that feels like the dog fight mode would fit more with. I'm thinking of swashbuckling adventure of Crimson Skies or some slightly more over the top Hollywood movies. ACAH doesn't have that kind of tone.

[@fightertales]

@@ArchOfWinter Top Gun got away with being too close, of course that's just a movie. I do agree that DFM would be more suited to something WWII inspired, though.

[@jparbiter1972]

My problem with Horizon is the dogfight mode made me motion sick, so i could not complete the game

[@f8less667]

Honestly I would love an Ace Combat style game set in real world scenarios again. A Cold War gone hot Ace Combat game would be awesome. Also I highly recommend Air Conflicts: Vietnam for you to check out. It let you play as both sides of the air war but it was limited by it’s time.

[@jephthaholt]

I played that on the PS3, was quite a fun game.

[@stevemc6010]

Strangereal had a Cold War between Osea and Yuktobania, so its proxy wars would be cool to see. Also a good reason to have old craft we don't see like the A-7 or Mirage F1 or MiG-23 (lol)

[@nickcher7071]

Idk, for me one of the best aspects of Ace Combat (and Project Wingman as well) is the fact that all nations and politics are made-up. Sure there can be simularities and references to the real world (like Osea and Yuktobania being US and USSR, Belka being Germany and so on) - but they are not outright our real nations. This greatly helps the suspension of disbelief and removes the great deal of possible issues like " *my country's name* is painted as baddies again so I don't like this game" We have enough of real world political shit in the real world already. Let Ace Combat remain anime lol

[@GaionSputro]

With China, Korea, and Japan as protagonist againt the west imperialism!😁

[@jeffstaples347]

YEEEEEESSSSSSSSS I LOVE THE ACE COMBAT GAMES I'm so excited to see you do some of this. Do more, pleeeeeeeease do more. I'd love to see you do game pilot biographies lol

[@ZKP314]

What people forget is that, yes, Markov has plot armor bigger than the USS Enterprise, but Assault Horizon was a game with scripted cinematic stuff, so the final dogfight does make sense for the game. Then there’s the final boss of Joint Assault, Sulejmani, who has similar plot armor in a game that’s not as heavily scripted. He’s probably one of the top worst bosses in the entire franchise, as you’re forced to listen to his sob story, and aren’t able to shoot him down until he’s finished. Context of what the game is makes all the difference between these two.

[@frostburn3736]

Thank you for this truly honest review of AC: Assault Horizon! There is still too much sh*ttalking this title today, and many do so just for the sake of it. *_"This game is more like flawed gem in its own right."_* Not the best or even great Ace Combat, but good enough spin-off. 🙂

[@barrybend7189]

Hey why not play Macross games on April fools. Would be fun since the AC original aircraft designer designed the Macross Variable fighters.

[@scarecrow108productions7]

Fun Fact: You don't necessarily need to use DFM at times. I saw one ACAH Playthrough on the Mission Aftermath where he finished that mission WITHOUT or even BARELY using DFM.

[@Jakob_The_Stoic_Norseman]

Assault Horizon was my introduction into Ace Combat and I loved every minute of it..the music, the combat mechanics, the way the fluids from another jet would splash onto your screen as you shot it down then fade away from sheer speed of the your own plane...Gods, if I ever get the chance to play Ace Combat: Assault Horizon again, I so am 😂 Thank you for remindin' me about this wonderful game 🤟🤙

[@fightertales]

Glad to bring back good memories!

[@TheKeyser94]

It was my introduction to, I loved the gameplay, but the story is totally bonkers.

[@rekthan_2333]

I didn't get to watch all the video. Perhaps there are so many things I have missed. But the ending, man... You truly know how to end a video. Great work :D

[@mikzpwnz_3199]

assault horizon legacy/3D cross rumble or what should be it's true name: ace combat 2 remastered. It was a 3DS port of ace combat 2 with not only an updated aircraft list, but a DFM inspired manovre meter that was completely optional (stay within a certain distance of your target for a certain amount of time, press a button to do a aerobatic stunt to get right behind the target for a killshot). Not only that, it stranrealed the story adding in enemy ace squadrons ala AC0 with their own unique tactics that you had to deal with and could break by downing the squadron lead. It has also a soundtrack which i swear was keiki Kobayashi's showing at range from better star wars music than john William's disney trilogy score to an actual rap song for one of the squadron themes.

