As a lot of people noticed, Monarch's emblem represents more of a butterfly, than an actual crown. The alleged "crown" is doubled, and the underline beneath acts as a body of the said butterfly. Once you are able to see a butterfly out of it, you will never unsee it again. The emblem will remain a butterfly for you, not a crown. Yet try to retrace the steps of Monarch's and Sikario's journey through Cascadia. Literally every non-associated (including other mercenaries) callsign sees only a crown. Hell, even the members of Sikario also refer to Monarch as the "Crown". All of them see Monarch as a man of great ambition, some see him as a man of arrogance ("You don’t name yourself after a King without knowing what’s what. Either that, or he’s full of it."). Crimson-1 claimed, that Monarch called himself after a king. And Monarch remained silent. Because possibly only he knows (or remembers?), that he got his callsign... After a monarch butterfly. And like all butterflies, Monarch sought contentment in motion and flight. He never wished to be a top dog, he never made any claims for a metaphorical throne, he never spoke a word to anyone about power. He just did his job, and he did his job good. Perhaps, originally Monarch was an adrenaline junkie, that with time became mature enough to stay leveled, but too good at his job to try anything else. Just like a regular butterfly, he is destined to stay in the skies as long as his "wings" can hold him. Because that is what keeps him happy. Now look upon his colleagues and friends. Kaiser, Prez(ident), Diplomat, Comic. Literally all of them have names somewhat correlating with king's court. It is fairly possible, that Kaiser got his callsign just to mark himself at least on the same level as Monarch, mistaking his butterfly for a crown. And you have to admit, that in such a "high place", it is fairly easy to only see the Crown. Finally, here is the tradegy of Crimson-1. The Federation's posterboy, allegedly the best pilot in the world, the most known King of the skies. Until Monarch flies along. Crimson-1 from Day 1 saw a threat to his "throne" in him. He gnashed and mocked just to feel superior, just to calm down. Deep down below, after every encounter with Monarch, his inner voice at first whispered, then eventually began screaming "He is stealing your throne! The usurper, the false king! How dares he claim your birthright of Cascadian skies?! He doesn't belong here! Kill him! Kill him!" Crimson-1 became the victim of his own fame and glory. And the fact, that the one "challenging" him is not even national, but just a damned merc? An insult of highest regard. The irony is... The self-proclaimed king destroyed his own kingdom and lost his mind over an extremely evasive, but calm and unbothering butterfly. Just because he thought, that this butterfly named Monarch came here to become the King in his stead. Whereas it was simply... Flying. And in his final act of arrogance, befitting a fallen king, he performed his Coronation upon Monarch, admitting his self-imposed defeat. It wouldn't be much of a surprise at this point, if Monarch would take the metaphorical crown of a dead king off of his head, tumble it in his hands for a moment... And throw it aside, not interested in making his own court and entagling himself into the very same web, that Crimson-1 weaved for himself. Perhaps, this is where his final words with some additions would really take hold. "Remember me and my kingdom I destroyed to spite you." Only for the "usurper" to shake his head in mourning of innocents caught up in one man's madness. With a very simple question... "Why?"
This sounds like a sort of ancient story, basically how a King was loved and praised by his vast Kingdom, thought to live on eternally but when a Monarch butterfly appeared, the King, believing it to be a threat wanted it dead but in the end the only thing he killed was his Kingdom and himself, as a result of the bloodshed... Nothing remains. Sometimes I feel like we need more stories like Project Wingman. PW did a fantastic job in writing a moral/metaphorical story. Power can corrupt an individual. Jealousy forms, treachery becomes the only way to fight... Madness is all that remains in the end for one with too much power. At the end of the madness, ruins and destruction remains.
We will forsake our countries. We will leave our motherlands behind us and become one with this earth. We have no nation, no philosophy, no ideology. We go where we're needed, fighting, not for government, but for ourselves. We need no reason to fight. We fight because we are needed. We will be the deterrent for those with no other recourse. We are soldiers without borders, our purpose defined by the era we live in. We will sometimes have to sell ourselves and services. If the times demand it, we'll be revolutionaries, criminals, terrorists. And yes, we may all be headed straight to hell. But what better place for us than this? It's our only home. Our heaven and our hell. This is Outer Heaven.
The ending gets even more depressing, when you realize one fact. Both Crimson 1 and Monarch, are Cascadian, yet neither of them flies under the Cascadian flag. Crimson is a fanatical loyalist to the Pacific Federation. Monarch is a Sicario mercenary. Both fighting over the ruins, of their past homeland.
It kind of reminds me of someone's summarization of the Slave Knight Gael boss fight in Dark Souls 3: It's just 2 "nobodies"... At the end of everything... Fighting over nothing
@@DagobahResidentThis is almost like that too. Only instead of "nobodies" you have the most famous mercenary pilot fighting against the Fed's posterboy Peacekeeper.
@Nemesis Kid In a nutshell, Crimson 1 is like the Loyalist Americans during the American revolution. He doesn't want Cascadian independence. While Cascadians fight for freedom from the Federation's exploitation, he fight for not having a bigger conflict. But eventually his side lost and he's like "fuck this all, eat this cordium bomb."
As someone who's played AC6, AC7, Assault Horizon, AC3, and Project Wingman... to me, this was one of the most somber endings in a flight sim, rivaling AC3 in that regard. AC4? Mobius 1 succeeds in taking down Megalith... and receives a letter from the narrator, who saw Yellow 13 as a friend. AC5? Blaze and Razgriz Squadron destroy the SOLG while Harling helps to negotiate peace, but Chopper was lost in the war. ACZ? Cipher stops Pixy from unleashing V2 upon Strangereal. Pixy recovers and is forced to re-evaluate the meaning of boundaries. PJ was killed by Pixy's assault, and Cipher vanishes from history. AC6? Talisman and the Emmerians bring down the Chandelier thanks to Voychek's change of heart. Pasternak gave his life so that Toscha and Strigon Team could retreat. Melissa lost her husband, and Shamrock lost his family. But Ludmila and Toscha got their happy ending, while Shamrock goes to meet Melissa and Matilda for lunch. Assault Horizon? Bishop succeeds in saving the White House from Trinity. Guts manages to beat the odds and survive, and Markov threw his life away in his scheme to get revenge for his wife's death. AC7? Trigger takes down Hugin and Munin and prevents the drone uprising, but there were many causalities along the way. Brownie, High Roller, Champ, Full Band, Wiseman, Tabloid, and Wit. Mihaly is forced into retirement due to his injuries. And despite everything that Trigger, Avril, Count, Huxian, Jager, and Cosette did to save the world... it all inevitably comes undone in AC3, thanks to Schroeder's successor. AC3? The world is ruled by mega corporations. Technology is on the rise, and everyone uses it to kill each other. Nemo inflicts catastrophic amounts of damage to Strangereal, and it was all part of a simulation created by a mad scientist who wanted to kill one man for the sake of his dead colleague. And then there's Project Wingman. The Federation and Cascadia broker a truce, but Crimson 1 nukes the entire country with Cordium missiles just to force a final duel with Monarch. After a harrowing fight, Monarch emerges victorious, as the newly-crowned king above a molten inferno in the sky. Prez, Diplomat, Comic, Galaxy, Stardust, and Kaiser are all fine. Monarch collects his payment, as the deal as been honored. What affected me about Project Wingman’s ending was how quiet it was, with the burning atmosphere and the haunting music. You have the satisfaction of killing the maniac who blamed you for his destructive actions… and then you’re left with only your thoughts for company. There's Prez, but she passed out during the fight. I'd like to thank the developers at D2 for the amazing game they've given to the community. And I'd like to thank Jose Pavali for his work on Project Wingman's music. Project Wingman was one hell of a ride, and I'm looking forward to whatever you make next.
I just finished Project Wingman last night and I got to say you hit the nail here. Ace Combat has some pretty somber moments in it, but it always seems to end on a high note, or at least a bitter sweet one, where the day is won and you're the great hero. Project Wingman ends on a similar note of you being the victor. You won the war. You are the hero. You honoured your contract and got paid handsomely for it. But at what cost?
in regards of AC6: The thing that hit me pretty hard was the fact that Pasternak gave his life so his team may live, yet they just throw away their lives in the final mission for nothing. "Praise our generals who have given us a place to die!" Heck, Toscha even cries out about this madness and he is the only one of Strigon team who survives by bailing out.
I’m not 100 percent sure about this, but I THINK once you shoot him down crimsons fighter points towards the sunset, indirectly inviting you to follow him. That time when you got the mission over notice with nothing but that music and you flying into the sunset was unforgettable for me
Me: "Alright. I beat him, music turns somber, and the hud is gone. Must be some playable cutscene where he just trying to shoot me down." Crimson 1: "Predictable"
I literally had him first try and got to the very final phase, thought it was over. Flew alongside him as a kind of salute, but I was moving faster and got in front of him. Then he went guns and me with 1 hp just dies. "Predictable." I raged.
Hah! You fool! I have manipulated the game and your pre conceived notions of game design to lure you into a trap! Clearly the work of a superior pilot and master tactician such as me, Crimson 1!
Where everyone saw a crown, I saw a butterfly. “I see no kings up here,” because Monarch never never claimed to be a king, it was a Rorschach test that everyone craving power failed. His wings were small but would stir Cascadia into a hurricane, one that he could only pray would put out the fires after he was gone.
Monarch uses a monarch butterfly emblem although you can't tell, only by the tac name and just a butterfly emblem. Its really great how everyone in the game interprets it as a crown and king.
fuck that is some deep poetry shit right there. I also didn't see it as a crown on Monarchs tail. Though, I never made the connection of the symbol being a butterfly. But man, to think that Monarch was naming himself after a butterfly instead of a king. It makes monarch very misunderstood as a person, especially if everybody around them assumed monarch was referring to a king.
As crimson 1 fell out of the sky and fizzled out like a sun, only one man was left flying above the hellscape that was once Presidia. Only one man was there to witness his own coronation as the king of the now empty skies. And thus, Monarch bore his crown in the burning ruins of cascadia, ruler of the dead, owner of riches as cold and vast as the millions of ghosts that scream his name.
I wish i had recorded the moment he died on my first playthrough, he fell right in the middle of a lake on the city before exploding, quite cinematic, i thought it was scripted...
When I beat this game I honestly asked myself "... did I win?" Never did victory taste so damn bitter, and this somber tune goes perfectly with it... Amazing
I was lucky enough to play this in VR, and that feeling I got when I listened to this music and I flew into the sunset is something I hope I always remember
When it said Cascadia is in ruins I said "I know" when it said the war is won I said "everyone lost" and when it said contract fulfilled I said "I understand"
I love how PW treats war differently than Ace Combat. In AC, once the war is over, it's like all the deaths were nothing, and "the world is perfect once again" (for the next 6 years until another war comes, of course) In PW, there is no such thing. Crimson, driven by pure insanity and egomaniac attitudes, commits genocide in an entire city, just so he could be proclaimed the "king of the skies". The game ends with this sad tone as he gets more and more insane. It's kind of like a message to the player, saying "you did this. It was your wish not to have your wings clipped (not lose AC) that did all this". In AC, the last mission is almost always (if not always) a victory, but not here. This makes you (or rather, Monarch) question: *was it worth it?* In AC, war is reversible. In PW, was destroys everything.
@@Oclur Here's my take on it. AC: Tragedies come and go and darkness covers the land but there will always be heroes ready to rise up to the skies and bring hope for a better tomorrow. PW: Everyone suffers for the glory of the few. Was it really worth all this? Did you really leave the world better than before?
Crimson tried so hard to be king of the skies. In his last moments, after desperately trying to steal the crown, after realizing he was the king of nothing, he looked to Monarch, the one who carved out his spot on the throne that Crimson sought after, and asked that when the day comes that Monarch should fall; not to another rival, but by some grand force of nature, that this Nameless, Borderless King would remember this man, as the man who almost beat him.
@@michaelj.caboose3187 THATS WHAT V2 IS FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to be honest, this was a perfect slow-tune to finish with. The only sounds you're able to hear are just this slow, almost sad tune, the missile warning and the near-breakage clicking of your Controller/Stick/Keyboard. What a theme.
The atmosphere of these song is also remind me with Markov duel in ACAH which also has the same vibe as this, the only you can heard is the mrs koslav slow hymn with a eeriee'ish melody, missles warning, and deep breath of bishop, yeah i know the battle was a sucked AF because how scripted it is but we could admited it how great the fight atmosphere is
Pyrrhic Victory, we gain a empty throne, filled with charred and salted lands, the ashes of bones, blood of the fallen, of our allies, and the innocent, and the misery and emptiness of loneliness at the top.
@@ElementttH2H An not just for Cascadia. The war has triggered a new Calamity and though mankind is potentially far better equipped to survive it this time, the fact is, it is going to herald hard times for the whole world. The first Calamity wiped out most of humanity and it was 120 years before the human race began to climb out of that pit. To cap it all off, nations far from the war, looked on all that had happened and wanted to acquire Cordium weapons of their own, in spite of the nightmare they'd unleashed. Mankind barely survived the first Calamity, it may not survive the second
@@weldonwin For some reason, it escaped me that there will be long-lasting effects of Crimson's second "Calamity". Makes me wonder and kind of excited what happens to the world of Project Wingman after this conflict; what superpowers will rise out of the various countries, would a cordium armistice (via mutually assured destruction) occur just like what happened in our world, will a second "ice age" occur? Just thinking of the possibilities makes me restless. XD
@@stevensubianto9862 I get the impression that this Calamity wasn't as big as the first one, since that resulted in a nuclear winter referred to as the Long Cold and we didn't see evidence of that with this one. How ever, with the world so dependent on Cordium and Geo-Thermal power, well, most of the Cordium detonated during the Calamity and the Geo-Thermal hotspots are going to be really unstable and hard to harvest. We can expect resource wars over sources of stable Cordium and harvestable Geo-Thermal deposits, ongoing tectonic instability leading to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, land grabs to take and hold regions that are stable for habitation and for agriculture and finally, good old fashion score-settling, with nations all around the world, looking to take advantage of The Federation being absolute crippled during the war (The loss of Task Force 1 alone would be catastrophic for them). According to the Mercenary ending, the rest of Hitman team survived, and so did Kaiser, so they are likely going to be in the position of being the most highly sought after mercs in the world, but also considered harbingers of the end times.
