Ace combat 04 is the best game to start with in the series. While I love it, there also isnt a lot to say about it. Its gameplay is smooth and fun. Its narrative, although told through a simple form, is one of the best in the series. Its music is great as always.

The biggest flaw in ace combat 04 are its score attack missions, while only two (Tango Line and Safe Return) feel bad to play, the overwhelming amount of them and the length of the missions makes them feel boring at times and very repetitive.

My intro to the Ace Combat series, this game was everything I wanted as a kid who grew up obsessed with fighter jets. What I didn't expect was the deeply personal story that this game tells parallel to the missions you undertake. Ace Combat is a franchise that has always excelled at storytelling through both cutscenes and in-game dialog, all for characters that are rarely, if ever, seen in person. The enduring legacy of this story and these characters in the fanbase is a testament to how well it undertakes that challenge. It does lack the bombast or themeing of its successors, and for me, it is weaker than the stories that follow, but that doesn't take away from the quality of it.

From a gameplay perspective, this game set the template for what Ace Combat games going forward would feel like, with intuitive and accessible flight controls, and a relatively simple game loop in using weapons, combined with a scoring system and ammo management that sees you prioritizing your shots and making sure your positioning will ensure a hit, a gameplay loop that is very fun despite the repetition. Choosing your aircraft and weapons before going into a mission is a skill that ensures you are paying attention and not just mindlessly engaging with the game, and the variety of planes to use is something any enthusiast for military aviation will enjoy.

Despite all this praise, the main thing that holds this game back for me is the mission design, with too many missions being relatively mindless score attack missions, where you just keep shooting away at targets until you hit a point threshold or time limit, with minimal narrative glue to tie it together with the rest of the game. These missions can be fun, but over time, they become rather forgettable. When this game does decide to ramp up the spectacle though, tying in the narrative to major events, the game truly becomes something special, and the thing that really elevates these moments is the absolutely stunning soundtrack, a staple throughout the series, with this game being one of the best in the whole franchise.

Time has not been kind to the relatively simple mission design of this game, with the less advanced AI opponents also leading to the game feeling a bit too easy and simple. Despite this, it set the bar for Ace Combat going forward, and the strength of the soundtrack, storytelling, and narrative, all with the engaging and endlessly fun gameplay, make it a fan favourite within the series. It will always have a special place in my heart as my introduction to Ace Combat, and the memory of playing it in my younger years is a deeply nostalgic one. This game marks the beginning of what fans dub the Holy Trinity of Ace Combat, and what a beginning it is.

<< Mobius 1, engage. >>

A estreia da franquia no PS2 foi um pouco decepcionante, ao meu ver.
Os gráficos não mudaram tanto, mesmo considerando ser de início de geração. Creio não ter impressionado na época, e com certeza não impressiona hoje. Apesar disso, serve bem pra dar palco às situações do jogo

O controle do avião segue o mesmo, com alterações irrisórias. O que mudou, porém, foi como você usa os misseis e armas. Essa foi a primeira vez na franquia que eu errei tantos misseis! Chega a ser frustrante até...

A estrutura de missões ter ido em direção a pontos invés do antigo alvos seletos me desagradou um pouco também. Você vai passar a avassaladora maioria do tempo de jogo atirando em objetos imóveis no chão, e também por muito mais tempo que antes, já que agora, mesmo que você cumpra a meta de pontos, ainda tem que esperar o timer zerar. Terminou a meta 3 minutos antes? "E quem disse que isso é problema meu?", o jogo fala. Vai ficar mais 3 minutos fazendo nada de relevante, pode destruir mais uns objetos inanimados no chão pra passar o tempo se quiser. E mesmo quando o timer zera, um outro objetivo é instituído e o timer volta a ter outro tempo. Ao menos, o segundo objetivo costuma ser bem rápido de se concluir

A história foi um ponto positivo. É BEM mais simples e direta que a do jogo anterior, mas ironicamente, entretém mais. A narrativa é legal, e "plot twist", se é que podemos falar assim, das partes mais avançadas do jogo, é bem legal. Me senti meio que vendo um filme de sessão da tarde sobre aviação... no bom sentido!