[@mattador55]

I'm reminded of a quote by the great Pete Weber. "Love me or hate me, you watched. And that's all you could do."

[@horatiusromanus]

You know what? I had fun with the game, so it accomplished that. Plus, paper thin plot to cover for letting you blow up airplanes describes every Ace Combat game, and I love it. Not perfect, but still a good game.

[@JBRAI22]

It looked great and had good music but my god why’d they have to go for DFM?

[@Creeperbros74]

21:19 Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy/Cross 3D Rumble had similar color customization.

[@AURORAREVEALNOW]

Remember, Ace Combat Assault Horizon was an excuse for the orchestra to join.

[@bigboi2014]

I’m going to have to find my old, scratched to death disk and replay this game, it’s all I would play during high school, and I remember always using the trinity on the Russian base mission during the first ground strike pass, and I would always play the helicopter missions using the ka50, because you could lash bombs from it, at the time I though this was awesome

[@rekrapnosduh]

Please do the other games. This series is my childhood Edit: insulting Unsung War made me discover that I have a twitch 😤

[@RushZ3r]

That little reference to the AC:Z ending at the very end of your video was perfect lmao. Horizon was definitely a "unique" entry for the series to say the least, it had it's good and not so good. But really it's not that bad of a game after all; I do think if it didn't have "Ace Combat" in it's name it would've been treated differently tho.

[@Mobius_118]

My biggest thing about Assault Horizon is that it's a decent game, and would probably be viewed as such by the community if it wasn't an Ace Combat game.

[@valravnsshadow9422]

This game had the most intense and skill based pvp out of any of the games and AC vets and purists won't admit that.

[@spiritofnex]

Oddly enough, this is the game that got me into Ace Combat. Because I had no idea what an AC game should be, I found it extremely enjoyable. After playing other AC games such as 7, I can definitely say Assult Horizon is definitely a game. I wouldn't say its a horrible game, but it's not anywhere near as good as other AC games. I personally believe HAWX is better than Assult Horizon by far, but I still occasionally go back and play it, as it does hold a place in my heart for getting me into the Ace Combat series.

[@Klint_Izwudd]

I had never played any ace combats before assault horizon, I was but a spotty teen playing Hawx and il2 sturmovik birds of prey. I don't think I played much past the start.

[@Starwar111ITA]

I don't know if you'll read this, but I really appreciate the video! It puts an interesting spin on a very flawed game. My one point of contention is about AC5's story. Now, yes, Kono's writing is very often shaky, but I think that most AC games do something that other franchises can't really do (mostly because of the setting in which the stories take place, that being real life). The thing is that many war stories have to be either CoD-style good guy vs bad guy fights, or extremely bleak situations where there is no hope. The main thing that personally keeps me coming back to AC is the story; because it's corny, not in spite of it. There's hundreds of war stories that depict the bleakness of war, and the trauma that comes with it, but very few games manage to create a narrative of hope for reconstruction and camaraderie (I've probably butchered the word) that make you feel good (even if you've destroyed thousands of enemy planes). AC5's story is great imho because it manages to achieve that feeling while also presenting you with some really interesting characters and character moments (Nagase's plane gets shot; Chopper's final sortie). And sure, I can agree that it's got some pretty bad writing in certain places (looking at you, Harling), but I haven't yet found a series that can manage to make you feel like a badass fighter pilot, while also giving some nice anti-war messages in return. Might just be me tho in the end, would love to hear what you think. Appreciate all your videos, even if I'm mostly a lurker.

