History Awesome / AceCombat7SkiesUnknown

* And now we have a look at one of the [=DLC=] missions; Operation Sighthound, which features, from its apparent affiliation to Eruesa, what appears to be a ''[[TheBusCameBack Dragonet-class submarine]],'' last featured in ''VideoGame/AceCombat2'' and [[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy its remake.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"Stick with Trigger and you'll make it!"]]

* Mission 3, with a touch of NightmareFuel added for good measure. After what seems like a routine battle with Erusean F-16 and F-4 Phantom II fighter jets, one of the two Arsenal Birds comes lumbering out of the clouds, and wreaks havoc on your squadron and your allies. You're then given the task of trying to shoot out the huge aircraft's propellers, all while a swarm of [[DemonicSpiders MQ-101s]] and a [[MacrossMissileMassacre hail of hundreds of missiles]] launched from the rear of the Arsenal Bird are trying to take you down. [[FromBadToWorse at the same time, your friends are being menaced by an unknown pilot...]]

* Mission 7 has the first direct encounter between Trigger and [[TheRival Mihaly]]. While the other Osean pilots are are trying to withdraw, Triggers goes and dogfights with Mihaly inside a rugged mountain canyon in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. The reaction of the Osean pilots transitions from shock to amazement as this seemingly disgraced convict is going toe-to-toe with Erusea's top ace and surviving. Mihaly in turn, expresses to his squadron mates that he is ''excited'' to finally have a WorthyOpponent that could test his skills in battle.

*** And Mihaly shows that his flying skills are nothing to laugh at. He is well into his twilight years, and his body is way past his prime, yet he is still a superior pilot than Champ. Best demonstrated when he pulled off a Kulbit immediately after Champ’s Pugachev’s Cobra.

* Mission 9: After completing their mission, Spare Squadron is suddenly ambushed by a flight of Erusean drones masquerading as Osean F/A-18Fs and using allied IFF designations. With the Spares being picked off one by one and unable to discern friend from foe, Tabloid orders all the surviving Spares to gather around Trigger and tells Bandog to register all fighters around Trigger as friendlies. The player is then treated [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiGgofkvIXgAhXHFzQIHSPPBnIQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Facecombat.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FSpare_Squadron&psig=AOvVaw17LrpqwDXD4iPK6_BcENm-&ust=1548386884441435 to an amazing shot of Spare Squadron flying in formation with Trigger above the mountains]] before proceeding to combat the drones while also dodging long-range burst missiles from the Arsenal Bird. Because of this feat, Trigger and the rest of the Spares are pardoned and allowed to rejoin the Osean military as actual pilots.
* Mission 10, if only for its final part; as the mission starts to wrap up, a agile craft flies into the area. And by agile, we mean ''agile'': The damn thing zooms around like it's hopped up on cocaine, being able to dodge missiles and shoot them down with its only armament, a main gun. Once it's destroyed, Cyclops Squadron shows up, revealing that it was a Erusean prototype drone that they were tracking, and the LRSSG's briefing officer later admits that he didn't think anyone could take it down. This likely plays a major part in Trigger's transfer to Strider Squadron as its new lead.

* Mission 18: You finally have your final showdown with Mihaly, who's flying in a brand-new X-02S Strike Wyvern that is equipped with the Electromagnetic Launcher capable of one-shotting anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. After a grueling battle, Trigger finally emerges victorious, and Mihaly accepts his defeat gracefully, confident that Trigger is a worthy successor as the top ace. It's even better if you read the manual ''Aces At War: A History 2019''. Mihaly is said to be the instructor of none other than [[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies Yellow 13.]] Let that sink in for a moment, ''you just shot down the guy who trained Yellow 13, and he's flying in a superplane to boot.''

