History YMMV / AceCombatAssaultHorizon

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Pre-release and promotional materials hyped up the ASF-X Shinden II and featured a plot involving a pair of Japanese pilots, one of them being the real-world version of Kei Nagase. However, the plot thread was quickly swept away in favor of Bishop and his unit members, with Nagase's story relegated to the ''Ikaros in the Sky'' novel that [[NoExportForYou never made it out of Japan]]. The Shinden itself only appears as a DLC purchasable aircraft with no plot relevance whatsoever in-game and can only be played in Free Mission and Multiplayer.

** Stagleishov's [[WhatTheHellIsThisAccent accent]] when he speaks Russian, his mother tongue. Even a person who doesn't understand Russian may find it hard to keep a straight face while listening to him (unless, of course, you're playing a version where he has a different [=VA=], whose accent is much better).

* {{Narm}}: The aforementioned FistPump by Bishop at the end of the story, a minor {{meme|ticMutation}} in its own right.

** American bombers do actually have equipment that show them the radar coverage they're coming into, allowing them to minimize the danger of detection. Remember, while a B-1B can outpace a pursuing fighter (it can hug the terrain while holding its afterburners for much longer than a fighter could), a B-2A is basically a big black Dorito chip with the maneuverability you'd expect - that is, none at all - and an easy gun kill if spotted. The weaknesses of the B-2 Spirit bomber actually make the B-1 Lancer a better choice for the mission in which it is available, since [[spoiler:detection is unavoidable]].

** The penultimate mission, "Hurricane," fictionally takes place on January 2016, around the East Coast of the United States, where a hurricane designated as Alex brews up and partly hampers your gameplay. Fast forward to the ''real life'' January 2016, Hurricane ''Alex'' brewed up in the North Atlantic part of America, admittedly a rarity among hurricanes.

* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms of ''Assault Horizon''. While an ''Ace Combat'' game set in the real world could be interesting, the writers do nothing unique or original with it, instead opting for a generic "United States vs. Russia" storyline, which by 2011 people were already getting sick of after every ''other'' military game ever had already been doing the exact same thing for years.

** Similarly, neither this title nor even ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault Joint Assault]]'' were the first ''AC'' game set in the real world. The arcade games (''Air Combat'' and ''Air Combat 22'') took place in the real world, but they're so obscure only a few people even know those games exist.

* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms of ''Assault Horizon''. While an ''Ace Combat'' game set in the real world could be interesting, the writers do nothing unique or original with it, instead opting for a generic "United States vs. Russia" storyline, which by 2011 people were already getting sick of after every ''other'' game ever had already been doing the exact same thing for four years.

* BrokenBase: Gamers that bought ''Assault Horizon before'' picking up any of the other games will love it. Most long time fans hate it. The biggest break point is the DFM system, not only in this game but arguably in the entire franchise. Supporters love it because it makes dogfights very spectacular and intense, plus it encourages use for people who in previous games just used missiles over and over since using the machine gun was way too hard for getting the same results. Detractors hate it because they think it destroys any sense of skill or challenge, and turns dogfights into glorified on-rails shooting segments, if not straight-up [[PressXToNotDie Quick Time Events]]. It doesn't help that not only some climactic boss fights but even basic mooks with flares force you to use it. That said, some detractors are willing to admit it works better in multiplayer modes, since using it on another human player means it's possible to have it turned around on you rather than it being a glorified "I Win" button.

** Another large point of contention is Bishop ''not'' being a FeaturelessProtagonist, a break from ([[VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere nearly]]) every other ace you play as in ''Ace Combat''. Even worse, not only was [[TheStoic Lt. Col. Bishop]] [[FlatCharacter a rather bland and generic military hero]], but Warwolf 3 and Warwolf 4 are pretty much an afterthought throughout the entire game; they're never [[TheFaceless seen]] or [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname named]], unlike Guts, and don't get any substantial dialogue until the final two missions of the campaign. With only a few tweaks to the story either of them would have [[OCStandIn proved perfect for the spotlight]] had not Bishop been the viewpoint character. The immersion players felt in previous games was sorely lacking and dearly missed. It's telling that while ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity Infinity]]'' is also set in our world, the PlayerCharacter is a return to form (and also a [[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies Mobius]] [[MemeticBadass 1]] [[{{Expy}} analogue]]), with the Bone Arrows' flight leader Viper serving the authoritative role Bishop was arguably better suited for.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY9NO4GQJRk A lot of mockery was made of the fact that,]] in the final cutscene of the game, players have to initiate a QTE in order to have Bishop [[FistPump triumphantly pump out his fist]] to the cheering crowd of onlookers. Years later, there'd be [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare "Press X to Pay Respects."]]

* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms of ''Assault Horizon''. While an ''Ace Combat'' game set in the real world could be interesting, the writers do nothing unique or original with it, instead opting for a generic "United States vs Russia" storyline, which by 2011 people were already getting sick of after every ''other'' game ever had already been doing the exact same thing for four years.

* EthnicScrappy: Many players weren't too bothered when Guts was shot down, as his dialogue is almost as bad as [[VideoGame/StarFox Slippy Toad's]].

** Those Quick Air-to-Air missiles that were dreaded online and were the most broken missiles in the series? Yeah, they've been buffed back to ''[=AC04=]'' status, and when in Dogfight Mode, the reticule stays glued to the enemy plane you're targeting.

** The penultimate mission, "Hurricane," fictionally takes place on January 2016, around the East Coast of the United States, where a hurricane designated as Alex brewed up and partly hampered your gameplay. Fast forward to the ''real life'' January 2016, Hurricane ''Alex'' brewed up in the North Atlantic part of America, admittedly a rarity among hurricanes.

** In the form of an inter-fandom BorrowedCatchphrase, expect the common reaction to "White Devil" to be [[Memes/{{Gundam}} "IT'S A GUNDAM!"]] [[labelnote:explanation]]White Devil, the title of the music playing during Mission 09: Siege, is the also official nickname of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Amuro Ray]] due to his exploits in the RX-78-2 during the One Year War, though it's more popularly attributed (in fanon) to [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha Takamachi]], who happens to be heavily inspired by the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise to the point that some fans refer to her as a human Mobile Suit. Humorously enough, the site of the mission is a Russian airfield known as Belyi Base. The word ''belyi'', or ''bélyj'', is Russian for "white," thus giving you... White Base, just like in ''MSG''. [[/labelnote]] ''Film/AceVentura'' references are a distant second.

** As stated in the trivia section, Jim [=DeFelice=] had plans for a story set in the Strangereal setting, but the decision to go into the real world was Project Aces'. Forum hopping on Website/GameFAQs has people up in arms with regards to [=DeFelice=]'s story for the game.
** Considering the Strangereal nations are still based on modern or historical real-life countries, the concerns may or may not have remained legitimate had this game gone with the Strangereal setting. Besides, most of those criticisms lie anyway with the facts that the WarIsHell aspect of the series is much toned-down, the storyline spends too little time outside of Bishop's personal conflict (whereas those who already played any or all titles between ''04'' and ''6'' would likely expect much more than that), and that the player character is Bishop himself and therefore no longer stays anonymous in ''Assault Horizon''.

* NarmCharm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BoGLLxWyiw "Gotta Stay Fly"]] qualifies because the lyrics makes little sense and yet manage to be awesome.

** Similarly, even ''Joint Assault'' wasn't the first game in the real world. The arcade games (''Air Combat'' and ''Air Combat 22'') took place in the real world, but they're so obscure only a few people even know those games exist.

* TaintedByThePreview: The demo forcing you to use Close-Range Assault to splash aces has not been warmly received.
* ThatOneBoss: The final battle with Markov is absolutely ''savage''. [[spoiler:His plane can [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard target you with missiles even when you're chasing him in DFM]]. And those missiles [[ThatOneAttack have truly insane homing ability]]. '''And''' he [[GoddamnedBoss maneuvers like a spider monkey on crack, speed, and acid]], meaning even getting your assault circle primed is a herculean task. And then, his plane is ''completely invulnerable'' until just before he gets into firing position for his cruise missile, something the game neglects to mention]]. It doesn't help that you have a whopping ''five'' scripted cinematic sequences before his plane is actually vulnerable. [[ScrappyMechanic DFM]] is already contentious with fans because of its nature as a disguised quick time event. Have fun needing to do five of them before you're allowed to kill Markov. Of course, this fight can be cheesed if you either a) bring an aircraft that has ECM, or b) learn to exit Dogfight Mode whenever you hear the lock-on beep and enter it again to make the missiles useless. [[TakeAThirdOption Or you can do both to be sure]].