[@Nico_6967]

I see what you did with the outro. Well played

[@delta1404]

Best yt recommend I've had in a while. Never played Horizon but I have fond memories of the time. Part of my heart was forever left behind in the million-must-CoD era lol. Was never a skilled player , but I played the hell out of Joint Assault, ACX, and Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (now that's a gamd I'd love to see discussed). Since then I kinda forgot about AC till 7. Took me a while to realize AC's (and Horizon's) flaws, but still I was touched somehow and now I'm in my graduating year of aeronautical engineering. I realize I'm rambling with basically nothing to say about Horizon itself lmfao 😂. I'm just kinda fond of these obscure AC's. Just discovered your channel but I'll definitely be looking forward to your video on Infinity cause I basically know nothing about that game. Cheers.

[@fightertales]

Glad to have you aboard!

[@patking13]

I always say that if you just strike "Ace Combat" from the title, you've got a solid arcade air combat game.

[@jorikrouwenhorst7220]

Something I always think about is that Namco should look back at DFM, helicopter, bombers and some of the other stuff, because I think it can work.

[@meyers0781]

Not in Ace Combat no. DFM is successful in Mach Storm and Star Wars Battle Pod Helicopter is a neat idea, allowing better look at the environment.

[@stevenchoza6391]

Maybe you can discuss AC7?

[@thetrueinferno7993]

Agreed, to me its the weakest of the 'Strangereal' universe games. Properly Hollywood-ised, story falls limp and feels like it doesn't respect is history (G-DAM I SAVED HARLING 3 TIMES JUST FOR HIM TO DIE IMMEDIATELY HERE), I don't care about any of the character nor remember them and the upgrade system from AC:INF and its consequences have been disastrous for AC franchise.

[@stevenchoza6391]

@@thetrueinferno7993 I actually liked it; I remember a lot of it, including characters. And it’s still better than Assault Horizon. Also, you can’t talk of disastrous consequences for the franchise when there hasn’t been a new mainline title for the Ace Combat series since 7.

[@thetrueinferno7993]

​@@stevenchoza6391 Meant from AC:INF, changed the text now. Either way I just despise the upgrade system as it really just ends up homogenizing all of the aircraft, they can't really feel different if you can just change their stats on the fly, and their is no real sacrifice of choosing one aircraft over the other.

[@stevenchoza6391]

@@thetrueinferno7993 I have to disagree… they still can feel very different. For me, the most annoying thing was how AC7 rendered pure ground attack aircraft kind of pointless for the most part, aside from in Mission 8.

[@B-A-L]

​@@thetrueinferno7993 Yeah, I didn't care about any of the characters and the storyline was ridiculous. If I had been imprisoned for a crime I didn't commit and then forced to fly a jet to protect the base I was imprisoned in I would have bombed the hell out of the place and defected to the enemy and be hailed as a hero!

[@leandrobotchkarev7693]

Assault Horizon best moment, it's mission you have to defend a allied airbase from an armored attack, then land to refuel, only for the enemy try a second attack while you are on it. It's a blood boiling sequence where you see what the boots on the ground pass through, and you have to take off while missiles and shells try to hit you

[@BullDeerAryu_]

AC:AH may suck, but damn does "Dogfight" go hard... So does "Gotta Stay Fly"

[@shira_yone]

So true

[@Battlemage15]

My favorites will always be 04 because of the environmental storytelling and the fact most of it comes over the radio chatter. The radio chatter of Whisky Corridor and Siege of Farbanti make it clear ISAF is winning, but they are one small slip from utter disaster. ISAF is on their absolute last legs by the final two battles and Mobius One and their belief in his legend is literally carrying them over the line. Then you have Zero, which may be my second favorite game of all time behind the original XCOM.

[@meyers0781]

By XCOM you mean XCOM or X-Com? Loved XCOM series, any of them, but can't get into X-Com (which i played when XCOM was announced for release back in 2011) due to its terrible UI and how fragile the troops are.

[@Jaeger_Bishop]

I just hate the fact everything is scripted, especially with certain progression being locked to the Dogfight mode.

[@TheSpeep]

I only got into the series with AC7, and id like to try some of the older titles. The main reason AH doesnt interest me as much as the others is the fact it doesnt take place in Strangereal. Not that I have a particular attachment to the world, but the simple lack of the usual " 'Murkan" jingoism thats so prevalent in other genres of military videogames is kinda refreshing to me.