** Let us take a moment to fully appreciate the showdown with the Arsenal Bird. The mission immediately goes to shit when it enters the scene: Not only does the AlphaStrike fail to even ''scratch'' the monster, but it immediately counters with a laser that cuts a swath through the assembled naval forces, and launches its squadron of drones to pin down the aerial forces. Even when you manage to score some solid hits on the thing, it just repairs the damage and throws up its shield so you can't even get close to it. The music takes a darker turn as you're more or less reduced to dodging drones and missiles and ''hoping'' for a miracle, while Cossette can be heard desperately trying to sabotage the power supply and Count is reduced to ''yelling'' at the Arsenal Bird for all the good it does. And then...the shield flickers. There's a brief pause, so tense that even the ''music'' seems to be holding its breath. And then the shield goes out. The drones begin falling. The music triumphantly starts back up and the battle is back on.
* Mission 20: You're in for one of the most intense dogfights in the series as you combat the two super [=UCAV=] ADF models, Hugin and Munin, and try to stop them from starting a RobotWar that will threaten the entire planet. Both drones possessed the skills of the top ace Mihaly with none of the human restrictions, and they actively emulate Trigger's moves during the battle in order to improve themselves further. Those drones can shoot down whole ''squadrons'' on their own, yet Trigger can still go toe to toe with them. It culminates with one of the toughest tunnel flights in the series as you and Count pursue the last drone into the undersea tunnel that leads to the space elevator, evading closing shutter doors along the way. After finally shooting the drone down in an enclosed underground chamber, Trigger finds a way out by flying up the elevator shaft itself, which is essentially a tunnel flight ''vertically''. And what do you get as a reward for finishing the game? Captain Kei Nagase herself appears to thank you for saving the elevator so that she - the captain of the spaceship ''Pilgrim One'' who has just come back from a seven years expedition into deep space - can land the ship safely at the elevator.
** Hell, can we talk about the freaking intro? As Trigger's about to take off from the Admiral Andersen, we get another squadron introduction; declaring his nickname, the Three Strikes, as the name of the combined force facing off against the twin super drones, independent of all nations, both Osea and Erusea's flags crossed out, leaving only Trigger's insignias, and then ending with a flash of the phrase 'The Sky is Connected' and NATION, crossed out by his so-called sin lines; not just the claw marks he uses in place of them, but the originals. Mobius 1 may have been the first to have his own proper squadron, but he never had both Osean and Erusean pilots backing him, and he definitely didn't have the audacity to turn a symbol of his 'crime' into one that instilled hope.

* A meta example for Project Aces and Kazutoki Kono. The game had a very TroubledProduction throughout development, from Kono restarting development from scratch after the 2015 PSX debut trailer due to the game not meeting the standards he had in mind, to Bandai Namco at one point threatening to cancel the project altogether. It took a heartfelt plea from Kono himself to convince his superiors to let his team finish development. Furthermore, ''Skies Unknown'' also had to compete with the long-awaited ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' and the remake of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' within the same launch timeframe. And yet, Project Aces pulled it off, with fans praising this as the best ''Ace Combat'' title since the [=PS2=] trilogy, and [[https://gematsu.com/2019/02/ace-combat-7-skies-unknown-sales-top-500000-in-asia selling half a million copies in Asia alone]].

* All four superplanes available in the game (The vanilla X-02S Strike Wyvern and the Season Pass planes, the ADF-11F Raven and the returning ADF-01 FALKEN and ADFX-02 Morgan). The first of the set is pretty great as it is, in that one of the most beloved aircraft in the series has returned with a well-deserved upgraded variant, but the ADF-11F takes the cake in that you’re essentially given the chance to fly the manned version of the two planes that almost brought down the world!
* A meta example for Project Aces and Kazutoki Kono. The game had a very TroubledProduction throughout development, from Kono restarting development from scratch after the 2015 PSX debut trailer due to the game not meeting the standards he had in mind, to Bandai Namco at one point threatening to cancel the project altogether. It took a heartfelt plea from Kono himself to convince his superiors to let his team finish development. Furthermore, Skies Unknown also had to compete with the long-awaited VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII and the remake of VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 within the same launch timeframe. And yet, Project Aces pulled it off, with fans praising this as the best Ace Combat title since the [=PS2=] trilogy, and [[https://gematsu.com/2019/02/ace-combat-7-skies-unknown-sales-top-500000-in-asia selling half a million copies in Asia alone]].

