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* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' speaks for itself, with your main pilot shooting down hundreds of foes and destroying even more ground targets by the end of the game all on his own. You can be any type you want, depending on your plane and loadout. And in almost every game, you will have to face another top ace as the FinalBoss.
%%** ''VideoGame/AirCombat'', ''VideoGame/AceCombat2'' and its remake ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy'': Phoenix aka Scarface 1 (player) VS various ace squadrons and the experimental A.I. fighter squadron 'Z.O.E.'.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'': Nemo (player) VS [[spoiler: Rena Hirose and Abyssal Dision (JP version) or the Night Raven AI (international version)]]
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'': Mobius 1 (player) VS Yellow 13. Bonus points for giving the actual definition of the term.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'': Blaze (player) VS [[spoiler: Grabacr 1 and Ofnir 1]]. Played with in that all three have their squadrons backing them up, but their captains are several notches above their squadmates.
** ''VideoGame/{{Ace Combat Zero|TheBelkanWar}}'': Cipher (player) VS [[ExaggeratedTrope every enemy ace of the game]] and[[spoiler: later, Pixy]]. ''The Belkan War'' introduced its own ace style classification based on a simple KarmaMeter: the Knight Ace only kills the targets he is ordered to kill, sparing the neutral ones (civilian facilities, [[ComingInHot damaged enemy planes]], etc.), even though that brings him little in terms of cash; the Mercenary Ace kills everything he can get his sights locked on if he'll get paid for it, combatant or not; and the Soldier Ace finds a compromise between his conscience and material needs. Gameplay-wise, the Mercenary gets to buy better planes early on but has to face tougher enemy aces, while the Knight fights less aggressive enemies and is praised by both his allies and his enemies and the Soldier is inbetween. Some prime examples of Snipers would be Schnee Squadron, whose main tactics include electronic jamming and long-range Phoenix missiles. The FinalBoss forces you to steamroll via AirJousting because his plane's only weak points are the front air intakes. In a case of MergingtheBranches, later lore implies that Cipher shot down ALL boss squadrons, the varying ones at the same time.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation'': Talisman (player) VS Victor Voychek and later Ilya Pasternak.
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'': Trigger (player) VS Mihaly Shilage. In an interesting take on the situation, while this is non-canon since the player can do what they want, Trigger mentally fits the steamroller archetype as subtle narration clues imply that he is [[HotBlooded rather gung-ho and eager to fight]]. Mihaly has both the skills and the plane to fit whatever archetype he needs to counter his current foe.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception'' and its mobile spinoff ''Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion'': Gryphus 1 and Falco 1 (players) VS Leasath's elite squadrons Alect and Chimera Squadron.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault'': Antares Squadron (players) VS [[RivalTurnedEvil Varcolac Squadron]]. Specifically, Antares 1 VS Milosz 'Varcolac 1'' Sulejmani.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'': Lieutenant Colonel William 'Warwolf 1' Bishop (player) VS Colonel Andrei 'Akula' Markov.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity'': Reaper (player) VS Camilla 'Butterfly Master'.
* In ''VideoGame/AceOnline'' (A.K.A. ''Air Rivals''), players with enough [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] kills earn ranks and titles, one of which is "ace." All of the listed piloting styles exist in this game in some shape or form, although every player must utilize each of them for different situations and types of enemies.
* CO Eagle from the ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' series, who commands strong air units that burn less fuel per day than those of other [=COs=]. This is at the expense of his comparatively weak grasp of naval combat, though his friend and colleague CO [[FatherNeptune Drake]] can usually pick up his slack on that front.
** ''Days of Ruin'' gave us two: the revenge-driven, offense-oriented Tasha, and the SmugSnake Waylon.
* ''Roleplay/AdvanceWarsEternalWar'':
** Jonathan. Played with, in that he also gets good land units, at the cost of poor naval units and infantry.
** Robyn. Taken to extremes in that she loves staring at the sky, and hates pollution. (Small irony then that jets are frankly ''awful'' for the environment. They don't run on captured sunbeams.)
* ''[[VideoGame/AirForceDelta Air Force Delta Strike]]'''s entire cast of pilots by the end of the game.
* The Ravens and LYNX from the ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' series.
* ''VideoGame/COD2SpanishCivilWarMod'': Joaquín García Morato, the top-scoring Nationalist fighter ace, makes a brief appearance during one of the Nationalist missions when he shoots down an enemy fighter.
* You play as one in ''VideoGame/CloudCutter'', with your titular vehicle being a state-of-the-art jet fighter equipped with a dazzling array of weapons, and you pilot it alone to take on hordes of enemies each stage.
* In ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'', Tiger ace Hauptmann Josef Schultz is a clear expy of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wittmann Michael Wittman.]] In a later expansion, the player can take charge of Schultz's tank to do battle with the British 7th Armoured Division in the real-life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Villers-Bocage Battle of Villiers Bocage.]]
* ''VideoGame/CrimsonSkies'' had the main character Nathan Zachary, and his crew of Ace Air Pirates.
--> '''Nathan Zachary''': When you hit the ground, tell'em Nathan Zachary sent ya!
