Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere is at odds with its ambition. A deeply thought provoking narrative that marries choice effortlessly with its conclusion is hampered by multitudinous plodding missions which rarely deviate from the mould.
Ace Combat 3 is a curious game that westerners haven't been able to enjoy in its totality, in english, until very recently. The version or the game we received here was greatly pared down, both trimming down the mission count massively (perhaps a good thing, actually) and more importantly stripping the game of its narrative that defines this entry. I see absolutely no point in giving that version a shot, and I don't know many specifics about the cut content, so going forward you can assume I'm talking about the Japanese version, which received an excellent, and more importantly complete, fan translation earlier this year.
Going from the second entry in the series to this gave me a lot of whiplash. Air Combat and its sequel had stories, but they were rather vague and were there just to get you into the action as quickly as possible. The backdrop is a war of some sort, with rather realistic depictions of battles (or as realistic as you can get while still making a fun dogfighting game). Ace Combat 3 immediately sets itself apart from these games from the title screen, which invokes a beautiful Y2K aesthetic, a product of the turn of the millenium. The UI is fantastic overall; while the general sentiment is that UI you don't notice is doing its job well, I'll always take something this bold and evocative over simple and inoffensive any day. Oh, and the music here is superb, an ethereal electric soundtrack gives each mission a strange vibe, often paired with evocative visuals that make the whole experience explicitly Ace Combat 3.
Before long, you're greeted with anime characters! Again, their designs are very 90s-esque, and seeing as the game is set in the future, it makes the game a unique time capsule. A quaint approximation of what the next 40 years may hold, such as nanotechnology, planes that can defy the laws of physics and the ability to transplant your mind into cyberspace. Characters contact you using video emails, and this aspect of the presentation is one of the most immersive. This cast wouldn't win any awards, but I found myself invested in their stories due to how well the game keeps you connected to them. And yet, that's as far as I want to go on the story. It has my thoughts enraptured and I want to give it the time and effort it deserves, so I think I'll be doing a video about it, one day.
So all is great, yeah? Not exactly. This campaign features a lot of huge turning points in the story, which I really appreciate, but this comes at the expense of how big they had to make this game. The first game had 17 missions, the second game had 21 and the third? A whopping 52 missions, which isn't even counting everything you'll have to replay in order to see all the endings. A flowchart similar to the Zero Escape series would have seriously helped this game out, though it wasn't until the second game in that series where they figured this out. The first two AC games have some repetitive mission structures, though the second at least took strides in making a lot of the missions feel distinct. I can't say the same for its sequel, which very rarely had objectives which stood out from the rest.
While the story chugs along in the background, the gameplay blends into an unrecognisable mush which I found myself struggling to continue with as I rounded out my fifth ending. Those endings are usually the highlights, with some incredible setpieces and dramatic scenes punctuating the end of the game. Notable, however, is that every single route has you go up against the same 'boss fight' agt some point in the final act, which was the most blatant example of recycled content. Ace Combat 3 either needed to trim the fat and focus a little more attention on the missions they kept, or give the game a lot more time to truly realise its vision.
Ace Combat 3 is ultimately so much more than the time I spent playing it, which is a kinder way of saying that this one is more enjoyable to think about than to actually play. Still, I'll take a lasting impression over some mildly better gameplay almost any day.
Ace Combat 3 is a curious game that westerners haven't been able to enjoy in its totality, in english, until very recently. The version or the game we received here was greatly pared down, both trimming down the mission count massively (perhaps a good thing, actually) and more importantly stripping the game of its narrative that defines this entry. I see absolutely no point in giving that version a shot, and I don't know many specifics about the cut content, so going forward you can assume I'm talking about the Japanese version, which received an excellent, and more importantly complete, fan translation earlier this year.
Going from the second entry in the series to this gave me a lot of whiplash. Air Combat and its sequel had stories, but they were rather vague and were there just to get you into the action as quickly as possible. The backdrop is a war of some sort, with rather realistic depictions of battles (or as realistic as you can get while still making a fun dogfighting game). Ace Combat 3 immediately sets itself apart from these games from the title screen, which invokes a beautiful Y2K aesthetic, a product of the turn of the millenium. The UI is fantastic overall; while the general sentiment is that UI you don't notice is doing its job well, I'll always take something this bold and evocative over simple and inoffensive any day. Oh, and the music here is superb, an ethereal electric soundtrack gives each mission a strange vibe, often paired with evocative visuals that make the whole experience explicitly Ace Combat 3.
Before long, you're greeted with anime characters! Again, their designs are very 90s-esque, and seeing as the game is set in the future, it makes the game a unique time capsule. A quaint approximation of what the next 40 years may hold, such as nanotechnology, planes that can defy the laws of physics and the ability to transplant your mind into cyberspace. Characters contact you using video emails, and this aspect of the presentation is one of the most immersive. This cast wouldn't win any awards, but I found myself invested in their stories due to how well the game keeps you connected to them. And yet, that's as far as I want to go on the story. It has my thoughts enraptured and I want to give it the time and effort it deserves, so I think I'll be doing a video about it, one day.
So all is great, yeah? Not exactly. This campaign features a lot of huge turning points in the story, which I really appreciate, but this comes at the expense of how big they had to make this game. The first game had 17 missions, the second game had 21 and the third? A whopping 52 missions, which isn't even counting everything you'll have to replay in order to see all the endings. A flowchart similar to the Zero Escape series would have seriously helped this game out, though it wasn't until the second game in that series where they figured this out. The first two AC games have some repetitive mission structures, though the second at least took strides in making a lot of the missions feel distinct. I can't say the same for its sequel, which very rarely had objectives which stood out from the rest.
While the story chugs along in the background, the gameplay blends into an unrecognisable mush which I found myself struggling to continue with as I rounded out my fifth ending. Those endings are usually the highlights, with some incredible setpieces and dramatic scenes punctuating the end of the game. Notable, however, is that every single route has you go up against the same 'boss fight' agt some point in the final act, which was the most blatant example of recycled content. Ace Combat 3 either needed to trim the fat and focus a little more attention on the missions they kept, or give the game a lot more time to truly realise its vision.
Ace Combat 3 is ultimately so much more than the time I spent playing it, which is a kinder way of saying that this one is more enjoyable to think about than to actually play. Still, I'll take a lasting impression over some mildly better gameplay almost any day.