[@jakeverbakel204]

I think you summed that up pretty well. I remember being so exited for it and getting the fancy collectors edition, which makes it stand out on the shelf amongst the rest of them, but unlike those it just never struck a chord, and I remember it like a cool movie trailer I never watched

[@thespicer]

Haha never have I heard a better tag line for AC. Blow Shit Up, Make Money, Blow Shit Up In A Better Plane.

[@originalSPECTER]

I hated and still dislike the game, BUT its soundtrack was an absolute BANGER.

[@Hybris51129]

This was my first Ace Combat and even I know it wasn't quite like what I had seen of other Ace Combat games, but most importantly it was available on PC which is the single biggest failing of the entire series. I still had fun seeing how I can complete the missions with the strangest air craft choices or avoiding the dogfight mode to kill anything I wasn't forced to use it for. I will say that it never gets old using a A-10 for all the missions it was never meant to pull off.

[@Otterdisappointment]

When is this game going to be compatible with series X?

[@JacobT-1]

Had no idea there were arcade cabinets first. It must have been so cool to play in those cockpits at the arcade. "Air" Combat is one of my earliest gaming memories or memories in general. Had no idea it was actually just Ace Combat renamed for the US. 7 was the only ever one I got so it was a trip realizing I played the OG and didn't even realize it for a long time. BTW Ace Combat 7 is a better overall game than Armored Core 6 imo. Project Aces beat Fromsoftware. Anyways. Great video. The footage in this game just looks fun. It being based "IRL" must have hit you even harder when you played it first time. Instead of StrangeReal. Like, Hell yeah. Playing as an AF American shooting down ruskies.

[@meyers0781]

"BTW Ace Combat 7 is a better overall game than Armored Core 6 imo. Project Aces beat Fromsoftware" Bruh apples to oranges I'm waiting an Ace Combat 8 where players can assemble their own planes, color their own planes, and having multiple routes leading to different ending

[@JacobT-1]

@@meyers0781 You're right. It is like comparing apples and oranges. Your ideas for Ace Combat 8 would be awesome. I really do like Armored Core 6. To me, it just seems like less of a game than AC7. Like, Ace Combat 7 gave me a more complete and satisfying experience than Armored Core 6. Saying Project Aces beat Fromsoftware was just a dumb thing for me to say. Forgive my grammar in the original, and this, comment. Communicating is hard. Anyways.. Thanks for the reply.

[@AonghasMcTavish]

I gotta respect the nostalgia and the good points you made about Assault horizon. For me it was 6. With good gameplay and excellent replayability, albeit a weak story for sure. I played it for hours at a time with friends online. It suffered as an xbox exclusive being the first AC on xbox. There are design aspects that I wish were used in ac7, the operations within missions were a brilliant idea that allowed for lots of replayability in almost every mission. The story was, mediocre at best, bad at worst. With a game plot being the usual story of country gets invaded, turn the tide of war. As for the cutscene character subplot, it could have been worse, but not by much, the only real exception is Voychek as he has noticable character growth grow. Tge radio chatter in missions is at least ok, or in some cases good. Always love helping the armored divisions out. So I understand the defense of AH, as it is rather important to you and isnt quite as bad as it is made out to be. I still don't like it, but that doesn't mean it was worth the fandom bulling the dev's over it.

[@TornadoADV]

Why is it hated? It may be a decent game, but it is a HORRIBLE Ace Combat.

[@F-5E3_Tiger_II]

i remember this game being awesome, but I guess I was 11 at the time

[@yoshihirohino7522]

problem with this game was the auto healing and the stupid "dogfight mode".

[@wouldntyouliketoknow9455]

The ONLY issue with this game was that it no longer took place in Strangereal. 1. The dogfight mechanics were the result of AC6's pixel-shooting (in MP) becoming dumb and repetitive. When you make a game in a franchise it makes sense to try something new. Plus, the DFM look really cool especially from an action-adrenaline perspective. 2. The music was very good, better than AC7 and on par (a modern take) with everything before AC4. 3. The story was meh but again, it was not Strangereal, so...