** The AC-130 Level is damn near impossible in Ace Difficulty, because there's no way to prevent being shot at with [=SAMs=] from the ground and the [=SAMs=] are too fast to be shot. Couple that with the fact that you have to deal with two or three at a time, that two kill you ''and'' that you have to escort your allies, it's pretty hard. Adding insult to injury, it's pointless to play the mission on Ace [[BoringButPractical because it's possible to get an A rank as well as over ten thousand points on Pilot difficulty!]]

** Many ''Ace Combat'' fans are unhappy about the change in setting, the lack of superweapons, the introduction of Close-Range Assault, the RegeneratingHealth and the addition of piloting different kinds of aircraft like helicopters and bombers, for starters.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Pre-release and promotional materials hype the ASF-X Shinden II and features a plot involving a pair of Japanese pilots, one of them is the real-world version of Kei Nagase. However the plot thread was quickly swept away in favor of Bishop and his unit members. The Shinden only appear as a DLC purchasable aircraft with no plot relevance whatsoever in game and can only be played in Free Mission and Multiplayer.

* BrokenBase: Gamers that bought ''Assault Horizon before'' picking up any of the other games will love it. Most long time fans hate it.
** The biggest break point is the DFM system, not only in this game but arguably in the entire franchise. Supporters love it because it makes dogfights very spectacular and intense, plus it encourages use for people who in previous games just used missiles over and over since using the machine gun was way too hard for getting the same results. Detractors hate it because they think it destroys any sense of skill or challenge, and turns dogfights into glorified on-rails shooting segments, if not straight-up [[PressXToNotDie Quick Time Events]]. It doesn't help that not only some climactic boss fights but even basic mooks with flares force you to use it. That said, some detractors are willing to admit it works better in multiplayer modes, since using it on another human player means it's possible to have it turned around on you rather than it being a glorified "I Win" button.

* MemeticMutation: In the form of an inter-fandom BorrowedCatchphrase, expect the common reaction to "White Devil" to be [[Memes/{{Gundam}} "IT'S A GUNDAM!"]] [[labelnote:explanation]]White Devil, the title of the music playing during Mission 09: Siege, is the also official nickname of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Amuro Ray]] due to his exploits in the RX-78-2 during the One Year War, though it's more popularly attributed (in fanon) to [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha Takamachi]], who happens to be heavily inspired by the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise to the point that some fans refer to her as a human Mobile Suit. Humorously enough, the site of the mission is a Russian airfield known as Belyi Base. The word ''belyi'', or ''bélyj'', is Russian for "white," thus giving you... White Base, just like in ''MSG''. [[/labelnote]] ''Film/AceVentura'' references are a distant second.

* ThatOneBoss: The final battle with Markov is absolutely ''savage''. [[spoiler:His plane can [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard target you with missiles even when you're chasing him in DFM]]. And those missiles [[ThatOneAttack have truly insane homing ability]]. '''And''' he [[GoddamnedBoss maneuvers like a spider monkey on crack, speed, and acid]], meaning even getting your assault circle primed is a herculean task. And then, his plane is ''completely invulnerable'' until just before he gets into firing position for his cruise missile, something the game neglects to mention]].
** It doesn't help that you have a whopping ''five'' scripted cinematic sequences before his plane is actually vulnerable. [[ScrappyMechanic DFM]] is already contentious with fans because of its nature as a disguised quick time event. Have fun needing to do five of them before you're allowed to kill Markov.
** Of course, this fight can be cheesed if you either a) bring an aircraft that has ECM, or b) learn to exit Dogfight Mode whenever you hear the lock-on beep and enter it again to make the missiles useless. [[TakeAThirdOption Or you can do both to be sure]].
* ThatOneLevel: The AC-130 Level is damn near impossible in Ace Difficulty, because there's no way to prevent being shot at with [=SAMs=] from the ground and the [=SAMs=] are too fast to be shot. Couple that with the fact that you have to deal with two or three at a time, that two kill you ''and'' that you have to escort your allies, it's pretty hard.
** Adding insult to injury, it's pointless to play the mission on Ace [[BoringButPractical because it's possible to get an A rank as well as over ten thousand points on Pilot difficulty!]]

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Where to start... Many ''AC'' fans are unhappy about the change in setting, the lack of superweapons, the introduction of Close-Range Assault, the RegeneratingHealth and the addition of piloting different kinds of aircraft like helicopters and bombers, for starters.