A trilha sonora felizmente desviou do Jungle e agora é mais séria, orquestrada, padrão filme mesmo, porém, não é tão marcante assim, com exceção das duas ultimas músicas finais

Mesmo a história tendo sido mais agradável, e a última missão tenha fechado o jogo com uma chave de ouro, ainda não foi o suficiente pra salvar esse jogo pra mim... Com exceção do primeiro, que não conta, foi o jogo que eu menos me diverti de todos, ao menos até agora

Absolutely incredible game. I've heard about Ace Combat for a long time and mistakenly assumed it was just a generic war game about fighter jets. Every single thing about this blew me away. The story, the presentation, the commentary about the horrors of war, about human relationships, about forgiveness and moving on with your life.

I loved every single second of this game and it never slowed down for a single second. It was short and sweet, and the last mission made such an impact on me that I came out of it a changed woman.

They don't make em like this anymore........

(Takes around 3 hours to complete)
AC 4 has the least amount of content and the shortest completion time out of all main titles of the franchise, except for the first two, but it makes up for it with one of the best stories I've seen in a video game.
Story
Don't play this game if you expect a typical Call of Duty-esque storyline. It is split into two parts – the gameplay and the cutscenes. During the gameplay, you play as Mobius 1 – an elite pilot for the ISAF, which is currently at war with Erusea. You take part in dangerous operations and by the end of the game you are called by most a hero. The cutscenes are a narration of a man's childhood during the war, told through beautiful hand drawn panels. His family had been killed by a crashing plane, shot down by an enemy pilot. After Erusian forces occupy his town, he meets that enemy pilot – Yellow 13. Between them, a very interesting dynamic develops – Yellow killed his family and is part of the enemy, but there is no one else who he can rely on. Eventually, this leads to Yellow turning into a sort of surrogate father for the kid. During the cutscenes, Mobius 1 serves the role of an antagonist, as there is no one else who can match Yellow in skill.
Gameplay
It has the standard for the series of arcade flight mechanics. Unfortunately, there is a low number of aircraft, and you can't change the SP weapons like in the later games. It has great mission pacing with one of the best final levels in the franchise. One criticism I can bring up is the lack of checkpoints. This becomes especially apparent in some 20+ minute long missions.
Graphics and artstyle
The cutscenes are all hand drawn and as such they have aged very well. The same can't be said for the gameplay part. Just don't look at the ground too hard and you will be fine.
Atmosphere
The cutscenes are melancholic and nostalgic, while the gameplay makes you feel like a hero who can get the job done, not matter the odds.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is good and fits pretty well. “Megalith Agnus Dei” stands out as the best for me.
Final Thoughts
“Stand back I am about to Mob” - Mobius 1

Uma evolução muito boa do seu antecessor, apesar de não ter vários final igual o anterior, com várias rotas, o enredo aqui é muito bom, jogabilidade está ótima, com coisas novas como misseis especiais como arma secundaria, que você vai comprando ao longo do jogo e testando. Apesar de não ter uma variedade tão grande de missões, o jogo ainda assim diverte muito, tendo bons momentos, e ainda assim se destaca, e que jogo lindo, uma pena ser tão curto, essa franquia é uma pérola que deveria ser mais conhecida.

I enjoyed this game. I think the cutscenes between some of the missions are really nice, and they provide more context regarding the situation and the enemy. I enjoyed every mission, but I felt some pressure from the timing. I never failed a mission because of this, but I would have loved to have more time on some missions to get more engaged in air fights. Another drawback is that a lot of missions mainly focus on destroying ground targets, which is nice but less challenging than air fights.

The last mission was amazing and the best mission of Ace Combat so far (for context, I played them chronologically).