It's over. He's been beaten. His craft is a flaming wreck he can barely keep stable anymore, and soon he'll crash down into Presidia. Or, at least what's left of it. He destroyed it all, all to beat that man, and he failed. Everything he had done, everything he had *sacrificed* for, amount to **nothing** in the end. All to beat the man who bested him Him, the poster boy of the Federation, leader of the invincible Crimson Squadron, the best fighter pilot in the skies...bested by a mere mercenary. He looked to his right to see the man now. The king of the skies, Monarch, flying in his F/D-14. He could make out the figure of the WSO, passed out from G-LOC judging by their slumped over posture, and then the man himself. Hitman 1, now the ruler over the skies, hero to Cascadia. What was left of it anyways. His plane had nary a stratch on it. He had bombed all of Presidia to lure him out, was given the single best plane ever built by the Federation, loaded with enough armaments to end a war on its own, and the man's plane didn't even look like he had been touched at all! All while his plane was now starting to dip downwards, unable to keep altitude anymore. He looked left now, to see the orange sky beside him. A geothermal storm, with the remnants of Presidia still burning beneath them. As he looked to the wasteland he had created, he realized how little it had all mattered. The Federation, something he had joined with aspirations of peace for his former homeland if it just gave in, had lost the war. Cascadia would flourish from this, with Monarch as their leader, while the Federation would stagnate, before finally being snuffed out, just like him. Two sides of the same coin, Crimson 1 and Hitman 1. "Monarch..." He said into his helmet, communicating his last words to the man who had bested him and claimed both crown and throne as the single best pilot of the skies. This was his Coronation. His hand was pressed against the cockpit glass of his jet. "When you hear the thunder...when the storm...comes for you..." In his last moments, he regrets everything. His betrayal of his homeland to the Federation, when all he wanted was peace and prosperity, his habit of picking fights with Hitman Squadron, who decimated his friends, and his nuking of Presidia, all to settle a grudge against one man. He had gone too far in his obsession to be king. And he would die regretting everything that had led up to this fateful moment. "Remember me." His last words to a man he once hated, but now saw as a reflection of who he once was. The greatest pilot of all. And his words were a warning to the man to never repeat the same mistakes he did, in case he ever faced someone just like him someday. To never again let another Calamity happen again. And to watch over his home while he was gone. He did not wanted to be remembered as a madman, but as the man who was once the greatest ace of the sky. And with that, he let the joystick go, letting his ship plunge down to bombed out ruins of his home. He let himself relax in his seat, accepting his death. He didn't expect Monarch to listen to him. The man was a mystery who never said a thing. But he hoped the newly crowned king would at least grant him this one last, final request. And in his last moment before his plane blew up in the sky, he remembered how proud he once was, to be called King.
The cycle is complete A New King has arisen A victory as hollow as paper A feeling of lost But the cycle must continue As a New Generation will come Filled with Greed and envy as the crown shines brightly. Then again, the king takes up his sword. He will face and win many battles, but it's only a matter of time Before the storm comes for him It has to be this way It has always been this way Since the beginning of time And Forever will continue
"Monarch... When you hear the thunder..." "Remember me..." In a flash, Crimson exploded into a ball of light, his insane ramblings finally stopping. Monarch paused, confirming that his final opponent was really gone, before letting out a long sigh. His entire body ached, partly from pure exhaustion, and in part due to the Gs he had been putting his body under only moments before. As he gazed out at the horizon, he began to talk to himself. "Y'know... everyone assumes my callsign refers to royalty. It doesn't." Quietly, he turned to look behind him. Prez was slowly beginning to wake back up. Good. He refused to lose anyone or anything else today. "It's about the butterfly. I'm always hoping that when I flap my wings... something will change." And it did. But what had it cost him, truly? A destroyed home. His allies unable to reach him. Just him and a madman shooting each other over Hell. Prez had fully awoken by now. Hesitantly, she asked. "Monarch... Did we do it?" "Yeah. We did." He affirmed. Now, only the unspoken question remained: _At what cost?_ Quietly, Monarch turned back around, facing forward. "C'mon Prez. Let's head home." Not speaking, Prez nodded in response as she stared at the charred remains of Presidia, and then the deep blue ocean.
Ace combat's endings: Everyone walks away holding hands and skipping around. Project Wingman's ending: The country you were supposed to liberate is dead. Everything is in ruin. Take your payment. (Yeah the cast survives, but that's beside the point.) Crimson 1's "remember me" sound both as someone being angry at monarch (because he snagged some title from him), but also himself after, maybe, he realizes how he led to his entire country to be wiped out, and his comrades' deaths. But it also sounds as some sort of request, from him to monarch, for hitman 1 not to become like him, and destroy everything he worked for, when, eventually, someone will come for monarch's spot. At this point, victory really meant nothing. Nearly everybody (in the city, as in civilians and troops) died.
Just one mission It took one mission to make a very good game into an utter and undebattable masterpiece and video game gem. This mission is a condensate from the entire team: The dev's mastery of the direction of the game, of its code, of its own rules to bring emotion to the player. The writer's mastery of the scenario and dialogues, "That's it, the war has ended? Just like that?" Yes it has. In one, incredible flash. And the composer's mastery of the music, of leitmotivs, of what message the game and its OST brings. Fucking hell you guys are a Holy Trinity. "This game isn't the perfect game we wanted", how can you be so goddamn humble after making what will probably be one of the best games of the 2020 decade?
For just a small moment here, I felt pity for Crimson When the two healthbars appreared, Crimson almost depleted and Hitman, almost full, I heard him say "Come on! I almost got him!!" Glancing down at those two bars, their stark contrast in mind, for just a moment I felt sorry for Crimson 1. A moment later, I shot him down, with the line "when the storm comes, remember me" hitting me like a truck What a fantastic ending for a fantastic game
I feel like at the end there, even in my rage at what Crimson 1 had done, I just wanted him to stop. I remember just saying out loud, “Dude, just stop! Please!” I felt like Dip for a moment in that I just wanted the fighting to stop.
I love all the people in the comments completely and utterly misinterpreting Crimson 1's last words. He's not asking you to remember him because of some bullshit about honor or memory. There's no last moment of respect shared between warriors. It was just two bad men hating each other until the very end. Telling Monarch to remember him wasn't a request, it was a warning. The Deal has been honored, and with it came anything Sicario could need. But eventually, they'll have to face the Consequences of Power, the same as Crimson 1 did. When the storm comes for Monarch, just as it did him, that's when he'll remember him.
Indeed He's saying "I fought for a chance To get revenge but i Was overwhelmed by power" "When you get that deal...when the storm of this war falls on you" "You'll remember me"
Monarch is definitely going to be up there among with the legends of the Ace Combat series' protagonists. Off the top of my head - Razgriz, Three Strikes, The Angel of Emmeria, Mobius, The Southern Cross; Nemesis, The Demon Lord of the round table, then Monarch; the King.
"Monarch...when you hear the thunder..." "When the storm comes for you..." "...Remember me." "A warrior who overthrows his own people doesn't deserve to be remembered..." That's all I can imagine Monarch saying.
I think people once said that Crimson 1 was just telling Monarch if he meets someone that could overthrow him, he should remember what Crimson 1 did when he met him. To not let his ego get to him and accept that some day, someone more skilled would take the crown
@@Loser-jh3tq Judging how he still speaks even when he knows he's facing imminent defeat ("Come on, come in for that kill you dog") leads me to believe that he still wants to taunt Monarch. He wants him to remember him so that he will always haunt his mind.
"I have faced no greater pilot, and killed no lesser man. He who brought death and destruction upon his own nation to sate his ego. To force my hand. And so, I will remember you, but I will not mourn you." "Yet while my hands drip with the blood of lesser pilots, I feel nothing but sorrow for them. In time, they will fade from my memory as though their lives were trivial, forgettable. But I'll always remember you: The Greater Pilot." "The Lesser Man."
And so, Monarch emerged victorious in the skies above the inferno that claimed innocent lives. And the one, bringer of fire, first as hope and now as despair, down to the blazing sphere it flies. The sign of hope that was once meant to rule over all of humanity Now burned down by the sparks no soul foresaw in the midst of calamity.
An empty victory celebrated only be the king during the coronation With cheers as empty as the void and voices silent like retribution. Lights of only cry and damnation fill the once prosperous land Now only lived by ghosts which walk across the devil's firebrand.
Heaven was nonexistent, as far reached as one can reach with no avail As the survivors only will experience the truth, seeing that hell will prevail. Peace is now a distant memory and the devil's wrath will never cease As humanity's forfeited will shall be quenched in hellfire-filled seas. Nothing is left. And so, Monarch left. The world in ashes... The bodies in slashes. And the minds... In calamity's binds...
*"Did I really win? Did I really do the right thing."* This sir is one of my favorite pieces from the game, made me cry, heck I feel tears in the back of my eyes writing this, thats how moving this song is, music really is an art.
My boyfriend sent this to me to listen to because he really loved the soundtrack for the game. I told him what I imagines or pained in my head when listening to it “Barren, gray, wasteland”
reminds me of what Pixy said in the interview he saw the aftermath of the nukes he saw that there's people living in this blasted wasteland he felt like everything he did wasn't really the right way to do it he then remembered his buddy Cipher
*Prez slowly opened her eyes, her head still numb against the cockpit as the sunlight shined on her helmet visor* Prez: _"Ugh... What.. happened?.."_ *She looked around, confused, then focused her attention at her flight lead in front of her, his figure blocking the sun in front of her* Prez: _"..Monarch?.."_ *Monarch didn't move, he was staring at space, but hearing his co-pilot speak made him slowly speak out* Monarch: "..Are you okay, Prez?"_ Prez: _"..Y.. Yes sir, my head is just a little numb.."_ _"Did we-... did you..?"_ Monarch: _"Yes.. i beat him."_ *He answered, a tone of uncertainty and emptyness in his voice.* *Prez stared at his figure for a while, before turning her head to the left side, seeing the barren wasteland down below* _"No...._ _Did.. did everyone-"_ Monarch: _"I don't know."_ *He answered quickly, his voice shaken a bit, he slowly looked at the sunset before him..then he closed his eyes and lowered his head* Prez: _"Monarch?, are you okay?.."_ Monarch: _"We won.... but was it worth it?..."_ *His hand gripped tightly against the flight stick* Prez: _"..."_ *She opened her mouth to say something, but the words didn't come out, there was nothing to say.. nothing that would make the situation better, because Monarch was right.... his words started spinning around her head as she looked through the cockpit again, staring at the inferno below, filled with the hundreds of lost souls below them..* *Was it worth it?... the war ended, but... Cascadia, Sicario, their allies, even the Federation... all gone.* *At that moment.. they were the only souls left in the skies.* *Reaching out a hand to his shoulder, Prez tried her best to comfort her partner... while also feeling the same emptyness he was.* *They stayed like that for a while as they flew above the inferno and past the harbor, going towards the sunset in the ocean.* *Monarch then raised his head, and turned just enough to get a glance at her, touching her hand in return, both comforting each other at that moment, till he spoke* _"..Let's go home."_ *Was the only thing he said, as his attention switched back into sunset in front of them* *Prez once again, leaned her head gently against the cockpit, looking up at the light shining on them** _"..Yes."_ *Was her only response as they flew towards the ocean, leaving the barren wasteland behind them..*
@@josevictorionunez9312 I know, but Prez and Monarch wouldn't learn that till much later offscreen i believe. So i made this based on the fact that they would've felt like they were the only survivors at that moment.
Crimson 1: I don't deserve this...... my squadron doesn't deserve this...... we are supposed to return to Cascadia as a symbol of firm, enduring peace...... Monarch: Deserve's got nothing to do with it. Crimson 1: I'll see you in Hell, Monarch. Monarch: ...... yeah.
1:18..."Trigger, if you can hear me...When you hear the thunder roaring at you......When the storms are raging......When the clouds turn gray......When the skies painted bloody red...And it's coming for you, and your soul, Three Strikes.........Remember me......"
After killing thousands, if not millions of people in this war, after besting the best and most devoted pilot that the Federation ever produced over what was left of the west coast of the continent, after hearing the last words of Crimson before going in his slumber.... theres only one question remaining. *Was this worth it?* To be honest... i don't know. Cascadia will regain it's independence, the Federation withdraw it's forces, but this doesn't feel like a victory at all.
I really wish there was an epilogue to show aftermath of the Kings battle, not just end it open ended with only questions. Hope, if they do Project Wingman 2, ending will be expanded.
Cascadia can rebuild. With is new gained independence, the actions of Crimson 1 only fueled more hatred against the Federation. States that once joined the Feds are backing out, leaving them to only its core. The Fed's nail in the coffin was the research, development, and usage or Cordium Laced missiles on an already unstable planet. If the people of earth can survive years after the calamity, then Cascadia will survive. The feds on the other hand, they are a target and they have no hope in defending their land, since all the mercs are in Cascadia now.
