After a period of time, sometimes it is best to go back to the core of what made a game great in the first place.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is an arcade flight combat game and was released in 2019. Developed by the Project Aces division of Bandai Namco could the team capture what made their previous works great, and provide a gameplay experience as a generation of consoles entered their twilight years?
Gameplay
The no-frills core gameplay of previous Ace Combat games is intact, with every plane feeling both tight and responsive to player input while also including enough distinction in how a plane rolls, pitches, and yaws. Adding onto this gameplay are three major control tweaks to give players plenty to master:
Flares, allowing players to deflect imminent missile hits that they may not want to manoeuvre to dodge
High-G Turns, quick responsive turning to conquer obstacles easier and to bleed speed in a dogfight
Post-Stall Manoeuvres (PSMs), advanced mobility techniques on certain planes, allowing for unbelievable manoeuvrability at low speeds
Rather than aircraft being available to unlock after certain milestones, the game now utilises a system called the “Aircraft Tree”. Points are earned after each mission which can be used to buy planes or parts (upgrades to improve mobility, weapons, or provide passive buffs). Unlike previous AC games, planes are unable to be sold to buy new ones, but the addition of Free Mission not requiring campaign completion allows players who wish to push themselves to one particular plane or weapon to earn points by playing the game.
Missions are diverse and well-designed, with the majority of them being built as “easy to clear, hard to master”, giving plenty of replay value for both new and old players alike. Level gimmicks are (mostly) introduced safely to players to allow them to adjust to what is required, and then ramps up their integration as time goes on. None overstay their welcome and can provide needed relief after more intense sequences. The much needed addition of checkpoints also punish players less for making mistakes in the endgame of a mission.
There is online multiplayer in this game. And whilst it is a little disheartening to see that there are no co-operative ground based missions, this fact can easily be overlooked by how powerful multiplayer can make a player feel. Work with up to three other pilots in team deathmatch, coordinating a response against an enemy ace to knock someone down a peg. Stand your ground in an all-out air battle royale, fighting to be the top pilot, all the while missiles are whizzing past in all directions.
Presentation and Sound Design
Built on Unreal Engine 4 the developers put great effort into making sure everything looked spectacular as the previous generation came to a close. Even on a standard PS4 the game looks absolutely beautiful in areas, with advanced lighting providing a fitting mood to each mission. Special mention goes to Simul’s trueSKY plugin, handling clouds, lightning, and god rays coming through said clouds.
Years worth of experience provide an unrivaled level of authenticity to the sound design. Engines, guns, and missiles all have the raw feelings of power that comes from piloting a fighter jet, allowing for full immersion during dogfights. One particular sound design of note I wish to highlight is the Electromagnetic Launcher (EML). The sound of the gun discharging, the whoosh of the high-speed projectile, and the loud bang it creates on impact all work together to provide cathartic feedback to firing a railgun.
And of course, the signature music of Ace Combat remains as fantastic as ever with Keiki Kobayashi acting as lead composer once more. Whilst Kobayashi most certainly carries his weight with some of his best work yet, the track I wish to highlight here is “444” by the wonderfully talented Mitsuhiro Kitadani. To me, this is a perfect amalgam of modern Ace Combat, classic Ace Combat, and fits the mission at hand beautifully.
Again, my thanks and admiration goes out to Zaptroxix. You do amazing work my dude, keep it up.
Plot
Taking place once more in the world of Strangereal (the term for the Ace Combat alternate reality) the game begins with the Kingdom of Erusea declaring war on the Osean Federation, with the former seizing a valuable land asset on their continent, the International Space Elevator. In doing so they also seized control of two superweapons called the “Arsenal Birds”, sweeping airborne aircraft carriers armed to the teeth with advanced weaponry.
Whilst some may claim that it is difficult to understand the story of Skies Unknown without playing previous Ace Combat games, the themes are written well enough to convey their intent to all audiences.
Osea can quickly be deduced as an analogue to the USA, being a large federal nation that has a hand in peacekeeping operations around the world. The Erusean’s declaration of war on Osea being justified by the Space Elevator infringing on the sovereignty of Erusea brings further analogues to countries resenting the heavy hand the USA can have in international matters.
Between mission cutscenes, pre-mission briefings, and mid-mission radio chatter all helps towards world building. Providing alternative insight on events just witnessed by players, giving indirect updates on how the war effort is going and what players are doing to impact it, and how your other squadron members view different situations, providing everything from snarky banter to near-speechless horror.
Debriefing
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown has everything for anyone who may be interested. Whilst some minor flaws hold the game back from true perfection, there is enough content for new players to ease themselves in and for veteran players to be welcomed back with open arms.
It is easily my favourite game in the franchise at this current point in time, and I intend to revisit for years to come.
“Did you know… there are three kinds of aces? Those who seek strength. Those who live for pride. And those who can read the tide of battle. Those are the three. And him… He was a true ace.”
Larry “Solo Wing Pixy” Foulke, Ace Combat Zero, 2006
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (released sans Zero in PAL regions) released in 2006 and was developed by the Project Aces division of Bandai Namco. Helmed by first-time creative director Naoto Maeda; can this change in leadership live up to the opening slogan of “New Blood. New Battles”?
Gameplay – Those who seek strength
Being the third and final entry into the PS2 holy trinity the core gameplay continues to be top-notch. Pre-existing issues surrounding the analogue controls of the Dualshock 2 are still present, leading to potential discomfort when needing to consistently hold down the brake or throttle. Everything else remains as tight and responsive as ever.
The cumbersome system of aircraft having a single special weapon is reverted to the tried and true formula of multiple specials on each plane, allowing for greater customisation when deciding both player and wingman loadouts. Wingman plane selection has also been scrapped in favour of having an F-15C at first and later an F-16C. Whilst I did enjoy the customisation aspect of wingman configuration; having such a powerful plane to back you up early game is a massive boon.
Wingman and enemy AI has been improved massively since the last entry. They can reliably target what his current command is, sometimes leaving players quite surprised at how efficiently the battlefield can be cleaned up. Enemy improvements lead to the pinnacle of dogfighting for the PS2 trilogy, with battles against rival Belkan aces being heart-pounding spectacles in the sky.
One of the major gameplay changes in Zero is the introduction of the “Ace Style” gauge. This gauge reacts to a player’s actions during a mission, specifically how they interact with new “Yellow” targets:
Spare and destroy roughly equal numbers of yellows? You are a Soldier, feared for your efficiency and skill in battle
Refuse to target yellows? You are a Knight, famous amongst your rivals for strict adherence to the rules of engagement
Destroy yellows with reckless abandon? You are a Mercenary, reviled for your bloodthristy nature… whilst also being loaded to buy new planes
Whilst the game allows players to select a difficulty that will determine enemy behaviours, and if a plane will explode because of a stiff breeze, Ace Style can also influence difficulty by introducing more targets the further players slide into Mercenary and will change up the rival Ace squadrons encountered during certain missions.
Sound Design – Those who live for pride
Surprising no one, the sound design found in previous entries remains in this game. Engines firing up their afterburners on the runway sound as guttural as ever and the satisfying kaboom of a missile impacting into an enemy plane remains extremely cathartic.
The signature Ace Combat sound is included with the addition of flamenco guitars providing a welcome mix up. This new instrument features heavily in duels against rival aces, increasing the tension as fighters try to tail one another. There is healthy fan debate on whether this game contains long-time composer Keiki Kobayashi’s magnum opus (most significant work), a track appropriately titled “Zero”.
Plot – Those who can read the tide of battle
Rather than the events of the war fifteen years ago being recapped, now it is the player’s turn to actually live those events in the pilot seat of Galm 1, callsign “Cipher”. Cipher is not permanently affiliated with any air force in game, instead the viewing battle through the eyes of a mercenary and how various pilots perceive mercenaries.
Belka is a small principality on the Osean continent, with analogues to 20th century Germany in being an economically struggling country embarking on a rapid expansion campaign leading up to the events of the war. From the early days of liberating occupied territory, to the lighting offensives against key strategic territory, all the way to the worst man-made disaster in Strangereal history (“Strangereal” is the fan-originated term for the alternative reality the numbered Ace Combat games take place in).
Radio chatter continues to be a vital source of information, and will give an insight to your wingman’s perspective on things, with Solo Wing Pixy either offering his insight on a terrible situation or making a snarky comment about having enough experience flying home with one wing.
Between-mission cutscenes now take the angle of a documentary for an Osean news channel, with the reporter conducting interviews with important people who had encountered Cipher. Primarily these are the Belkan aces fought during the game, and therefore cutscenes can change depending on what Ace Style certain missions are tackled with. A large change in these cutscenes are their live-action nature, leaving behind both the watercolour paintings of AC4 and the CGI sequences of AC5
Debriefing – He was a true ace
Improving massively upon the sins of its predecessor Ace Combat Zero takes the arcade style game of the franchise and ramps it up massively with AI improvements for enemy fighters, the Ace Style gauge influencing what planes are unlocked providing massive replayability without feeling forced. Whilst control issues persist, they are not enough to dampen the absolutely awe-inspiring sequences that transpire within game.
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (released with the much more inferior subtitle of “Squadron Leader” in PAL regions) is an arcade flight combat simulator developed by the Project Aces division of Namco. After making a huge splash in the PS2’s release year with Shattered Skies in 2001; could the team replicate such success three years later in 2004?
Having been a complete newcomer to this series back in August it still surprises me how much love and praise I have for this franchise, even when there are some rough edges in this particular entry.
On a distant continent, in a faraway land
Starting on the Osean continent in the year 2010, The Unsung War starts solemnly by recapping the events of a war fifteen years ago. During a conflict known as the “Belkan War”, the eponymous Belkans set off seven nuclear detonations on their soil, killing thousands and shocking the world into a ceasefire and eventual peace treaty.
After this, players are directly thrown into the action with a cutscene depicting a sudden encounter and the rookie “nugget” pilots of Sand Island Base needing to engage numerous unidentified bogies. Out of everyone who took off; only the flight instructor, Captain “Heartbreak One” Bartlett , and three nuggets, Blaze (mute, faceless player character), Kei “Edge” Nagase, and Alvin “Chopper” H. Davenport returned alive.
Routine operations resume after this incident. All remaining pilots are assigned to the Wardog Squadron and undertake straightforward missions, such as trying to escort a spy plane to a landing and destroying reconnaissance drones. During each mission though, Wardog is engaged by more unidentified bogies, the only hint to their origin being an airbase across the sea, in the country of Yuktobania.