* In each of the ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'' games from the original to ''[[VideoGame/EliteDangerous Dangerous]]'', the player is expected to become one by getting enough kills to reach the eponymous rank of [[TitleDrop Elite]] (and in ''Dangerous''' case, doing it in [[BoldExplorer exploration]] and [[IntrepidMerchant trading]] as well).
** The Fuel Rats, a player group devoted to refueling stranded players in ''[[VideoGame/EliteDangerous Dangerous]]'', has a reputation for being composed of skilled pilots capable of rescuing players extraordinarily quickly, even across the galaxy. This has come to a point that Frontier Developments has named the dominant player faction in the Fuelum system after them, as well as peppering the in-game advertising with ads for the Fuel Rats.
** Since ''Elite: Dangerous'' has quite the physics system, some players have become hyper-specialized pilots of specific models of spacecraft. One of the most infamous members of this segment of the community is a fellow named [=CrimsonGamer99=], who has made a habit out of flying the normally mundane Adder light freighter [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d5HV4WOZAs in manner more befitting a misfired bottle rocket]] thanks to his disabling of the flight assist controls that would normally produce smooth, logical flightt paths. His specialty is flying in and out of station entrances in the most reckless and nausea-inducing ways possible while not crashing the small and fragile vessel, to the point that other players have learned to give a wide berth to Adder 745, AKA "[[MeaningfulName Vomit Comet]]."
* ''VideoGame/FlyingRedBarrel'':
** Marc, pilot of the titular Red Barrel
** Peat, who pilots the Blue Crow;
** Members of the Guild Sherry
** Islay
** Others.
* ''VideoGame/FarCry5'' has both the player character and Nick Rye, who can provide you with support from the air using his modified crop duster [[AceCustom Carmina]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}'' is crawling with them. Trent (your character), unsurprisingly is one of the best, out of everybody in the game. Literally, considering the premise of this game.
* ''Project Sylpheed'', ''VideoGame/{{Freespace}}'', various ''Franchise/StarWars'' games, face it, you WILL be playing as an ace pilot in any space shooter. In ''Freespace'', you're not awarded an [[ce medal until you've scored ''sixty'' kills: if it were five, you could be an Ace after your first flight. Double- and Triple-Ace medals also exist for reaching 150 and 350 kills.
* The heroes of the ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' series are experienced Gradius pilots who tackle [[TheVirus Bacterian]] forces with the [[CoolStarship Vic Viper series]], such as [[TheHero James Burton]] and his [[HeroicLineage descendant]], David Burton, who pilots the Vixen series instead in ''Nemesis III''. The ''Anime/{{Salamander}} [=OVA=]'' has a trio of Gradius military pilots named [[TheLeader Dan]], Eddie Evans, and [[ActionGirl Stephanie McBain]] that aid Latis' battle against the Salamander forces. [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Even Latis' prince]], Lord British, is also this trope himself, as he also helps the heroes take on the Bacterians with his own fighter.
* Trevor Philips of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' is the team's designated pilot, and he's really good at. Even being an amoral, insane drug addict in the present hasn't diminished his flying skills. He was actually on his way to being a military pilot before he flunked the psych exam.
* Noble Six of ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' is implied to be one even by [[SuperSoldier Spartan]] standards, since the very reason s/he was transferred to NOBLE Team in the first place was because of his/her impressive piloting exploits during a counter-insurgency op on Mamore. The player gets to put those skills to use in the space dogfight section of the level "Long Night of Solace".
* Any named character from ''Tom Clancy's VideoGame/{{HAWX}}''.
* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': Charles, for all his bumbling, is a ''god'' when he's in the cockpit. In the ''Triple Threat'' plotline of ''Completing The Mission'', [[spoiler: he's able to stop his chopper mid-flight so the rotor blades don't chop up Henry and Ellie as they leave the sabotaged rocket and so they don't hit the inside of the chopper at terminal velocity. This is an incredibly difficult maneuver to pull off, requiring precise timing and exact calculations of the trajectory and speed of all involved parties. ''And he pulls it off without a hitch''.]]
* In ''VideoGame/InfiniteSpace'', you'll find a few recruitables with ace piloting skills, and you'll notice how they can turn the tide of a battle when used right. Most notable of these come in Act 2 (Namely Mihhaelo Luka and Volo Naturo), since in Act 1, only Gadina has the skill while Johano Sceptro and Brava Soneto only have some close stats.
* The same goes for ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik''. Most of the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII aces are featured in the game, mainly via their AceCustom planes.
* In ''VideoGame/IntoTheBreach'', each unique mech pilot has a special skill to help them in gameplay. In addition, every pilot can level up to unlock two generic skills that increase the capabilities of their mechs.
* Jak from ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' has vehicle skills that are top notch, and have been a core aspect of his character since ''[[[VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy The Precursor Legacy]]''.
* ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'', though most decidedly of the non-military variety, does give us Jebediah and Valentina Kerman. Both of them, as well as any other Kerbalnaut with a "Pilot" profession, are highly-trained masters of guiding spacecraft throughout the cosmos. Jeb and Val in particular have a hidden "[=BadS=]" flag set to true, meaning they ''never'' lose their cool, even when the craft is barrel rolling sideways into a cliff face at 300 miles an hour.