The King is Crowned once more. His Throne left in ruins by the bringer of the Cataclysm. A King once respected and feared across the Crystal Kingdom, driven to madness. Driven to Armageddon. The Crown wandered far from his throne, with nothing but his Diplomat and his Jester to accompany him. He wanted not for fame, glory, or riches. He wanted not for this Throne, but for the Sky. And the sky alone. But the would be keeper of his rightful mantle left it in ruins. Eyeing his Usurper as the villain, while slaughtering his own. The Crown only wanted to help the land he left behind. In the end, when the storm came, it was not the Crown that brought it, the King of the Hell below did. He brought the fury of the mantle upon his own people and blamed it on the Crown, in madness. But the Crown survived. Gazing at the blazing sky left in the wake of their duel. The King is Crowned.
And there you were crowned, above the blazing apocalypse. The last man on earth as far as you were concerned, you just killed the only other person you know was alive, the one responsible for all this. All the death, all the destruction. The war was over now, nobody won. Nobody ever wins. One phrase from an ancient time rattling around in your head. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown" Was it worth it?
Ultimately, Crimson set off the Cordium bomb in Presidia himself - though Monarch has killed hundreds personally, Crimson's desperate finger pointing is ultimately wholly hypocritical as he himself has fought as many battles as Monarch and is responsible for levelling an entire city of non-combatants on top of that. That's not a bad thing from a writing perspective though - his grief induced mania made for a very intense and unpredictable rival driven by misguided conviction.
Having a flawed person does not make a flawed character. I do wish that they kinda fleshed out his character a bit more though in game, then again with the budget they had, they did a phenomenal job at making a pretty good villain.
The tragedy of the situation is that, had Crimson 1 been as evil/cynical as the rest of the Peacekeepers, none of this might have happened. His madness and final atrocity is ultimately because he did live up to the ideals (or at least a portion thereof) that the rest of the Peacekeepers won't.
@@dy031101 If he really lived up to his ideals, he would've separated himself from the federation after what they intended to do. Since he cared so much for cascadians
Presidia in ruins... The world watches as Cascadia burns down... Two fighter pilots dueled in the skies, one for revenge, the other for survival... Only one flies out, a stranger he remains... This soundtrack almost had me crying at the end of the game. Amazing.
For all the undertones of needless death and futility, I can’t help but feel at ease when I listen to this. Hell, it’s FOR the dark undertone surrounding this track that I find it so soothing. For three long phases you’ve fought against Crimson 1; with each passing, the madman gains more tricks to throw at you while you only run out of them. He eats your missiles like candy and dances circles around you, mocking you over the radio, while you do your damnedest just to survive. Steadily though, your hits continue to land and damage mounts up, despite how outclassed you are. He feels invincible. My first run through Mercenary difficulty, I couldn’t even see the man for most of phase 3, just flying away at full throttle and evading myriad railgun blasts, only getting the odd missile off in a joust that threatened to damage me more so than I damaged Crimson. But eventually, you do it. With good timing, nerves of steel and a bit of luck, a missile lands and the Project Wingman MK 1 explodes into a roaring fireball. It’s quiet, fulfilling; the tragedy on the ground can wait, just for a moment, while you breathe and bask in your victory. The only complication is that Icarus Armouries are really fucking good at what they do, and sure enough, Crimson 1 tears out of a cloud of smoke pouring from his own craft, not dead just yet. You broke him. He has no more tricks to pull, no more accusations to sling at you. His only recourse now is to flee into the skies like a wounded animal, firing off his remaining weaponry in an attempt to get you off him, reduced to cursing and SCREAMING in frustration. It’s likely dawning on him that this final act of desperation achieved nothing but the mass death of his own people. It didn’t matter whether he levelled Presidia to the ground or not, Cascadia and their pack or mercenary dogs had sullied the reputation of the Federation regardless. The invincible façade has finally cracked, and now the both of you are even: you’re both angry, terrified, and resigned to your fates. So you engage him one last time. It’s similar to phase 3, Crimson 1 just boasts a crazier flight pattern, but at this point it’s just… exhausting. You’re two or three railgun blasts from exploding, missiles nearly dry, forced to stay on the tail of the greatest aircraft ever made in your battered F/D-14 to take it down with guns instead. The beeping of the missiles won’t stop, the thunderous booms of railguns crashing all around you, flying over the ashen husk of this city you were fighting to protect mere minutes ago. That’s what makes Coronation such a fantastic track: it’s just as hopeful as it is hopeless. It’s a song of fatigue, and the chance to finally rest. Presidia doesn't matter, whether your friends survived doesn't matter, whether you're still getting paid for this FUBAR contract doesn't even matter. All that matters now... is that it's nearly over.
Aside from Crimson 1, it really makes you think about the things that the game _doesn't_ talk about; although there are hints to the international fallout to the war, it never talks about the thought processes and the actions of the Crystal Kingdom and the Prime Executive. I have to assume that the Crystal Kingdom is a codename for the top government officials of the Federation, and the Prime Executive (which sounds _very_ much like a head of a corporate police state) is the one who leads it. And with that in mind, it sounds like the Prime Executive and his fellow leaders were just as crazy if not crazier than Crimson 1. You have to consider the fact that it is they who authorized the development of Cordium weapons (including the PW-MK.1). They're the ones who authorized the use of Cordium weapons against a major population center at the scale greater than a nuclear weapon without consideration for civilians, yet having enough consideration to evacuate all Federation staff and their families out of the area. And they provided the very Cordium weapons that he used against friend and foe alike. Crimson 1 was just a tool for the Federation. A tool that malfunctioned. That, or the Prime Executive wanted to punish _everyone_ in Precidia.
I think, for the sake of simple, sheer irony, where we as the Player refuse Crimson's last wish to remember him Monarch does that. He does not forget his name. Perhaps he forgives him, perhaps he doesn't. He remembers it for the rest of his time, flying like a butterfly in elegance- Or maybe while he continues to sit on a throne so many think he does. He holds no ultimate contempt to this man for losing himself- For destroying his own country- Perhaps he views himself in the same position. Perhaps he doesn't even care at all. All that is known Is that those reasons are up to you to decide.
Move General Shepherd killing Ghost and Roach. This ending really devastated me, in the way that even the war is won, at what cost. All you gonna get is a medal of honor and sums of money. But at what cost? The country you fought for is in flames. Your friends Hitman 2 and 3 gone. AWACS Galaxy gone. Prez WSO just slouching unconscious. And you just flying towards the sunset while everything is in flames. Crimson 1 mudering his last words. And at the end... you question yourself as a player, was this war worth for anything.
@@outwithjohn7038 It's actually quite awesome and it doesn't blunt the impact of the events. Hundreds of thousands to millions died in those Prospero and Presidia attacks. Any country on the ring of fire is suffering anomalous storms and hellscape terrain. But yeah, you did your part and Cascadia won. The Federation exhausted its military force and ruined its reputation in the process.
Staring at the cordium ravaged landscape of Presidia I can't help but wonder at how sadly on the nose some Casacadian merc's comments about Monarch being the King of Hell are.
Jose, I did a bit of writing about the OST on the PW Reddit and I thought I'd share it with you here. Coronation is where the ideal of the heroic battle against evil collides with the grim reality of two men beating each other to death. It's the sound of being committed to that man's death over your own survival. Blurry vision, ringing ears, everything's bright, everything hurts. Lactic acid fills your muscles as another blow shakes your flesh. Your hand weighs 100lbs and it takes every fiber of your being to lift it up and throw it at that man's face. A voice in your head coaching you, "Good, do it again. Lift your hands back up". The feeling of your body shutting down. Stumbling gait leading to bodies crashing and shoving. He's on the floor, your hands around his neck. The light leaves his eyes and as it does, the darkness comes for you as well. And that's why King's transition into Coronation marks one of the greatest uses of a soundtrack in a game.
I played many games with endings that made me feel. Happy, sad, triumphant, defeated, jubilant, angry. But I cannot recall a game that made me feel **empty**. That's what Project Wingman did. This silly, indie, action packed game about doing impossible aerial stunts in a fighter jet just had me sit and stare at the final score screen. I wish I could forget it just so I could get that feeling again. So surreal.
I like the fact that project wingman has a kinda sad ending unlike ace combat that that usually always has a heroic or happy ending but for this game when u shoot down crimson u start to feel regret as he says some words that make you self reflect and regret your actions.
I can personally picture Monarch telling Crimson 1 right before he shoots him down. Monarch: Crimson.....Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
This was not the end of the war for independence, that ended mere minutes earlier. This wasn't even an honorable duel to determine the rightful king of the skies. This was putting down a madman who had lost himself completely to the delusion that this war was a personal sleight against him. There is no question of whether this was worth it, it needed to happen or millions more would likely die. The tragic irony that when it comes to his own death, he, solely, was responsible for this.
exactly, so many people pretending crimson has deep statements, but in the end they are all his delusions, his belief that monarch entered this war to prove himself the best monarch joined cause he is getting paid. Crimson is desperately searching for some meaning or honour, or failing that, someone to blame after what he did. He went insane during the war, and in those final moments, the devs could have copped out, made him realize his insanity, and gave him a final chance at redemption. Instead they didnt. He was insane, caught in his own mythos and rationale unto the end. Even his last words paints their fight as some struggle for who is the best, when it clearly isnt. Monarch is just a soldier, Crimson is trying to make the war some grand thing. That is the message of the game, war is ugly. There is no victory, only degrees of defeat. When it is all over, millions of Cascadians died, the federation is falling apart, the port you hit is going to need decades of cleanup, the long-range communication array is gone, energy and cordium mining infrastructure has been destroyed, wildfires have claimed massive amounts of land, the 2nd cataclysm has claimed the rest. Leadership on both sides has been annihalated during the final battle. No one won.
I love how slow paced this song is compared to the one in the first 3 phases of the fight. It perfectly encapsulates how weak, slow and pathetic crimson 1 is in the 4th phase. How he's barely hanging on by a thread whilst continually getting hammered. How crimson 1's loss is practically inevitable. How the boss battle went from a knife fight in a phone booth to a one sided test of endurance.
Fan-fucking-tastic job. I've played ace combat since Ace Combat 2. I loved every second of this game. It's unbelievable that you guys did what you did with what you had. Incredible even. Kudos to you and your entire team. Didnt even hear about the game until a few weeks ago but after I saw it I knew I had to have it. It goes up there with my favorite Ace Combat game- Zero. No matter what you guys end up doing with your lives just know that this thing right here? Masterpiece.
Jeez what an ending. I was expecting a dual to the death and I got it... But I wasn't expecting the bittersweet finish. The death of all those soldiers, the radio silence from your team, Crimson's desperation and obsession with stopping you. Sure, we won, but what did we win exactly? I love this game so much and can't wait for more.
And for a moment, Crimson 1 shone bright, another sun over the ruins of Presidia. Another star in the sky, shining brilliantly before fading into dust.
I've never hated a fictional character as much as Crimson 1. in the end, he won. his final request was to be remembered. with what he did, his maddened quest for validation and pride which cost the homes and lives of millions, it is impossible to deny him that. killing him fixed nothing, and his actions will haunt cascadia and the federation for untold lengths of time.
Even though Crimson 1 was the enemy, his death kind of made me want to cry. With his dying breaths he realized what he had become, what he and you/ Monarch had become. And with his last breath he tried to warn you not to go as far as he had, to be better, even after everything you had done. And the music only helped to emphasize that emotion, the dread, the regret. Jose Pavli, the music you mad helped this game be as good as it is. Without YOUR music, the game wouldn’t be the same. Even when I was getting my rear end handed to me because I had the wrong load out or the wrong aircraft, or just wasn’t skilled enough yet, I never got mad. I had fun even when I was losing, all because of your music.
I know Monarch canonically survives, but hearing this music after breaking through the cloud layer to fly towards the sun, It made me imagine a scene of Monarch's 'death'. Plus the fact that I only had like, 10 hp left. Monarch sustained fatal injuries during the duel, even if he ejects now, there aren't any survivors on the ground that could help him and the closest air strip is too far away for him get too before blood loss makes him lose consciousness. Prez wakes up, and after an emotional farewell, ejects. Her parachute deploys, and she watches as Monarch's plane soars off into the distance, soon becoming a speck against the sunset. Monarch takes a deep breath, leans back and enjoys his final moments with clear skies all around him. Below him, he hears the thunder of the anomalous storm, and he remembers Crimson. He feels satisfaction for avenging all of the lives he took in his madness, an act of 'heroism' that may not be remembered, perhaps not even himself. Perhaps Crimson was right. In the end, he was just a Merc, not a King. He passes out, and his plane slowly dips into the clouds. Gone.
Hitman 1 | Monarch Heh, it seems like he really did get me this time... Must be having a post-mortem satisfaction. All I'm happy for is that Prez is ok and Cascadia is free. Guess Klara was right. It's time for me to "punch out". I'm sorry Robin. (Offline)
In my personal Experience against Crimson , I brought with me a Tomcat to pull out my time as a member of the Razgiz Squadron in AC5. But as the fighting went on Prez Couldn't handle the circumstances and went limb because of the G-log, and I couldve sworn that the moment she lost consciousness The plane felt heavier than before. It got to the point to where each turn was absolutely painful to witness as I could only imagine what sort of pressure was being put on not only the almost destroyed Jet , but on both Monarch and Prez and in a rare moment of desperation where in each agonizing turn I took I gritted my teeth and muttered "Just a little more" I've never had a moment as somber or as desperate as i did with this game and really felt that Hitman 1 was suppose to die in this moment. However i managed to pull the clutch and felt relived as the Jet was 1 missile away from obliteration. Despite my Issues with Crimson 1 being an absolute edgelord, he was a darn good pilot who got his hands on the right plane. It's just unfortunate, or maybe fortunate depending on circumstances, that both him and Monarch were born in the same timespan.
tbh the way this song conveys the sort of realization that the fight between both crimson 1 and monarch is completely pointless as cascadia had effectively been destroyed is just top notch, really beautiful music
When I finally killed Crimson, I didn’t feel fulfilled, I didn’t feel proud, I didn’t feel satisfied. I felt regret, I felt despair. The person I grew to hate, I grew to dread over the course of the game, finally defeated, and I felt like I had done the wrong thing. Crimson’s last words would have come off as a cheesy villain quote, but the music gave his words weight. The emotional impact of the game is what made it good, and the music made it hit so much harder. Thank you Jose Pavli, for making PW a one-of-a-kind experience.