These are not harmless incidents though, because as soon as Wardog completes only their second sortie Yuktobania declares war on Osea, beginning a lightning offensive.
Key themes to the plot in The Unsung War are mistrust and how rapidly the tide of battle can turn. Whereas the previous entry would frequently present scenarios where victory seems incredibly distant; this game prefers to drip-feed victories before violently taking it away and resetting any meaningful progress.
Mistrust develops from these incidents as both Wardog and players suddenly become unsure of who to trust. From the mysterious 8492nd Squadron, ghosts in the wind around major incidents, to the base commander and other military personnel around Sand Island. Throughout the entire progression of the war, doubts start to manifest, even to the point of wondering why this war began and who is perpetuating it.
A motormouth, an action girl, and a hopeful mechanic
The key characters players will be spending time with throughout the game are their three wingmen. Whilst they serve a gameplay purpose which will be elaborated on later; their characters and personalities are more fleshed out than in Ace Combat 4.
Instead of cut-and-paste mission dialogue talking about how one of them is going to earn their ace wings today, or telling you about their radio failure over their radio, each wingman has their own distinct personality that will come across during missions and between-mission cutscenes.
Chopper is notorious for being a non-stop chatterbox, to the point different commanding officers and AWACS Thunderhead have often asked him to kindly shut up. He even chose his callsign based on having a tendency of “shooting his mouth off” over comms.
Using this gift of speech; he is the loudest anti-war voice of the squadron. Whilst he follows through with the mission, Chopper often questions the nature of war, specifically when following orders would endanger the lives of soldiers and other pilots.
Nagase offers a similar perspective, but she does so in a more restrained way. Whilst Chopper strikes hard into the issue of modern warfare; Nagase simply wishes to enjoy the feeling of flying with equally skilled pilots, lamenting what it would have been like to fly alongside enemy pilots during peacetime.
This wish extends to other parts of her personality. She lodges her objections to the Arkbird, a large white spacefaring vessel initially designed for removing Ulysses asteroid fragments from orbit, being used for wartime purposes instead. These feelings can almost amount to disillusionment as she interrogates the Osean president on why the “beautiful white bird” had to be used for war.
Finally, comes Hans “Archer” Grimm, the replacement as your fourth wingman once Captain Bartlett is no longer in the picture. When he joins, Grimm is not even a fully trained pilot yet, simply a mechanic wishing to stop the destruction of their home base and quickly making up for his lack of formal training in the skies.
Whilst he shares the anti-war opinions of the other wingmen; it is presented in a more subtle way. Grimm instead is shown as an almost ideal soldier, they will follow their orders if legal, and they will want to minimise casualties on both sides in doing so. This detail is expanded upon further through mid-mission radio chatter where Grimm reveals he has a brother on the ground, perhaps worrying about the possibility of never seeing him again.
To cap off characters, talking about the narrator seems like a good idea. As opposed to being a nameless child in an occupied town, the game offers us Albert Genette, a young freelance journalist/photographer. (Fun fact: Genette is one of the first credited roles for all-round badass Matt Mercer.)
Genette fulfils the role of an outside witness to the game’s events, taking photographs of key moments throughout the story, and acting as the catalyst for the reputation of the main characters through his piece “The Four Wings of Sand Island”, written after one of the major opening events of the war.
Planes! You want them, we got 53 of them this time!
Yes, that’s right. Ace Combat 5 has 53 unlockable planes for players. This is a massive upgrade when compared to the total in the previous entry being 21. However, with this many planes there is almost certainly going to be a catch, and in this case it is the progression system being woefully unsatisfying in areas.
Whilst the system is still in place for players to unlock new planes after specific missions; certain planes now carry a varying number of “branches” leading off from the base plane you can buy, said base plane having an empty gauge beneath it. This gauge is the “kill rate” of that plane and fills up with kills and minigame completion. When full, the next plane on the branch is unlocked.
In theory, this system is a good idea. Rewarding players with better tech for just using the planes in missions is a great boon to replayability, but in the end it comes off as feeling grindy and unfulfilling.
A prime example: why commit to the F/A-18 when the F-35 is right there?
Throughout my initial playthrough I found it incredibly difficult to reliably commit to filling up the kill gauge on most planes. Usually because as I came close to unlocking the next branch on one; a better aircraft would have already unlocked and it becomes more worthwhile to invest in that rather than stick to what was already in use.
This feeling of grinding is amplified by what is, in my opinion, the worst part of Ace Combat 5: there are no special weapon options on the planes.
When considering buying a plane, players not only have to take into account the statistics of that plane; they also need to wonder if they will get good usage out of its singular special weapon. This can provide some interesting decisions when deciding wingmen loadout but ultimately it restricts the potential of some amazing in-game planes.
Much like a WSO, gameplay is taking the back seat
In a prime example of quantity over quality, Ace Combat 5 has the most missions out of the PS2 trilogy, but a lot of these missions are bland, unsatisfying, and in some cases poorly designed.
The majority of missions carry very little gameplay weight, ultimately becoming formulaic in the worst possible way. Complex missions from the previous game have been traded in for focusing more on wingmen character development mid-mission, supplying intermittently entertaining dialogue at the cost of feeling engaged with the task at hand.
Instead of leaving players exclaiming, “oh my god! What could happen next?”; quite often they will find themselves asking aloud, “is anything going to happen, or is this it?”.
When a mission is done well, the impact it leaves is noticeable. A handful of ground attack missions (12A and 26 of particular note) stand out beautifully as both intense and being the perfect length, whilst full-scale dogfight missions (17 and 18+) make their mark despite the dogfighting in this game leaving players wanting.
It is honestly a damn shame that the AI in this game can lead to aerial battles feeling sedentary. Unless you specifically lead them on enemy planes will rarely try to get behind players, and when they do acquire a radar lock there is a very high chance that they will just not fire a missile, allowing plenty of time to manoeuvre behind them and quickly pop them with two/three missiles.
That last bit is of note, as some enemy planes are more resilient than others. Now, this makes sense on some attackers/bombers that can be encountered throughout the game… but there is honestly very little reason why Tornados and MiG-31s should have more resilience than Su-47s. The rival ace squadron, in advanced Russian fighter jets, are easier to shoot down than a small European multirole developed in the 70s. This should not be possible.
One of the main selling points for Ace Combat 5 is the wingman command system. Using the D-Pad players are able to issue three tactical orders, and decide whether special weapons are free or safe. The tactical orders are:
Cover. The default order that players start the mission on. Wingmen will stay close to the lead plane and attempt to shoot down anything that attempts to tail them.
Attack. Useful for missions involving large resilient targets or clusters of escaping fighters. Wingmen will target whatever the lead plane is currently looking at.
Disperse. My personal most-used command. Wingmen will spread out from the lead plane and attack targets on their own volition.
Wingman commands are somewhat divisive within the Ace Combat community, and players are split whether they are a gimmick serving no gameplay purpose, or that they add a layer of tactical depth to missions. Personally, despite defaulting to the disperse command, I find myself in agreement with the latter category, enjoying having to make decisions on the fly whether to adjust my command or not.
The D-Pad is also used to answer yes/no questions posed by the wingmen and other NPCs. For the most part these have no impact on gameplay and are mainly used to further build characters throughout missions, though in some cases answering a question about splitting up or focusing firepower will result in wingman tactics automatically changing.
There is also a case where answering yes or no will change what mission is tackled next, and there is no indication this is going to be the case and is honestly a bit stupid.
Before each mission players are able to choose both their plane, and what planes their wingmen will be flying in. A box in the bottom right will inform whether or not the formation is suitable for both the air enemies and ground enemies expected to appear, and a wingman will comment if a formation is not up to snuff.
This is genuinely quite a fun system, as it allows players to determine how they want to play the game and use wingmen loadouts to help cover whatever weaker areas may remain. Want to fly escort for a flight of attackers? You can do that. Fly in a badass formation of jet black Rafales? Go right ahead. Make your wingmen defend you as you use a Warthog for everything? It is your God-given right to do so.
Under pressure (sensitive controls)
So… bit of a confession to preface this segment, when I initially played Ace Combat 4, I actually did it with a Dualshock 1 controller, as opposed to a Dualshock 2. This means my control analysis of the game was a little bit off due to how the pressure sensitivity works on the DS2. I hope to rectify this now.
The pressure sensitive controls for the bumpers do work to bring a level of realism to the game. Lightly holding down L1 will slow the plane gently without deploying the airbrake whilst a firm press down will enable rapid deceleration with said airbrake, and acceleration can be precisely controlled from gradual acceleration to full afterburners.
(NB: the following points are made from personal experiences/controller handling issues)
However, I do wish there was an option to turn this setting off. Quite often I found myself holding the controller in an awkward way to enable flying at full speed with afterburners consistently, leading to mild-to-moderate hand pain. This is not helped by a history of grip issues with controllers, and whilst the DS designs are fairly ergonomic; it is a struggle to balance comfort against efficient gameplay.
Similar issues were found with how extending the radar range worked. The level of pressure on the Square button would determine how far the radar would show, and unfortunately for me I really struggled to get a hold of this system. I would never know if I was applying too much pressure on the controller itself whilst trying to get the radar open, often leading to quick presses to determine where to hit next.
These issues are resolved for me in the digital remaster for the PS4. The superior trigger design of the DS4 controller along with the controls no longer being pressure-sensitive provide an overall better gameplay experience.
(personal experiences points end)
Outside of these issues though, everything else is absolutely spot on. Analogue stick movements control the plane to the letter of the player’s intention, swapping between regular missiles and special weapons is extremely responsive, and changing between third-person, first-person, and cockpit view is handled simply through a quick click of R3.
One minor change that feels a bit illogical is the removal of the satisfying plink plink plink sound that played whenever machine guns were used against enemy planes in AC4. It provided audible feedback that shots were actually hitting the plane players were firing at, but instead this game handles it with standard “Hit” indicators which struggle to consistently indicate if the guns are finding their mark.
The man who can never retire
A major new addition in this game is “Arcade Mode”, a short series of levels with limited ammo, fast-paced objectives, and a choice of progression paths for an easier or harder time. The average playthrough time will be about thirty minutes depending on how many restarts are needed on later missions.
There is also only one plane available for this mode; the F-22 Raptor. This is because players are once again assuming the role of the legendary ace from the previous game, Mobius 1, and nothing else would suffice.
The story is brief, those Young Erusean Officers(TM) have refused to acknowledge the surrender to the Independent State Allied Forces (ISAF) and have reformed under the banner of “Free Erusea”. And the task is for Mobius 1 to go in alone to diffuse this risk to peace.