* Rean Schwarzer from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' grows into one. His specialty is both a Steamroller and a Plugger.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, although the player is almost never exposed to his competition. In the first game, he dives from orbit to drop an armoured vehicle on a landing strip ''30 metres'' long and then pull up to escape back into orbit, while under continuous heavy fire, one one motion. The ''Normandy'' is not damaged. Oh, and the very minimum 'safe' landing zone to make a drop in, according to Alliance regulations? 100 metres. Joker is quite literally the best pilot in the Alliance. Notable in that his craft isn't a fighter like is common for the trope, but a 100+ meter frigate. And he still makes it do tricks that one would expect more from a fighter craft.
-->'''Joker''': ''It takes skill to bank in a vacuum. Don't think it doesn't.''
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' adds shuttle pilot Steve Cortez (who previously served as a fighter pilot in the Alliance Navy), who claims the [[DropShip UT-47A Kodiak]] flies like a brick, yet he still wins dogfights with Cerberus gunships flying one. In the ''Citadel'' DLC, a rogue mercenary gang steals the ''Normandy SR-2''. While Shepard infiltrates the ship, Cortez has to prevent it from jumping to FTL by literally blocking it; repeatedly flying within a 30-degree cone of its line of travel will trip the jump safeties and keep the mercenaries from fleeing. It also exposes Cortez to the ''SR-2'''s formidable main weapons, so he has to continuously duck in and out of the line of fire, keeping up with the frigate's course changes and dodging skyscrapers. Cortez accomplishes this feat ''in a taxi''.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', turian Pathfinder and former Spectre Avitus Rix is a skilled fighter pilot which he demonstrates by dog-fighting kett forces during the final battle.
* If you want to get to the center of the Galaxy in ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'', you are expected to become one of these due to the enemies you fight becoming harder and harder to take down as you get closer to it.
* ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'': Although they don't do any piloting in-game, Commanders Giles Price and Vera Belova (and Zhanna Agonskaya before her) are noted to be aces who primarily use aircraft (but hardly limit themselves to that).
* Becoming one is your goal in ''VideoGame/RedBaron''. Along the way, you may encounter other historical aces from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, including the Red Baron himself.
* The main protagonists from ''VideoGame/SigmaStarSaga'' are both Ace Pilots.
* ''VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter'' has Chocolat, a thirteen-year-old girl who can fly circles around the best of them [[ImprobablePilotingSkills with a chunky airship that's more of a flying home base than a fighter plane]].
* Tails from ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''. Depending on continuity, he either built or upgraded the Tornado, but no matter what after Sonic meets him he becomes its designated pilot, outflying robots and aces decades his senior through sheer skill.
* The entire ''Franchise/StarFox'' Team, of course... except maybe Slippy and Krystal.
** Especially Falco. That's his thing. He's even slightly more competent in the actual gameplay.
** [[ComicStrip/StarFox The comics]] feature Fara Phoenix, a civilian pilot good enough to be permitted to fly military aircraft...[[LeeroyJenkins then she went up against a Venomian Cruiser]] and had to bail.
* ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'':
** The character Atton Rand seems to be the token "ace pilot" character, particularly in terms of personality. However, under his control, the ships you travel in during the game seem to crash an uncanny number of times... Kreia and Bao-dur both comment on this as the game goes on. According to Atton, the only reason [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits the lot of you]] are still standing is because he is a good enough pilot to land a half-exploded shuttle instead of slamming it nose-first into a hill.
** In [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic the first game]], being an excellent pilot is Carth Onasi's InformedAbility. He at least only crashed once, and it was more like a controlled emergency landing after one of the ''Hawk'''s engines is blown out by [[spoiler:the Star Forge's defenses]]. Between that, and getting safely off Taris [[spoiler:during an orbital bombardment]], Carth's on-screen record is better than poor Atton's.
* Chris Roberts' ''VideoGame/StrikeCommander'' is all about Ace Pilots, specifically PrivateMilitaryContractors using F-16s and other jets to support various sides in various wars in a CrapsackWorld TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. The game also keeps a KillTally [[NoseArt painted on your plane]], and tracks kills for all your teammates on a scoreboard in your base.
* Several of the ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}''’s [[AMechByAnyOtherName Ryder]] pilots might qualify, but Asaga Oakrun is the only one explicitly referred to as an Ace Pilot in-universe. She’s the Steamroller type, piloting a Ryder that is basically [[WalkingArmory nothing but guns and a pair of swords]], and can easily take on anything that comes her way.
** Icari Isidolde is the Bushwhacker type, as her Ryder is a FragileSpeedster that excels at taking out enemy Ryders but can’t do much against ships. She relies on her overwhelming speed and stealth capabilities to get in, cut her target to pieces, and get out before their friends can retaliate.
** Sola di Ryuvia is the Sniper type, and she has an actual sniper rifle as her weapon of choice. She can only make one shot per turn, but that one shot is usually strong enough to take out most mechs and seriously damage enemy capital ships if not destroy them outright.
