Ah yes Ace Combat (or Air Combat in the US).
The first Ace Combat for consoles, technically the third of the well respected arcade flight-sim, with Ace Combat (1993) and Ace Combat 22 (1995) both only available in Arcades.
For a first (console) entry, it really pulls no punches. It showcases the gameplay staples of the franchise, such as:
- a large collection of fighter/attacker/multi-role planes to purchase and sell.
- mission variety, from intercepting a bombing raid, to escorts missions, to search and destroy targets, to a ravine run, and an assault on a super weapon.
- and a Top Gun - style rocking soundtrack!
A gameplay mechanic that I think should be in more Ace Combat entries is the permanent loss of your fighters after getting them destroyed in a mission. They, of course, can be re-purchasable in the hangar after completing missions. Lorewise, it would (kinda) make sense, since you play as a mercenary to help combat an insurrection of an un-named terrorist organisation against some un-named allied nations.
But then again Ace Combat Zero and 3: Electrosphere, has you play as mercs for allied nations, NGOs, and/or Corporations, respectively.
While many would dismay this game's very primitive 3D low poly graphics, in reality, Namco merely ported Ace Combat 22 and sproused it up for the PS1, much like many of their titles in the early years of the PS1 (except for Tekken, since they used an arcade system that's literally a PS1 in arcade form). I think it adds to the charm of early PS1 games that it's underappreciated. It's like a showcase on how the game developers' thought process were back in 1994-1995 when making games for the then very advanced PS1 console.
Namco really done an excellent job in porting a more complete experience of Ace Combat 22!
The first Ace Combat for consoles, technically the third of the well respected arcade flight-sim, with Ace Combat (1993) and Ace Combat 22 (1995) both only available in Arcades.
For a first (console) entry, it really pulls no punches. It showcases the gameplay staples of the franchise, such as:
- a large collection of fighter/attacker/multi-role planes to purchase and sell.
- mission variety, from intercepting a bombing raid, to escorts missions, to search and destroy targets, to a ravine run, and an assault on a super weapon.
- and a Top Gun - style rocking soundtrack!
A gameplay mechanic that I think should be in more Ace Combat entries is the permanent loss of your fighters after getting them destroyed in a mission. They, of course, can be re-purchasable in the hangar after completing missions. Lorewise, it would (kinda) make sense, since you play as a mercenary to help combat an insurrection of an un-named terrorist organisation against some un-named allied nations.
But then again Ace Combat Zero and 3: Electrosphere, has you play as mercs for allied nations, NGOs, and/or Corporations, respectively.
While many would dismay this game's very primitive 3D low poly graphics, in reality, Namco merely ported Ace Combat 22 and sproused it up for the PS1, much like many of their titles in the early years of the PS1 (except for Tekken, since they used an arcade system that's literally a PS1 in arcade form). I think it adds to the charm of early PS1 games that it's underappreciated. It's like a showcase on how the game developers' thought process were back in 1994-1995 when making games for the then very advanced PS1 console.
Namco really done an excellent job in porting a more complete experience of Ace Combat 22!