Yes, alone. Because as the briefing officer says, analysis has proven that Mobius 1, with the assistance of AWACS Sky Eye, has the same operating strength as an entire ISAF squadron. And the high-octane action of this mode definitely proves that.
Whilst the problems with dogfighting will lead to some missions feeling a bit unsatisfying; it almost feels appropriate here. Cleaving through targets with ease fits the legend of the Ribbon Fighter, especially in the first mission where upon seeing Mobius 1 you can see fighters turning around on the radar to run away from him.
The mini-campaign culminates the same way regardless of which route is chosen by players. Assault the port facility Free Erusea are operating out of, after which Mobius 1 is ambushed by unmanned X-02 fighters, the superplane from the previous game. Is it disappointing to have such a dogfight be in this game’s mechanics? Yes. Is it nonetheless fun and cathartic? Also yes.
It also serves a purpose to the campaign mode as finishing an Arcade run will unlock the F-22 for purchase as early as Mission 5, a whole twelve missions before it should unlock, along with making the ISAF livery available for New Game+.
Use this knowledge, and power, with discretion.
A sweeping score for an unsung war
This should come as no surprise. Ace Combat 5 has a fantastic soundtrack, and whilst the quality of missions vary; the music backing them up remains absolutely beautiful and in contention for being the best soundtrack of the PS2 trilogy.
(Again, my thanks to Zaptroxix for making these extended OST videos. You are doing valuable work every day.)
Rendezvous falls into the category of “early game Ace Combat mission with music greater than it has any right to be”, think Blockade in AC4. The track starts off tense, with fast-paced strings playing with brass sounding off every so often, giving the impression that despite the mission starting off at the “end” of an operation; something is about to go down.
Percussion kicks in as the strings increase in intensity, all building towards a crescendo for the chorus to present itself as a perfect accompaniment to an early game furball against enemy fighters and bombers looking to destroy the carriers you were tasked to protect.
Tetsukazu Nakanishi, I bow to your ability to make sonar pings fit perfectly within a song.
Both Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi (the superweapon subs in the game) share leitmotifs and composition structure in their themes, so why does Hrimfaxi win out here?
Scinfaxi projects an aura of unease, unsure as to what the true capabilities of the sub might be. It starts out slow, with string scales and the aforementioned sonar pings before transitioning into a brass section that will fade in and out as the song progresses, everything soon cutting out as all that remains are synths and sonar, anticipating what the sub may do next.
Hrimfaxi throws all pretence and preamble aside, instead choosing to open with the signature sonar ping before launching into a distorted electric guitar with the string scales taking a back seat. Whereas Scinfaxi wanted to create tension; Hrimfaxi is creating despair. Wardog are not enjoying the same tactical support they had in the last encounter, and if Hrimfaxi cannot support the Yuke frontline they will do everything in their power to go down fighting.
Admittedly though, this guitar is also probably in contention with the solo from Comona (AC4) in how hard it goes throughout the song. It very rarely breaks off aside from the shared synth and sonar section from Scinfaxi, acting as amazing boss battle music as planes strafe the large sub.
Spoilers in the next section
The war is over. With the threat of nuclear annihilation abated, the Ghosts of Razgriz can finally rest.
Or they would, if the orbital cannon carrying said nuke was not on a collision course with the Osean capital city of Oured.
As their final sortie, the heroes take off from city highways to fly out towards the SOLG. Dispatching elite Belkan air force aces on the way and eventually reaching the massive structure as it descends to a vulnerable altitude. And then the music kicks in.
The Unsung War conveys multiple emotions. Sadness that no one will know the true story of the Ghosts until they have long since faded from memory, a sense of duty in carrying out this one last mission despite the struggles faced previously, triumph knowing a new dawn will come as they end this war for good on New Year’s Eve.
The way the song progresses reflects how a player might be feeling throughout this mission. Four pilots, officially listed as killed in action weeks ago, take on a task they can never be recognised for. A single male voice comes in, singing the legend of the Razgriz, reflecting how alone these pilots may be in their task.
But before long, a female voice joins in, and over time there are more voices added to the choir with the singing growing in intensity. The Ghosts are not alone. Everyone who has looked up to the sky and saw the black shadows zooming by are with them. They cannot be there in person, but they can add their spirit to wish them victory.
“After a period of slumber, Razgriz returns. This time, a hero.”
My only criticism? It does not have a fitting mission to go alongside it. Destroying the SOLG is impactful, but it has the structural integrity of a toilet paper loincloth and after the Belkan fighters are eliminated; there are no threats to players aside from accidentally flying into the SOLG.
…and despite my tendency to fly into slow moving objects in this game I somehow managed not to do that.
Debriefing
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War is an amazing game and a worthy entry into the Ace Combat franchise. Whilst unnecessary mechanics and potential control issues do have some impact on the core game itself; there is still infinite replayability to be had and hours of fun awaiting players. It is definitely the weakest entry in the PS2 holy trinity by a wide margin, but when it hits its stride there is the signature Project Aces love and dedication to their craft.
If you have a PS2, it is usually quite easy to find a secondhand copy online or at trade-in shops. If you have a UK registered PSN account, buying a Digital Deluxe edition of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown will bag you a digital copy of AC5, which comes with enhanced resolution, better controls, and trophy support.
And believe me, when the time is right, I will be tackling the absolute beast that is Ace Combat 7. But before that, someone needs to go check if their buddy is still alive.
Personal note
Hey everyone. I’ve tried out some new techniques with this review. Rather than the usual “Plot, Gameplay, Controls” heading I’ve tried to make them a bit more entertaining and engaging whilst also relating to the content I wanted to discuss in various sections. I’ve also limited my usage of addressing the reader directly to try give this review a bit more objectivity and provide a more neutral sort of vibe.
If you have any feedback on how these things feel to you, I’d love to hear it, as coming up with different section headings was pretty fun.
And, again, I want to express thanks to my friend Clara. Without her I wouldn’t be playing Ace Combat today and would have missed out on so many amazing games. I appreciate you massively. (Follow her at @ClaraDotH on Twitter for progress on her own arcade flight game.)
Welcome to the first of what will hopefully be a series on this site, Rosie’s Music Room. In these articles I am going to be looking at songs from all kinds of different media, from video games to film to TV, to potentially just doing an album review every so often.
For this inaugural edition, it is going to be an extension of my Ace Combat 4 review where picking three songs to fit into the Music section left me with a lot that I wanted to cover in much greater detail, though because of this, I will also be going into detail on some later missions so there is going to be a spoiler warning in effect for the entire article so if you don’t want to be spoiled, click away now.
If you are still with me, let us dive right into a track I mentioned during the review, but never went into detail on.
Comona
The mission which this track plays, “Shattered Skies”, was described to me by my friend Clara as one of the best missions in the game, and in her opinion, when the game really starts to pick up the pace. Comona Bay is solely a dogfight mission, no ground targets to worry about, just high stakes aerial action as you defend a crucial rocket launch facility from Erusean fighters and later, B2 stealth bombers coming to destroy the base.
And the song provides plenty of energy to keep you going throughout the mission, even a slightly subdued intro keeps pace with synth layered over an electric guitar jamming out an incredibly memorable riff. The mission itself is not that long so the backing music needed to make an impact and it certainly turns any tense tailing moments into euphoric victory when “DESTROYED” pops up on your screen.
Farbanti
Mission 17, “Siege of Farbanti” is the penultimate mission of the game which acts as a last stand for your enemy, as the war is now at their capital city with defences and tanks placed all throughout the streets with the remnants of the air force taking to the skies. One of the things I love about the Ace Combat soundtrack is that it can perfectly capture the atmosphere of a mission within a song.
And Farbanti is no exception, whilst previous ground assault missions will get your heart pumping with an aura of caution about yourself, the sweeping orchestra paired with Ace Combat’s signature guitar playing alongside it exudes the feeling of this being the final major battle of this war (bar one after this) and that ISAF is going to win, no matter what.
This is further exemplified when the mission update comes in, with AWACS telling you that five aircraft have been spotted on radar, the remaining true members of Yellow Squadron. Rather than the music changing to show that the scary Yellows have arrived, the triumphant tones of Farbanti keep playing as you engage your game-long rivals in aerial combat, proving once and for all why Erusean troops fear the ribbon in the sky.
Breaking Arrows (#1)
One of the less conventional missions in the game is called “Breaking Arrows” and the first piece of background music that plays during this level matches the atmosphere perfectly. Mobius 1 is alone in pursuing long range cruise missiles that are incoming to ISAF troop landings, performing this mission in the pitch black of night across a monolithic glacier, the only light coming from the stars and the aurora above the terrain.
With the plucking of a violin, the mission begins, and those few notes alone are able to instil fear into even the most experienced of AC veterans. Whilst AWACS told you what was coming from the darkness, the music still has the potential to create a feeling of unease about what else the Eruseans may be about to throw at you.
The second part of this mission still has good music, but that part of the track is more about giving the impression that failing to stop the final escorted cruise missile incoming would spell certain doom for the ISAF offensive.
Megalith Agnus Dei
I discussed Megalith at length during my review, but whilst I gave the name of the backing track to the level, I never explained what I like about it.
During the mission to destroy Megalith, the radio chatter that fills the top of the screen is supplied in part by a ground infiltration team who are waiting on Mobius 1 to destroy the generators powering the superweapon, and will sweep in during the ensuing blackout to open the central heat vent.
As you destroy each generator, the radio chatter becomes more dire as the team are unable to hold their position against the remaining Erusean officers, the ominous chanting of the music fully nailing it into the player that this mission is going to have a high casualty rate, but in completion, the war shall be over.
Part way through the song the instrumental lowers in volume to give way to the chorus taking centre stage, adding the ideal amount of solemnity to the situation at hand. Whilst you now lead the newly formed Mobius Squadron to victory, none of this would need to be happening if the rogue Erusean officers had surrendered along with the rest of the military.
There is honestly so much more I could say about this mission; everything about it combines to form a moving finale, the JRPG-esque final boss music only serving to propel it further into greatness.
Invincible Fleet
Mission 6, “Unsinkable Fleet”, features your first major ground assault against Erusean Forces, taking on the Aegir Fleet which boasts the mission name as its primary quality. Your job is to show them how much that claim holds up to reality.