** Kryska Stares is the Plugger type, as her primary role in battle is to [[PracticalTaunt provoke]] enemies into attacking her [[MightyGlacier slow and heavily-armoured Ryder]] instead of the more fragile members of your team. And since said Ryder is armed with battleship-grade weapons, she can give just as good as she gets.
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'':
** The Aggressors were the founders of mecha combat, and are still some of the best mecha pilots in the game. Also TheFederation ran the School, an experiment in turning children into ace pilots -- the only four to survive were Ouka, Seolla, Arado, and Latooni, also some of the best pilots in the game (though you only get Ouka for one level). Also anyone with a last name that ends in -stein (Branstein, Garstein). Which makes Elzam (a Branstein and an Aggressor) ''wicked awesome''.
** There's also the ATX team in which during the first game Kyosuke, Excellen and Bullet are at the same level if not surpassing the Aggressors to the point where Sanger Zonvolt (another Aggressor and arguably most badass in the OG verse so far) believes they have a better chance of beating the aliens than HE does.
** In fact nearly everyone on your team is an Ace Pilot either by insane skill (ATX, Aggressors, Axel, Irm and Ring), developed Telekinesis abilities (Ryusei, Aya, Kusuha and company) or by being the only pilots capable of operating unique and extremely powerful machines (Masaki, Lune, Kouta, Folka etc). Really the reason the OG group is so unbeatable is because they have nearly every Ace in the EFA in one group.
** Also, in many of the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games, once a pilot racks up 50 or more kills in a playthrough, they're given the status of "Ace", which gives various advantages depending on the game and character, ranging from slightly higher starting morale (Which is necessary for unleashing their most powerful attacks) to all manner of dodge and damage bonuses. ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW'' takes this even further with W (pronounced Double) Ace status upon reaching 100 kills, and gives an even more dramatic bonus. Notably, the pilots who make Ace the most easily tend to be of the Plugger archetype, via either [[DodgeTheBullet improbable evasion skills]] or the ability to [[StoneWall soak up ridiculous amounts of damage]], because players can simply send them into the thick of the enemy and let them rack up kill after kill when the enemies [[ArtificialStupidity unwisely try to attack them]].
* Asemu doesn't get Soul in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsBX'' but he gets the Super Pilot ability, which gives him a 20% damage boost.
** While the usual standards for grabbing the ace bonuses apply, people consider Amuro to be the greatest pilot among X-Cross in-universe for ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX''.
* [[PlayerCharacter Jake Logan]] from ''VideoGame/TachyonTheFringe''. He's established as already being an experienced mercenary fighter pilot at the start of the game, creating a minor quandary as to how to frame the tutorial. The solution ended up being to have Logan evaluating a newly hired piloting instructor.
* ''VideoGame/TitanFall and VideoGame/TitanFall2'': Pilots, who control the titular [[AMechByAnyOtherName Titans]], are deadly both in their Titans and on foot.
** Viper of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Apex Predators]], with his [[DangerDeadpan coldly professional]] BossBanter, [[TheFaceless ever-present]] flight helmet, and AceCustom [[FragileSpeedster Northstar]] Titan, would almost be a parody of the trope if he wasn't so [[TheAce skilled]] and [[SociopathicSoldier ruthless]]. He also takes the [[LongRangeFighter "Sniper"]] ace subtype more literally than most, as the Northstar-class Titan is the game's [[LongRangeFighter designated sniper]] Titan.
* Strangely, ''VideoGame/UltimaI'', as part of the main plot, requires the player to launch into space and kill 20 enemy ships, thereby becoming a "Space Ace."
* ''VideoGame/VectorThrust'', being heavily based on ''Ace Combat'', draws similarly from the glamour and glory of aerial combat. Its AI is also designed to closely resemble ace archetypes in Skirmish Battles.
* The ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series always has you play an ace pilot, and furthermore, features a group of different aces that you will fly with during missions, each of which has different temperaments and tactics in battle. Some games even put personalized Aces on the ''enemy'' side, each of which can generally be described as conforming to one of the types above.
* The PlayerCharacter in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' games. Getting the highest combat rank, [[XtremeKoolLetterz "X-TREME"]], requires you to destroy tens of thousands of ships, and kills by your PlayerMooks don't count.
* Likewise, you take on the role of an Ace Pilot in both the ''VideoGame/XWing'' and ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'' games, and proceed to [[ImprobablePilotingSkills kill hundreds]] [[OneManArmy upon hundreds]] of [[PunchClockVillain government employees doin' their jobs]][=/=][[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified the good guys]]. You ''dick''. In the latter game, you become so respected within the Empire's ranks that ''Darth Vader himself'' requests your help.
* Player characters Leo Stenbuck from ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' and Dingo Egret from the sequel ''The Second Runner''. Notably, Leo is an ordinary kid who literally [[FallingIntoTheCockpit fell into the cockpit]] of the game's SuperPrototype mecha Jehuty, but quickly turned out to have TheGift. Dingo, by contrast, is an embittered veteran ex-soldier forced back into action when he ends up wired into Jehuty's cockpit to survive. The two [[LetsYouAndHimFight go head-to-head]] at one point in the second game, with a now older and more-experienced Leo proving to be almost a match for Dingo despite using a less-advanced mech than Jehuty.
