You forgot to include another hugely important reason: best briefing voice ever conceived. Not just in Ace Combat but in every franchise I've been exposed to, that briefing voice is just peak audio.
I remember AC5 being something of a big event, as much as a flight sim could be anyways, with highly polished graphics, lots of advertising, and the special flight stick edition. But I personally found the dialogue to be a bit lame. AC0 was my favorite game from the PS2 titles. AC0 may have lacked a few things from the previous two, but it really made up for it with in-game storyline paths and the interesting character interviews. Even though I was huge into fighter jets long ago, I always felt a bit critical of Ace Combat because of the high missile count. Lethal Skies II was my first PS2 game, so it felt weird to play Ace Combat after that game. Air Force Delta Strike was a strange game. I don't know if I ever finished it but it was certainly interesting. PS2 games were such a vibe, like Ace Combat 4, Metal Gear Solid 2, Red Faction, Timesplitters 2, and Zone of the Enders. Such a weird dreamy cell-shaded high-tech weirdness.
A note about the story point: If you actually write down the text of the spoken words to all of those cutscenes, you assemble the letter the man (who was a boy then) sent to you the player. It's a coherent, well written letter of forgiveness for killing Yellow 13, written to tell you that the man you killed never hated or resented you and was at peace with his death in that dogfight. It's funny, because I feel the need to contrast that with the framing device and ending to the other Ace Combat game I love, Zero. The narrator admitting to not really knowing Cypher (the player character) despite all that work, even with Pixie's final message at the end, just doesn't have the deeper emotional weight to the framing device of 04. Ace Combat 4 remains my favorite of the series, because of the time and effort that went into that framing device for the emotional thrust of the narrative. It wasn't necessary, you could have made the game without that, and it would still have been a great Ace Combat game. But it was that post-facto insight into our rival and persistent foe, the very personal story of the narrator and his selfless motive of wanting the one who de-facto killed his surrogate father figure to know not to feel guilty over it. That is what makes it the BEST game. The narrative is built on the very real world assumption that you will feel some guilt, some regret over needing to shoot Yellow 13 down.
When going from 7 to 4, I was surprised at how similar the core gameplay features were similar. It made me appreciate both games much more in a way, of how solid it was even early on in the franchise and how 7 managed to keep it fresh.
Part of why 04 is the best was because of Yellow 13, he's the best rival ace in the series. Pixy gets by through his fun theatrics and while I love them both, Y13 is on a whole another level. The intro was breathtaking to me as a kid, the F-4 carrier take off is unforgettable. I still prefer Zero because it's the most A2A leaning game in the series, can't really beat the funny rival squadrons in that game with their _peak_ Ace Combat dialogues; if you like fighter jets then obviously you want to have more cool dogfight setpieces and Zero is unparalleled in that aspect. Plus it have J35 Draken, and the Draken is cool. Mercs are also cooler than these patriotic protags with their boring default plane skins.
I remember my first time even seeing ace combat 4. I was going through a shop. (I got into retro games) I saw Ace combat 4 shatter skies right there. I looked at my dad and said. This looks interesting so we bought it. I didn’t play that much until I got grounded at my mom’s house. But my dad was still allowing me to play PS2 games at his house and I started playing ace combat and it still holds up. It’s the best games I’ve ever played and I played a lot. (I got it in 2020)
Started playing AC04 when I got it for christmas in 2001 and havent stopped playing it since. My favourite by far! The others are good too but the simplicity of this game is what makes it easy to pick back up.
Hearing that opening theme threw me back to mi childhood I orbit it existed as well as the rest of sound track and the story my god I love rewatching the cut scenes
Right on target! Also, love that you brought up Gundam Journey to Jaburo and Zeonic Front. J2J was my first ps2 game and imo the best Gundam game. I aced the side missions with the Gouf. I wish I had the ability to record at the time.
It's definitely between 4 and 0 for me. 4 really sets the bar for all AC games afterwards and is just so well put-together overall, especially given it didn't have a particularly large budget after 3 was a commercial failure. Zero builds on this and also is the first to fully make use of the cheesiness of enemies talking to you on radio which became a big feature in most future games and is the source for almost all AC memes. In 4, although you could hear enemies I can't recall any point when they actually spoke as if they knew you could hear them, and there are only a few moments in 5 where they do this and most are terribly written ("We'll return to haunt you for all eternity! AaAaAaRrRrGgGgHh!"). Also unlike almost every other AC, there is really no bad mission or bad soundtrack (or worse, bad game mechanic like DFM, painfully slow plane unlocks or fighters that take 3 missiles to down) in either of these IMO, making them very replayable. The worst mission in Zero is... Merlon? The worst mission in 4 is between Tango Line and Safe Return? Meanwhile every time I feel like replaying 5 I remember I'll have to sit through fucking Final Option.
Starting after having finished the first 3, I came to realize AC4 was truly something special from the moment I booted it up, to the end of the credits. My favorite in the series by far, thank you for doing it justice with this video.