* Mission 11: Taking out the support columns of the platforms at two of the locations on the map and watching them [[CollapsingLair sink into the sea]], [[DeathFromAbove taking out anything beneath them]], is a sight to behold.
* Mission 12: The Oseans are attempting to reactivate the [[BreakoutTheMuseumPiece last intact Stonehenge turret]] in an attempt to shoot down the Arsenal Bird Liberty while fending off a massive Erusean assult. However, just as it is about to fire, the survey team is found killed by Erusean agents, forcing Stonehenge's crew to aim and fire the railgun at the Arsenal Bird manually. After Trigger slows down the Arsenal Bird by destroying its main propellers, Stonehenge manages to line a shot that goes clean through the Arsenal Bird's [[DeflectorShields microwave shield]] and hits it directly at the center, cleaving it in two and turning the tide of the war in Osea's favor.

--->Mihaly: "Missile hit."
--->Sol 2: "Is he down?"
--->Mihaly: "No, he managed to take it in a non-critical area. I'll teach you how to do that when we get back to base."

** One notable moment of awesome is in the introduction cutscene for the mission. An Osean Hornet requests for someone to clear his tail of a pursuing fighter, and the plane that answers his request is an ''Erusean Flanker,'' who delivers the line, "Let's show him what Eruseans-no, what ''fighter pilots'' can do!" and blasts the enemy away with a pair of missiles. The two planes fly in formation for a moment, something that would have been ''unheard of'' earlier in the war, as the Osean Hornet thanks the Erusean Flanker, and the two dive right back into the furball.

* A meta example for Project Aces and Kazutoki Kono. The game had a very TroubledProduction throughout development, with Kono restarting development from scratch after the 2015 PSX debut trailer due to the game not meeting the standards he had in mind, to Bandai Namco at one point threatening to cancel the project altogether, with Kono making a heartfelt plea to his superiors to let his team finish development. It also had to compete with the long-awaited VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII and the remake of VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 within the same launch timeframe. And yet, Project Aces pulled it off, with fans praising this as the best Ace Combat title since the [=PS2=] trilogy, and [[https://gematsu.com/2019/02/ace-combat-7-skies-unknown-sales-top-500000-in-asia selling half a million copies in Asia alone]].

* A meta example for Project Aces and Kazutoki Kono. The game had a very TroubledProduction throughout development, with Kono restarting development from scratch after the 2015 PSX trailer due to the game not meeting the standards he had in mind, to Bandai Namco at one point threatening to cancel the project altogether, with Kono making a heartfelt plea to his superiors to let his team finish development. It also had to compete with the long-awaited VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII and the remake of VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 within the same launch timeframe. And yet, Project Aces pulled it off, with fans praising this as the best Ace Combat title since the [=PS2=] trilogy, and [[https://gematsu.com/2019/02/ace-combat-7-skies-unknown-sales-top-500000-in-asia selling half a million copies in Asia alone]].

** Hell, can we talk about the freaking intro? As Trigger's about to take off from the Admiral Andersen, we get another squadron introduction; declaring his nickname, the Three Strikes, as the name of the combined force facing off against the twin super drones, independent of all nations, both Osea and Erusea's flags crossed out, leaving only Trigger's insignias, and then ending with a flash of the phrase 'The Sky is Connected' and NATION, crossed out by his so-called sin lines; not just the claw marks he uses in place of them, but the originals. Mobius 1 may have been the first to have his own proper squadron, but he never had both Osean and Erusean pilots backing him, and he definitely didn't have the audacity to turn a symbol of his 'crime' into one that instilled hope.

*** And Mihaly shows that his flying skills is nothing to laugh at. He is well into his twilight years, and his body is way past his prime, yet he is still a superior pilot than Champ. Best demonstrated when he pulled off a Kulbit immediately after Champ’s Pugachev’s Cobra.

--->Mihaly: "Missile hit"

--->Mihaly: "No, he managed to take it in a non-critical area. I'll teach you how to do that when we get back to base"

** Mihaly: "Missile hit"
** Sol 2: "Is he down?"
** Mihaly: "No, he managed to take it in a non-critical area. I'll teach you how to do that when we get back to base"
*** Conclusion? Trigger managed to pick up a skill that even the majority of Sol squadron was unaware of, with no outside help.

* Mission 3, with a touch of NightmareFuel added for good measure. After what seems like a routine battle with Erusean F-16 and F-4 Phantom II fighter jets, one of the two Arsenal Birds comes lumbering out of the clouds, and wreaks havoc on your squadron and your allies. You're then given the task of trying to shoot out the huge aircraft's propellers, all while a swarm of [[DemonSpiders MQ-101s]] and a [[MacrossMissileMassacre hail of hundreds of missiles]] launched from the rear of the Arsenal Bird are trying to take you down. [[FromBadToWorse at the same time, your friends are being menaced by an unknown pilot...]]