"It may be true the world has no need of borders. But would getting rid of them really change anything? The world won't change for the better until we trust people. Trust is vital in a peaceful world... *...But that will never happen."*
Ace Combat 7 Ending: You are the Pilot with Three Strikes, an avenging angel on wings of fire and a heart of thunder and no power in creation can stop you Project Wingman Ending: You are the king of the dead, utterly alone in an empty sky, above a land of fire and destruction, with only ashes and empty gold for comfort...
When i fought him on his last phase, this soundtrack kicked in, C1 screaming of rage trying to hit me. He had low health, i had low health. It was like two enemies both with cuts and fucked up injuries were fighting while bleeding, trying to end this, when he got defeated and he said his last words it was just depressing, you won yeah but, at what cost? Then his plane blows up and you're just there, alone flying above Persidia's ruins...
This song struck such a right tone after that battle, it made me tear up feeling just how hollow of a victory it was. The words from Crimson 1, the music, the endless sea of orange and the burning city underneath you... Thank you so much for this OST
This song to me signifies “This is it”. The world has ended at the hands of a psychopath and a mercenary. No federation, no Cascadia, no nothing. Just Monarch and Crimson
I used a 2 seater on my first play through the F14 specifically, and even then, I never felt so cold in a game so alone, even with her in the other seat I felt like I needed to fly to run not because of an enemy but I just needed to run away..God I loved the game and the music still gives me those chills.
Monarch: “When history recalls what happened here Crimson, all you will be remembered as is a sad, pathetic man drenched with the blood of thousands. And for what?”
Two things: god that little allusion to the feelgood leitmotif (i like to refer to it as the clear skies motif) but in minor key is *ouch* I didn't notice it ingame but damn. Two: man, crimson is such an interesting villain. Especially with how all throughout this fight he's going through the stages of grief. Denial and rage are obvious. Bargaining doesn't really work here. Depression is basically all of corronation until his final line. "When blah blah blah *remember me.*" I imagine if he had more time he might add 'and don't repeat my mistakes when your throne is challenged.'
When I was playing the game, I thought the BSO wasn't outstanding, it just fitted and sounded well enough. As missions progressed you surprised me with very good tracks. But this one, together with the moment hit just right. It hurt to hear. This song, is very powerful Mr. Pavli. Good job, I hope they get you for the sequel (I hope!). Thank you for your work!
SPOILERS What if the "Deal" was for sicario to Nuke presidia Crimson 1 seems to be blaming you for the fallout in his lines in the fight which can either be interpreted as him blaming you for pushing him to that point, or that you are actualy at fault This would work if you interpret the files, as the public report/perception of what happened and not Hard cannon fact as they mention that Crimson1 is listed as the one who nuked Presidia, but they also list that Hitman squadron is on a wanted list by Cascadian military.
Monarch never was attempting to be a king, he was just doing a contract. I think this can be hinted by how his emblem also resembles a butterfly. Yet after constant battles and the war turning against the Federation. Both sides saw him as such, to the very end with Crimson 1 fighting him for the throne. Despite winning it in the end, he never wanted it so now, he must sit on a throne of the dead. But that's just my take on it.
yeah I remember after the first mission you encounter crimson, the debrief states that, “he (crimson 1) is considered to be the top ace in the world”. After being driven back by you twice (three times if you chose to fight in Yellowstone) his pride may have pushed him to take drastic measures to regain his reputation
This music perfectly encapsulates the feeling of desperation from Crimson I, when I was playing at this segment I couldn't help but feel sad for him. He tried to beat Monarch, and that goal overtook his soul and made him mad with obsession, going so far to nuke a city full of surrendered allies in his own birthplace of Cascadia. When he finally gives up and delivers his dying line, it really struck, and made for an excellent conclusion to his character arc.
When I got to this part yesterday it made me feel bad for Crimson, he said nothing, I only heard his screams, frustrations, and his panicking. Made me feel even more hollow after the ending since he wasn't even a challenge, I beat him on my first try with 95 health left on hard. Made me feel like I was chasing down a desperately fighting pest rather than the climatic duel that was so hyped up.
I know this is Like a year or two ago but, the music made me think "did I win?" I honestly got sad because of the ending. Your music portrayed that. You sir deserve one hell of rating, 5 stars, Plat medal. I actually had emotions for a damn game.
Crimson 1 is an example of someone with anger, depression, and jealousy. He lost so much due to Monarch and failed multiple times to defeat him. He spends the whole time during "Kings" trying to make Monarch feel bad, but if you really think about it, It's almost as if he's trying to convince himself Monarch is the bad guy, not him. He accepts his fate in the end, but still blames Monarch for everything....
honestly playing this game with a flight stick when I'm sleepy is just something else. Sometimes I literally pass out when turning in circles. And ofc the pain of constantly pulling the stick kinda hurts my fingers. When crimson 1 goes down and I go on a level flight above the clouds, the relief is real.
I'd like to make a little dialogue out of this last dog-fight: "Remember me," were the final words of a king whose place in the skies was never his, neither for Monarch. That imaginary crown falls off his corpse when he loses to a usurper, a butterfly that found its place in the heavens, but at the wrong time and with the wrong people. Monarch is the name of a butterfly whose wings seek change when they spread their wings. But that monarch butterfly only encountered death and destruction in its path. Monarch silently admires the fireball of Crimson-1's bird. He won, but it's a victory he never thought he'd feel so... Empty. A few moments ago he was fighting to end the war. Months ago, he was fighting for money on his own. But this fight was for justice, or so he thought. His F/D-14 flies in the direction of the sun, taking off the oxygen mask and asking himself only one thing: I won, but at what cost? That place he called home before Sicario is now in ruins. Innocent lives paid the ultimate price and there is no turning back. The Federation surrendered and Cascadia prevailed, but it did not last. So many emotions in his chest, the pain in his body from resisting so much g-forces and the possibility that his friends are dead... He lets go of flight control and surrenders his hands on top of her lap, as if he's giving up. He never wanted that throne. He never wanted all this chaos and the weight of Crimson-1's words weighs on him. He wants to think he's lying, but what if it's true? What if his arrival in this war caused all this chaos? -No-he murmurs-, don't think of that. He never knew anything of me. He says to himself, trying to find comfort in his crisis. He lets out another sigh, this time heavier and more full of feeling. He feels like he's going to cry out of desperation. The WSO cockpit starts to shake a little. Prez begins to move, grunting out of the pain all over her body. Monarch is startled and smiles broadly when he sees that his companion is awakening. -Prez, you okay? She grunts a little more before answering, letting her back touch the back of the seat. -Is this heaven?-she asks. Monarch lets out a small laugh as he settles into his seat, grabbing the flight stick with both hands, ready to change course. -We're still alive-he answers while he looks to the clouds beneath them. Orange lightning strikes the ground and the surface is cracked with infernal fires-, but the others... We need to search for them. Even though she's been knocked out for most of the fight, possibly with her body more sore than Monarch's, she takes her seat. Radars are still broken, but they still have eyes. -When we finish, can we open that bottle of red wine?-even in such a situation, she remains the same. Monarch smiles slightly as he puts the oxygen mask back on. The F/D-14's wings are intact and there is enough fuel to search for Diplomat, Comic, Galaxy, and Kaiser. He doesn't care about the contract anymore. He wants to go home with them. -Sure thing-and the plane descends. Monarch's maneuver is more soft than his previous sorties because of the exhausting battle and to take care of Prez. When his wings penetrates the clouds, they will go through hell and ash in search of his friends.
![Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor) - [Super Extended]](/img/n.gif)
Crimson 1’s ultimate move that actually got everyone when using this:
Depressing second thoughts
As a lot of people noticed, Monarch's emblem represents more of a butterfly, than an actual crown. The alleged "crown" is doubled, and the underline beneath acts as a body of the said butterfly. Once you are able to see a butterfly out of it, you will never unsee it again. The emblem will remain a butterfly for you, not a crown.
Yet try to retrace the steps of Monarch's and Sikario's journey through Cascadia. Literally every non-associated (including other mercenaries) callsign sees only a crown. Hell, even the members of Sikario also refer to Monarch as the "Crown". All of them see Monarch as a man of great ambition, some see him as a man of arrogance ("You don’t name yourself after a King without knowing what’s what. Either that, or he’s full of it."). Crimson-1 claimed, that Monarch called himself after a king.
And Monarch remained silent. Because possibly only he knows (or remembers?), that he got his callsign... After a monarch butterfly. And like all butterflies, Monarch sought contentment in motion and flight. He never wished to be a top dog, he never made any claims for a metaphorical throne, he never spoke a word to anyone about power. He just did his job, and he did his job good. Perhaps, originally Monarch was an adrenaline junkie, that with time became mature enough to stay leveled, but too good at his job to try anything else. Just like a regular butterfly, he is destined to stay in the skies as long as his "wings" can hold him. Because that is what keeps him happy.
Now look upon his colleagues and friends. Kaiser, Prez(ident), Diplomat, Comic. Literally all of them have names somewhat correlating with king's court. It is fairly possible, that Kaiser got his callsign just to mark himself at least on the same level as Monarch, mistaking his butterfly for a crown. And you have to admit, that in such a "high place", it is fairly easy to only see the Crown.
Finally, here is the tradegy of Crimson-1. The Federation's posterboy, allegedly the best pilot in the world, the most known King of the skies. Until Monarch flies along. Crimson-1 from Day 1 saw a threat to his "throne" in him. He gnashed and mocked just to feel superior, just to calm down. Deep down below, after every encounter with Monarch, his inner voice at first whispered, then eventually began screaming "He is stealing your throne! The usurper, the false king! How dares he claim your birthright of Cascadian skies?! He doesn't belong here! Kill him! Kill him!" Crimson-1 became the victim of his own fame and glory. And the fact, that the one "challenging" him is not even national, but just a damned merc? An insult of highest regard.
The irony is... The self-proclaimed king destroyed his own kingdom and lost his mind over an extremely evasive, but calm and unbothering butterfly. Just because he thought, that this butterfly named Monarch came here to become the King in his stead. Whereas it was simply... Flying. And in his final act of arrogance, befitting a fallen king, he performed his Coronation upon Monarch, admitting his self-imposed defeat.
It wouldn't be much of a surprise at this point, if Monarch would take the metaphorical crown of a dead king off of his head, tumble it in his hands for a moment... And throw it aside, not interested in making his own court and entagling himself into the very same web, that Crimson-1 weaved for himself. Perhaps, this is where his final words with some additions would really take hold. "Remember me and my kingdom I destroyed to spite you." Only for the "usurper" to shake his head in mourning of innocents caught up in one man's madness. With a very simple question...
"Why?"
Beautiful discussion there
👏👏👏 beatifully written
write a book, you'll go considerably far
I'm saving this
This sounds like a sort of ancient story, basically how a King was loved and praised by his vast Kingdom, thought to live on eternally but when a Monarch butterfly appeared, the King, believing it to be a threat wanted it dead but in the end the only thing he killed was his Kingdom and himself, as a result of the bloodshed... Nothing remains.
Sometimes I feel like we need more stories like Project Wingman. PW did a fantastic job in writing a moral/metaphorical story.
Power can corrupt an individual. Jealousy forms, treachery becomes the only way to fight... Madness is all that remains in the end for one with too much power. At the end of the madness, ruins and destruction remains.
Ace Combat: War is bad, but we can work together for peace.
Project Wingman: Everyone suffers for the glory of a few. Your Contract is fulfilled.
Project Wingman: everybody suffers for the glory of Crimson 1
It's not about what's right. It's about what is.
We will forsake our countries. We will leave our motherlands behind us and become one with this earth. We have no nation, no philosophy, no ideology. We go where we're needed, fighting, not for government, but for ourselves. We need no reason to fight. We fight because we are needed. We will be the deterrent for those with no other recourse. We are soldiers without borders, our purpose defined by the era we live in. We will sometimes have to sell ourselves and services. If the times demand it, we'll be revolutionaries, criminals, terrorists. And yes, we may all be headed straight to hell. But what better place for us than this? It's our only home. Our heaven and our hell. This is Outer Heaven.
@@manwiththemachinegun *IT'S TIME*
@Emory Kairo Woah, no one cares ! Crazy amiright ? And you two are totally not bots !
The ending gets even more depressing, when you realize one fact.
Both Crimson 1 and Monarch, are Cascadian, yet neither of them flies under the Cascadian flag.
Crimson is a fanatical loyalist to the Pacific Federation.
Monarch is a Sicario mercenary.
Both fighting over the ruins, of their past homeland.
It kind of reminds me of someone's summarization of the Slave Knight Gael boss fight in Dark Souls 3:
It's just 2 "nobodies"...
At the end of everything...
Fighting over nothing
@@DagobahResidentThis is almost like that too. Only instead of "nobodies" you have the most famous mercenary pilot fighting against the Fed's posterboy Peacekeeper.
a Noble Swordsman fighting a Local Swords For Hire Mercenary
its kinda like that
@@alexsabau5942 When people fight over ashes, who's who stops having meaning.
When you seen Monarch's emblem on the screen for the final phase, and you realize that the final boss.... is you
Just like Cipher and Razgriz, eh?
Not to mention, you received a fullscreen health bar too
Is like Brad in Lisa the painful
"When you hear the thunder... When the storm comes for you... Remember me." -The last words of Crimson 1 above Presidia, 432 AC.
@@BoredLion99 It seems more of a way that you'll always be reminded of him for the rest of your life, even after he's dead.