The only disagreement i have is the aircraft selection , (the F-4 is my fav so i am grateful for that )but still i would like to see more aircraft , same problem with 6 and they dont have the F4 ;(
I started the ace combat series on 4 and played all but the original now. Belkan war is still my personal favorite... but 1:08 hit... yeah 4 is just barely behind in belkan war in nostalgia and gameplay for me. both amazing games and should be played if your a fan of the series.
My first was AC5., and between the high-octane jet fighter combat and the stories many twists and turns and wild superweapons, I became hooked. Late 30s now and I still get chills in the opening credits when it switches over to a Puddle of Mudd song.
Well to be honest ace combat 5 is still the best because it has 37 missions and that is so important to me and great array of jet to play with Ace Combat 4 only had 18 missions but still a good game.
Hi How Can Play It With Emulator With No Problem !? For me its Not Working in Right Way and Have Graphic Problems by The was Thank you For Great Videos
For me AC04 is the best all around. Yet it does none of its aspects the best. It does everything good or great. Then again my favorite AC game is the 3DS remake of 2, so I don’t know if I can say anything lol.
Overrated, boring gameplay and garbage missions. 04 and Zero were truly peak for being the most balanced in both gameplay and story, and AC2 along with X are underrated.
Ac 3, 4 and 5 are such amazing games! The perfect blend of great story, great gameplay, great graphisme (for the times and platform) they deserve not a remake but a remaster, on my opinion. Just the exact same games but with better texture, models and High definitions. I think just a simple port with slightly better definition, I would be happy 😊. Until then I still have a anbernic 35XX and a PS2 to replay them 😊.
Didn't like 4 at all, mostly because its controls aged very poorly and how it feels extremely clunky even when flying high mobility aircraft The story also didn't reach me at all, 5 did a way better job and it's very memorable
You forgot to include another hugely important reason: best briefing voice ever conceived. Not just in Ace Combat but in every franchise I've been exposed to, that briefing voice is just peak audio.
“ i was just a child when the stars fell from the skies” that line will stay with me forever along i with “ i have so far to go”
I remember AC5 being something of a big event, as much as a flight sim could be anyways, with highly polished graphics, lots of advertising, and the special flight stick edition. But I personally found the dialogue to be a bit lame. AC0 was my favorite game from the PS2 titles. AC0 may have lacked a few things from the previous two, but it really made up for it with in-game storyline paths and the interesting character interviews. Even though I was huge into fighter jets long ago, I always felt a bit critical of Ace Combat because of the high missile count. Lethal Skies II was my first PS2 game, so it felt weird to play Ace Combat after that game. Air Force Delta Strike was a strange game. I don't know if I ever finished it but it was certainly interesting.
PS2 games were such a vibe, like Ace Combat 4, Metal Gear Solid 2, Red Faction, Timesplitters 2, and Zone of the Enders. Such a weird dreamy cell-shaded high-tech weirdness.
I just ordered AC 4 I will about to try it my first time on a PS3 backwards compatibility
A note about the story point: If you actually write down the text of the spoken words to all of those cutscenes, you assemble the letter the man (who was a boy then) sent to you the player. It's a coherent, well written letter of forgiveness for killing Yellow 13, written to tell you that the man you killed never hated or resented you and was at peace with his death in that dogfight. It's funny, because I feel the need to contrast that with the framing device and ending to the other Ace Combat game I love, Zero. The narrator admitting to not really knowing Cypher (the player character) despite all that work, even with Pixie's final message at the end, just doesn't have the deeper emotional weight to the framing device of 04.
Ace Combat 4 remains my favorite of the series, because of the time and effort that went into that framing device for the emotional thrust of the narrative. It wasn't necessary, you could have made the game without that, and it would still have been a great Ace Combat game. But it was that post-facto insight into our rival and persistent foe, the very personal story of the narrator and his selfless motive of wanting the one who de-facto killed his surrogate father figure to know not to feel guilty over it. That is what makes it the BEST game. The narrative is built on the very real world assumption that you will feel some guilt, some regret over needing to shoot Yellow 13 down.
I generally don't care for story in games, but it always rains in my room watching these cutscenes.
Mobius One, Fox 2.
My dream would be for Ace Combat 8 to be some sort of prequel that brings back Yellow 13 as a main character, perhaps an ally.
Best enemy ace IMO.
@@JarboeGaming Apparently Mihaly from 7 was a mentor to Yellow 13 according to the lore
@@anfumu Yes he was! Mihaly is great, I wish 7 would've shown more of him
When going from 7 to 4, I was surprised at how similar the core gameplay features were similar. It made me appreciate both games much more in a way, of how solid it was even early on in the franchise and how 7 managed to keep it fresh.
The only game that can surpass AC4 is a proper AC3 remake. This game was sublime in almost every way.
Except 2Player
You mean AC3 JP version with EN patched?
Part of why 04 is the best was because of Yellow 13, he's the best rival ace in the series. Pixy gets by through his fun theatrics and while I love them both, Y13 is on a whole another level. The intro was breathtaking to me as a kid, the F-4 carrier take off is unforgettable.