----
%%** ''VideoGame/AirCombat'', ''VideoGame/AceCombat2'' and its remake ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy'': Phoenix aka Scarface 1 (player) VS various ace squadrons and the experimental A.I. fighter squadron 'Z.O.E.'.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'': Nemo (player) VS [[spoiler: Rena Hirose and Abyssal Dision (JP version) or the Night Raven AI (international version)]]
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'': Mobius 1 (player) VS Yellow 13. Bonus points for giving the actual definition of the term.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'': Blaze (player) VS [[spoiler: Grabacr 1 and Ofnir 1]]. Played with in that all three have their squadrons backing them up, but their captains are several notches above their squadmates.
** ''VideoGame/{{Ace Combat Zero|TheBelkanWar}}'': Cipher (player) VS [[ExaggeratedTrope every enemy ace of the game]] and[[spoiler: later, Pixy]]. ''The Belkan War'' introduced its own ace style classification based on a simple KarmaMeter: the Knight Ace only kills the targets he is ordered to kill, sparing the neutral ones (civilian facilities, [[ComingInHot damaged enemy planes]], etc.), even though that brings him little in terms of cash; the Mercenary Ace kills everything he can get his sights locked on if he'll get paid for it, combatant or not; and the Soldier Ace finds a compromise between his conscience and material needs. Gameplay-wise, the Mercenary gets to buy better planes early on but has to face tougher enemy aces, while the Knight fights less aggressive enemies and is praised by both his allies and his enemies and the Soldier is inbetween. Some prime examples of Snipers would be Schnee Squadron, whose main tactics include electronic jamming and long-range Phoenix missiles. The FinalBoss forces you to steamroll via AirJousting because his plane's only weak points are the front air intakes. In a case of MergingtheBranches, later lore implies that Cipher shot down ALL boss squadrons, the varying ones at the same time.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation'': Talisman (player) VS Victor Voychek and later Ilya Pasternak.
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'': Trigger (player) VS Mihaly Shilage. In an interesting take on the situation, while this is non-canon since the player can do what they want, Trigger mentally fits the steamroller archetype as subtle narration clues imply that he is [[HotBlooded rather gung-ho and eager to fight]]. Mihaly has both the skills and the plane to fit whatever archetype he needs to counter his current foe.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception'' and its mobile spinoff ''Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion'': Gryphus 1 and Falco 1 (players) VS Leasath's elite squadrons Alect and Chimera Squadron.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault'': Antares Squadron (players) VS [[RivalTurnedEvil Varcolac Squadron]]. Specifically, Antares 1 VS Milosz 'Varcolac 1'' Sulejmani.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'': Lieutenant Colonel William 'Warwolf 1' Bishop (player) VS Colonel Andrei 'Akula' Markov.
%%** ''VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity'': Reaper (player) VS Camilla 'Butterfly Master'.
* In ''VideoGame/AceOnline'' (A.K.A. ''Air Rivals''), players with enough [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] kills earn ranks and titles, one of which is "ace." All of the listed piloting styles exist in this game in some shape or form, although every player must utilize each of them for different situations and types of enemies.
* CO Eagle from the ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' series, who commands strong air units that burn less fuel per day than those of other [=COs=]. This is at the expense of his comparatively weak grasp of naval combat, though his friend and colleague CO [[FatherNeptune Drake]] can usually pick up his slack on that front.
** ''Days of Ruin'' gave us two: the revenge-driven, offense-oriented Tasha, and the SmugSnake Waylon.
* ''Roleplay/AdvanceWarsEternalWar'':
** Jonathan. Played with, in that he also gets good land units, at the cost of poor naval units and infantry.
** Robyn. Taken to extremes in that she loves staring at the sky, and hates pollution. (Small irony then that jets are frankly ''awful'' for the environment. They don't run on captured sunbeams.)
* ''[[VideoGame/AirForceDelta Air Force Delta Strike]]'''s entire cast of pilots by the end of the game.
* The Ravens and LYNX from the ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' series.
* ''VideoGame/COD2SpanishCivilWarMod'': Joaquín García Morato, the top-scoring Nationalist fighter ace, makes a brief appearance during one of the Nationalist missions when he shoots down an enemy fighter.
* You play as one in ''VideoGame/CloudCutter'', with your titular vehicle being a state-of-the-art jet fighter equipped with a dazzling array of weapons, and you pilot it alone to take on hordes of enemies each stage.
* In ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'', Tiger ace Hauptmann Josef Schultz is a clear expy of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wittmann Michael Wittman.]] In a later expansion, the player can take charge of Schultz's tank to do battle with the British 7th Armoured Division in the real-life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Villers-Bocage Battle of Villiers Bocage.]]
* ''VideoGame/CrimsonSkies'' had the main character Nathan Zachary, and his crew of Ace Air Pirates.
--> '''Nathan Zachary''': When you hit the ground, tell'em Nathan Zachary sent ya!
