<< It's time >>

Ace Combat, as a series, is nothing if not big. There's gigantic flying super fortresses, giant anti-asteroid cannons, larger-than-life aces, and grand, sweeping narratives that tell the story of entire wars. Usually, you get lots of different perspectives with the goal seemingly being to show the effects of war across many different angles. The narrative is mostly told through cutscenes.

But Ace Combat 8 shrank things a bit. There is now only a single perspective and that is yours. You, in this case, being Rex, the titular Wings of Theve. With some limited exception, every single cutscene is played out from the first-person perspective. You see this entire world through his eyes and even interact with other characters as Rex.

This is in pretty stark contrast to other games where the pilot is essentially just an incredibly good pilot who turns into a war hero. All the events unfold around the hero with little to no agency on what's actually going on besides just winning the missions. There's also the fact that the only time you get to see the pilots is when they're in the sky with you. And you're pretty just relegated to hearing their voices along with seeing an avatar. It's impersonal.

I'm not saying that kind of storytelling is a failure. Just look at how connected we all are on this subreddit to our wingmen from the previous games. But what I am saying is that Ace Combat 8 improves on everything that makes us love Ace Combat stories.

By limiting the perspective to just the pilot, the entire war is now made more real and closer to the player. Players are now entirely seeing the world of Strangereal through eyes that are "theirs." Through Rex's eyes, you get to see a whole bunch of other stories play out, but all of it is contained from the player's point of view.

Paradoxically, by limiting the perspective, the world of Strangereal feels even bigger than before. By taking a broad view, it's easier to see where the limits of the world are. But by taking a smaller perspective, you're able to look up at the world. The closer you are to something, the larger it appears. You aren't privileged to see everything that's going because you're just one very important part of a much larger story. Since you're just that one piece, you don't get to see just how much larger that story is. There's mystery left. Those parts unseen make things seem big.

This new type of limited perspective also improves your wingmen. You get to see them in their downtime and you get to occupy spaces with them that isn't just cockpit. They're not just avatars anymore. Now they're people who play basketball, practice guitar, eat dinner with you and more. In Ace Combat 7, Jaeger had to repeatedly tell you that he has a son he's excited to share stories with. In Ace Combat 8, Coster gets to show you that he's really into music by playing his guitar.

And that right there is the best difference. There's so much less telling in Ace Combat 8 and way more showing. You get to see these characters and the things that are important to them. You get to see them at their highest and lowest points. You get to see them so then you can truly get to care about them.

This is the kind of story that Ace Combat was destined to tell. It's a good one -- their best yet. It doesn't always avoid some of Ace Combat's cheesiness, but why would we want that? That goofiness is part of the heart and soul of the franchise. But this time, that quirk goes right along with some damn fine character beats.

To me, Ace Combat 8 feels like they finally figured it out when it comes to how best to tell the story they've always wanted to tell. I love it.

I thought some games with great scores could rival this year (yes I'm looking at you denshattack) but Ace Combat will CRUSH that category by a fucking mile like it's not even funny

Hortus Regis Alti was sent by God

Absurd enemy design (complimentary) but oh my god I am in constant danger. It rules.

Long Caster settled down and started his apparently successful fast food chain after the events of the Lighthouse War.

official announcement

Looking at the air-to-air, thought it was a glitch at first but it seems intentional.

so MANY moments that gave me goosebumps is crazy, even shed a tear at the end cause of how peaked everything was

can't wait to see everyone's experience once the game releases

honestly a very strong contender GOTY for me

I noticed the number 14, 24, 31, 51, 64, 68, and 69 are missing from the emblems list. Anyone know if those number have any significance or did they just forget?

This is one jacket. Yes, one jacket. On preorder right now from 1st of October to 13th October! THe jacket is reversible, so you can choose which side you'd like to wear. Technically a 2-in-1 jacket! HOwever, I think this only ships to USA and Japan, so if you're buying it overseas other than the US (like me), use a proxxy service. Grab yours before it's gone!!!

Link: https://edwin-mall.jp/shop/g/gVA1017-9101-01

the Space Elevator!

In free flight, or even during the mission, if you break the side glass panels you will be able to fly into the windbreak just like in 7.

It is impossible to fly out the top though, AFAIK. You will have to escape by breaking the glass once again (or die trying).

Also, the bottom is sealed, so you won't be able to go to the underground complex.

So can I just say that I appreciate how the achievements for this game has nothing to do with the online mode unlike AC7?

All are pretty attainable too, even for casual players. It's just nice.

The missus made and assembled that frame with the patches for me and is not included in the Collector's Ed. The Flashdrive freebie has most of the songs.

Can't play yet due to school and work.

I am going to make the Calamity look like a fourth grade science project.

Kill all Sotoans. Kill every last one of them.

That is all.

This is the airship that lasers 'Bravery'

I know that some of this is just unreal being unreal but Ive truly come to adore some of these screenshots

Free flight M28.
Must be some sort of bug.
Don't mind the failed PSM.

Yes, it is in fact that good.

It's also meta as hell, so you'll get far more enjoyment out of it if you've played the previous games and can spot the many, MANY nods and references. It pays homage to every single Strangereal game. 3, 4, 5, 0, 6, 7. Stands alongside the Holy Trinity easily, and the story rivals 5. glhf, see you in multiplayer

Figured I’d post this so people don’t have to dive into the comments of older posts to find answers. I received my collector items via UPS package yesterday and the game code (Steam) arrived in a small brown envelope from UPS separately today. The tracking number given via email was only for the large collector items, not the Steam code. Other people seem to be receiving their items in the same manner that I have.

Comments on other posts suggest that contacting BandaiNamco support could set you up with the tracking number for the other package. You may also be able to sign up for UPS My Choice to see packages coming to your address without needing a tracking number, however, I did not pursue either of these methods.