** ''VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'' was deemed inferior to ''Ace Combat'' as a franchise by ''AC'' fans, yet many old-time ''AC'' fans think that ''HAWX'' is superior to ''Assault Horizon''. It's more of a "It's a completely different game with a completely different gameplay" than complaining about the changes, though.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Pre-release and promotional materials hype the ASF-X Shinden II and features a plot involving a pair of Japanese pilots, one of them is the real-world version of Kei Nagase. However the plot thread was quickly swept away in favor of Bishop and his unit members. The Shinden only appear as a DLC purchasable aircraft with no plot relevance whatsoever in game and can only be played in Free Mission and Multiplayer.


* JustForFun/XMeetsY: VideoGame/AceCombat meets VideoGame/CallOfDuty, with a dash of Film/TopGun for good measure.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Pre-release and promotional materials hype the ASF-X Shinden II and features a plot involving a pair of Japanese pilots, one of them is the real-world version of Kei Nagase. However the plot thread was quickly swept away in favor of Bishop and his unit members. The Shinden only appear as a DLC purchasable aircraft with no plot relevance whatsoever in game and can only be played in Free Mission and Multiplayer.

* CrazyAwesome: Bishop gets several moments:
** Stopping [[spoiler:an ICBM launch by slipping under the missile's wake and [[ViolationOfCommonSense accelerating upward after it]], getting close enough to ''take damage from the thing's exhaust'']].
** Engaging in a dogfight within the outer edges of [[spoiler:a Category 5 hurricane]].
** Rescuing [[spoiler:Guts when his ejection system is damaged by ''using his cannon to shoot off the canopy on Guts' Raptor'']].
** D-Ray gets one himself, when, during [[spoiler:the Moscow assault]], enemy long-range [=SAMs=] take out several helicopters and force all other choppers to duck down to avoid being targeted. Realizing that the mobile SAM teams will obliterate the fighters when they get back from refueling, D-Ray and his gunner Jack hunt down and destroy ''all the mobile SAM teams''. And then, just as a final kicker, ''[[spoiler:devastate the remaining rebel forces, essentially winning the battle single-handedly]]''.

* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms of ''Assault Horizon''. While an Ace Combat game set in the real world could be interesting, the writers do nothing with it. Instead opting for a generic "United States vs Russia" story line, which by 2011 people were already getting sick of.

* MisBlamed: As stated in the trivia section, Jim [=DeFelice=] had plans for a story set in the Strangereal setting, but the decision to go into the real world was Project Aces'. Forum hopping on Website/GameFAQs has people up in arms with regards to [=DeFelice=]'s story for the game.

* NarmCharm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BoGLLxWyiw "Gotta Stay Fly"]] qualifies because the lyrics makes little sense and yet manages to be awesome.

* ScrappyMechanic: The Close Range Assault mechanics are rather contentious, especially Dogfight Mode.

** The helicopter levels are often criticized for dragging on far too long and ending up dull and repetitive as a result. The fact that helicopter special weapons (of which you are only allowed to carry one of, despite the helicopter having multiple hardpoints and the ability to carry AT missiles and rocket pods is standard on all attack helicopters) have a small ammo pool and will run out means that you'll be forced to use the chin-mounted gun halfway through the mission, with no resupply option.

* InternetBackdraft: Unfortunately the shift from Strangereal to the real world with ''Assault Horizon'' provoked this. Several flavors have cropped up so far:
** [[CulturalCringe Disaffected Americans]] and non-Americans alike frothing at the mouth over ''Assault Horizon's''' announcement trailer, furious that Americans are implied to be the protagonists, especially at the implication that the enemies are Russians (regardless of whether they are [[RenegadeRussian rogues]] [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain or not]]).
** {{Flame War}}s over the announcement trailer depicting an American F-22 shooting down multiple Su-35s (then getting shot down by Akula himself). Much CulturalPosturing and arguing about whether the United States or Russia has the better military followed in the trailer's wake, with inevitable {{Demonization}} [[{{Eagleland}} of Americans]] over TheWarOnTerror mixed in.
** Not to mention the initial reaction to ActionCommands.

* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms of ''Assault Horizon''. While an Ace Combat game set in the modern day could be interesting, the writers do nothing with it. Instead opting for a generic "United States vs Russia" story line, which by 2011 people were already getting sick of.