Ace Combat

• 1. Introduction

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  Ace Combat is an arcade-style combat flight simulation series in which a fighter jet can stall in midair, yet can also carry dozens of missiles. That mix of realistic flight dynamics and heavy firepower sets the tone. The games pair fast action with dramatic, anime-styled plots. Where does a series like this come from, and who builds it? What kind of world holds its wars, and what history left that world so unstable? Why do a few entries leave that world behind? And how did the series become one of the longest running arcade flight action franchises?

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• 2. The World of Strangereal

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  Strangereal is the fictional Earth where most Ace Combat games take place. Its nations, continents and geography all differ from the real world, though some places and events are loosely based on real ones. Most of the aircraft flown there are real models with few alterations. Others are prototypes that were never adopted, or were never even built. Then there are the boss-type superweapons, which are pure invention.

  Technology in Strangereal runs well ahead of our own. The setting allows aerial warships, laser weapons, railguns, and submarine and airborne aircraft carriers. It also holds orbital weapons, mass drivers, lethal autonomous weapons, nearly-sentient artificial intelligence and advanced experimental aircraft.

  Nuclear weapons exist in this world, but their development and use are implied to have been held back. International agreements and nuclear terrorism are implied to be the cause. Without nuclear deterrence, arms races center on conventional weapons. Large-scale wars between states become common. Nations field big militaries with varied equipment, build superweapons and train elite fighter squadrons of "aces." Some hire mercenaries to strengthen their forces. Two dates, 1995 and 1999, anchor much of the history behind these wars.

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• 3. Impact and War

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  In 1999, an asteroid designated "Ulysses 1994XF04" was on a collision course with Earth. It split into numerous fragments. Anti-asteroid weapons destroyed some of them, but others struck the planet. The result was widespread destruction and global crises. Most Ace Combat games take place after this impact. International tensions from its aftermath run through the series, and some superweapons are anti-Ulysses devices or grew out of them.

  The Belkan War of 1995 resembled World War II. Belka, an advanced ultranationalist nation, tried to invade its neighbors during an internal crisis. An international coalition repelled it. Belka then used nuclear weapons on its own territory to block a retaliatory invasion. That act brought its defeat, along with global condemnation and scorn. Belkan nationalists seeking revenge play major roles in some of the games.

  Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere shows where this world is headed. The nations seen in most of the series are eventually superseded by sovereign megacorporations. Strangereal was later placed inside Bandai Namco's United Galaxy Space Force shared universe, as its earliest period. In that timeline, the nations of Strangereal unite into a world government around 2090. Three games sit outside all of this. Joint Assault, Assault Horizon and Infinity take place in their own fictionalized versions of the real world, though with technology similar to Strangereal's.

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• 4. From Namco to Project Aces

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  Air Combat reached the PlayStation in 1995 as a launch title in North America. Producer Kazumi Mizuno made it as both a port and a successor to a 1993 arcade game of the same name. Its arcade-like gameplay stood in contrast to most flight simulators of the day. That approach became the foundation for the whole series.

  Ace Combat 2 followed in 1997, born from Namco's technical dissatisfaction with its predecessor. Designer Masanori Kato added new mission types, more playable aircraft and multiple difficulty options.

  In 2001, Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies became the first game developed by Project Aces, which was then known as the "AC04 Project." It arrived on the PlayStation 2. It was initially meant to reboot the series. Instead it returned to the structure of the first two games, with fast action, varied missions and a more linear plot. It was also the first entry to thoroughly flesh out Strangereal as the main setting.

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• 5. Squadrons and Callsigns

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  Mobius 1 appears in three separate games. In Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, this fighter pilot's legendary exploits during a continent-wide war prove instrumental in stopping Erusea's plan to conquer all of Usea. Mobius 1 returns in the arcade mode of Ace Combat 5, fighting Erusean holdouts. Three VR missions in Ace Combat 7 continue that fight, set five years before the campaign.