@@BoredLion99 You would done the same if you are placed in either side
Edit: typo
Sadly ,he is a bad villain
@Nemesis Kid true words
@Nemesis Kid In a nutshell, Crimson 1 is like the Loyalist Americans during the American revolution. He doesn't want Cascadian independence. While Cascadians fight for freedom from the Federation's exploitation, he fight for not having a bigger conflict. But eventually his side lost and he's like "fuck this all, eat this cordium bomb."
As someone who's played AC6, AC7, Assault Horizon, AC3, and Project Wingman... to me, this was one of the most somber endings in a flight sim, rivaling AC3 in that regard.
AC4? Mobius 1 succeeds in taking down Megalith... and receives a letter from the narrator, who saw Yellow 13 as a friend.
AC5? Blaze and Razgriz Squadron destroy the SOLG while Harling helps to negotiate peace, but Chopper was lost in the war.
ACZ? Cipher stops Pixy from unleashing V2 upon Strangereal. Pixy recovers and is forced to re-evaluate the meaning of boundaries. PJ was killed by Pixy's assault, and Cipher vanishes from history.
AC6? Talisman and the Emmerians bring down the Chandelier thanks to Voychek's change of heart. Pasternak gave his life so that Toscha and Strigon Team could retreat. Melissa lost her husband, and Shamrock lost his family. But Ludmila and Toscha got their happy ending, while Shamrock goes to meet Melissa and Matilda for lunch.
Assault Horizon? Bishop succeeds in saving the White House from Trinity. Guts manages to beat the odds and survive, and Markov threw his life away in his scheme to get revenge for his wife's death.
AC7? Trigger takes down Hugin and Munin and prevents the drone uprising, but there were many causalities along the way. Brownie, High Roller, Champ, Full Band, Wiseman, Tabloid, and Wit. Mihaly is forced into retirement due to his injuries. And despite everything that Trigger, Avril, Count, Huxian, Jager, and Cosette did to save the world... it all inevitably comes undone in AC3, thanks to Schroeder's successor.
AC3? The world is ruled by mega corporations. Technology is on the rise, and everyone uses it to kill each other. Nemo inflicts catastrophic amounts of damage to Strangereal, and it was all part of a simulation created by a mad scientist who wanted to kill one man for the sake of his dead colleague.
And then there's Project Wingman. The Federation and Cascadia broker a truce, but Crimson 1 nukes the entire country with Cordium missiles just to force a final duel with Monarch. After a harrowing fight, Monarch emerges victorious, as the newly-crowned king above a molten inferno in the sky. Prez, Diplomat, Comic, Galaxy, Stardust, and Kaiser are all fine. Monarch collects his payment, as the deal as been honored.
What affected me about Project Wingman’s ending was how quiet it was, with the burning atmosphere and the haunting music. You have the satisfaction of killing the maniac who blamed you for his destructive actions… and then you’re left with only your thoughts for company.
There's Prez, but she passed out during the fight.
I'd like to thank the developers at D2 for the amazing game they've given to the community.
And I'd like to thank Jose Pavali for his work on Project Wingman's music.
Project Wingman was one hell of a ride, and I'm looking forward to whatever you make next.
I just finished Project Wingman last night and I got to say you hit the nail here.
Ace Combat has some pretty somber moments in it, but it always seems to end on a high note, or at least a bitter sweet one, where the day is won and you're the great hero.
Project Wingman ends on a similar note of you being the victor.
You won the war. You are the hero.
You honoured your contract and got paid handsomely for it.
But at what cost?
@@cyqry Experiencing a really good game.
in regards of AC6:
The thing that hit me pretty hard was the fact that Pasternak gave his life so his team may live, yet they just throw away their lives in the final mission for nothing. "Praise our generals who have given us a place to die!" Heck, Toscha even cries out about this madness and he is the only one of Strigon team who survives by bailing out.
@@JCDFlex I always took that line as very sarcastic, like they were blaming the Generals for leading them into an unwinnable war.
I’m not 100 percent sure about this, but I THINK once you shoot him down crimsons fighter points towards the sunset, indirectly inviting you to follow him. That time when you got the mission over notice with nothing but that music and you flying into the sunset was unforgettable for me
Me: "Alright. I beat him, music turns somber, and the hud is gone. Must be some playable cutscene where he just trying to shoot me down."
Crimson 1: "Predictable"
I literally had him first try and got to the very final phase, thought it was over.
Flew alongside him as a kind of salute, but I was moving faster and got in front of him. Then he went guns and me with 1 hp just dies.
"Predictable."
I raged.
Hah! You fool! I have manipulated the game and your pre conceived notions of game design to lure you into a trap! Clearly the work of a superior pilot and master tactician such as me, Crimson 1!
you tought it was a cutscene but it was me crimson 1 *charges eml*
@@myachizero imagine paying respects to your enemy
*This comment was written by Cipher Mercinary Run Squadron*
@@myachizero I thought the game and even the music was designed for you to actually hate Crimson 1. Jose Pavli even said so in one of his videos.
Damn...game went from
*AC Alternative*
to
*Project Wingman: The Line*
Game went
*Indie AC*
to
*I won but at what cost*
Also feels a bit like Metro 2033's canon ending
Not how, but WHY
None of these would happened if you just stop
We went from
*The beatiful son of Ace Combat*
to
*Why everything is orange: the son of Ace Combat and Spec Ops: The Line*
Do you feel like a hero yet?
Where everyone saw a crown, I saw a butterfly. “I see no kings up here,” because Monarch never never claimed to be a king, it was a Rorschach test that everyone craving power failed. His wings were small but would stir Cascadia into a hurricane, one that he could only pray would put out the fires after he was gone.
Yeah I only saw a butterfly on the tail too, though of course there is also such thing as a “Monarch butterfly” to further stir confusion
I saw both, but I like your interpretation.
Monarch uses a monarch butterfly emblem although you can't tell, only by the tac name and just a butterfly emblem. Its really great how everyone in the game interprets it as a crown and king.
@@demonoxis6074 Crimson's emblem looks more like a crimson red butterfly too
fuck that is some deep poetry shit right there. I also didn't see it as a crown on Monarchs tail. Though, I never made the connection of the symbol being a butterfly. But man, to think that Monarch was naming himself after a butterfly instead of a king. It makes monarch very misunderstood as a person, especially if everybody around them assumed monarch was referring to a king.
As crimson 1 fell out of the sky and fizzled out like a sun, only one man was left flying above the hellscape that was once Presidia. Only one man was there to witness his own coronation as the king of the now empty skies.
And thus, Monarch bore his crown in the burning ruins of cascadia, ruler of the dead, owner of riches as cold and vast as the millions of ghosts that scream his name.
That sent chills down my spine. Props!
What about the unconscious Prez, is she a Queen or a servant?
Prez flew from the start to the end with Monarch, if he is king then she is the queen
👏👏👏👏👏👏
I wish i had recorded the moment he died on my first playthrough, he fell right in the middle of a lake on the city before exploding, quite cinematic, i thought it was scripted...
When I beat this game I honestly asked myself "... did I win?" Never did victory taste so damn bitter, and this somber tune goes perfectly with it... Amazing
I was lucky enough to play this in VR, and that feeling I got when I listened to this music and I flew into the sunset is something I hope I always remember
"Did you do it?"
"Yes"
"What did it cost you?"
"Everything..."
When it said Cascadia is in ruins I said "I know" when it said the war is won I said "everyone lost" and when it said contract fulfilled I said "I understand"
At least everyone in Hitman survived
Yeah, it was very "I didn't come here to win, I came here to kill you"
I love how PW treats war differently than Ace Combat.
In AC, once the war is over, it's like all the deaths were nothing, and "the world is perfect once again" (for the next 6 years until another war comes, of course)
In PW, there is no such thing. Crimson, driven by pure insanity and egomaniac attitudes, commits genocide in an entire city, just so he could be proclaimed the "king of the skies". The game ends with this sad tone as he gets more and more insane. It's kind of like a message to the player, saying "you did this. It was your wish not to have your wings clipped (not lose AC) that did all this". In AC, the last mission is almost always (if not always) a victory, but not here. This makes you (or rather, Monarch) question: *was it worth it?*
In AC, war is reversible.
In PW, was destroys everything.
If war in AC wasn't "reversible", the series would've ended a lot of time ago
@@Oclur true
@@Oclur
Here's my take on it.
AC: Tragedies come and go and darkness covers the land but there will always be heroes ready to rise up to the skies and bring hope for a better tomorrow.
PW: Everyone suffers for the glory of the few. Was it really worth all this? Did you really leave the world better than before?
Crimson tried so hard to be king of the skies. In his last moments, after desperately trying to steal the crown, after realizing he was the king of nothing, he looked to Monarch, the one who carved out his spot on the throne that Crimson sought after, and asked that when the day comes that Monarch should fall; not to another rival, but by some grand force of nature, that this Nameless, Borderless King would remember this man, as the man who almost beat him.
BORDERLESS??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
@@Luey_Luey WHAT HAVE BORDERS GIVEN US?????????????????????????
CAN YOU SEE ANY BORDERS FROM HERE?????????????????????????????
@@michaelj.caboose3187 THATS WHAT V2 IS FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>Almost beat him
Don't get cocky, ghost of Crimson 1. You used some sci fi BS plane and dropped a nuke and still got your cheeks clapped.
“Was it worth it? How many points did you get?”
-Max0r
When you think about it this quote doesn't apply to Monarch. It's for Crimson
Now I want Max0r to make an incorrect summary of project wingman
15,000, IIRC.
All of that shit for 15k
@@user-yf1qk4dl4r Rimmy did one, it was great but I'm still waiting for Max0r's.
I'm going to be honest, this was a perfect slow-tune to finish with.
The only sounds you're able to hear are just this slow, almost sad tune, the missile warning and the near-breakage clicking of your Controller/Stick/Keyboard.
What a theme.
The atmosphere of these song is also remind me with Markov duel in ACAH which also has the same vibe as this, the only you can heard is the mrs koslav slow hymn with a eeriee'ish melody, missles warning, and deep breath of bishop, yeah i know the battle was a sucked AF because how scripted it is but we could admited it how great the fight atmosphere is
@@monsterhunterdarksouls6229fr, quick time events made me not play it
Pretty much everyone will disagree with me but this is in my opinion the best song out of the soundtrack. A hollow song for a hollow victory.
We didn't lose, but we sure as shit didn't win either.
Pyrrhic Victory, we gain a empty throne, filled with charred and salted lands, the ashes of bones, blood of the fallen, of our allies, and the innocent, and the misery and emptiness of loneliness at the top.
@@ElementttH2H An not just for Cascadia. The war has triggered a new Calamity and though mankind is potentially far better equipped to survive it this time, the fact is, it is going to herald hard times for the whole world. The first Calamity wiped out most of humanity and it was 120 years before the human race began to climb out of that pit. To cap it all off, nations far from the war, looked on all that had happened and wanted to acquire Cordium weapons of their own, in spite of the nightmare they'd unleashed. Mankind barely survived the first Calamity, it may not survive the second
@@weldonwin For some reason, it escaped me that there will be long-lasting effects of Crimson's second "Calamity".
Makes me wonder and kind of excited what happens to the world of Project Wingman after this conflict; what superpowers will rise out of the various countries, would a cordium armistice (via mutually assured destruction) occur just like what happened in our world, will a second "ice age" occur?
Just thinking of the possibilities makes me restless. XD
@@stevensubianto9862 I get the impression that this Calamity wasn't as big as the first one, since that resulted in a nuclear winter referred to as the Long Cold and we didn't see evidence of that with this one. How ever, with the world so dependent on Cordium and Geo-Thermal power, well, most of the Cordium detonated during the Calamity and the Geo-Thermal hotspots are going to be really unstable and hard to harvest.
We can expect resource wars over sources of stable Cordium and harvestable Geo-Thermal deposits, ongoing tectonic instability leading to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, land grabs to take and hold regions that are stable for habitation and for agriculture and finally, good old fashion score-settling, with nations all around the world, looking to take advantage of The Federation being absolute crippled during the war (The loss of Task Force 1 alone would be catastrophic for them).
According to the Mercenary ending, the rest of Hitman team survived, and so did Kaiser, so they are likely going to be in the position of being the most highly sought after mercs in the world, but also considered harbingers of the end times.
prez: *Wakes up in a medical tent after monarch lands at an airfield somewhere in magadan federation*
monarch: Hey you, your finally awake
"I'm afraid it's been 9 years"
@@stevemc6010 "'You'll never guess who fucken came back"
"Wake the fuck up Samurai."
@@stevemc6010 "Venom" Prez
More like, "Yo, Buddy. Still alive?"
It's over. He's been beaten. His craft is a flaming wreck he can barely keep stable anymore, and soon he'll crash down into Presidia. Or, at least what's left of it. He destroyed it all, all to beat that man, and he failed. Everything he had done, everything he had *sacrificed* for, amount to **nothing** in the end.
All to beat the man who bested him
Him, the poster boy of the Federation, leader of the invincible Crimson Squadron, the best fighter pilot in the skies...bested by a mere mercenary.
He looked to his right to see the man now. The king of the skies, Monarch, flying in his F/D-14. He could make out the figure of the WSO, passed out from G-LOC judging by their slumped over posture, and then the man himself. Hitman 1, now the ruler over the skies, hero to Cascadia. What was left of it anyways.
His plane had nary a stratch on it. He had bombed all of Presidia to lure him out, was given the single best plane ever built by the Federation, loaded with enough armaments to end a war on its own, and the man's plane didn't even look like he had been touched at all! All while his plane was now starting to dip downwards, unable to keep altitude anymore.
