Some Thoughts on ACE Combat8

[u/Sky_Iona]

So far, I’ve only played *ACE 7* and *ACE 8*, but I think *ACE 7*’s narrative tension and background music are still superior to *ACE 8*’s in some respects.

In particular, the tension and atmosphere surrounding the superweapons aren’t as intense as in *ACE 7*; in *ACE 8*, the superweapons feel as though they just “appear out of nowhere,” popping up suddenly without any foreshadowing.

They should have drawn us into the story from the very beginning—that is, starting with the chaotic retreats following the outbreak of the FUC War.

Furthermore, the various chapters of the story lack the atmospheric backdrop created by chaotic and intense ground combat between evenly matched forces; many scenarios require the player to stage a comeback from a disadvantageous position, unlike the enemy capital assault and Stonehenge defense missions in *ACE 7*, where allied ground forces served as a strong backdrop to the levels.

Furthermore, the timing of the music feels a bit jarring in some parts, especially when the Shadow 22 theme song plays immediately after the rock music ends, which always feels a bit odd.

Personally, if I were to compare the storyline and soundtrack to previous installments, I’d give *ACE 7* a 9 out of 10, while *ACE 8* would get an 8.5.

That’s really a bit of a shame.

(Positive Review)

The plot I have in mind is that they should have us take off from the airport in Expo City for a patrol flight as the prologue.

During the mission, the diplomatic tensions between the two countries and their internal stability issues would be established, explaining why aircraft that violate their airspace must frequently be intercepted and driven away. Along the way, we would visually inspect several automated surveillance towers equipped with technology provided by the Enso Order at sea to ensure they are functioning properly, serving as the flight training tutorial. Then, Expo City would suddenly come under bombardment from the Tonitrus Spear, while a Land Battleship abruptly appears just offshore, leading a fleet toward the coast. Even more unexpectedly, the fleet would force its way directly onto land, literally "driving" across the ground. This sequence would demonstrate the overwhelming presence and intimidation of the superweapons in this game, while the entire mission would convey an atmosphere of despair as irresistible as a force of nature, with the chain of command progressively collapsing under repeated bombardments from the Tonitrus Spear. (Furthermore, as part of a weapons test, the Tonitrus Spear would strike military installations one shell at a time, rather than firing a simultaneous salvo at every target.)

The second and third chapters would then respectively feature a retreat battle in which the military, having completed its mobilization, attempts a counterattack but is ultimately forced to withdraw, and a chaotic civilian evacuation mission in which we must cover the retreat. These two missions would showcase the Land Battleship's long-range firepower, the covert manipulation of the Enso Order, D. D's false propaganda targeting the Wings of Theve, and the deaths of even more fellow pilots from our training cohort. The first battle would focus on attempting to stop the Land Battleship from advancing, only to end in failure, forcing us to abandon all ground units still engaged in combat and carry out a mandatory retreat. The second battle would end with the Land Battleship entering the combat zone. In the post-battle briefings for both engagements, hopes would be placed on support from the Wings of Theve, but the Wings of Theve would never appear, resulting in decisive defeats and the deaths of more characters. This would leave both the squadmates introduced in these prologue chapters and the player feeling betrayed and questioning the Wings of Theve, setting up the complaints heard over the radio from characters who have defected from the FUC in later missions. Meanwhile, the Enso Order would secretly sabotage the evacuation vehicles it had supplied, causing technical malfunctions that prevent many civilians from evacuating successfully, forcing the already overstretched army to divide its forces to provide cover.

After these three prologue chapters conclude, Rex would be forced to make an emergency landing at a field airstrip somewhere due to damage to his fighter aircraft, leaving him with no choice but to evacuate with the troops aboard a helicopter. The story would then continue into the actual game's first prologue mission.

I think this way, we'd get to enjoy even more interesting missions.

[u/Daemoniaque]

There are things I think 7 does better (I personally prefer 7's soundtrack, even if this one is still good I find myself less interested in listening to it again outside of the game), but overall I would say that 8 is the superior game. The story structure is much better, it flows much smoother, supporting characters see some actual developpement (helps when they're not around for only like 7 missions each), and most importantly the dialogue is a LOT less awkwardly written in english.

Superweapons I feel are handled well enough, even if I agree that some come in a bit "out of nowhere" like Nightmare, which is ironically "foreshadowed" AFTER being introduced.

[u/Sky_Iona → u/Daemoniaque]

I also feel that, compared to ACE7, the songs in ACE8 aren’t as well-suited for listening to while playing through non-combat scenarios.

Not elegant enough? I’m not sure if that’s the right word to use when reviewing ACE8’s BGM—ACE7 gave me the impression of a blend of cowboy music and European classical music.

They should have included more Mongolian-style music in the battles of ACE8; that way, it would feel like savoring the culture and flavor of the enemies in that world while fighting against Genghis Khan’s expedition.