Despite this, the mission is not presented as a glorious show of force against the Erusean navy, and the music reflects this wonderfully. Whilst you are strafing by fuel tanks and AA guns, taking out named destroyers and battleships with your LASMs, the backing track crafts an atmosphere of something about to go very wrong with deep, bass-heavy synths underlaying very light percussion.
Even when the string section kicks in there are no exuberant leitmotifs to be found, to the point where I reckon this music could have been used in an escape sequence and still fit perfectly.
Speaking of which…
Aquila
This track plays when things go very wrong at the end of Mission 5, where for the first time Mobius 1 is introduced to their main aerial rivals for the game: Yellow Squadron. Almost immediately AWACS tells you to not engage and return to base as fast as you can hold down the throttle.
It starts off quiet, with the first 15 seconds or so being comprised of bass synths and ominous bongos (Rosalia’s note: this is probably the most unintentionally funny thing I’ve written), after which harsh strings come in to properly tell you that if you do not make it back to the return line before Yellow Squadron catch up to you, you are almost certainly getting taken out of the sky.
The reason this has impact is the fact that up until now, Mission Update has not been used for anything terrifying. Its first usage is to tell you about the existence of the return line and how to return to base; in this instance it puts your knowledge of this mechanic to the test as you are faced with something you are very clearly outclassed by.
End of show
Thanks for reading. It has been incredibly fun to talk about some of the songs I didn’t get a chance to and to put my writing skills to the test by reviewing something completely out of my comfort zone, and hopefully I’ll get better at it over time.
Once again, credit and my thanks to Zaptroxix for these extended OST videos, they both helped me properly formulate my opinions on the tracks and listen out for the finer details in them.
Game will you give me a goddamn break to actually finish speaking?!
<< Incoming from Stonehenge on radar. All aircraft drop below 2000ft. >>
…I guess not.
Introduction
Ace Combat: Distant Thunder (known as Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies everywhere else except Europe) is a combat-oriented flight simulator game developed by Namco released in 2001 and was the first game in the franchise to release on the PS2.
Being honest, these sort of games never appeared on my radar (heh) up until very recently. My friend Clara is currently developing her own flight simulator game as a love letter to the Ace Combat franchise, and as part of my assistance on it; it was considered “research” to play through an Ace Combat game. I played a few missions on AC7: Skies Unknown before borrowing her copy of Distant Thunder.
And well, it is an understatement to say I’m hooked right now, the tense arcade-style gameplay, the tight flight controls and the downright epic soundtrack all combined into a heart-pumping, blood-pressure-raising, bandit-tailing experience.
Plot
The lead up to the game’s main story is an asteroid colliding with Earth causing massive damage. The nations on the fictional continent of Usea had developed a defence platform called “Stonehenge”, an array of anti-asteroid railguns to destroy fragments of falling asteroid but it was not enough to stop Erusea, one of the largest nations on Usea, to suffer massive economic damage.
This was highlighted when Erusea refused to accept their quota of civilian refugees from the disaster, leading to a boycott of Erusean exports from other nations, further damaging the economy.
And when you have a struggling economy, you go the route of the US government, and go to war to solve your problems!
Erusea launches a surprise invasion of the neutral town of San Salvacion and then worked to modify Stonehenge from “anti-asteroid defence system” to “what happens if you put AA guns on unreasonable amounts of steroids”. War broke out between Erusea and the other nations, the latter forming the Independent State Allied Forces (ISAF) to work collaboratively against the Erusean threat.
For some real numbers, Stonehenge has a range of approximately 1.3 UKs
However, the modifications to Stonehenge proved to be a deadly asset against ISAF, because anti-air guns with a range of 1200km (or, as shown in the picture, most of the Usean mainland) tend to provide a certain measure of air superiority.
Where the game begins is almost a first-and-last line of defence from ISAF who have retreated to the island of North Point to co-ordinate the counter offensive against the nigh-unstoppable Erusean campaign. You are placed into the cockpit of Mobius 1, who in addition to your fellow pilots, work to repel attacks on the base and then work to turn the tide of the war.
Story is presented in one of three ways:
Mission briefing screens which explain the scenario and what resistance is expected, along with showing a map of the continent which updates each mission with how the war is going
Mid-mission radio chatter and events, which can range from bombers incoming to your location or Stonehenge getting a lock on your position
Cutscenes told through watercolour painted scenes, following a young boy in the town of San Salvacion as he interacts with the Erusean occupiers
What I particularly enjoy about the plot in Distant Thunder is how it invoked various emotions which could change on a per mission basis, and sometimes even changing the tone and atmosphere of a mission with just a simple update.
One of the best early examples of this, and what forms a great prologue to one of the most intense missions of the game, is Mission 7: “Deep Strike”.
The initial objective is a straightforward mission type that the player will have already seen a few times before, taking out a set of targets with additional optional targets to up your score for a better rank. Then, you hear the ominous “bleeps” of mission update, two missions after the game had trained you to respond to this sound with “oh no” due to the incoming Yellow Squadron.
As a quick informer, Yellow Squadron form your sort of rivals through some missions. The first mission they turn up you are told not to engage because it would be too dangerous, and as the game progresses onwards, you slowly become more able to engage with the Squadron until finally taking on over ten fighters in a single mission.
With the bleeps in Deep Strike though, the game wrenches the “oh no” meter up to eleven with the information that Stonehenge is now targeting your location, and you need to get the hell out of there ASAP. The rest of the mission is accompanied by tense escape music as AWACS tells you to drop into the ravine to avoid getting hit.
And as someone who got hit by a railgun round on their escape, the game does not pull any punches. Going above 2000ft in altitude when a Stonehenge impact is incoming is a death sentence as it will instantly destroy your plane, forcing a mission restart.
Afterwards, comes Mission 8: Shattered Skies. And I will just let the background music for that stage set the scene.
Comona Bay is the first full-scale dogfight of the game, with the main objective being to destroy as many enemies as possible and is also the first time the player can engage with Yellow Squadron in the game. Loadout is key here as standard issue missiles usually will not be fast enough to nail a Yellow even with the most perfect of alignments (and I am bad at aiming, it took until Mission 12 to finally nail a Yellow).
Gameplay
Distant Thunder presents you with a campaign of eighteen missions to play through with a variety of objectives to make your way through. Quite a few missions of the game take the form of a open area with the objective of “Destroy as much as possible within the time limit”, ranging from destroying grounded aircraft on the runway so they can’t launch an attack on your base, to sinking a “unsinkable” fleet whilst it rests at harbour.
A few missions will mix things up with special objectives or special conditions to consider whilst playing through. This can include having to work without radar either temporarily or throughout the entire mission, having a civilian flight to escort or being the lone fighter to take down quick moving cruise missiles.
During each mission, usually to the south of the player’s position, there is a dotted line on the map referred to as the “Return Line”. Turning back and flying towards this line allows you to return to an airbase/carrier to refuel, repair, and restock your weapon loadout. Sometimes a tactical retreat can be beneficial to ensure victory in battle.
The game offers four difficultly levels initially: Very Easy, Easy, Normal, and Hard, with a fifth option of “Expert” being unlocked on completion of a Hard campaign, and a sixth option of “Ace” being unlocked on completion of an Expert campaign. I initially started my playthrough on Easy due to being a newcomer to the series, but after a few missions I felt comfortable enough to be able make a new save on Normal and play from there.
Your plane has three main armaments:
A rapid-fire main cannon with high ammunition, useful for strafing low durability targets and softening up enemy bandits if you get a good angle
A set of locking, homing missiles that are predominantly used for taking out bandits in two hits or demolishing high value ground targets
A special weapon, with each plane having a selection of specials to choose from depending on their role
Special weapons are useful for determining your strategy during a mission, as they will either work on only ground or air targets. They range from (but are not limited to) unguided bombs of multiple variants (cluster and napalm included), multi-locking sets of missiles useful for “fire and forget” tactics or longer range missiles useful for taking out potential AA threats from a safe distance.
In the beginning of the game though, you only have one plane and one special weapon unlocked, an F-4 with a set of unguided bombs. As you play through missions and earn credits you can add new aircraft to your arsenal along with acquiring new armaments for them. Personal favourites of mine for each include the following:
Why is this a screenshot from Word? Blame the table block.
LASM
XAGM
Throughout the game you can sell aircraft or weapons you have obtained to be able to afford new ones, and this can be a tactically sound decision if it offers you a distinct advantage in upcoming missions. It is impossible to purchase all aircraft and weapons on a first run through, even with destroying all potential targets and getting S-ranks on missions.
This is where the New Game Plus feature comes into play, allowing you to return to the first mission of the game with your credits, aircraft and special weapons all carrying over. As you start a carried-over save you gain the ability to adjust the difficulty, so if you want the challenge of harder difficulties with some cushioning from having your top-of-the-range gear, the option is there.
It is also an incredibly cathartic feeling to go through the early missions of the game with your endgame loadouts. Smashing through the early mission dogfights with superior firepower is a power trip and a half and I love it.
Controls
As the focus of the game is being a flight simulator, the controls are set up accordingly. You can turn using L2 and R2 but due to these being yaw movements; they are not exactly idea for turning quickly and instead should be used for minor course correction.
To get true freedom of movement in the skies, your best bet is to pitch and roll across the clouds, as mastering these manoeuvres on the left analog stick will allow for all sorts of advanced moves such as quick turning to quickly pursue enemy aircraft or being able to expertly evade incoming missiles.
R1 and L1 control your throttle and brake, respectively. Knowing how and when to use your brake is a massive boon to getting the plane to move in the direction you want it to, as it is easier to turn in the air when you’re slowing you. There are some missions as well when braking will stop you from crashing into the scenery when flying through tight corridors.
Once you have control over the plane refined though, there is not a massive amount of complexity in the game’s control scheme. Press X to fire your main cannon, Circle to fire either your missiles or special weapon, Triangle to change current target (essential for locking onto targets in quick succession) and Square to change how much your minimap is showing.
Select allows you to swap between missiles or special weapons, and the right analog stick rotates the camera around so you can evaluate your surrounding to determine your next move or look below you to see when you need to drop your bombs.
Finally, with down on the D-Pad, you can switch from a first-person perspective in the cockpit to playing in third-person. I admittedly never played a mission in first-person mode, instead preferring the freedom and special awareness that comes with knowing your surroundings. Though I suspect once Clara has her way with showing me Ace Combat VR, I will probably gain a finer appreciation for this viewpoint.
Music
(Foreword: I have to give a shout out to Zaptroxix here. They’re a Youtuber who posts extended versions of the Ace Combat soundtracks, which you are enjoying here. Give his channel a look for other songs and for Ace Combat gameplay.)