** Hell, can we talk about the freaking intro? As Trigger's about to take off from the Admiral Andersen, we get another squadron introduction; declaring his nickname, the Three Strikes, as the name of the combined force facing off against the twin super drones, independent of all nations, both Osea and Erusea's flags crossed out, leaving only Trigger's insignias, and then ending with a flash of the phrase 'The Sky is Connected' and NATION, crossed out by his so-called sin lines. Mobius 1 may have been the first to have his own proper squadron, but he never had both Osean and Erusean pilots backing him.

** Hell, can we talk about the freaking intro? As Trigger's about to take off from the Admiral Andersen, we get another squadron introduction; declaring his nickname, the Three Strikes, as the name of the combined force facing off against the twin super drones, independent of all nations, both Osea and Erusea's flags crossed out, leaving only Trigger's insignias, and then ending with a flash of the phrase 'The Sky is Connected' and NATION, crossed out by his so-called sin lines.

* Mission 20: You're in for one of the most intense dogfights in the series as you combat the two super [=UAVs=] Hugin and Munin and try to stop them from starting a RobotWar that will threaten the entire planet. Both drones possessed the skills of the top ace Mihaly with none of the human restrictions, and they actively emulate Trigger's moves during the battle in order to improve themselves further. Those drones can shoot down whole ''squadrons'' on their own, yet Trigger can still go toe to toe with them. It culminates with one of the toughest tunnel flights in the series as you and Count pursue the last drone into the undersea tunnel that leads to the space elevator, evading closing shutter doors along the way. After finally shooting the drone down in an enclosed underground chamber, Trigger finds a way out by flying up the elevator shaft itself, which is essentially a tunnel flight ''vertically''. And what do you get as a reward for finishing the game? Captain Kei Nagase herself appears to thank you for saving the elevator so that she - the captain of the spaceship ''Pilgrim One'' who has just come back from a seven years expedition into deep space - can land the ship safely at the elevator.

* Mission 12: The Oseans are attempting to reactivate the [[BreakoutTheMuseumPiece last intact Stonehenge turret]] in an attempt to shoot down the Arsenal Bird Liberty while fending off a massive Erusean assult. However, just as it is about to fire, the survey team are killed by Erusean agents, forcing Stonehenge's crew to aim and fire the railgun at the Arsenal Bird manually. After Trigger slows down the Arsenal Bird by destroying its sub-propellers, Stonehenge manages to line a shot that goes clean through the Arsenal Bird's [[DeflectorShields microwave shield]] and hits it directly at the center, cleaving it in two and turning the tide of the war in Osea's favor.

* Mission 18: You finally have your final showdown with Mihaly, who's flying in a brand-new X-02S Strike Wyvern that is equipped with the Electromagnetic Launcher capable of one-shotting anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. After a grueling battle, Trigger finally emerges victorious, and Mihaly accepts his defeat gracefully, confident that Trigger is a worthy successor as the top ace. It's even better if you read the manuel ''Aces At War: A History 2019''. Mihaly is said to be the instructor of none other than [[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies Yellow 13.]] Let that sink in for a moment, ''you just shot down the guy who trained Yellow 13, and he's flying in a superplane to boot.''

** One notable moment of awesome is in the introduction cutscene for the mission. An Osean Hornet requests for someone to clear his tail of a pursuing fighter, and the plane that answers his request is an ''Erusian Flanker,'' who delivers the line, "Let's show him what Erusians-no, what ''fighter pilots'' can do!" and blasts the enemy away with a pair of missiles. The two planes fly in formation for a moment, something that would have been ''unheard of'' earlier in the war, as the Osean Hornet thanks the Erusian Flanker, and the two dive right back into the furball.

* Mission 19: It's the signature "furball" mission of the series. A coalition force of Oseans and Eruseans put aside their difference and work together to fight the Erusean radicals and their drone army at the space elevator. It culminates in Trigger, with a little help from Avril and Princess Cosette, finally managing to shoot down the Arsenal Bird Justice at long last.