Ace Combat 5: What it Meant for the Franchise

As a franchise, Ace Combat has been critical to my development as an aviation enthusiast. It made me realize, after having liked AC04, that liking planes wasn't just a phase. It made me realize I was always going to yearn for the skies, to look to connect to the heavens at a deeper level. I first played Ace Combat 4, as mentioned previously, and it blew my mind with its engaging gameplay and surprisingly deep story. A story of a boy and an Ace, and the ways that war affects life within a small town. Despite me not grasping the subtle details as a child, AC04 still left a palpable impact in my perception of gaming as a genre as a kid. Now, when I got my hands on Ace Combat 5, things were a bit different. I loved the new 3D cutscenes and some of the lovable characters like Captain Bartlett, I will probably never forget how much I enjoyed the intro cutscene with the cockpit camera shots and the close-ups of the Phantom. Putting that aside, I did feel like the story was a bit off. Unlike with 04, all the events that the story told me, and all the cutscenes were about the Squadron I played as and with the protagonist at the center of it. That made the game feel different to me, at least in the way I engaged with it. I felt like everything happened around me, as if I was an anime protagonist. Thinking back on that made me realize something that I also felt as a kid back then: AC04 and AC5 are polar opposites. Both games can be qualified as power fantasies that let you play out your wildest fighter pilot fantasies, which was already the norm for the franchise. But just how they are very similar in gameplay, their stories are quite the opposite. Ace Combat 4's story is not about you as the player, the Storyteller is the protagonist and your rival, Yellow 13, has as much screen time as him. It is not a story about Mobius 1, or centered on him, but a reflection of life during wartime for combatants and civilians alike. On the contrary, we have Ace Combat 5's sole focus on Wardog/Razgriz and how these pilots single-handedly changed the outcome of the war with their skill. It felt as if I was watching an anime, which by itself is not bad. Everything turned around Razgriz, the President and, to a lesser degree, about Belka's involvement in all of this. It wouldn't be until I replayed 5 after having finished Zero that I actually started understanding these hints to a greater lore Credit: Warlock1281 @ Ace Combat Wiki It is a game that, upon release, could have left some wondering about the mysteries of the universe and the forces that moved it. Likewise, it also established the new setting for AC as a whole, Strangereal, and the factions that ruled over it. Even though the characters felt corny from time to time, and their actions and emotions felt very exaggerated, it is clear that 5 was made with the possibility of expanding the universe in the future. It planted the seeds of what Ace Combat would be, and the identity it would take on in the future. While I personally believe that AC04's story is the best that the franchise has ever put up, it is undeniable that AC5 played a crucial role in shaping the franchise. Was this good for the franchise? Could AC have gone a different route had they stuck to the older storytelling formula? I will leave those questions for you to ponder. For now, fly safe and stay safe out there! About the Author Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter  | Discord : Cubeboy