Alright, going to say this now, from the start of this section onwards until you see a large image of some Labrador Retriever puppies, there is a spoiler warning in effect as I will be reviewing later sections of the game as my talking points here.
Spoilers now in effect
Still with me? Awesome.
This allows me to gush about how this is now one of my favourite video game soundtracks ever and is contention for being my favourite soundtrack of the PS2.
Being a Namco game there is no surprise that the soundtrack would not be out of place in a JRPG, combining:
Orchestral scores
Hard rock guitars
Synthesiser beats
And even Latin choral chanting
Background tracks in levels are perfectly matched to the scenario that is going on at the time, accentuating the existing atmosphere perfectly. I have already shown off the high energy of the high stakes Comona Bay dogfight but a lot of my favourite tracks (unsurprisingly) are found past the halfway point of the game.
“Stonehenge” is the theme of the eponymous superweapon, what was once an asteroid defence platform has now been repurposed into an anti-air platform without rival. Your first proper introduction to this weapon is at the end of mission 7, where this theme kicks in and perfectly conveys the fact that if you do not get the hell out of there, you are going to die.
Close to the end of the game you conduct a night raid on the town of San Salvacion, the one that was occupied by Erusean forces in the beginning of the game, accompanied by a song which shares the name of the mission: “Emancipation”. Whilst there are many songs of the soundtrack that evoke the feeling of “cautious triumph” in me, this is the song that does it the most for me.
As you fly above the city, tearing into Erusean forces as your comms pick up a radio broadcast from the city detailing the battle raging ahead, the music perfectly compliments the feeling of victory being marred by the fact that this is you truly taking the fight to the enemy by reclaiming both a tactical and symbolic area of importance.
Finally, it’d be remiss to discuss an Ace Combat game without talking about the song that every player will hear, and the majority will remember for a long time, just waiting to awaken the nostalgia neurons when it is heard for the first time in a long time… the briefing music.
A funky synthesised beat accompanying the screen outlining what is required of you for the next mission which continues to play as you organise your aircraft and weapons ready for your sortie.
And being completely honest; it was incredibly difficult picking just these tracks to highlight and focus on. There is so many I want to discuss that in all likelihood there is going to be an “Ace Combat: Distant Thunder Soundtrack Review” article on this website at some point in the future.
However, I have one track left that I want to discuss, but its magnitude deserves its own segment.
Megalith
Close to the end of the game, ISAF receives information about a new superweapon being developed by the Eruseans under the codename of “Megalith”, and up until the final mission of the game where you actually go to fight it, there is no hints about what it may be, you’re kept in the dark entirely until the cutscene introducing it at the start of the mission plays.
The track that plays throughout this mission is called “Megalith -Agnus Dei-“ (Lamb of God). It is a sweeping orchestral piece accompanied by Latin chanting that signals that this is the final mission, both the last stand of a now eradicated Erusean military and the chance for Mobius 1 to cement his name in history forever.
Megalith is a massive bunker built into a small island, the facility itself encompassing several hundred square kilometres of the land mass, ICBM silos lining access tunnels to the insides of the facility as red targeting lasers painted asteroid fragments to be shot down.
These fragments help make for an almost apocalyptic backdrop to the mission as they rain down through the dark clouds as Mobius Squadron works to take down the last gasp of what Yellow Squadron has to offer.
Before, all your targets were clearly visible, with only minor difficulties in reaching them. In these final moments however, all your skill and nerve is required as you must fly through Megalith’s access tunnels to be able to destroy the generators that power the facility, giving ISAF ground forces enough time to open one of Megalith’s main doors to allow Mobius 1 to fly into the facility and destroy the largest ICBM it has to offer, pulling up through the silo hatch as explosions wreck what remains of the superweapon.
This is easily the mission I struggled on the most, I died a few times to getting flustered at Yellow Squadron, I died a few times struggling to get my flight paths into the access tunnels. But the setting of the level was immaculate, and I felt a burning drive in my heart to see this fight through to the end.
It was worth it, because I can now comfortably say that Megalith is quite possibly my favourite final boss on the PS2.
Spoilers Ended – Have some puppies!
Photo by Chevanon Photography, pexels.com
Conclusion
Through one playthrough alone, I am now hooked on Ace Combat 4 and am incredibly enthusiastic to continue playing other entries in the franchise. The fast-paced gameplay gave me chills and feelings that have only ever surfaced whilst playing the most intense of roguelike games, with my drive to improve my skills not dying down yet.
If you have a PS2 knocking around, I seriously recommend picking this game up, you can probably find a copy online cheap. And then you will get to experience the sheer panic, exhilaration, and relief of going through this experience.
Clara, thank you again for showing me this franchise and letting me borrow the game. It has honestly been kind of life changing.
Throughout its 20+ year history, the Pokémon franchise has enjoyed several spinoff games with each new generation. Ranging from photography in Pokémon Snap, to Tactical RPG gameplay in Pokémon Conquest, even letting you battle Pokémon in 3D – long before the main series games made the jump – in Pokémon Stadium and Battle Revolution.
One section of their spinoff games made their mark on me: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.
Named and inspired by the Mystery Dungeon series, the games follow a turn-based structure where player characters and enemies move on a grid, a style seen in several roguelike games throughout history. Each “Mystery Dungeon” has a set number of floors, but each of these floors will be procedurally generated for both layout and hazards, meaning multiple runs of the same dungeon won’t get stale.
The game in focus today will be the “Explorers of Sky” title for the Nintendo DS, being my favourite entry in the series for several reasons.
A brief plot synopsis follows normal series conventions, you are a human who has been mysteriously turned into a Pokémon (chosen by the nature determined by a pre-opening personality test). You’re washed up on a beach where you’re found by your soon-to-be partner Pokémon, in search of a relic which is important to them.
After finding this relic, your partner suggests joining the local explorer’s guild. This begins your journey in the Pokémon world, as you try to uncover how you came to be in this situation and soon discover a plot that could bring about the end of the world.
Gameplay basics have already been covered, and the game follows standard Pokémon conventions. You have a level, you have Hit Points (HP), you have moves with a limited number of Power Points (PP), you gain experience by defeating other Pokémon.
What differs is being able to gather and use items yourself in these dungeons, ranging from Berries to heal you and your partner Pokémon; various throwing objects to deal with enemies; “orbs” which can have potent effects for the dungeon floor you’re currently on; and food.
In one of the game’s more dividing mechanics, the player has a belly meter, and the lower the belly meter is, the less efficient your self-healing is. If it depletes completely, you start to take damage until you eat a food item. Whilst this can cause annoyance in the larger dungeons, it’s not a massive undertaking to manage, especially if you come in prepared and plan item usage.
The amount of content on offer in the game is monumental. Throughout the game you can take on side missions from a bounty board within the guildhall, these are all within dungeons you have already cleared the story section for and can include delivering an item to someone in the dungeon, rescuing a lost Pokémon, or escorting someone through the dungeon to a specific floor.
This also extends to an extremely well designed postgame. Not only do you have a substantial bit of plot to finish up; more dungeons are unlocked as you go, some of these carrying a pre-entry condition to make the experience harder.
All of these combine to form an extremely well-rounded dungeon crawling RPG, one that you can sink countless hours into on the go due to the portable nature of the DS.
However, this article is twofold, because I’ve covered what makes me so excited about the gameplay, and in my time with it, I sunk about 300 hours into the game, it really did keep me playing.
For the next section I’m going add a huge Spoilers Ahead to whatever I say, as I’m going to be covering a good section of the end of the main story…
Spoilers Ahead (you’ve had two warnings now)
Relax looking at the ocean before continuing on
Still here? Awesome.
As the plot progresses, you go through several twists and a villain change, until you discover that the way to avert an apocalyptic scenario is to replace the Time Gears (plot important items) at Temporal Tower, where the legendary Pokemon Dialga has reverted to his Primal state due to the destabilisation of time.
One companion sacrifices themselves to ensure you can complete your quest, leaving just you and your partner. As it goes with the series near the end, you, as both player and Pokemon discover that once the world is saved, you are to disappear from this world having fulfilled your purpose. The player character decides to keep this from the partner, focusing instead on the impending dungeon.
An imposing structure and a storm of unknown energy swirling above are what greets the pair. This is the point of no-return, and the dungeon music reflects this. A foreboding piece with a mix of light and heavy percussion, but with slight undertones of solemnity as the track progresses.
After several floors, you reach Temporal Pinnacle. A small shrine with carved indentations for the Time Gears await you, but lightning knocks you back as you are confronted by Primal Dialga. Enraged and beyond reasoning; he’ll only back down once you defeat him.
Following a beautifully scored fight, you rush back to the shrine and place the time gears in. It seems as if you were both too late as the storm continues to rage, knocking you unconscious.
You come to and see that your partner is safe as you are approached by Dialga, showing you images of the now-saved world with the assurance that the world will slowly return to how it was.
Leaving the now saved tower, your player character acknowledges that their body feels heavy, and realises that this is the lead up to their disappearance. As the yellow lights begin to circle, you finally open up to your partner about your fate. Knowing your time is limited, you focus on thanking them for going on adventures with you, telling them they must live their life, tell the story of what happened and that even as you disappear; you will never forget the memories forged together.
Your partner goes off, and tells the story of what happened, whenever they can. Eventually they return to the beach where they first met you, reminiscing on past adventures, to the point where the emotions become too much and they break down crying.
Such an intense sorrow is felt even by Dialga, who, as thanks for preventing the world’s demise, grants the partner one gift.
You.
Partner and player get to continue their adventures once more.
This ending hits me particularly hard, even on subsequent playthroughs. Which you’d think is strange, I know it’s coming, so why do I always shed a few tears when it arrives?
Well, there’s a lot of myself I see in the interactions between player and partner. The partner frequently says that the player makes them stronger, gives them the ability to feel brave, let’s them achieve things that they didn’t think possible.
And its bonds as strong as those that hurt the most to lose. Sometimes you don’t get a final goodbye like in the game, a lot of the time, they’ll just fade.
But the memories will remain. The good, the bad, the painful.
And you carry them with you, to nurture the bonds you have today.
Ratchet and Clank, a re-imagining of the original 2002 game, was released in 2016 coinciding with a tie-in film by Rainmaker Studios. And for the purposes of this review, yes, I am going to be specifically using the term “re-imagining” to describe this game because honestly, there is not enough of the old game intact to consider this a remake.
