Ace Combat 3: Resurgence Towards Revival?
- Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
- Dec 24, 2025
- 10 min read
Want to know a funny behind the scenes fact? I was finishing this article on the evening of December 11th, 2025, when I saw the official trailer for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve premier during the Game Awards live stream. This article was originally going to be about how a potential remake of Ace Combat 3 could be the basis for the still unknown plot for Ace Combat 8. What a time for a rewrite...
As a die-hard fan of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, I must say that it is rather difficult to not just bring this game up every few months. It is about as hard as not overreacting at the gradual changes of the Ace Combat brand's approach to sidestepping this game or lightly acknowledging it. I try my best to not just jump at every perceived head nod or indirect reference within the series and its massive worldbuilding timeline. However, the time has come for me to finally connect the dots and give a reasonable article on the perceived resurgence and how a realistic remake of Ace Combat 3 could work.
A Tale of Two Releases
Since its release, Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (1999) has existed in a rather unusual place within the Ace Combat series of games and with the fan base. Putting this in the most basic terms, without deep diving into the finer points of the story and gameplay, this primarily comes from the game having two starkly different versions.
The Japanese version or 'original version' has a full cast of characters, a choose your own path storyline with 52 missions, five endings, Japanese anime style voice acted cutscenes, and many other smaller features available in a two-disc game case. There was even an optional third disc that offered more content. According to the game, its timeline places it somewhere in the year 2040 and centers around the conflict between two mega corporations General Resource LTD, Neucom Inc, a peacekeeping organization known at the Universal Peace Enforcement Organization and a plot of sci-fi intrigue.
The second version of the game is the 'International version' which was exported to regions outside of Japan. A majority of that content was cut with what remains noticeably altered. It is a very different story only explained through text, 36 missions with a single ending, no animated cut scenes and not much else in the way of extra content. Everything fitting on a single disc.
It truly does feel like a completely different game when you play them both back-to-back.
Cut Content and Consistent Desire
I believe it is fair to say that a large part of the interest that has surrounded Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere lies in the version difference. The global inaccessibility of content from the original version was maintained up until fan translation projects like 'Project Nemo' in the 2010s and the 'load word team' in the 2020s. The free to download files the translation projects produced along with easy to access emulation software made it possible to play the original version of Ace Combat 3 with English, Italian or Spanish subtitles. Projects that explore the game's used and unused assets by creators like Khristy have further kept the Ace Combat enthusiasts engaged and wondering.
Once again, the fandom of a Japanese intellectual property went above and beyond to make something internationally accessible purely through passion. Call it a tradition at this point.
The big question still stands though: why such a massive difference between each release?
As of the time this article has been published, there is not an official company statement as to why it happened. Throughout the years fans of the series have asked Project Aces - the development team behind the Ace Combat series - if the game could be remade or re-released with full official localization. The common response from Project Aces staff members is that the team does not have the capacity to support localization of a complex title like Ace Combat 3, presumably while they are developing new games and concepts.
There are anecdotes from people involved with localization efforts in 1999 that say the intention was to translate the game in full, but Namco cancelled funding for localization early. The Skyward Flight Media analysis and free to download copy of the Ace Combat 3 PAL Press Kit goes into more detail on this subject with official documents showing localization being underway.
I believe the most realistic take on why localization was not done back then lies in the sales figures and the staggered release dates between the game in Japan (May 27th, 1999) and other regions (January 21st and March 2nd, 2000).
Ace Combat 3 sold around 1.1 million units combined between both of its versions. The first Ace Combat (1995) sold 2.2 million and Ace Combat 2 (1997) sold roughly 1 million units. If sales in Japan were not matching some sort of projected number of sales within a set amount of time, it is highly possible that removal of funding for localization was done by Namco over the perception that such a large investment in other markets may not see significant sales return.
While I have laid out my thoughts on this, do remember that this is strictly conjecture. Again, there is no official explanation given.
The Series Moves On
Throughout the 2000s the Ace Combat games released on the Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation Portable and Microsoft Xbox 360 brought new financial success. They also introduced the Strangereal World timeline, which rapidly expanded worldbuilding of the series beyond the loose storyline seen in the first three games on the Sony PlayStation 1 in the 1990s. In the 2010s a reboot of the Ace Combat as brand was attempted, new world building efforts brought in new timelines. Successes and failures occurred.
Game design wise, Ace Combat 3's formula was never really repeated. Story wise, it being set so far into the future in the year 2040, but not far enough to where it could be ignored, made it a difficult piece to fit into the new worldbuilding puzzle. The Ace Combat games that were released after Ace Combat 3 have done an odd waltz around its existence. It is a bit like when an author writes themselves into a corner in their own story. At some time in an earlier book they gave their story or world an expected outcome, but as time goes on the author's ideas change, new story or stories come up and somehow the author must avoid the ending they wrote earlier.
Someday it needs to be addressed but how and when?
Easter Eggs and References
From 2001 to 2013 the interest in Ace Combat 3 was carried on with fans asking the developer and publisher about remakes, the fan translation projects and now Bandai-Namco continuing to reference parts of the game with easter eggs or "non-canon" events.
References to the companies, organizations and systems of Ace Combat 3 have appeared in the Ridge Racer series, Tekken series and other Bandai-Namco owned IPs. Mainly in the form of logos appearing on billboards, car decals, etc.