He looked left now, to see the orange sky beside him. A geothermal storm, with the remnants of Presidia still burning beneath them. As he looked to the wasteland he had created, he realized how little it had all mattered. The Federation, something he had joined with aspirations of peace for his former homeland if it just gave in, had lost the war. Cascadia would flourish from this, with Monarch as their leader, while the Federation would stagnate, before finally being snuffed out, just like him. Two sides of the same coin, Crimson 1 and Hitman 1.
"Monarch..." He said into his helmet, communicating his last words to the man who had bested him and claimed both crown and throne as the single best pilot of the skies. This was his Coronation. His hand was pressed against the cockpit glass of his jet.
"When you hear the thunder...when the storm...comes for you..." In his last moments, he regrets everything. His betrayal of his homeland to the Federation, when all he wanted was peace and prosperity, his habit of picking fights with Hitman Squadron, who decimated his friends, and his nuking of Presidia, all to settle a grudge against one man. He had gone too far in his obsession to be king. And he would die regretting everything that had led up to this fateful moment.
"Remember me."
His last words to a man he once hated, but now saw as a reflection of who he once was. The greatest pilot of all. And his words were a warning to the man to never repeat the same mistakes he did, in case he ever faced someone just like him someday. To never again let another Calamity happen again. And to watch over his home while he was gone. He did not wanted to be remembered as a madman, but as the man who was once the greatest ace of the sky.
And with that, he let the joystick go, letting his ship plunge down to bombed out ruins of his home. He let himself relax in his seat, accepting his death. He didn't expect Monarch to listen to him. The man was a mystery who never said a thing. But he hoped the newly crowned king would at least grant him this one last, final request.
And in his last moment before his plane blew up in the sky, he remembered how proud he once was, to be called King.
This almost made me cry
Victory has never tasted so bitter and the feeling of being lost
"Remember me." And his words were a warning to the man to never repeat the same mistakes he did.
10/10
The cycle is complete
A New King has arisen
A victory as hollow as paper
A feeling of lost
But the cycle must continue
As a New Generation will come
Filled with Greed and envy as the crown shines brightly.
Then again, the king takes up his sword.
He will face and win many battles, but it's only a matter of time
Before the storm comes for him
It has to be this way
It has always been this way
Since the beginning of time
And Forever will continue
"Monarch... When you hear the thunder..."
"Remember me..."
In a flash, Crimson exploded into a ball of light, his insane ramblings finally stopping.
Monarch paused, confirming that his final opponent was really gone, before letting out a long sigh. His entire body ached, partly from pure exhaustion, and in part due to the Gs he had been putting his body under only moments before. As he gazed out at the horizon, he began to talk to himself.
"Y'know... everyone assumes my callsign refers to royalty. It doesn't." Quietly, he turned to look behind him. Prez was slowly beginning to wake back up. Good. He refused to lose anyone or anything else today.
"It's about the butterfly. I'm always hoping that when I flap my wings... something will change." And it did. But what had it cost him, truly? A destroyed home. His allies unable to reach him. Just him and a madman shooting each other over Hell.
Prez had fully awoken by now. Hesitantly, she asked. "Monarch... Did we do it?"
"Yeah. We did." He affirmed. Now, only the unspoken question remained: _At what cost?_
Quietly, Monarch turned back around, facing forward. "C'mon Prez. Let's head home." Not speaking, Prez nodded in response as she stared at the charred remains of Presidia, and then the deep blue ocean.
.
.
.
...after a period of silence, Prez uttered one last question: *"...Where's home?"*
[OFFLINE]
@@Crimson_1_PW_Mk_1
Hitman 1 | Monarch
*>*
Ace combat's endings: Everyone walks away holding hands and skipping around.
Project Wingman's ending: The country you were supposed to liberate is dead. Everything is in ruin. Take your payment. (Yeah the cast survives, but that's beside the point.)
Crimson 1's "remember me" sound both as someone being angry at monarch (because he snagged some title from him), but also himself after, maybe, he realizes how he led to his entire country to be wiped out, and his comrades' deaths. But it also sounds as some sort of request, from him to monarch, for hitman 1 not to become like him, and destroy everything he worked for, when, eventually, someone will come for monarch's spot. At this point, victory really meant nothing. Nearly everybody (in the city, as in civilians and troops) died.
Ace combat and project wingman
Flight games that has unexpectedly amazing lore.
Fucking amazing
The rest survive? I thought monarch had exta thick plot armour
@@hypermemes2844 yes, you can hear them talk in the credits after you finish the game on the hardest difficulty, iirc
@@midorifox ill have to listen to the credits next time
There’s a surprisingly large amount of dead in AC7. And even its good end is wiped by AC3.
Crimson 1: "Remember me..."
Me, on the 4th playthrough of the campaign: "ok posterboy"
LOL Me on the 23rd playthrough: Yea whatever just die already.
Just one mission
It took one mission to make a very good game into an utter and undebattable masterpiece and video game gem.
This mission is a condensate from the entire team:
The dev's mastery of the direction of the game, of its code, of its own rules to bring emotion to the player.
The writer's mastery of the scenario and dialogues, "That's it, the war has ended? Just like that?" Yes it has. In one, incredible flash.
And the composer's mastery of the music, of leitmotivs, of what message the game and its OST brings.
Fucking hell you guys are a Holy Trinity. "This game isn't the perfect game we wanted", how can you be so goddamn humble after making what will probably be one of the best games of the 2020 decade?
This game was already great. This was just the cherry on the cake
For just a small moment here, I felt pity for Crimson
When the two healthbars appreared, Crimson almost depleted and Hitman, almost full, I heard him say "Come on! I almost got him!!"
Glancing down at those two bars, their stark contrast in mind, for just a moment I felt sorry for Crimson 1. A moment later, I shot him down, with the line "when the storm comes, remember me" hitting me like a truck
What a fantastic ending for a fantastic game
I really liked how in the end Crimson went from I will destroy you to, No I can't die yet
You weren't alone. Even I wish we could've saved him. Even at that point.
@@StellariumSound If only we can break the game silence with some choice dialogue, I'll definitely tell him to fucking eject
You pretty much become a boss battle for Crimson, one that is Unbeatable no matter how hard you try
I feel like at the end there, even in my rage at what Crimson 1 had done, I just wanted him to stop. I remember just saying out loud, “Dude, just stop! Please!” I felt like Dip for a moment in that I just wanted the fighting to stop.
HITMAN I
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
CRIMSON I
▬
I love all the people in the comments completely and utterly misinterpreting Crimson 1's last words. He's not asking you to remember him because of some bullshit about honor or memory. There's no last moment of respect shared between warriors. It was just two bad men hating each other until the very end. Telling Monarch to remember him wasn't a request, it was a warning. The Deal has been honored, and with it came anything Sicario could need. But eventually, they'll have to face the Consequences of Power, the same as Crimson 1 did. When the storm comes for Monarch, just as it did him, that's when he'll remember him.
Indeed
He's saying
"I fought for a chance To get revenge but i Was overwhelmed by power"
"When you get that deal...when the storm of this war falls on you"
"You'll remember me"
What is a coronation without others to witness it.
A coronation of the ruler of the dead
3 years late, but.. well. There are some survivors on the ground who witnessed the battle. Comic, Dip and Galaxy among them
Monarch is definitely going to be up there among with the legends of the Ace Combat series' protagonists. Off the top of my head - Razgriz, Three Strikes, The Angel of Emmeria, Mobius, The Southern Cross; Nemesis, The Demon Lord of the round table, then Monarch; the King.
Wow, everyone just keeps forgetting Scarface One, don't they?
@@ProfessionalNamielleLewder69 sorry, just not old enough and i havent played ace combat 2
So the priates are at the bottom of the list. Then again I have a soft spot for demon Lord and reaper.
@@jamesbuckner4791 Pirates tend to end up down there, thats just their lot in life.
Don't forget trigger
"Monarch...when you hear the thunder..."
"When the storm comes for you..."
"...Remember me."
"A warrior who overthrows his own people doesn't deserve to be remembered..." That's all I can imagine Monarch saying.
"Your memory is that of an ace, a cold-hearted killer, and a madman. You'd better pray that's enough."
I think people once said that Crimson 1 was just telling Monarch if he meets someone that could overthrow him, he should remember what Crimson 1 did when he met him. To not let his ego get to him and accept that some day, someone more skilled would take the crown
@@Loser-jh3tq Judging how he still speaks even when he knows he's facing imminent defeat ("Come on, come in for that kill you dog") leads me to believe that he still wants to taunt Monarch. He wants him to remember him so that he will always haunt his mind.
"I have faced no greater pilot, and killed no lesser man. He who brought death and destruction upon his own nation to sate his ego. To force my hand. And so, I will remember you, but I will not mourn you."
"Yet while my hands drip with the blood of lesser pilots, I feel nothing but sorrow for them. In time, they will fade from my memory as though their lives were trivial, forgettable. But I'll always remember you: The Greater Pilot."
"The Lesser Man."
*a warrior fights for his people*
_where are your people Crimson?_
And so, Monarch emerged victorious in the skies above the inferno that claimed innocent lives.
And the one, bringer of fire, first as hope and now as despair, down to the blazing sphere it flies.
The sign of hope that was once meant to rule over all of humanity
Now burned down by the sparks no soul foresaw in the midst of calamity.
An empty victory celebrated only be the king during the coronation
With cheers as empty as the void and voices silent like retribution.
Lights of only cry and damnation fill the once prosperous land
Now only lived by ghosts which walk across the devil's firebrand.
Heaven was nonexistent, as far reached as one can reach with no avail
As the survivors only will experience the truth, seeing that hell will prevail.
Peace is now a distant memory and the devil's wrath will never cease
As humanity's forfeited will
shall be quenched in hellfire-filled seas.
Nothing is left.
And so, Monarch left.
The world in ashes...
The bodies in slashes.
And the minds...
In calamity's binds...
Well, the files reveal your team did survive after all.
@@MrLuigi98 Wat.
@@reymkanindot4644 They didn't die.
The deal has been honored
👏👏👏👏👏👏
"Me and you now. No distractions, no wingmen, no war. Just me and you. Whoever wins is the best pilot. Every safety's coming off. No second chances."
*"Did I really win? Did I really do the right thing."* This sir is one of my favorite pieces from the game, made me cry, heck I feel tears in the back of my eyes writing this, thats how moving this song is, music really is an art.
My boyfriend sent this to me to listen to because he really loved the soundtrack for the game. I told him what I imagines or pained in my head when listening to it “Barren, gray, wasteland”
gray? Not ORANGE?
You were pretty close. Just less gray and more *ORANGE*
reminds me of what Pixy said in the interview
he saw the aftermath of the nukes
he saw that there's people living in this blasted wasteland
he felt like everything he did wasn't really the right way to do it
he then remembered his buddy
Cipher
"You name yourself a king?"
Dude. I'm a monarch BUTTERFLY!
*Prez slowly opened her eyes, her head still numb against the cockpit as the sunlight shined on her helmet visor*
Prez: _"Ugh... What.. happened?.."_
*She looked around, confused, then focused her attention at her flight lead in front of her, his figure blocking the sun in front of her*
Prez: _"..Monarch?.."_
*Monarch didn't move, he was staring at space, but hearing his co-pilot speak made him slowly speak out*
Monarch: "..Are you okay, Prez?"_
Prez: _"..Y.. Yes sir, my head is just a little numb.."_
_"Did we-... did you..?"_
Monarch: _"Yes.. i beat him."_
*He answered, a tone of uncertainty and emptyness in his voice.*
*Prez stared at his figure for a while, before turning her head to the left side, seeing the barren wasteland down below*
_"No...._
_Did.. did everyone-"_
Monarch: _"I don't know."_
*He answered quickly, his voice shaken a bit, he slowly looked at the sunset before him..then he closed his eyes and lowered his head*
Prez: _"Monarch?, are you okay?.."_
Monarch: _"We won.... but was it worth it?..."_
*His hand gripped tightly against the flight stick*
Prez: _"..."_
*She opened her mouth to say something, but the words didn't come out, there was nothing to say.. nothing that would make the situation better, because Monarch was right.... his words started spinning around her head as she looked through the cockpit again, staring at the inferno below, filled with the hundreds of lost souls below them..*
*Was it worth it?... the war ended, but... Cascadia, Sicario, their allies, even the Federation... all gone.*
*At that moment.. they were the only souls left in the skies.*
*Reaching out a hand to his shoulder, Prez tried her best to comfort her partner... while also feeling the same emptyness he was.*
*They stayed like that for a while as they flew above the inferno and past the harbor, going towards the sunset in the ocean.*
*Monarch then raised his head, and turned just enough to get a glance at her, touching her hand in return, both comforting each other at that moment, till he spoke*
_"..Let's go home."_
*Was the only thing he said, as his attention switched back into sunset in front of them*
*Prez once again, leaned her head gently against the cockpit, looking up at the light shining on them**
_"..Yes."_
*Was her only response as they flew towards the ocean, leaving the barren wasteland behind them..*
spolier alert:
on merc mode there's extra dialogue implying that Galaxy and some of Monarch's allies survived
@@josevictorionunez9312 I know, but Prez and Monarch wouldn't learn that till much later offscreen i believe. So i made this based on the fact that they would've felt like they were the only survivors at that moment.
Until the dev team says otherwise, I'm treating this exchange as canon, that was a helluva read.
@@PremierRikLatyeskov Thanks, i tried my best to make it enjoyable xD
I can hear and see this happening, you did good with the writing man. A hollow victory, as the two would RTB...
"Remember me..."
Am I supposed to reference Spider-Man: Homecoming here, what with Interrogation Mode?
o7
"i will haunt you forever"
*EXPLOSION AND RADIO STATIC*
"OFFLINE"
and he turns himself into an orange
Crimson 1: I don't deserve this...... my squadron doesn't deserve this...... we are supposed to return to Cascadia as a symbol of firm, enduring peace......
Monarch: Deserve's got nothing to do with it.