I definitely enjoyed my time playing through this game, it has got the staple action platformer gameplay that I’ve come to expect from the franchise, with quality platforming sections, side tasks on various planets, and hidden collectibles placed within levels.
But… there is no soul. Any of the slapstick comedy of previous entries has been removed in favour of a persistent and unfunny narrator, no interactions with characters who will be here for one world and then gone the next, and most egregiously, there is no real interpersonal conflict between any of the characters.
Whilst the original Ratchet and Clank had a story reminiscent of traditional buddy cop films, the interactions between the two characters felt real and there was a distinct arc in the development of their relationship. Ratchet may have had a bit of an abrasive personality, but this contributed to the conflicts experienced by the duo.
Story and Characters
As opposed to the premise of “individual wants to escape from planet they’ve been stuck on for years”; the re-imagining begins with Ratchet going to try outs for the Galactic Rangers, because he’s always wanted to be a hero.
The Rangers this time are not green robots with entertaining dialogue and interactions, they are instead a group of characters with minimal introduction and development throughout the game:
Cora Veralux, youngest ranger to ever be recruited and native of Novalis (that is most of her development by the way, she gets one moody scene apart from this)
Brax Lectrus, a brash ranger who prefers the all guns blazing approach as opposed to thinking out methodical plans (no development whatsoever and no missions with him as support)
Elaris, the technical support and strategist of the rangers, who aside from making one plan at the end, is never really seen, and is only heard briefly in cutscenes/mission dialogue
They are all lead by the greatest superhero the galaxy has ever known…
Captain Qwark.
And no, I am not giving him an over the top intro, because frankly this version of Qwark is a toothless parody of a character who was already supposed to be satirical. The main point of his character is that he is a superhero who likes to take credit for the work that other people do, driven by vanity and greed.
In the confused identity this game has, there is not really any clear characterisation for him and plot reveals involving him are incredibly lazy. He is jealous because Ratchet comes on the scene and starts stealing his thunder… and none of this is foreshadowed or explained up until the end of the game.
Even the villains are disappointing this time around, which is incredibly disheartening to say considering this game both has the character and original voice talent of Doctor Nefarious (Armin Shimerman). Nefarious is supposed to be over-the-top, with ridiculous lines and crazy character moments…
…and aside from a few cutscenes and some dialogue on a planet, the doctor is never heard from until the end of the game, where he suddenly fulfils the role of primary antagonist and even then, aside from a single throwaway line that gave me a chuckle, there isn’t anything redeeming about this development.
And Drek.
Chairman Drek.
The evil ultra-capitalist from the first game, with a deep, guttural, intimidating voice that made any cutscene imposing despite his short stature has been completely ruined. There is no mystery or motivation to his plans this time round, what was once an impactful reveal at the end of the original is now relegated to a brief gag in one of the first cutscenes in the game. Aside from barking orders over comms and making a few threats to his military; there is not really anything there to show a player he means business.
Finally, the dynamic duo themselves, Ratchet and Clank barely have any meaningful interactions during cutscenes. Before cutscenes involving talking to NPCs were dynamic, you could see the two emoting, having body language sell what the current scenario means to either of them, and most importantly, they’d actually look at each other and have a proper conversation about the events that just transpired. Now it boils down to a character saying, “It would be a good idea to check out Planet X!” and the other going “Yeah, fine by me.”
Like I said before, there is no interpersonal conflict, and even when the game presents the potential of conflict, it is resolved as quickly as it appears.
Weapons
Coming in with a modest 14 weapons the re-imagined game does not have the largest roster of any game, but it comes close to matching the 15 weapons found in the original game. Despite this though only two weapons from the original are updated for this game, the rest are either originals or taken from other entries into the series.
Whilst the weapons are all functioning and fun to use, it would’ve been cool to see what the Blaster as a modern-style Ratchet and Clank weapon would be like, or seen the potential of the PS4 be put to good use by re-imagining what the iconic Visibomb Gun could do.
This does not necessarily mean any of the new designs are bad per say, one of my favourite weapons throughout the game was a completely original weapon, the Proton Drum. An area-of-effect weapon that launches out a large orb in a parabolic arc that is then deployed and sends shockwaves to nearby enemies, decimating crowds and softening up larger targets for finishing blows. Its upgrade incorporates bolts of lightning that will shock specific enemies for even more damage.
The other new design in the game is a weapon known as the Pixelizer, the obligatory shotgun style weapon found in most games starting in 2 with the Blitz Gun. In this iteration enemies hit by the Pixelizer have a very amusing filter placed over their model which makes them looks incredibly low fidelity, which then causes them to shatter into cube shaped pixels upon death.
Although the concept of the weapon is fun enough, and it is certainly massively damaging in close proximity, but for me it also lacked the bite that shotgun weapons need to have, there is no loud BANG followed by a click, there are only pixelized bleeps and bloops.
It’s a bit hard to show the Buzz Blades off, just imagine all those red lines amplified
Out of all the designs to return from another game, the one I ended up enjoying the most were the Buzz Blades. Fulfilling a similar role to the Disc Blade Gun from the third game, the main purpose of this gun is fast firing ricocheting projectiles that can bounce through crowds and tear apart larger enemies with some sustained fire making it a staple weapon in my arsenal right up until the end.
However, none of these weapons compare to the sheer joy that I encountered when I got to fire this game’s iteration of the R.Y.N.O. For context, I have currently not finished any of the PS3 Ratchet games, I am currently playing Tools of Destruction when I visit a friend, but I have barely scratched the surface of that game.
This meant that when I first got the R.Y.N.O, I saw the absolutely massive initial ammo count of 1000, and wondered “Why the hell does it need that much?”
Then I held down the trigger.
And everything made sense, because this is the first time I’ve had the experience of the R.Y.N.O playing an overture for me as I fire. And it gave me happy fuzzy feels I did not think were possible after playing through the story of this game. It is also immensely powerful, making enemies and bosses crumple before the unstoppable barrage of high explosive missiles, being able to take out the final boss in just over a minute.
With the R.Y.N.O in tow, the only one they fear is you.
Gameplay
Before I move onto discussing new and returning gameplay, please join me in a moment of silence for the levels lost to this re-imagined world:
Planet Eudora, the logging site for Drek’s new planet
Planet Umbris, a fantastic gauntlet with challenging mechanics
Planet Orxon, the actual Blarg homeworld that Drek polluted
Planet Hoven, a high stakes race to destroy a planet busting bomb
Gemlik Base, the best level in the original game, atmospheric, gorgeous, and providing closure on a game long arc
Planet Oltanis, a Ratchet only challenge due to Clank being vulnerable to the raging storm around you
Planet Quartu (the good one), a two-part planet home to the origin of Giant Clank and an incredibly moving scene with Clank
Drek’s Fleet, the penultimate level which features both stealth and action segments as you jump between ships
The return to Veldin, a terrifying chase to save your homeworld
Gone, but never forgotten you beautiful level
For the levels that remain, they are mostly intact. A lot of the level design for returning planets is lifted straight from the original game, with tweaks in some areas and some getting complete overhauls like Planet Gaspar. Quartu is completely redone from the ground up to tie in with the new lore and the Deplanetizer is now its own self-contained level.
In line with the source material, Gold Bolts are a hidden collectible, scattered throughout levels in locations old and new. Unlike the source material however, these are not used for unlocking superior Golden Weapons upon completion of the game/finding the hidden area in Gemlik base.
They are instead used for unlocking things in the “Extras” menu such as screen filters, head, armour, and ship styles, concept art galleries and cheats, including Infinite Ammo and Invincibility at 27 and 28 bolts respectively. Additionally they are used to unlock more hangars in the “Insomniac Museum”, which, whilst a cute addition in the style of a museum to the franchise; it doesn’t have the same charm as the in-depth developer comments older museums had.
A new collectible to this game are the “Holocards”, collectible cards that can be dropped by enemies and found in card packs around the galaxy. Holocard sets come in threes and completing a set will reward you with a passive income bonus, a buff to your Omniwrench damage, or the ability to unlock the “Omega” versions of weapons whilst in Challenge Mode. Holocards are also the way the R.Y.N.O is obtained in this game, as you need all nine R.Y.N.O holocards to have the full plans to construct it.
The latter of these is at least enjoyable, as all the cards are either hidden in obscure locations or as reward for completing a difficult challenge, and since the last one isn’t obtainable right before the end of the game you don’t become all powerful too early on.
My one gripe with holocards is that once you have completed all the sets; there is not really any use for the duplicate cards that continue to drop and all the packs that respawn per playthrough, no way to trade them in for something else.
A similar complaint can be said for the other currency of the game, Raritanium. Found in hidden deposits throughout levels and sometimes dropped by enemies, the glowing rocks are used in a returning mechanic from the Future series, being used to upgrade your weapons. Each weapon has its own map of hex tiles that unlock a certain buff when purchased with raritanium, including “secret upgrades” that are only unlocked when all hex tiles surrounding them are bought.
What is cute is that each upgrade map when completed forms a little image relating to the weapon itself, like a flame for the Pyrocitor, a buzz blade for the Buzz Blades, and an ominous skull-and-crossbones for the R.Y.N.O. Though as mentioned, once you have completed all upgrade maps for all weapons, the utility of raritanium takes a complete nosedive, leaving you with a stockpile in the hundreds as you obtain even more from blasting enemies.
All weapons, as is franchise staple, can be upgraded through use going through 5 levels and turning into a more powerful form upon reaching that 5th level. In this game only damage/duration is upgraded upon level up, with more upgrade hexes unlocking to enhance ammo, rate of fire and additional effects to be chosen at the player’s leisure.
This next complaint is a bit more personal to me, especially as someone who made an effort to mention this in every previous Ratchet and Clank review but…
Why does this game run at 30fps? It baffles me completely, every previous game through the PS2 and PS3 ran at 60fps with dips in the only most exceptional of circumstances. I managed to make this game start to chug when just using the Pyrocitor on a crowd of enemies, I would rather see a downgrade on the fancy new graphics to get a solid, stable, 60fps. (Reference: played on an original PS4. Have not conducted framerate tests on PS4 Pro hardware)
Clank levels returned, but only in his small on foot form as the locations where Giant Clank would have been used have been cut from the game. The Gadgebot variety has been changed from the original game with no options to use them for attacking or entering gates.
Instead now Clank can take any Gadgebot and reprogram it to being one of three options:
Springbot, allowing Clank to jump to ledges he could not normally reach
Powerbot, provide electricity to machinery to open the path
Bridgebot, extend a bridge across hazardous pits
Using these bots there were quite a few clever scenarios and puzzles during these Clank segments, including one near the end of the game where I was properly stuck for a moment before figuring it out.