* In each of the ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'' games from the original to ''[[VideoGame/EliteDangerous Dangerous]]'', the player is expected to become one by getting enough kills to reach the eponymous rank of [[TitleDrop Elite]] (and in ''Dangerous''' case, doing it in [[BoldExplorer exploration]] and [[IntrepidMerchant trading]] as well).
** The Fuel Rats, a player group devoted to refueling stranded players in ''[[VideoGame/EliteDangerous Dangerous]]'', has a reputation for being composed of skilled pilots capable of rescuing players extraordinarily quickly, even across the galaxy. This has come to a point that Frontier Developments has named the dominant player faction in the Fuelum system after them, as well as peppering the in-game advertising with ads for the Fuel Rats.
** Since ''Elite: Dangerous'' has quite the physics system, some players have become hyper-specialized pilots of specific models of spacecraft. One of the most infamous members of this segment of the community is a fellow named [=CrimsonGamer99=], who has made a habit out of flying the normally mundane Adder light freighter [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d5HV4WOZAs in manner more befitting a misfired bottle rocket]] thanks to his disabling of the flight assist controls that would normally produce smooth, logical flightt paths. His specialty is flying in and out of station entrances in the most reckless and nausea-inducing ways possible while not crashing the small and fragile vessel, to the point that other players have learned to give a wide berth to Adder 745, AKA "[[MeaningfulName Vomit Comet]]."
* ''VideoGame/FlyingRedBarrel'':
** Marc, pilot of the titular Red Barrel
** Peat, who pilots the Blue Crow;
** Members of the Guild Sherry
** Islay
** Others.
* ''VideoGame/FarCry5'' has both the player character and Nick Rye, who can provide you with support from the air using his modified crop duster [[AceCustom Carmina]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}'' is crawling with them. Trent (your character), unsurprisingly is one of the best, out of everybody in the game. Literally, considering the premise of this game.
* ''Project Sylpheed'', ''VideoGame/{{Freespace}}'', various ''Franchise/StarWars'' games, face it, you WILL be playing as an ace pilot in any space shooter. In ''Freespace'', you're not awarded an [[ce medal until you've scored ''sixty'' kills: if it were five, you could be an Ace after your first flight. Double- and Triple-Ace medals also exist for reaching 150 and 350 kills.
* The heroes of the ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' series are experienced Gradius pilots who tackle [[TheVirus Bacterian]] forces with the [[CoolStarship Vic Viper series]], such as [[TheHero James Burton]] and his [[HeroicLineage descendant]], David Burton, who pilots the Vixen series instead in ''Nemesis III''. The ''Anime/{{Salamander}} [=OVA=]'' has a trio of Gradius military pilots named [[TheLeader Dan]], Eddie Evans, and [[ActionGirl Stephanie McBain]] that aid Latis' battle against the Salamander forces. [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Even Latis' prince]], Lord British, is also this trope himself, as he also helps the heroes take on the Bacterians with his own fighter.
* Trevor Philips of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' is the team's designated pilot, and he's really good at. Even being an amoral, insane drug addict in the present hasn't diminished his flying skills. He was actually on his way to being a military pilot before he flunked the psych exam.
* Noble Six of ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' is implied to be one even by [[SuperSoldier Spartan]] standards, since the very reason s/he was transferred to NOBLE Team in the first place was because of his/her impressive piloting exploits during a counter-insurgency op on Mamore. The player gets to put those skills to use in the space dogfight section of the level "Long Night of Solace".
* Any named character from ''Tom Clancy's VideoGame/{{HAWX}}''.
* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': Charles, for all his bumbling, is a ''god'' when he's in the cockpit. In the ''Triple Threat'' plotline of ''Completing The Mission'', [[spoiler: he's able to stop his chopper mid-flight so the rotor blades don't chop up Henry and Ellie as they leave the sabotaged rocket and so they don't hit the inside of the chopper at terminal velocity. This is an incredibly difficult maneuver to pull off, requiring precise timing and exact calculations of the trajectory and speed of all involved parties. ''And he pulls it off without a hitch''.]]
* In ''VideoGame/InfiniteSpace'', you'll find a few recruitables with ace piloting skills, and you'll notice how they can turn the tide of a battle when used right. Most notable of these come in Act 2 (Namely Mihhaelo Luka and Volo Naturo), since in Act 1, only Gadina has the skill while Johano Sceptro and Brava Soneto only have some close stats.
* The same goes for ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik''. Most of the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII aces are featured in the game, mainly via their AceCustom planes.
* In ''VideoGame/IntoTheBreach'', each unique mech pilot has a special skill to help them in gameplay. In addition, every pilot can level up to unlock two generic skills that increase the capabilities of their mechs.
* Jak from ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' has vehicle skills that are top notch, and have been a core aspect of his character since ''[[[VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy The Precursor Legacy]]''.
* ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'', though most decidedly of the non-military variety, does give us Jebediah and Valentina Kerman. Both of them, as well as any other Kerbalnaut with a "Pilot" profession, are highly-trained masters of guiding spacecraft throughout the cosmos. Jeb and Val in particular have a hidden "[=BadS=]" flag set to true, meaning they ''never'' lose their cool, even when the craft is barrel rolling sideways into a cliff face at 300 miles an hour.