Crimson 1: I'll see you in Hell, Monarch.
Monarch: ...... yeah.
1:18..."Trigger, if you can hear me...When you hear the thunder roaring at you......When the storms are raging......When the clouds turn gray......When the skies painted bloody red...And it's coming for you, and your soul, Three Strikes.........Remember me......"
After killing thousands, if not millions of people in this war, after besting the best and most devoted pilot that the Federation ever produced over what was left of the west coast of the continent, after hearing the last words of Crimson before going in his slumber.... theres only one question remaining.
*Was this worth it?*
To be honest... i don't know. Cascadia will regain it's independence, the Federation withdraw it's forces, but this doesn't feel like a victory at all.
I just beat it, I literally questioned that imediately after.
I really wish there was an epilogue to show aftermath of the Kings battle, not just end it open ended with only questions. Hope, if they do Project Wingman 2, ending will be expanded.
Play it on Mercenary and watch the credits. You'll thank me later.
Cascadia can rebuild. With is new gained independence, the actions of Crimson 1 only fueled more hatred against the Federation. States that once joined the Feds are backing out, leaving them to only its core. The Fed's nail in the coffin was the research, development, and usage or Cordium Laced missiles on an already unstable planet. If the people of earth can survive years after the calamity, then Cascadia will survive. The feds on the other hand, they are a target and they have no hope in defending their land, since all the mercs are in Cascadia now.
Like Crimson 1 said itll be another war in the years to come anyways
The King is Crowned once more. His Throne left in ruins by the bringer of the Cataclysm. A King once respected and feared across the Crystal Kingdom, driven to madness. Driven to Armageddon. The Crown wandered far from his throne, with nothing but his Diplomat and his Jester to accompany him. He wanted not for fame, glory, or riches. He wanted not for this Throne, but for the Sky. And the sky alone. But the would be keeper of his rightful mantle left it in ruins. Eyeing his Usurper as the villain, while slaughtering his own. The Crown only wanted to help the land he left behind. In the end, when the storm came, it was not the Crown that brought it, the King of the Hell below did. He brought the fury of the mantle upon his own people and blamed it on the Crown, in madness. But the Crown survived. Gazing at the blazing sky left in the wake of their duel. The King is Crowned.
And there you were crowned, above the blazing apocalypse. The last man on earth as far as you were concerned, you just killed the only other person you know was alive, the one responsible for all this. All the death, all the destruction. The war was over now, nobody won. Nobody ever wins. One phrase from an ancient time rattling around in your head.
"Heavy is the head that wears the crown"
Was it worth it?
Ultimately, Crimson set off the Cordium bomb in Presidia himself - though Monarch has killed hundreds personally, Crimson's desperate finger pointing is ultimately wholly hypocritical as he himself has fought as many battles as Monarch and is responsible for levelling an entire city of non-combatants on top of that. That's not a bad thing from a writing perspective though - his grief induced mania made for a very intense and unpredictable rival driven by misguided conviction.
Having a flawed person does not make a flawed character. I do wish that they kinda fleshed out his character a bit more though in game, then again with the budget they had, they did a phenomenal job at making a pretty good villain.
Even worse for Crimson, his Grief induced mania sparked off a SECOND Ring of Fire and decimated more than just Presidia.
The tragedy of the situation is that, had Crimson 1 been as evil/cynical as the rest of the Peacekeepers, none of this might have happened. His madness and final atrocity is ultimately because he did live up to the ideals (or at least a portion thereof) that the rest of the Peacekeepers won't.
@@dy031101 If he really lived up to his ideals, he would've separated himself from the federation after what they intended to do. Since he cared so much for cascadians
@@Oclur He's already neck-deep in madness by the time of Operation: Recall.
Presidia in ruins...
The world watches as Cascadia burns down...
Two fighter pilots dueled in the skies, one for revenge, the other for survival...
Only one flies out, a stranger he remains...
This soundtrack almost had me crying at the end of the game. Amazing.
For all the undertones of needless death and futility, I can’t help but feel at ease when I listen to this. Hell, it’s FOR the dark undertone surrounding this track that I find it so soothing.
For three long phases you’ve fought against Crimson 1; with each passing, the madman gains more tricks to throw at you while you only run out of them. He eats your missiles like candy and dances circles around you, mocking you over the radio, while you do your damnedest just to survive. Steadily though, your hits continue to land and damage mounts up, despite how outclassed you are. He feels invincible. My first run through Mercenary difficulty, I couldn’t even see the man for most of phase 3, just flying away at full throttle and evading myriad railgun blasts, only getting the odd missile off in a joust that threatened to damage me more so than I damaged Crimson.
But eventually, you do it. With good timing, nerves of steel and a bit of luck, a missile lands and the Project Wingman MK 1 explodes into a roaring fireball. It’s quiet, fulfilling; the tragedy on the ground can wait, just for a moment, while you breathe and bask in your victory.
The only complication is that Icarus Armouries are really fucking good at what they do, and sure enough, Crimson 1 tears out of a cloud of smoke pouring from his own craft, not dead just yet. You broke him. He has no more tricks to pull, no more accusations to sling at you. His only recourse now is to flee into the skies like a wounded animal, firing off his remaining weaponry in an attempt to get you off him, reduced to cursing and SCREAMING in frustration. It’s likely dawning on him that this final act of desperation achieved nothing but the mass death of his own people. It didn’t matter whether he levelled Presidia to the ground or not, Cascadia and their pack or mercenary dogs had sullied the reputation of the Federation regardless. The invincible façade has finally cracked, and now the both of you are even: you’re both angry, terrified, and resigned to your fates.
So you engage him one last time. It’s similar to phase 3, Crimson 1 just boasts a crazier flight pattern, but at this point it’s just… exhausting. You’re two or three railgun blasts from exploding, missiles nearly dry, forced to stay on the tail of the greatest aircraft ever made in your battered F/D-14 to take it down with guns instead. The beeping of the missiles won’t stop, the thunderous booms of railguns crashing all around you, flying over the ashen husk of this city you were fighting to protect mere minutes ago.
That’s what makes Coronation such a fantastic track: it’s just as hopeful as it is hopeless. It’s a song of fatigue, and the chance to finally rest. Presidia doesn't matter, whether your friends survived doesn't matter, whether you're still getting paid for this FUBAR contract doesn't even matter.
All that matters now...
is that it's nearly over.
Aside from Crimson 1, it really makes you think about the things that the game _doesn't_ talk about; although there are hints to the international fallout to the war, it never talks about the thought processes and the actions of the Crystal Kingdom and the Prime Executive.
I have to assume that the Crystal Kingdom is a codename for the top government officials of the Federation, and the Prime Executive (which sounds _very_ much like a head of a corporate police state) is the one who leads it.
And with that in mind, it sounds like the Prime Executive and his fellow leaders were just as crazy if not crazier than Crimson 1.
You have to consider the fact that it is they who authorized the development of Cordium weapons (including the PW-MK.1). They're the ones who authorized the use of Cordium weapons against a major population center at the scale greater than a nuclear weapon without consideration for civilians, yet having enough consideration to evacuate all Federation staff and their families out of the area. And they provided the very Cordium weapons that he used against friend and foe alike.
Crimson 1 was just a tool for the Federation. A tool that malfunctioned. That, or the Prime Executive wanted to punish _everyone_ in Precidia.
Not Yet...
"I almost have him..."
"Come on! Come in for the kill, you devil."
@@myachizero "..."
*booom*
@@Firebolt193 Crimson 1 >
*HMG firing*
I think, for the sake of simple, sheer irony, where we as the Player refuse Crimson's last wish to remember him
Monarch does that. He does not forget his name. Perhaps he forgives him, perhaps he doesn't. He remembers it for the rest of his time, flying like a butterfly in elegance- Or maybe while he continues to sit on a throne so many think he does.
He holds no ultimate contempt to this man for losing himself- For destroying his own country- Perhaps he views himself in the same position. Perhaps he doesn't even care at all.
All that is known
Is that those reasons are up to you to decide.
Move General Shepherd killing Ghost and Roach.
This ending really devastated me, in the way that even the war is won, at what cost. All you gonna get is a medal of honor and sums of money. But at what cost?
The country you fought for is in flames.
Your friends Hitman 2 and 3 gone.
AWACS Galaxy gone.
Prez WSO just slouching unconscious.
And you just flying towards the sunset while everything is in flames.
Crimson 1 mudering his last words.
And at the end... you question yourself as a player, was this war worth for anything.
Completing the mission in Mercenary Mode reveals an extra dialogue sequence revealing that your team did survive after all.
@@MrLuigi98 Ouh!!! I need to see that
@@outwithjohn7038 It's actually quite awesome and it doesn't blunt the impact of the events. Hundreds of thousands to millions died in those Prospero and Presidia attacks. Any country on the ring of fire is suffering anomalous storms and hellscape terrain. But yeah, you did your part and Cascadia won. The Federation exhausted its military force and ruined its reputation in the process.
@@MrLuigi98 hear me out. Possibilities for a sequel with other countries revolting. Similar to the ulysses incidents in the AC franchise?
@@MrLuigi98 tbh it would have been bettet for the storytelling if a majority of them (though probably not all of them) are dead
Staring at the cordium ravaged landscape of Presidia I can't help but wonder at how sadly on the nose some Casacadian merc's comments about Monarch being the King of Hell are.
Jose, I did a bit of writing about the OST on the PW Reddit and I thought I'd share it with you here.
Coronation is where the ideal of the heroic battle against evil collides with the grim reality of two men beating each other to death. It's the sound of being committed to that man's death over your own survival. Blurry vision, ringing ears, everything's bright, everything hurts. Lactic acid fills your muscles as another blow shakes your flesh. Your hand weighs 100lbs and it takes every fiber of your being to lift it up and throw it at that man's face. A voice in your head coaching you, "Good, do it again. Lift your hands back up". The feeling of your body shutting down. Stumbling gait leading to bodies crashing and shoving. He's on the floor, your hands around his neck. The light leaves his eyes and as it does, the darkness comes for you as well.
And that's why King's transition into Coronation marks one of the greatest uses of a soundtrack in a game.
I played many games with endings that made me feel. Happy, sad, triumphant, defeated, jubilant, angry.
But I cannot recall a game that made me feel **empty**. That's what Project Wingman did. This silly, indie, action packed game about doing impossible aerial stunts in a fighter jet just had me sit and stare at the final score screen. I wish I could forget it just so I could get that feeling again. So surreal.
The deal will be honored.
"And what did it cost you?"
"Everything."
I like the fact that project wingman has a kinda sad ending unlike ace combat that that usually always has a heroic or happy ending but for this game when u shoot down crimson u start to feel regret as he says some words that make you self reflect and regret your actions.
Yeah it's like Ace Combat Zero and End of Evangelion had a baby. But I don't regret shooting down Crimson at all lol.
Yeah, when these guys told they were inspired by AC, they'd meant Zero for sure
"War determines not who is right but who is left" -Bertrand Russell
Good, a subversion of Ace Combat is welcomed
@@nickcher7071 I may be biased, but imo zero was the best. but that hellscape at the end. fucking hell.
I can personally picture Monarch telling Crimson 1 right before he shoots him down.
Monarch: Crimson.....Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Coronation, with a crown made of bones.
Man, you blew it out of the park with the soundtrack, sets the tone perfectly.
This was not the end of the war for independence, that ended mere minutes earlier. This wasn't even an honorable duel to determine the rightful king of the skies. This was putting down a madman who had lost himself completely to the delusion that this war was a personal sleight against him. There is no question of whether this was worth it, it needed to happen or millions more would likely die. The tragic irony that when it comes to his own death, he, solely, was responsible for this.
exactly, so many people pretending crimson has deep statements, but in the end they are all his delusions, his belief that monarch entered this war to prove himself the best
monarch joined cause he is getting paid. Crimson is desperately searching for some meaning or honour, or failing that, someone to blame after what he did. He went insane during the war, and in those final moments, the devs could have copped out, made him realize his insanity, and gave him a final chance at redemption. Instead they didnt. He was insane, caught in his own mythos and rationale unto the end. Even his last words paints their fight as some struggle for who is the best, when it clearly isnt. Monarch is just a soldier, Crimson is trying to make the war some grand thing. That is the message of the game, war is ugly. There is no victory, only degrees of defeat. When it is all over, millions of Cascadians died, the federation is falling apart, the port you hit is going to need decades of cleanup, the long-range communication array is gone, energy and cordium mining infrastructure has been destroyed, wildfires have claimed massive amounts of land, the 2nd cataclysm has claimed the rest. Leadership on both sides has been annihalated during the final battle. No one won.
when this song plays, you aren't fighting crimson 1 anymore, he is fighting you
I love how slow paced this song is compared to the one in the first 3 phases of the fight. It perfectly encapsulates how weak, slow and pathetic crimson 1 is in the 4th phase. How he's barely hanging on by a thread whilst continually getting hammered. How crimson 1's loss is practically inevitable. How the boss battle went from a knife fight in a phone booth to a one sided test of endurance.
Fan-fucking-tastic job. I've played ace combat since Ace Combat 2. I loved every second of this game. It's unbelievable that you guys did what you did with what you had. Incredible even. Kudos to you and your entire team. Didnt even hear about the game until a few weeks ago but after I saw it I knew I had to have it. It goes up there with my favorite Ace Combat game- Zero. No matter what you guys end up doing with your lives just know that this thing right here? Masterpiece.
Im debating whether this is better than zero in my eyes or not?
Jeez what an ending. I was expecting a dual to the death and I got it... But I wasn't expecting the bittersweet finish. The death of all those soldiers, the radio silence from your team, Crimson's desperation and obsession with stopping you. Sure, we won, but what did we win exactly? I love this game so much and can't wait for more.
Crimson: Congratulations! You've won!
Monarch: Yay! What did I win?