The time for the trophy is under 1:35…
Hard work and determination (and loud swearing) paid off in the end
Returning from the original game are the hoverboard races on Rilgar and Kaleebo III. Both planets now have three levels of race to compete in, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The difference between these tends to be the number of explosive crates placed on the track, throughout my multiple attempts trying to attain the trophies for these tracks, I did not notice any improvements to the AI.
New to this game are that you do not need an item to perform tricks to earn boosts, this ability is unlocked right out the gate. And believe me, you will need to use this ability religiously in the time trial trophies in order to keep a good amount of boost ongoing.
Most gadgets return from the original game, minus the Sonic Summoner from winning the Rilgar hoverboard race, the Metal Detector from destroying the Blarg Warships on Batalia, and the PDA purchased on Oltanis.
The Swingshot is now unlocked from the beginning of the game, and functions in the exact same way as in all entries, allowing you to swing from and pull yourself to grapple points
The Hydrodisplacer retains its function of allowing you to fill/drain areas to proceed
The Hologuise now takes the form of Captain Qwark to infiltrate the Deplanetizer as opposed to Quartu
Magneboots and Grind Boots return for traversing ionised surfaces and grind rails respectively
And Clank can obtain all his pack upgrades, with the Power Slam from the Thruster Pack being replaced with the ability to turn heavier bolt cranks
In addition to all these, the Trespasser also makes it return in a slightly upgraded form. After reaching a certain point of progression in game you gain the ability to toggle trespasser rings on and off, a feature which is essential in some puzzles but also gives you the ability to declutter the interface and look at a puzzle in a different way.
However, unless you are bothered about getting the trophy for completing all Trespasser puzzles… the gadget is essentially moot, as now by pressing Square you can have the puzzle autocomplete itself for the penalty of not being able to earn the trophy and missing out on the bolts completing the puzzle normally would get.
New to the game is the XK-81 Jetpack obtained on Planet Gaspar. Used in a handful of specifically locations, the jetpack plays mechanically similar to the Levitator in Ratchet and Clank 2, having fuel that you use to propel yourself upwards. In any jetpack enabled level you essentially now have sandbox levels of movement around the level, best shown in the area where it is obtained with wide open spaces and distant landmarks to discover.
Controls
As much as I take issue with various points of the game, the one area I cannot really fault anything are the controls. All aspects of the game control perfectly in my opinion, Ratchet’s movement is responsive, strafing and jumping side to side during combat still feels as great all these years later, and the Hydro Pack is even unlocked from the beginning to make swimming segments easier (partially because the planet where you would normally obtain it got cut).
Aside from the previously mentioned feature of turning more difficult bolt cranks, the Heli-Pack and Thruster Pack function closer to how they work in later Ratchet and Clank games, it being closer to a personal preference than an edge during gameplay. As usual, once unlocked, I stayed with the Thruster Pack. I can never betray my roots.
Returning from the original game are a handful of ship combat levels, with each usually introducing a gimmick to add diversity to them. This can be using a magnetic grapple on your ship to launch warbots into a warship, using newly acquired rockets to damage large vessels that are immune to your machine gun, or being stuck in a tractor beam with your movement stick now controlling your reticle to shoot down homing missiles.
Aside from a few issues when it comes to turning around with the ship in tight spaces, I encountered no major issues with the controls here, and none of the gimmicks were too high of a difficulty spike, introducing the right amount of additional challenge into each encounter.
Music
This is a section I haven’t really covered in any of my previous Ratchet and Clank reviews, but as this game is specifically being based off a game with an absolutely banging and iconic soundtrack, I need to use the opportunity presented to me to say the music in this re-imagined version is not only considerably worse than the source material, it is bland in isolation.
Iconic tracks such as Metropolis and Blackwater City have been dropped in favour of generic orchestral scores, sometimes overlaid with harsh electronic beats during more intense combat segments. There is no identity or impact to the music, and that is honestly a bit sad, considering the potential for remixes or remastered music to set the nostalgia neurons throbbing.
Conclusion
Ratchet and Clank (PS4) is a solid action platformer, with great weapons, fast-paced gameplay, and an overall enjoyable experience in isolation. However, when compared to what came before it, it is a hollow shell trying to find an identity in between being a re-imagining of the first game, trying to tie into a film, and trying to make you care about the characters within the game without any of the development that went into previous entries.
In all honesty the film is probably what lead to this identity crisis the game seems to have, in place of cutscenes sometimes there are direct sequences ripped straight from the film, except that these scenes sometimes don’t have the context of what happened previously in the film, so events and actions can sometimes come out of the blue completely.
It would have been awesome to see what Insomniac could’ve done if the brief was just “remake the first game for PS4, add in content that may have been cut, expand on old weapons in the new upgradeable style”. Instead what we got almost reeks of a soulless, corporate cash-in for a film that barely got off the ground (which, yes, I will be discussing at some point).
This review was honestly painful to write in some segments, because for all my criticisms and gripes, I genuinely enjoyed playing through this game. And if it were not for a slightly annoying trophy I am still trying to get, I have got the Platinum trophy for this game, I did everything on offer.
Because it is a Ratchet and Clank game, a franchise incredibly dear to my heart, and it is just sad to see what “re-imagining” the game did to the heart that was in the original. From the footage I have seen so far though, Rifts Apart seems to be a return to form, all we can do is wait and see.
If you are a fan of the franchise and you can find this game cheap enough, I kind of do recommend it as a one-off experience. You will still find some joy to be had in some segments and weapons.
But for me, the ultimate test is if I want to go back to replay this game on a fresh save like I’ve done with so many games previous… and sadly, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting this one for a while yet.
Back in August 2017, I backed this product on Kickstarter as an early birthday present, under the impression it would’ve come in time for December that same year. A handful of delays with design and printing eventually led the EU fulfilment to happen this September.
Was it worth the wait?
Quick recap
I’ve reviewed the original Star Realms on GeekOut before, so have a read here for the game’s mechanics in depth.
In short, you get a starting deck of not-great cards, you use those not-great cards to buy new cards for your deck, with the goal of eventually cycling out the not-great cards so all you draw is straight gas.
The game itself
Since the basics of the game have been covered in the past, I’ll use this space to talk about how the cards in this box compare to the previous two sets.
A new mechanic has been introduced in the form of “Double Ally Abilities”. Previously, faction synergy only required another card of the same colour to activate, however in a self-explanatory way, these new abilities require two other cards of the same colour.
The game now natively supports 4 players, with a respective number of starter decks included. One major change is how a player’s Authority (life) can be tracked out of the box, a massive improvement at that.
Previously the box would include double sided cards with 20/10 or 5/1 printed on them. I never touched these cards due to how clunky this system is; dice/phone counters being a preferable option. Now life tracking is done using two cards, one with digits, one with multiples of 10. These cards have been designed in a way that a multiple of 10 can be aligned next to a digit to represent a player’s total.
The system is similar to using a D100 and D10 together
The basic composition of the trade deck included is the same. 80 total cards (20 of each faction) with multiple copies of the smaller, cheaper ships and singleton copies of the more powerful, more expensive ships. Each of the factions retain their preferred playstyle from previous boxes:
Trade Federation/Blue focuses on synergy with bases, healing and trade
Machine Cult/Red focuses on destroying bases and scrapping cards from your deck
Star Empire/Yellow focuses on discarding cards to draw cards and making opponents discard
Blob/Green focuses on pure, unfiltered combat potential and card draw
In terms of art direction, it is not only consistent, it is just as impressive. From the organic monstrosities of the Blob to the militaristic sleekness of the Star Empire; every ship and base conveys the identity of its faction in a way that creates flavour without words.
Finally, the box contains a small selection of “Challenge Cards”, printed on oversized cards. Designed for either solo or co-op play, these cards can be used for a sort of Player VS Environment (PvE) playstyle. Each challenge plays differently from the others, with all the information on the rear of the card and in the rulebook included in the box.
Kickstarter benefits
The tier I pledged for Frontiers was one which came with all manner of add-ons:
A pack containing the stretch goal promo cards from the Kickstarter campaign
A pack containing recent tournament promo cards
A “Stellar Allies” pack featuring dual faction cards
Some additional expansions which I need for my collection
7 “Command Decks”, one of which is Kickstarter exclusive
The final bullet point is the one I want to elaborate on, as it is a radically different way of playing Star Realms.
With Command Decks, you take the role of a prominent commander within a dual faction pair. In taking this role you get certain benefits which vary from deck to deck, the common theme between these benefits being your starting life and hand size for each turn. Each deck also comes with two “Gambits” unique to their commander, life tracking cards which art to reflect the theme of the deck and an 8-cost ship to add to your personal collection.
One of the best ways to utilise a Command Deck is to play a game mode called “Raid”, which is a 1-VS-Many format. This game mode involves a player assuming the role of the Raid Boss, who uses a Command Deck to give themselves a boost. That said, playing with these decks in simple 1v1 play can diversify the experience along with ramping up the speed of play.
Conclusion
In answer to my earlier question “Was it worth the wait?”.
Yes.
Yes, it was.
It’s hard for me to say what Star Realms means to me at this point, this is a card game I have collected almost every card from (save a few promos from supplemental products). It’s a card game that I always try to carry in my bag due to how easy it is to set up and play.
Rob, Darwin, thank you. The extra time taken for this to get into the hands of backers has led to a fantastically well-rounded addition to an already brilliant game. I know it will be a while before new Star Realms content comes into circulation, but this little box is more than enough to tide me over.
Now to get 700+ sleeves for this massive collection.
The title does seem a bit generic, so I’ll clarify.
When I’m talking about a ‘multiplayer (with friends)’ game, I’m talking about a game that can be played as a single player game quite easily — It’s designed in such a way that one person can progress normally. But the design is also in place to make the experience infinitely enhanced with the addition of your friends playing with you, either as allies, enemies or neutral parties (Read: Potential backstabbers).
So how about starting with a game where a friend can go through all three of those positions?
Sid Meier’s Civilization V (or Civ 5 for short) is a 4X strategy game (“eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate”) where the end goal is “to build a civilisation that will stand the test of time”. You do this through various means — Researching new technology, developing your culture to build social policies and, when it comes to it, nuking the ever loving hell out of anyone who wrongs you.
