RISE FROM YOUR GRABE. its altered beast. theres not a whole lot to it, but I don't think that it's particularly bad, especially for its time. But then again, I'm sure even when it came out it was a C-tier game... I don't even think it's because of the actual gameplay loop itself, I think that a lot of enemy placements and level design just feel kinda... cheap? and that makes the game as a whole feel kinda unpolished. Since its a both a launch title and a bundled game for the system, it means it gets rereleased constantly, so if you really wanna try it, you sure can. But in this day and age, why play this when the same console can play alien soldier?

This is it. This is the peak of video games. It has all been downhill from here. It is essentially the sidescrolling action game perfected to a fine, glistening sheen. You have so many movement options, so many defensive and offensive options, and a whole HORDE of fun and interesting bosses to use those said options against all with their own unique and different fighting strategies. All while pushing the mega drives hardware to its absolute limit both visually and audibly. This game is Treasure's magnum opus, which is saying something since that company literally doesn't miss.

hoo boy. First things first, don't play this on "Gamer" difficulty, no matter how much of a gamer you believe yourself to be. This game is really funny in that it makes fun of otaku culture in a way that's not so much cringe as it is that you can tell the game developers themselves are part of said culture and understand the kinds of quirky people that compose said community. There are some characters that are pretty cringe regardless, but that's just how it be I guess. The graphics ain't that great, especially compared to the well-drawn key art that is used for character portraits. The original game came out on the PSP and this is more of a port of that rather than a full on remake, so expect PSP graphics. The actual mechanics of the game itself are where most of my problems lie. The combat is kinda slow and hard to grasp and the AI works together like a hivemind to deliver simultaneous deathblows that kill instantly, and that never feels fair. A lot of the game could be spent on a money grind for better gear/books to improve your abilities, but since the game doesn't really give a lot of money for each encounter, that too isn't that fun. If you like otaku culture and consider yourself part of it and are willing to delve through a small but not unsubstantial amount of trash, then give this game a shot for sure. Otherwise avoid like the plague

Gonna be real with yall chiefs, this one ain't it. The story makes no sense and is kinda stupid. The fact that this is an Ace Combat game that doesn't take place in Strangereal is already absurd enough, but the fact that the story involves some sort of guys committing mutiny on you to destroy san francisco only for it to be an insurance money fraud thing or something is just pointless. The levels are also rather uninspired, with VERY OBVIOUS PLOT ARMOR on planes, giving a lot of missions a "wait around until X happens, THEN you can proceed" vibe. The music is honestly rather decent, being done by the same composer as God Eater, but I will say that the timing of certain songs is a little head-scratching. Despite all this though, this game does have one saving grace that does indeed make it worth playing, and that is the multiplayer. You can play the entire campaign with 3 plane lads, and this is honestly the only way I even remotely reccomend playing this game. You can even do "Joint Assault" missions, where you split into 2 teams of 2 and do interconnected but different missions, where actions on one end influence things on the other, so that is super neat. I'd say pass on this unless you have literally no other ace combat games to play, and 2 or 3 fellow pilots around to experience the multiplayer with. Otherwise, avoid.

This game is the fan favorite of the ace combat series, and I can see why. The story isn't as nutty as ace combat 5 yet it does go to some weird ass places. Moreover, without spoiling it, this game is particularly known for having the greatest boss battle in the entire series with its final boss. The OST also goes incredibly hard with a sound style you wouldn't really associate with dogfighting, yet it works really really well. It doesn't hurt that a full playthrough would only take you around 3-4 hours too, which makes this game very replayable. Absolutely worth a play.