Crimson: A sad feeling!
Cordium: BOOM!!!
And for a moment, Crimson 1 shone bright, another sun over the ruins of Presidia. Another star in the sky, shining brilliantly before fading into dust.
I've never hated a fictional character as much as Crimson 1. in the end, he won. his final request was to be remembered. with what he did, his maddened quest for validation and pride which cost the homes and lives of millions, it is impossible to deny him that. killing him fixed nothing, and his actions will haunt cascadia and the federation for untold lengths of time.
Not millions of people, 10-15 thousands
@@Alex_Smolan-1379 my brother in christ he blew up the pacific ring of fire and caused Calamity pt2
@@cambossx1287and probably causing a nuclear winter
Even though Crimson 1 was the enemy, his death kind of made me want to cry. With his dying breaths he realized what he had become, what he and you/ Monarch had become. And with his last breath he tried to warn you not to go as far as he had, to be better, even after everything you had done. And the music only helped to emphasize that emotion, the dread, the regret.
Jose Pavli, the music you mad helped this game be as good as it is. Without YOUR music, the game wouldn’t be the same. Even when I was getting my rear end handed to me because I had the wrong load out or the wrong aircraft, or just wasn’t skilled enough yet, I never got mad. I had fun even when I was losing, all because of your music.
"Funds Distributed". And a victory has never felt so bitter.
An absolute love-letter to the Ace Combat series.
Everything, from gameplay, to story, design, music...
It was so artistically done.
Your final line is gonna hit star wars legends fans very hard...
Damn, this game has a very depressing storyline.......
War is always depressing...
Spoiler
But if you complete the Mercenary difficulty and look at files is not as bad as it seems
@@juliahenriques210 >
Everything I see about this game reminds me of Pixy at the end of AC Zero.
I know Monarch canonically survives, but hearing this music after breaking through the cloud layer to fly towards the sun, It made me imagine a scene of Monarch's 'death'. Plus the fact that I only had like, 10 hp left.
Monarch sustained fatal injuries during the duel, even if he ejects now, there aren't any survivors on the ground that could help him and the closest air strip is too far away for him get too before blood loss makes him lose consciousness. Prez wakes up, and after an emotional farewell, ejects.
Her parachute deploys, and she watches as Monarch's plane soars off into the distance, soon becoming a speck against the sunset.
Monarch takes a deep breath, leans back and enjoys his final moments with clear skies all around him. Below him, he hears the thunder of the anomalous storm, and he remembers Crimson. He feels satisfaction for avenging all of the lives he took in his madness, an act of 'heroism' that may not be remembered, perhaps not even himself. Perhaps Crimson was right. In the end, he was just a Merc, not a King.
He passes out, and his plane slowly dips into the clouds. Gone.
Hitman 1 | Monarch
Heh, it seems like he really did get me this time... Must be having a post-mortem satisfaction. All I'm happy for is that Prez is ok and Cascadia is free. Guess Klara was right. It's time for me to "punch out". I'm sorry Robin.
(Offline)
With this the ending is more like "Revenged" ending of "Henry Stickmin: Completing the Mission"
In my personal Experience against Crimson , I brought with me a Tomcat to pull out my time as a member of the Razgiz Squadron in AC5.
But as the fighting went on Prez Couldn't handle the circumstances and went limb because of the G-log, and I couldve sworn that the moment she lost consciousness The plane felt heavier than before. It got to the point to where each turn was absolutely painful to witness as I could only imagine what sort of pressure was being put on not only the almost destroyed Jet , but on both Monarch and Prez and in a rare moment of desperation where in each agonizing turn I took I gritted my teeth and muttered "Just a little more"
I've never had a moment as somber or as desperate as i did with this game and really felt that Hitman 1 was suppose to die in this moment.
However i managed to pull the clutch and felt relived as the Jet was 1 missile away from obliteration.
Despite my Issues with Crimson 1 being an absolute edgelord, he was a darn good pilot who got his hands on the right plane. It's just unfortunate, or maybe fortunate depending on circumstances, that both him and Monarch were born in the same timespan.
tbh the way this song conveys the sort of realization that the fight between both crimson 1 and monarch is completely pointless as cascadia had effectively been destroyed is just top notch, really beautiful music
If the phrase "Di-Did we won?" was a musical piece
When I finally killed Crimson, I didn’t feel fulfilled, I didn’t feel proud, I didn’t feel satisfied. I felt regret, I felt despair. The person I grew to hate, I grew to dread over the course of the game, finally defeated, and I felt like I had done the wrong thing.
Crimson’s last words would have come off as a cheesy villain quote, but the music gave his words weight. The emotional impact of the game is what made it good, and the music made it hit so much harder. Thank you Jose Pavli, for making PW a one-of-a-kind experience.
"Well.. you got us.. was it.. worth it?"
The ending of this game is definitely the mother of all pyrrhic victories.
"Monarch.. when you hear the thunder... when the storm comes for you... Remember me..."
>BOOOM
"It may be true the world has no need of borders. But would getting rid of them really change anything? The world won't change for the better until we trust people. Trust is vital in a peaceful world...
*...But that will never happen."*
Ace Combat 7 Ending: You are the Pilot with Three Strikes, an avenging angel on wings of fire and a heart of thunder and no power in creation can stop you
Project Wingman Ending: You are the king of the dead, utterly alone in an empty sky, above a land of fire and destruction, with only ashes and empty gold for comfort...
No wonder project wingman was called the spec ops: the line of flight sims
I mean its not as horrific, but damn do you feel so empty inside by the end
I remember thinking to myself as he was burning up, "Why are you still fighting man...just stop...."
When i fought him on his last phase, this soundtrack kicked in, C1 screaming of rage trying to hit me. He had low health, i had low health. It was like two enemies both with cuts and fucked up injuries were fighting while bleeding, trying to end this, when he got defeated and he said his last words it was just depressing, you won yeah but, at what cost? Then his plane blows up and you're just there, alone flying above Persidia's ruins...
If "Do you feel like a hero yet?" was a song
This song struck such a right tone after that battle, it made me tear up feeling just how hollow of a victory it was. The words from Crimson 1, the music, the endless sea of orange and the burning city underneath you... Thank you so much for this OST
Cascadia is in ruins.
The war is over.
The deal will be honored.
This song to me signifies “This is it”. The world has ended at the hands of a psychopath and a mercenary. No federation, no Cascadia, no nothing. Just Monarch and Crimson
The motif at the end...*chef's kiss*
You have inherited a burning wasteland.
The dead are you subjects.
The blood of millions are on your hands.
Do you feel like a king yet, Monarch?
You didn't save the day. You were just the last one standing at the end of it.
I used a 2 seater on my first play through the F14 specifically, and even then, I never felt so cold in a game so alone, even with her in the other seat I felt like I needed to fly to run not because of an enemy but I just needed to run away..God I loved the game and the music still gives me those chills.
“Monarch... When you hear the thunder...”
“When the storm comes for you...”
“Remember me.”
Monarch: “When history recalls what happened here Crimson, all you will be remembered as is a sad, pathetic man drenched with the blood of thousands. And for what?”
*BOOM*
I might be a slave to history.
But you'll be forgotten by it.
@@flapflapflapflap And Crimson 1 turns himself into an orange
(jokes about orange, yay)
Heavy is the head that wears the crown...
Two things: god that little allusion to the feelgood leitmotif (i like to refer to it as the clear skies motif) but in minor key is *ouch* I didn't notice it ingame but damn.
Two: man, crimson is such an interesting villain. Especially with how all throughout this fight he's going through the stages of grief. Denial and rage are obvious. Bargaining doesn't really work here. Depression is basically all of corronation until his final line.
"When blah blah blah *remember me.*" I imagine if he had more time he might add 'and don't repeat my mistakes when your throne is challenged.'
When I was playing the game, I thought the BSO wasn't outstanding, it just fitted and sounded well enough. As missions progressed you surprised me with very good tracks. But this one, together with the moment hit just right. It hurt to hear. This song, is very powerful Mr. Pavli. Good job, I hope they get you for the sequel (I hope!). Thank you for your work!
SPOLIERS AHEAD
Cascadia is in ruins...
The war has been won.
The deal will be honored.
SPOILERS
What is the worth of money when the central bank issuing it is wiped out?
SPOILERS
"Don't worry, Monarch will collect"
SPOILERS
Contract has been completed
SPOILERS
What if the "Deal" was for sicario to Nuke presidia
Crimson 1 seems to be blaming you for the fallout in his lines in the fight which can either be interpreted as him blaming you for pushing him to that point, or that you are actualy at fault
This would work if you interpret the files, as the public report/perception of what happened and not Hard cannon fact as they mention that Crimson1 is listed as the one who nuked Presidia, but they also list that Hitman squadron is on a wanted list by Cascadian military.
@@bravenewwrld7506 now That is a hot take
Monarch never was attempting to be a king, he was just doing a contract. I think this can be hinted by how his emblem also resembles a butterfly. Yet after constant battles and the war turning against the Federation. Both sides saw him as such, to the very end with Crimson 1 fighting him for the throne. Despite winning it in the end, he never wanted it so now, he must sit on a throne of the dead. But that's just my take on it.
yeah I remember after the first mission you encounter crimson, the debrief states that, “he (crimson 1) is considered to be the top ace in the world”. After being driven back by you twice (three times if you chose to fight in Yellowstone) his pride may have pushed him to take drastic measures to regain his reputation
This music perfectly encapsulates the feeling of desperation from Crimson I, when I was playing at this segment I couldn't help but feel sad for him. He tried to beat Monarch, and that goal overtook his soul and made him mad with obsession, going so far to nuke a city full of surrendered allies in his own birthplace of Cascadia. When he finally gives up and delivers his dying line, it really struck, and made for an excellent conclusion to his character arc.
When I got to this part yesterday it made me feel bad for Crimson, he said nothing, I only heard his screams, frustrations, and his panicking. Made me feel even more hollow after the ending since he wasn't even a challenge, I beat him on my first try with 95 health left on hard. Made me feel like I was chasing down a desperately fighting pest rather than the climatic duel that was so hyped up.
I know this is Like a year or two ago but, the music made me think "did I win?" I honestly got sad because of the ending. Your music portrayed that. You sir deserve one hell of rating, 5 stars, Plat medal. I actually had emotions for a damn game.
What did I win?
A sad feeling.
That Red Dusk... that view was wonderful. Especially with this piece playing.
Crimson 1 is an example of someone with anger, depression, and jealousy. He lost so much due to Monarch and failed multiple times to defeat him. He spends the whole time during "Kings" trying to make Monarch feel bad, but if you really think about it, It's almost as if he's trying to convince himself Monarch is the bad guy, not him.
He accepts his fate in the end, but still blames Monarch for everything....
honestly playing this game with a flight stick when I'm sleepy is just something else. Sometimes I literally pass out when turning in circles. And ofc the pain of constantly pulling the stick kinda hurts my fingers. When crimson 1 goes down and I go on a level flight above the clouds, the relief is real.
I'd like to make a little dialogue out of this last dog-fight:
"Remember me," were the final words of a king whose place in the skies was never his, neither for Monarch. That imaginary crown falls off his corpse when he loses to a usurper, a butterfly that found its place in the heavens, but at the wrong time and with the wrong people. Monarch is the name of a butterfly whose wings seek change when they spread their wings. But that monarch butterfly only encountered death and destruction in its path.
Monarch silently admires the fireball of Crimson-1's bird. He won, but it's a victory he never thought he'd feel so... Empty. A few moments ago he was fighting to end the war. Months ago, he was fighting for money on his own. But this fight was for justice, or so he thought.
His F/D-14 flies in the direction of the sun, taking off the oxygen mask and asking himself only one thing: I won, but at what cost? That place he called home before Sicario is now in ruins. Innocent lives paid the ultimate price and there is no turning back. The Federation surrendered and Cascadia prevailed, but it did not last. So many emotions in his chest, the pain in his body from resisting so much g-forces and the possibility that his friends are dead... He lets go of flight control and surrenders his hands on top of her lap, as if he's giving up. He never wanted that throne. He never wanted all this chaos and the weight of Crimson-1's words weighs on him. He wants to think he's lying, but what if it's true? What if his arrival in this war caused all this chaos?
-No-he murmurs-, don't think of that. He never knew anything of me.
He says to himself, trying to find comfort in his crisis. He lets out another sigh, this time heavier and more full of feeling. He feels like he's going to cry out of desperation.
The WSO cockpit starts to shake a little. Prez begins to move, grunting out of the pain all over her body. Monarch is startled and smiles broadly when he sees that his companion is awakening.
-Prez, you okay?
She grunts a little more before answering, letting her back touch the back of the seat.
-Is this heaven?-she asks.
Monarch lets out a small laugh as he settles into his seat, grabbing the flight stick with both hands, ready to change course.
-We're still alive-he answers while he looks to the clouds beneath them. Orange lightning strikes the ground and the surface is cracked with infernal fires-, but the others... We need to search for them.
Even though she's been knocked out for most of the fight, possibly with her body more sore than Monarch's, she takes her seat. Radars are still broken, but they still have eyes.
-When we finish, can we open that bottle of red wine?-even in such a situation, she remains the same.
Monarch smiles slightly as he puts the oxygen mask back on. The F/D-14's wings are intact and there is enough fuel to search for Diplomat, Comic, Galaxy, and Kaiser. He doesn't care about the contract anymore. He wants to go home with them.
-Sure thing-and the plane descends. Monarch's maneuver is more soft than his previous sorties because of the exhausting battle and to take care of Prez.
When his wings penetrates the clouds, they will go through hell and ash in search of his friends.
That victory was so bittersweet. I hate it and love it, and it gave me that leather feeling.
I love the hopelessness in this reminded me heavily of paths of hate just two planes twisting and turning throwing bullets and missiles at each other