Playing Civ 5 with friends is an interesting experience, to say the least. You can act amicable at first, sharing embassies, helping each other out through simple trade and maybe killing some barbarians, with the threats being only very vague and passive-aggressive in nature…
…then you’ve declared war on every AI player and your friend, just so you can say you’re at war with everyone.
Those are just the two far points of the spectrum of evil deeds during multiplayer in Civ 5 — You’ve also got imposing taxes on your friends to use your borders, or giving salt after a brutal war to, well, rub salt in the wound and — possibly the most brutal act your friends can commit — of nuking your capital city into the dirt when you’re playing as Venice, so that the only city you have left standing is a little city state that has nothing in it.
Salty? Me? No.
As much as I’d like to ramble on about when you get backstabbed by an ally, even during all-out war, I still have this element of joy flowing through me. Thinking about what move my friend will make next; what soldiers may be coming out from behind the frontlines; are the frontlines just a ploy to distract me? Combining that with all the previously mentioned elements, Civ 5 is a multiplayer game that can consume literal hours with a group of good people.
And now, to give my editor flashbacks.
Ahh… only a few people are going to get that, and that makes me happy.
Terraria should be familiar to quite a few people reading this, due to its similarities to Minecraft and how both games shared a good amount of popularity during 2011.
The advantages of Terraria come in the form of more of a set structure, with more armour tiers to advance through, biomes becoming harder as the game progresses and an incredibly diverse selection of boss fights.
As someone who has spent a small time…
…playing Terraria, I can vouch that the game has a veritable gold mine of possibilities for multiplayer.
Of course you can progress normally by gathering materials and building a large castle, all to slowly carve your way up to the Moon Lord, the Cthulhu inspired final boss.
However there are also options for PvP modes, with plenty of maps available online to download for these purposes, alongside inventory/character editors so all your friends are as powerful as each other, regardless of whether you use a mage, fighter or ranger build.
A random game to play in multiplayer that I made up involves mining. You get a Spelunker Potion (which reveals ores and treasures with a glow for a brief time), a Teleportation Potion (which teleports the player character randomly once around the map) and a high level pickaxe/drill.
The objective? Mine as much as you can before the Spelunker potion runs out. The person with the most ores and treasure wins. Simple, yet surprisingly competitive.
With the previous two games, the amount of players in a single session can go up to sixteen and even higher. The next game is a bit smaller by contrast, on a scale as grand as the starry sky.
Get it?
Being one of the more obscure multiplayer titles to pick, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky, is a JRPG developed by Level-5 and released for the Nintendo DS. The game follows the classic four person party composed of different classes with different abilities, going through a large open world completing quests, delving into dungeons and battling giant spear wielding cucumbers.
Ahh yes, the cruel cucumber, truly the most chaotic evil of all vegetables
The difference here is that the four-person party doesn’t have to be party members recruited at a tavern. They can be your friends in local multiplayer (recruiting these at a tavern is optional).
DQ:IX handled multiplayer through a drop-in, drop-out system. In the main hub tavern of the game, there is a portal which you use to start connection with nearby DS systems, either opening your world to other players or trying to find the world of your friends.
This system is downright amazing — and honestly I believe it’s the best way to play the game, even during the campaign.
Sure, it is possible to soft sequence break your own world, by going into a friends world with more towns open and buying the better equipment there.
But that ignores how ridiculously fun and satisfying it can get exploring the world as an actual party; the conversation you share in real life being the snarky comments actual adventurers would have in the face of monsters.
Martial Artist, Armamentalist, Luminary and a healer character from that persons own party made up my band of adventurers, meeting up on the weekends to take on the harder bosses…
…only to take up a lot of turn time using an attack with a pointlessly long animation, which, at the end of the day, didn’t even do that much better damage than a regular attack.
That’s been my summary of a few multiplayer games I’ve enjoyed over my life. I’ll admit, I don’t play these with other people much these days, so a lot of my thoughts and ideas are from pure memory.
But that’s the point of playing games with your friends; creating the memories that last.
Be it sitting in a living room, making sure not to move too far away so the DS infrared connection doesn’t break, sitting in bed as suggesting Terraria as a game night idea goes horribly wrong, even to the people who prefer tabletop, gathered round a table playing Magic and D&D for hours on end.
We’re all geeks here, building a community around these sorts of things is why we’re here.
*****
Present Rosalia here, and… reading this article back, especially as I got more into Magic: the Gathering shortly after I originally wrote this, and met even more friends because of that game, really gave me fuzzy feelings for the past.
Multiplayer with friends brings back some of my greatest memories, and every time I play with friends these days I always seem to create some new memories as well, especially during the pandemic where remote play is the only time you’d get to talk to people you know.
Choosing a Normal-type to represent on this list actually ended up being quite difficult for me, as there’s a lot of good Pokémon to choose from, but none exactly stand out massively to me:
Do I pick one of the Starly line for being my personal favourite of the “three stage” bird lines in the series?
Do I pick Wooloo because the idea of rolling away from life’s problems seems appealing?
Do I pick Regigigas because I’m a memelord who wanted a shiny one to make a “MyBodyIsRegi” nickname joke?
In the end, I decided on one where the background and design has always brought a smile to my face.
The Porygon line in Pokémon derives from the core concept that it is a Pokémon that exists purely as computer code, giving it potential to operate in a near limitless amount of environments (though the Pokédex entry in Ultra Sun/Moon of most of the original Porygon being “obsolete” is quite entertaining).
This artificial quality is reflected in how evolutions work along this evolutionary line. Trading a base Porygon with “Upgrade” turns it into Porygon 2, an upgraded version with better graphics hardware, as evidenced by the rough edges of the polygons behind smoothed out. You can then evolve Porygon 2 again by trading it with a “Dubious Disc” which does not upgrade the graphics hardware, in fact, no one is sure what it did.
What exactly happens with this evolution can be left to interpretation, but two common ones persist:
The Dubious Disc infected Porygon 2 with a virus, not advertised on the disc, and this caused them to go haywire
The Dubious Disc was supposed to be what was advertised on the disc (interdimensional travel), but the programmers never finished the software, so it is full of bugs
Porygon Z being a buggy mess is what appeals to me personally, because then that way I can have the concept of spaghetti code as a Pokémon!
In terms of offensive capabilities, Porygon Z is primarily a special attacker, with a good range of Electric, Normal, and Psychic moves to choose from. With 90 base Speed it’s not exactly a slow Pokemon, but it most definitely benefits from a Speed-enhancing nature such as Timid, there is also some potential for working with a Choice Scarf build, but the lack of Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) on the more powerful moves of the arsenal holds things back.
Honestly, I am just happy to keep this as my fun glitchy mess.
Electric – Ampharos, #181
If the positive praise I heaped on Ampharos in one of my previous works is evidence enough, I love this little electric loaf.
Their name also has a cute tie in to where you find a named Ampharos in the Gold/Silver/Crystal storyline. “Amphy”, belonging to Olivine City gym leader Jasmine, powers the city’s lighthouse. The second part of Ampharos’s name is derived from the Greek word “fáros”, meaning lighthouse, whilst “amp” is a unit of measurement for electrical current. It would be entertaining if the name came from the design scenario of needing an Electric-type Pokémon to rest on top of the lighthouse.
Whenever I play through a game where Ampharos is in the regional Pokédex, it is always in high contention to join my team even when I am playing an entirely new region with new potential Electric-types to choose from, despite its low speed providing a potential disadvantage compared to faster Pokémon who may not hit as hard.
One of its main boons is the fact that Thunder Wave, a fairly accurate Paralysis status-inducing move, is learnt on level up in the base stage of the evolutionary line Mareep. Having a move like this is valuable for difficult gym battles, working to make roaming legendary Pokémon easier to catch, and providing the same utility to static legendary Pokémon.
Ampharos is also one of the Pokémon to have gained a Mega Evolution in Generation VI, becoming even more of a slow but impactful special sweeper. The ability of Mold Breaker allows Electric-type moves to bypass any shenanigans with Pokemon using Lightning Rod, and the addition of Dragon-type allows for STAB with the potential for Ampharos to learn Dragon Pulse starting in this generation.
It has also clearly been using L’Oréal for its hair – got to respect its commitment to self-care.
With a diverse move pool from both level up and TMs providing endless utility, this yellow loaf will always be special to me.
Psychic – Gallade, #475
A gallant knight, a wandering warrior, or a ferocious gladiator? Whilst the head of a Gallade has the appearance similar to the latter’s helmet; it is a much more honourable Pokémon than that. It utilises its Psychic/Fighting type combo appropriately, being attuned to the needs of others in dire straits and having the ability to telepathically predict the attacks of potential foes, allowing them to deliver devastating attacks.
Gallade was introduced in Generation IV alongside many other previous generation Pokémon to get additional evolutions (one of many favourite features from the Sinnoh Pokédex in my opinion), this time being an alternate option if you didn’t want your male Kirlia growing up and just living with the gender role it was given, instead using a Dawn Stone to achieve the life he wants to live.
Despite appearances and expectations, Gallade is not all that fast of an offensive Fighting-type, with a base Speed stat of 80. However, this is made up for with a great Special Defence stat of 115, which allows him to tank at least one hit from a super-effective Ghost-type or Fairy-type move, potentially two if a build utilising an Assault Vest is deployed.
An all out offensive build with said item can have a decent chance of success, though as with a fair few Pokémon utilising a choice item (either a Choice Band or Choice Scarf here) can offer just as much damage output for Gallade, though the lack of a swapping move (such as U-Turn or Baton Pass) can reduce the versatility of the build.
Like with Ampharos, Gallade also has a Mega Evolution. The size of the crest on his helmet increases, the blades on his arms become red and gain a sharper edge, and, mostly importantly, he gets a cape, giving him the appearance of a mighty duellist, looking to prove his worth against opponents near and far.
With this change comes a speed more befitting the power of Gallade, going up 30 points to 110 base. Special Defence remains at its high level of 115, Defence itself goes up to 95 from 65 indicating the close quarters skill of Gallade has enhanced, but the true power lies in his Attack stat, going all the way up to 165 base, placing it above other Mega Evolutions and even some legendary Pokémon.
Gallade has always been a pet favourite of mine when it comes to competitive play, I know there’s better choices out there, but he always has a spot in my roster for both design and power.
Part 2: Completed
Normal/Electric/Psychic edition of this series completed. Once again, it’d be nice to hear your feedback on my choices and what your potential choices may be, next time I’ll be covering my picks for the most synergistic three types, Rock/Steel/Ground.
Rosalia Rambles 