* Rean Schwarzer from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' grows into one. His specialty is both a Steamroller and a Plugger.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, although the player is almost never exposed to his competition. In the first game, he dives from orbit to drop an armoured vehicle on a landing strip ''30 metres'' long and then pull up to escape back into orbit, while under continuous heavy fire, one one motion. The ''Normandy'' is not damaged. Oh, and the very minimum 'safe' landing zone to make a drop in, according to Alliance regulations? 100 metres. Joker is quite literally the best pilot in the Alliance. Notable in that his craft isn't a fighter like is common for the trope, but a 100+ meter frigate. And he still makes it do tricks that one would expect more from a fighter craft.
-->'''Joker''': ''It takes skill to bank in a vacuum. Don't think it doesn't.''
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' adds shuttle pilot Steve Cortez (who previously served as a fighter pilot in the Alliance Navy), who claims the [[DropShip UT-47A Kodiak]] flies like a brick, yet he still wins dogfights with Cerberus gunships flying one. In the ''Citadel'' DLC, a rogue mercenary gang steals the ''Normandy SR-2''. While Shepard infiltrates the ship, Cortez has to prevent it from jumping to FTL by literally blocking it; repeatedly flying within a 30-degree cone of its line of travel will trip the jump safeties and keep the mercenaries from fleeing. It also exposes Cortez to the ''SR-2'''s formidable main weapons, so he has to continuously duck in and out of the line of fire, keeping up with the frigate's course changes and dodging skyscrapers. Cortez accomplishes this feat ''in a taxi''.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', turian Pathfinder and former Spectre Avitus Rix is a skilled fighter pilot which he demonstrates by dog-fighting kett forces during the final battle.
* If you want to get to the center of the Galaxy in ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'', you are expected to become one of these due to the enemies you fight becoming harder and harder to take down as you get closer to it.
* ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'': Although they don't do any piloting in-game, Commanders Giles Price and Vera Belova (and Zhanna Agonskaya before her) are noted to be aces who primarily use aircraft (but hardly limit themselves to that).
* Becoming one is your goal in ''VideoGame/RedBaron''. Along the way, you may encounter other historical aces from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, including the Red Baron himself.
* The main protagonists from ''VideoGame/SigmaStarSaga'' are both Ace Pilots.
* ''VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter'' has Chocolat, a thirteen-year-old girl who can fly circles around the best of them [[ImprobablePilotingSkills with a chunky airship that's more of a flying home base than a fighter plane]].
* Tails from ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''. Depending on continuity, he either built or upgraded the Tornado, but no matter what after Sonic meets him he becomes its designated pilot, outflying robots and aces decades his senior through sheer skill.
* The entire ''Franchise/StarFox'' Team, of course... except maybe Slippy and Krystal.
** Especially Falco. That's his thing. He's even slightly more competent in the actual gameplay.
** [[ComicStrip/StarFox The comics]] feature Fara Phoenix, a civilian pilot good enough to be permitted to fly military aircraft...[[LeeroyJenkins then she went up against a Venomian Cruiser]] and had to bail.
* ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'':
** The character Atton Rand seems to be the token "ace pilot" character, particularly in terms of personality. However, under his control, the ships you travel in during the game seem to crash an uncanny number of times... Kreia and Bao-dur both comment on this as the game goes on. According to Atton, the only reason [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits the lot of you]] are still standing is because he is a good enough pilot to land a half-exploded shuttle instead of slamming it nose-first into a hill.
** In [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic the first game]], being an excellent pilot is Carth Onasi's InformedAbility. He at least only crashed once, and it was more like a controlled emergency landing after one of the ''Hawk'''s engines is blown out by [[spoiler:the Star Forge's defenses]]. Between that, and getting safely off Taris [[spoiler:during an orbital bombardment]], Carth's on-screen record is better than poor Atton's.
* Chris Roberts' ''VideoGame/StrikeCommander'' is all about Ace Pilots, specifically PrivateMilitaryContractors using F-16s and other jets to support various sides in various wars in a CrapsackWorld TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. The game also keeps a KillTally [[NoseArt painted on your plane]], and tracks kills for all your teammates on a scoreboard in your base.
* Several of the ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}''’s [[AMechByAnyOtherName Ryder]] pilots might qualify, but Asaga Oakrun is the only one explicitly referred to as an Ace Pilot in-universe. She’s the Steamroller type, piloting a Ryder that is basically [[WalkingArmory nothing but guns and a pair of swords]], and can easily take on anything that comes her way.
** Icari Isidolde is the Bushwhacker type, as her Ryder is a FragileSpeedster that excels at taking out enemy Ryders but can’t do much against ships. She relies on her overwhelming speed and stealth capabilities to get in, cut her target to pieces, and get out before their friends can retaliate.
** Sola di Ryuvia is the Sniper type, and she has an actual sniper rifle as her weapon of choice. She can only make one shot per turn, but that one shot is usually strong enough to take out most mechs and seriously damage enemy capital ships if not destroy them outright.