[@windwalker5765]

I kinda liked some of the new ideas we got in Horizon, but I think they were laid on too thick. Dogfight Mode was okay, but I think it was overused. It needed to happen less often, like a handful of times in the whole game, never once per level. Like, imagine engaging Mihaly in those rock spires, then all of a sudden he drags you into DFM, you have to jink your ass off to stay alive, then you reverse on him. But then it goes back to normal for the rest of the mission. Attack helicopter missions, bombers and AC-130 are fine for one or two missions per game.

[@Seannessy]

Maybe it's because I happen to have fallen headfirst into a group of friends who are hardcore Ace Combat players but I genuinely did not know that this game was hated. It always looked to me like the fun plane combat game with the wacky lore and ungodly good music. Cool to see Falcon is a bit of a fan of it too :3

[@jarvy251]

Well that's the thing. Assault horizon was the Ace Combat game with no wacky lore and just okay-ish music.

[@Tman2bard]

@@jarvy251 Okayish music? I'd say its up there with some of his better works but in the end its a taste thing

[@OriKitsune]

Usually I don't comment a lot on KZbin but it's really nice and refreshing to see this kind of take with so much detail! I didn't know your channel before but I'm gonna keep an eye on it now. :> I do appreciate seeing the game taken fairly for both what strengths and weaknesses it has (and put a few pretty deserved reminders out for people in the community that definitely needed to hear it.) I still miss the co-op, capital conquest and all the attention to detail and insane level of customization compared to Infinity and even AC7, and honestly not having those is a negligent level of missed opportunities. I don't think anyone who likes Assault Horizon really even pretends to want it to be seen as anything other than it is -- "jet planes are cool": the videogame; and it was already fine at launch as just that. It wasn't Ace Combat, but it was *fine* and had good things going for it as a videogame to just enjoy the features of and have fun with. DFM aside, even with some slight adjustments it could be refined and improved (aside from that atrocious low FOV across the board with the whole game lol). I have a weird sort of nostalgia for it, and honestly I feel glad it exists since it was able to introduce some of my best friends to one of my favorite series in media -- and they've stuck around since and even revisited the classics on the PS1 and PS2. ( Definitely do appreciate mirroring Brett Thompson's ACZ narration with the closing words there. That was a nice touch. :D ) Great work, I'll definitely keep an eye on your content!

[@fightertales]

Thank you for your kind words! It means a lot. Comments like these really inspire me to keep going!

[@mk-ultraviolence1760]

Assault Horizon is what got me into the Ace Combat series and having extensively played 7 now I have learned to appreciate some of the things Assault Horizon did opposed to 7 (and by extension the other AC games). The main thing I appreciated is the story and setting it in the real world, Strangereal is a setting to me that with the immersion breaking inclusion of real jets and their real military designations feels like a throwaway which is even more so with the American equivalent nation always front and center going up against their Nazi Germany/Russia equivalents which is pretty much Assault Horizon or insert CoD story here. As one dimensional as the all-American badasses in Assault Horizon are, there is a face to them and it more feels like they are just doing their jobs whereas AC7 takes every single fucking opportunity to give you verbal fellatio as Trigger at every step with the part where if you shoot down an SU-57 being particularly cringe. Anti-War plots and in particular Japanese Anti-War plots have started to get under my skin because of how disingenuous they can be. For example take the princess, my least favourite character in AC7, she is strikingly similar Emperor Hirohito and Erusea despite having very Euro heavy trappings starts a war in a very similar manner to Imperial Japan. It stinks of gaslighting considering how Japan especially likes to tell its history.

[@fightertales]

This TBH. Controversial take but Kono is not a good writer when it comes to war stories.

[@mk-ultraviolence1760]

@@fightertales In my opinion the problem with many Japanese takes on warfare is how they use the horrors of war or even warcrimes as a whitewash. Always equal to each other with very little distinction between aggressor and defender. The "Why are we still fighting?" moments are just distasteful because of it. I will say though Ace Combat 7 isn't the worst war narrative to come out of Japan. That belongs to Gate, a manga/anime that does russian grade copium level apologetics for everything Imperial Japan did before and during WW2.

[@fightertales]

Gate is objectively offensive at times