The farthest outlier of Ace Combat 3 being referenced is the canon inclusion of the game in the United Galaxy Space Force Timeline. Something that includes classic games like Galaga, Star Luster, Galaxian and Dig Dug. In some of the games in this timeline General Resource and Neucom are still engaged in activities as far out as the year 2810.
In the games themselves, the Ace Combat 3 references continued to gradually build. Cargo shipping containers with General Resource logos appeared in certain areas of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2007). Aircraft of with a very similar design philosophy to the Radical Aircraft or R- series from Neucom Inc., a key organization in Ace Combat 3, appeared in Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (2006), Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion (2009) and Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010).
A military branch of General Resource was the antagonist in Ace Combat Advance (2005), though this game is not considered canon in the main series.
Though it also had its own timeline, Ace Combat Infinity (2014) was by far the most high-profile presentation of Ace Combat 3 content in the series since 1999. This defunct online multiplayer free-to-play game proudly referenced many Ace Combat games. It interwove certain parts of their identity into something new while providing players with a massive selection of aircraft.
These included original design Ace Combat only aircraft such as the R-101 Delphinus and X-49 Night Raven from Ace Combat 3. With faithfully recreated 3D models and reintroduced user interface from that game, it certainly was a stoke in the fire of Electrosphere fans.
Resurgence
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (2019) included so many direct and indirect ties to Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere that it is hard to miss.
In promotional and website material for the new game, Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere was formally included into the timeline. Both in inforgraphics before the game was released and after a major update to the official website in 2025.
Worldbuilding articles, a staple of the more hardcore Ace Combat fandom, were available on the official Project Aces website. They discuss the rise of General Resource and their indirect impact on the story of Ace Combat 7.
In the game there are two known characters on the side opposing the player that are important to the story of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere. They are referenced in cutscenes or seen in cutscenes of Ace Combat 7 interacting with the main cast of characters. They are also seen in the Aces At War 2019 book in artwork with an ADF-11 Raven.
One of the player's allies in the game is named Jager. He is the father of a person that would become a pilot in Ace Combat 3 flying alongside the player in that game. He frequently talks about telling his son about his war stories once the war is over.
In the downloadable content campaign, two of the enemies that appear, known as "Mimic", are General Resource Guard Mercenaries flying a pair of Su-47 Berkut.
And now, after the announcement of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (2026), General Resource's presence is once again seen passively in the first trailer released.
A Realistic Remake
This may sound crazy coming from a self-proclaimed diehard fan of Ace Combat 3 like myself, but a 1:1 remake of that game is not only technically infeasible but would most likely be a step back for the current identity for the series.
It has been a long time since 1999. The development team has changed quite a bit, Bandai-Namco is a massive multimedia company with multiple IPs, game development technology has moved forward and the culture of the world that an Ace Combat 3 was developed in has also changed greatly. Not to mention that the aforementioned worldbuilding that has become a core part of the series identity has done has evolved so much, not incorporating it into a potential remake of Ace Combat 3 would be tonally confusing.
Thus far there is only one real example of a reasonable remake of an older Ace Combat game.
It is not the PlayStation 4 version of Ace Combat 5. That is an enhanced digital port of the original PlayStation 2 game offered as a pre-order bonus with Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown in 2019. Nor is is the defunct mobile phone ports of Air Combat.
The best example would be Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble / Assault Horizon Legacy (2011). This remake maintained the recognizable plot points, certain missions and characters from Ace Combat 2 while expanding upon them significantly. New missions were made alongside familiar plot points, voice acting and some expected game mechanics that the series introduced after the 1990s. Even the new worldbuilding was incorporated in a way it did not significantly change the events of all other titles while firmly placing the events Ace Combat 2 directly into the main timeline.
A potential Ace Combat 3 remake would need to follow a similar formula with the biggest hurdle being its massive story and all the player driven options.
The complexity of the story can be distilled to a linear ending to fit in line with that Project Aces has been producing since 2001. Explained simply, the 'true ending' of Ace Combat 3 is that all possible outcomes of the game are a simulation based on events, known individuals or trends happening in their real world at the time. Each possible branch of the story was based on known data points with the player being the uncontrolled factor in how the story unfolds. The multiple endings are only possible because of the player's actions. With none of the events in the story being canon from this viewpoint, it means that there is no reason to abide by every small detail of the game from 1999. This could be the explanation to justify a remake.
The method to setting the story could follow the same model as Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble. Using known characters, organizations and key story plot points to maintain the spirit of Electrosphere, while filling the majority of the story with new missions or missions similar to ones that would be familiar to the fan base. Cutting down the 52 possible missions from the original Ace Combat 3 to a 20-something mission campaign that combines known plot points from all branches of the original to create a new set ending.
A more concentrated story could sidestep the need for a large-scale localization effort. More expansive details like the in-game database could be put onto one of the official Ace Combat websites instead of a full blown in-game database as the original did.
Development methods and gameplay can follow the tried-and-true original Ace Combat formula that Ace Combat 7 restored to the series. Project Aces would be unhindered by trying to repeat something step-by-step from the turn of the century.
Do I want a 1:1 remake? More than anything. But I also have to live in the reality that if the development team has spent over 25 years saying it is not possible, it may be time to believe them and instead check their track record to see what is possible.
With Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve being announced on December 11th, 2025, the hope for side-by-side development of a carbon copy Ace Combat 3 is definitely not a possibility. However, an Ace Combat 9 could be a remake of the unicorn Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere that captures the spirit of the game while providing new content to the series without handcuffing the development team.
About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
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