[u/Aeternum0723]

Meh. To each their own. However I will say 7 was a disappointment to long time fans, I wont disagree that it was a good game caude objectively it was and it was fun. But its narrative was all over the place and after we lose spare squadron I was already uninvested in all of the remaining characters. We get stuck with count who isnt even likeable outside of spare and was barely likeable inside spare. Wish we wouldve kept tabloid and the rest instead of just writing them off. By the time Wiseman died it still was whatever, we had like a few missions with him, like who cares fr. Everything in 8 was put together very well that the only thing 7 can compete with it in is its soundtrack

[u/DapperAardvark8105]

They should have drawn us from the very beginning

I kind of agree with you, but they made the Hour Zero cinematics for this purpose. If they put everything into the game it would feel bloated I think

Superweapons don't have a theme song

Yes they do, the land battleship has the horn/string descending motif (the whaaaam one) which was pretty scary to me the first time

[u/Sky_Iona → u/DapperAardvark8105]

oh, oh, I replayed those two levels, and it turns out my memory was off,

you were right

[u/CityExcellent8121]

I don't consider the land battleships superweapons against aircraft like the other superweapons in 7. The Land battleships are made for destroying ground targets, as with what happened with the first FCU invasion of Theve.

The main superweapon are the tonitrus spears and they are again moreso aimed at ground targets. For what its worth, I'm glad there weren't too many superweapon lile flying units to face. It definitely felt like AC7 and AC5 covered it pretty well, so having mobile ground ones were interesting considering the last ground based superweapon was in AC6 and was essentially a giant artillery cannon.

[u/EchoFiveActual]

Like 70% of the cutscenes are "heres the status of the super weapon and how were trying to counteract it" they dont come out of nowhere at all dude.

[u/Sky_Iona → u/EchoFiveActual]

No, that’s not it.

Although this could be explained through cutscenes and dialogue, I’d much rather experience that unstoppable power firsthand within the levels themselves.

For example, in *ACE7*, there were at least a few levels specifically designed to let players experience just how invincible that giant bird really was. But in *ACE8*, the two levels where players directly face land battleships simply have them destroy them immediately—it’s a real shame that there isn’t enough interaction to truly convey the overwhelming power of this superweapon on the battlefield before everyone comes together to create that opportunity.

[u/EchoFiveActual → u/Sky_Iona]

Excluding the actual boss battles theres 2.

Mission 3 and 4 where they force you to retreat. Outside of that the aresenal birds only appear in missions where they are destroyed.

Stonehenge is only in one mission. Though i dont count it for this discussion because it has a whole another game to build a reputation. 

Likewise for the alicorn. 2 missions outside of its boss battle. And its a variant of an existing super weapon to give it a reputation.

Both the land battleships and spears have more missions where they influence the outcome of a mission or story.

[u/Sky_Iona → u/EchoFiveActual]

No, this has nothing to do with how many missions a particular superweapon appears in. If a weapon is repeatedly described as incredibly powerful and unstoppable, but every time it appears, it gets successfully repelled, then it simply cannot create enough of a sense of threat for the player.

Both the Land Battleships and the Arsenal Birds are described as invincible. When I play as Rex, everyone keeps talking about how invincible and terrifying the Land Battleships are, yet my very first actual encounter with one ends with me successfully destroying it. But when I play as Trigger, my first encounter with an Arsenal Bird ends with me having no choice but to retreat, because it truly is invincible, no matter how skilled I am.

The difference in how these two narratives make the player feel is enormous.

One of the reasons Sotoa was able to successfully invade the FCU through a blitzkrieg was the invincibility of its Land Battleships. They were even powerful enough to harass other neutral nations on their own. Before the game even begins, they have already annihilated countless enemies.

Yet when a Land Battleship is finally presented to the player in actual gameplay, it gets destroyed in its very first encounter with the player. And in every subsequent appearance, it is once again destroyed by the player.

The game never manages to demonstrate their supposed invincibility through its missions, allowing that threat to continue putting pressure on the player as the story progresses. Nor does it allow the player to understand firsthand why the other characters are so terrified of the Land Battleships.

That's why I find the portrayal of this superweapon in the story so regrettable.

[u/EchoFiveActual → u/Sky_Iona]

Did we even play the same game?

The land battleship completely decimates the defenders of theve. Repells the first attempt to retake it. And kills purple magic in the second retaking. Both of these happen before rex's encounter with it.

We dodge its fire in retaking of theve 1

How us this not consdered an encounter?

And those are just the examples i can think of.

The spears completely destroy expo city, rajo bajo, and wipe out FCU forces several times across multiple missions. 

They arent just said to be huge threats they are shown to be so.

Second to that. They are invincible and every ancounter with them requires a special weapon/and or allied assistance to defeat it.

The first in person encounter doesnt even technically destroy it. The crew disables it pushing it past its limits. And gets it stuck. Physically its fully functional.

Frankly youre not just biased. But factually wrong.

[u/Sky_Iona → u/EchoFiveActual]

From the very beginning, I shouldn't have responded at all to your humiliating taunts.

[u/Academic-Umpire-3393]

7 was great, but it's not better than 8 at all. You're alone on this one chief.

[u/Sky_Iona → u/Academic-Umpire-3393]

I didn’t say that—it’s definitely better than the previous installment in so many ways—but I didn’t include the parts I liked in my review, so I can understand why this misunderstanding arose.

However, what I focused on was the sense of awe the super weapon brings to the story and how the music transitions, this minor difference isn't worth arguing about.

Anyway, I don’t regret getting it; ACE8 is a game well worth playing.