  In Air Combat, mercenary pilots are hired to defeat a terrorist organization that has seized the Skully Islands. In Ace Combat 2, the same squadron, called Scarface, is hired again, this time to defeat a coup d'état that threatens the continent of Usea. In Joint Assault, the pilots of Martinez Security, a private military company, are hired to defeat a heavily armed global terrorist force. Ace Combat Zero follows Galm Team, a pair of mercenary pilots who defend the country of Ustio and its allies from a Belkan invasion in 1995. That story is told through retrospective narration.

  Wardog Squadron carries Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. Its members uncover a conspiracy that is fueling a large-scale war between the global superpowers Osea and Yuktobania. Zero works as a prequel to that story, explaining plot details and lore mentioned in The Unsung War.

  Gryphus Squadron fights for Aurelia in Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, resisting invading forces from the neighboring country of Leasath. In Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, Estovakia invades its neighbor Emmeria. The pilots of Garuda Team lead the Emmerian effort to take the country back.

  Trigger is an Osean pilot at the center of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. A false accusation of murder lands him in a penal squadron, and he is tasked with clearing his name. The surrounding war pits Osea against Erusea over a space elevator.

  In Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, the country of Sotoa invades the Federation of Central Usea. A veteran squadron called the "Wings of Theve" resists, led by the legendary ace "Rex." The player character is Rex's co-pilot, who inherits his callsign and position after Rex dies.

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• 6. Changing the Formula

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  Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, released for the PlayStation in 1999, broke from its two predecessors' modern-day look with a futuristic setting. Its story pits the megacorporations Neucom and General Resource against the peacekeeping organization UPEO in a dystopia. The game leans heavily on story, with branching stage paths and anime-style video emails with full voice acting. International versions cut much of that story and material because of financial constraints. It was the last entry in the series for the console.

  The Xbox 360 hosted Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation in 2007, the series' debut on a Microsoft platform. It was the first title with online multiplayer and downloadable add-ons, both of which have since become staples. Namco Bandai bundled it with the Ace Edge, a flight stick designed by Hori specifically for the game, plus a custom Xbox 360 console faceplate.

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• 7. Names, Ports and Books

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  In Japan, the first game was called Ace Combat, while North America and Europe received it as Air Combat. The second game was initially set to be released as Air Combat 2 in the U.S. By the time it shipped, the series had switched to the Ace Combat name internationally.

  Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies became Ace Combat: Distant Thunder in PAL territories. The Spanish version was titled Ace Combat: Trueno de Acero, which translates as Steel Thunder. The fifth game, The Unsung War, became Ace Combat: Squadron Leader in PAL territories. There, the word "Zero" was dropped from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, making it the first game since the series began without a significant PAL name change. The 3DS remake of Ace Combat 2, called Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy in English-speaking territories, was originally titled Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble in Japan.

  Older games kept finding new homes. Air Combat reached Japanese mobile phones in 2005 under Namco's game subscription service. That same year, Ace Combat 2 was re-released for the PlayStation 2 through NamCollection, a Japan-exclusive collection of Namco-developed PlayStation games. In 2011, it was remade for the 3DS with new levels, an updated plot and new game mechanics. In 2018, Bandai Namco Entertainment rereleased The Unsung War for the PlayStation 4 and Fires of Liberation for the Xbox One. Both were pre-order bonuses for Ace Combat 7, with slight modifications to run on the consoles. Ace Combat 7 itself received a Nintendo Switch port in 2024.

  Aces at War: A History appeared with the 2011 release of Assault Horizon. This special artbook, packaged with the Japanese special editions, describes Ace Combat 04, 5 and Zero from an in-universe perspective, alongside production commentary. It was later updated and rereleased as part of a special edition of Ace Combat 7. In March 2012, ASCII Media Works released Ace Combat: Ikaros in the Sky, a tie-in novel for Assault Horizon. It follows the series character Kei Nagase as she takes part in the JASDF's ASF-X Shinden II fighter program.

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• 8. Sales and Staying Power

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  Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown had shipped over 7 million copies by 2026, making it the most successful title in the series. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies and Air Combat follow it. Most mainline installments have reached over one million units shipped. The games have sold best in North America and Japan, which together produced over 75% of all series revenue by 2008.

  As of 2023, the franchise had shipped over 20 million copies worldwide. That total spans eight mainline installments, multiple spin-offs, novels, model kits and soundtrack albums.

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