** Kryska Stares is the Plugger type, as her primary role in battle is to [[PracticalTaunt provoke]] enemies into attacking her [[MightyGlacier slow and heavily-armoured Ryder]] instead of the more fragile members of your team. And since said Ryder is armed with battleship-grade weapons, she can give just as good as she gets.
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'':
** The Aggressors were the founders of mecha combat, and are still some of the best mecha pilots in the game. Also TheFederation ran the School, an experiment in turning children into ace pilots -- the only four to survive were Ouka, Seolla, Arado, and Latooni, also some of the best pilots in the game (though you only get Ouka for one level). Also anyone with a last name that ends in -stein (Branstein, Garstein). Which makes Elzam (a Branstein and an Aggressor) ''wicked awesome''.
** There's also the ATX team in which during the first game Kyosuke, Excellen and Bullet are at the same level if not surpassing the Aggressors to the point where Sanger Zonvolt (another Aggressor and arguably most badass in the OG verse so far) believes they have a better chance of beating the aliens than HE does.
** In fact nearly everyone on your team is an Ace Pilot either by insane skill (ATX, Aggressors, Axel, Irm and Ring), developed Telekinesis abilities (Ryusei, Aya, Kusuha and company) or by being the only pilots capable of operating unique and extremely powerful machines (Masaki, Lune, Kouta, Folka etc). Really the reason the OG group is so unbeatable is because they have nearly every Ace in the EFA in one group.
** Also, in many of the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games, once a pilot racks up 50 or more kills in a playthrough, they're given the status of "Ace", which gives various advantages depending on the game and character, ranging from slightly higher starting morale (Which is necessary for unleashing their most powerful attacks) to all manner of dodge and damage bonuses. ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW'' takes this even further with W (pronounced Double) Ace status upon reaching 100 kills, and gives an even more dramatic bonus. Notably, the pilots who make Ace the most easily tend to be of the Plugger archetype, via either [[DodgeTheBullet improbable evasion skills]] or the ability to [[StoneWall soak up ridiculous amounts of damage]], because players can simply send them into the thick of the enemy and let them rack up kill after kill when the enemies [[ArtificialStupidity unwisely try to attack them]].
* Asemu doesn't get Soul in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsBX'' but he gets the Super Pilot ability, which gives him a 20% damage boost.
** While the usual standards for grabbing the ace bonuses apply, people consider Amuro to be the greatest pilot among X-Cross in-universe for ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX''.
* [[PlayerCharacter Jake Logan]] from ''VideoGame/TachyonTheFringe''. He's established as already being an experienced mercenary fighter pilot at the start of the game, creating a minor quandary as to how to frame the tutorial. The solution ended up being to have Logan evaluating a newly hired piloting instructor.
* ''VideoGame/TitanFall and VideoGame/TitanFall2'': Pilots, who control the titular [[AMechByAnyOtherName Titans]], are deadly both in their Titans and on foot.
** Viper of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Apex Predators]], with his [[DangerDeadpan coldly professional]] BossBanter, [[TheFaceless ever-present]] flight helmet, and AceCustom [[FragileSpeedster Northstar]] Titan, would almost be a parody of the trope if he wasn't so [[TheAce skilled]] and [[SociopathicSoldier ruthless]]. He also takes the [[LongRangeFighter "Sniper"]] ace subtype more literally than most, as the Northstar-class Titan is the game's [[LongRangeFighter designated sniper]] Titan.
* Strangely, ''VideoGame/UltimaI'', as part of the main plot, requires the player to launch into space and kill 20 enemy ships, thereby becoming a "Space Ace."
* ''VideoGame/VectorThrust'', being heavily based on ''Ace Combat'', draws similarly from the glamour and glory of aerial combat. Its AI is also designed to closely resemble ace archetypes in Skirmish Battles.
* The ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series always has you play an ace pilot, and furthermore, features a group of different aces that you will fly with during missions, each of which has different temperaments and tactics in battle. Some games even put personalized Aces on the ''enemy'' side, each of which can generally be described as conforming to one of the types above.
* The PlayerCharacter in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' games. Getting the highest combat rank, [[XtremeKoolLetterz "X-TREME"]], requires you to destroy tens of thousands of ships, and kills by your PlayerMooks don't count.
* Likewise, you take on the role of an Ace Pilot in both the ''VideoGame/XWing'' and ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'' games, and proceed to [[ImprobablePilotingSkills kill hundreds]] [[OneManArmy upon hundreds]] of [[PunchClockVillain government employees doin' their jobs]][=/=][[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified the good guys]]. You ''dick''. In the latter game, you become so respected within the Empire's ranks that ''Darth Vader himself'' requests your help.
* Player characters Leo Stenbuck from ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' and Dingo Egret from the sequel ''The Second Runner''. Notably, Leo is an ordinary kid who literally [[FallingIntoTheCockpit fell into the cockpit]] of the game's SuperPrototype mecha Jehuty, but quickly turned out to have TheGift. Dingo, by contrast, is an embittered veteran ex-soldier forced back into action when he ends up wired into Jehuty's cockpit to survive. The two [[LetsYouAndHimFight go head-to-head]] at one point in the second game, with a now older and more-experienced Leo proving to be almost a match for Dingo despite using a less-advanced mech than Jehuty.
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