I still prefer Zero because it's the most A2A leaning game in the series, can't really beat the funny rival squadrons in that game with their _peak_ Ace Combat dialogues; if you like fighter jets then obviously you want to have more cool dogfight setpieces and Zero is unparalleled in that aspect.
Plus it have J35 Draken, and the Draken is cool. Mercs are also cooler than these patriotic protags with their boring default plane skins.
I remember my first time even seeing ace combat 4. I was going through a shop. (I got into retro games) I saw Ace combat 4 shatter skies right there. I looked at my dad and said. This looks interesting so we bought it. I didn’t play that much until I got grounded at my mom’s house. But my dad was still allowing me to play PS2 games at his house and I started playing ace combat and it still holds up. It’s the best games I’ve ever played and I played a lot. (I got it in 2020)
Started playing AC04 when I got it for christmas in 2001 and havent stopped playing it since. My favourite by far! The others are good too but the simplicity of this game is what makes it easy to pick back up.
Hearing that opening theme threw me back to mi childhood I orbit it existed as well as the rest of sound track and the story my god I love rewatching the cut scenes
It's still my favorite. I often just pop it into my ps2 pick a random level and pick a plane and get it going.
Right on target! Also, love that you brought up Gundam Journey to Jaburo and Zeonic Front. J2J was my first ps2 game and imo the best Gundam game. I aced the side missions with the Gouf. I wish I had the ability to record at the time.
It's definitely between 4 and 0 for me. 4 really sets the bar for all AC games afterwards and is just so well put-together overall, especially given it didn't have a particularly large budget after 3 was a commercial failure. Zero builds on this and also is the first to fully make use of the cheesiness of enemies talking to you on radio which became a big feature in most future games and is the source for almost all AC memes. In 4, although you could hear enemies I can't recall any point when they actually spoke as if they knew you could hear them, and there are only a few moments in 5 where they do this and most are terribly written ("We'll return to haunt you for all eternity! AaAaAaRrRrGgGgHh!"). Also unlike almost every other AC, there is really no bad mission or bad soundtrack (or worse, bad game mechanic like DFM, painfully slow plane unlocks or fighters that take 3 missiles to down) in either of these IMO, making them very replayable. The worst mission in Zero is... Merlon? The worst mission in 4 is between Tango Line and Safe Return? Meanwhile every time I feel like replaying 5 I remember I'll have to sit through fucking Final Option.
I have most of the dialogue memorized especially for comona mission and megalith and the briefings
Starting after having finished the first 3, I came to realize AC4 was truly something special from the moment I booted it up, to the end of the credits. My favorite in the series by far, thank you for doing it justice with this video.
I pray that one day we get a good and proper remaster/remake of AC4
Ace Combat 04 is a timeless Gem!!
The only disagreement i have is the aircraft selection , (the F-4 is my fav so i am grateful for that )but still i would like to see more aircraft , same problem with 6 and they dont have the F4 ;(
I agree AC4 is the best. I’ve been hoping for a AC4 remake.
The first game of the series I ever played
And the first game I ever chose for myself to get at the store. ❤️
I started the ace combat series on 4 and played all but the original now. Belkan war is still my personal favorite... but 1:08 hit... yeah 4 is just barely behind in belkan war in nostalgia and gameplay for me. both amazing games and should be played if your a fan of the series.
Also rad is the Ace Combat 5 flight stick works with 4
My first was AC5., and between the high-octane jet fighter combat and the stories many twists and turns and wild superweapons, I became hooked. Late 30s now and I still get chills in the opening credits when it switches over to a Puddle of Mudd song.
Well to be honest ace combat 5 is still the best because it has 37 missions and that is so important to me and great array of jet to play with Ace Combat 4 only had 18 missions but still a good game.
I just dug my ps2 out of the closet just for AC4
What emulator do you use?
PSCX2 is the standard for PS2 emulation
✊
4 is an awesome game but my all time favorite is 5
5 is also amazing!
Really all 3 of the PS2 releases are great.
@@JarboeGaming true
I’ve only been saying, commenting this for like ever 😅👍
Hi
How Can Play It With Emulator With No Problem !?
For me its Not Working in Right Way and Have Graphic Problems
by The was Thank you For Great Videos
The latest version should run well, if anything, software mode will make sure there are no bugs, just looks worse though.
For me AC04 is the best all around. Yet it does none of its aspects the best. It does everything good or great.
Then again my favorite AC game is the 3DS remake of 2, so I don’t know if I can say anything lol.
AC3 > any airplane game to existence.
Overrated, boring gameplay and garbage missions.
04 and Zero were truly peak for being the most balanced in both gameplay and story, and AC2 along with X are underrated.
Ac 3, 4 and 5 are such amazing games! The perfect blend of great story, great gameplay, great graphisme (for the times and platform) they deserve not a remake but a remaster, on my opinion. Just the exact same games but with better texture, models and High definitions. I think just a simple port with slightly better definition, I would be happy 😊. Until then I still have a anbernic 35XX and a PS2 to replay them 😊.
Didn't like 4 at all, mostly because its controls aged very poorly and how it feels extremely clunky even when flying high mobility aircraft
The story also didn't reach me at all, 5 did a way better job and it's very memorable