Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context VideoGame / AirCombat

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1738275_acecombat_jpfront.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[TagLine Lock on and unleash the most devastating firepower in the skies.]]]]
3
4-> "''Win one for the free world. Good hunting.''"
5-->-- Back of case
6
7The first game in the ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' series. Released on the Platform/PlayStation in 1995, [[ReformulatedGame which was meant to be a port of]] the 1992 arcade game ''Air Combat'' (which spawned its own sequel, ''Air Combat 22'', also in 1995). You fly as the leader of an elite mercenary unit out to stop a terrorist threat.
8----
9!! Tropes pertaining to the [=PS1=] version:
10
11* AceCustom: Every plane you use has the unique paint scheme shown on the box art, white with purple highlights and red-and-purple flames on the wings. When you're looking over planes to purchase in the hangar, they have standard paint schemes, but then are replaced with the above scheme if you buy them.
12* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The game let's the player save after every mission to balance out the {{Permadeath}} feature tied to their planes and wingmen. Although, it can more so completely negate said mechanic if the player [[SaveScumming chooses to do so]].
13* AnyoneCanDie: The player's wingmen, who can get shot down by enemies and be lost for good.
14* ArtificialBrilliance: Enemies will veer in different directions in order to throw off the player's aim. The AI also knows the power of missiles and will constantly get right behind the player in order to get a clean shot with them. Both of these are especially true on the Hard difficulty.
15* BossBattle: [[spoiler:The flying fortress, which is not only the ''only'' boss in the game but doubles as the FinalBoss]].
16* BossOnlyLevel: [[spoiler: Mission 17: "Discovery of airborne fortress!"]]
17* BottomlessFuelTanks: Averted; All of the player's aircraft have a fuel gauge, and if it empties then the aircraft crashes and is lost permanently.
18* BottomlessMagazines: Literally averted yet virtually played straight as the player's planes can all hold up to ''65 missiles'' and ''9,999 bullets'', which is more than enough for every mission as long as the player isn't firing wildly.
19* CaptainObvious: Especially grating when compared to other games in the series, but at least your wing-man was the only annoying one yammering you.
20* CollisionDamage: Flying into aircraft, buildings, and terrain causes major damage to your plane. Even the most defensive planes go down after just three collisions.
21* ContinuingIsPainful: See {{Permadeath}} below.
22* CriticalAnnoyance: Getting hit by a single bullet prompts the plane's system to blurt out, "Alert, body damage! Alert, body damage! Alert, body damage! Alert, body damage! [[OverlyLongGag Alert, body damage!]]", ''exactly'' that many times.
23* CriticalExistenceFailure: Bullets and missiles can severely damage aircraft and buildings without leaving a mark or affecting the performance of planes in the slightest. But, the moment an aircraft or building takes too much damage it explodes. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with [[spoiler: the final boss]], which loses parts and teeters from side-to-side as it gets damaged, although it still doesn't have its performance affected.
24* DamageSpongeBoss: Even the most resilient of aircraft can only take a few missiles before being shot down. And then there's [[spoiler:the flying fortress]], which takes ''dozens'' of missiles to take down
25* DefenselessTransports: The C-5 aircraft lacks any offensive weaponry and is primarily used for transportation.
26* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The game features many differences from the rest of the series.
27** If you lose a plane, it's gone for good. To balance this, the shop may sell multiple units of the same plane.
28** Repair cost is deducted from mission pay.
29** Wingmen cost money to hire. They can be shot down and become permanently unavailable.
30** The game employs a map system with branching paths at certain junctions, allowing the player some control over the order the missions are played.
31** The game has no fictional plane designs, [[spoiler:with the exception of the air fortress that serves as the final boss]].
32* ExcusePlot: Compared to the later entries of the series having international conflicts and the various pilot's personal recollections of the conflicts, this game boils down to, "Fight the terrorists, save the free world." Probably in due part to its arcade origins. Later CanonWelding would recontextualize it as a small-time conflict in the greater timeline of Strangereal.
33* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:See BossBattle above]].
34* FinalDeathMode: If you crash a plane or get shot down, you lose that plane for good and, with very few exceptions, cannot buy another one. If you crash all the planes, then it's game over. [[SaveScumming Although, it's easy to avoid this.]]
35* FlunkyBoss: [[spoiler:The flying fortress occasionally sends an enemy plane after the player]].
36* FragileSpeedster: The F-16 among other planes has strong firepower and great mobility but can't take many hits.
37* HomingProjectile: Missiles become this if an aircraft locks onto their target.
38* HyperspaceArsenal: See BottomlessMagazines above.
39* InfoDump: See OpeningMonologue below.
40* LifeMeter: The Damage icon which changes colors as the player takes more, well, damage; It starts at white to indicate perfect health, then goes to light-yellow, to yellow, to orange, and finally to flashing red and white when the player's aircraft is almost destroyed.
41* MarketBasedTitle: The name of the game was changed from "Ace Combat" to "Air Combat" in western regions most likely to tie it in with the original arcade game.
42* MightyGlacier: Aircraft like the [=MiG=]-31 can take and deal great damage but are slow to maneuver.
43* NGOSuperpower: The enemy is supposedly a terrorist group, though the country you're fighting for is [[AllThereInTheManual apparently a small one]] ([[CanonWelding the tiny Skully Islands to the south of Usea]], according to ''Aces at War'').
44* OneHitKO: Missiles become this against the player on Hard mode.
45* OpeningMonologue: Happens when the player starts a new game, which explains how the terrorists became a problem and why the government chose the player character to deal with them.
46* {{Permadeath}}: The player's wingmen and aircraft. If the player loses all of their planes, then it's game over.
47* PrecisionFStrike: The only instance of swearing in the K-A game is if the player takes heavy damage, at which point their character may blurt out, "Damn it, damn it!"
48* ProtectionMission: Mission 10, which has the player keep enemies from shooting down the plane of a government officer.
49* SaveScumming: Players can save their data right before doing a mission and if they crash their plane then they can load the save to try again. This in turn completely negates the final death mechanic should the player choose to do so.
50* SoleSurvivor: The player can become this by the end of the game if all of their wingmen die.
51* SuicideAttack: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] as the player's plane can't make contact with other aircraft. They ''can'' crash into structures that they must destroy, but the end result is that their plane explodes... and that's it.
52* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The player can deliberately let their wingman get shot down. Although, there's little reason to do this considering that they must be hired in order to join the mission in the first place.
53* TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified: Also averted, and setting the standard for most of the rest of the series when it comes to revolutions and the like, as you're fighting ''for'' the government.
54* TimeLimitBoss: A given for [[spoiler:the air fortress]] since, like every other mission, the player's aircraft has limited fuel and as such it must be destroyed before that happens.
55* TitleDrop: One of the songs on the OST is titled "Ace Combat".
56* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: If the player's wingman gets killed during a mission, then they can still finish said mission on their own. If the player gets shot down, then they fail the mission and have to try again. Also, even if all wingmen are alive, it's still game over if the player destroys all of their own planes.

Top