Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies[lower-alpha 1] is a 2001 combat flight simulation video game developed and published for the PlayStation 2 by Namco. The player assumes the role of a fighter pilot, assigned the call sign Mobius 1, and controls one of 21 different fighter jets through 18 different story missions. Each mission features different objectives including shooting down squadrons of enemy pilots and escorting friendly units.

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)Namco
Director(s)
  • Atsushi Shiozawa
  • Hiroyuki Ichiyanagi
Producer(s)Shigeru Yokoyama
Composer(s)
SeriesAce Combat
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: September 13, 2001
  • NA: November 1, 2001
  • EU: February 8, 2002
Genre(s)Air combat simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The development team viewed Ace Combat 04 as a return to the origin of the franchise after the mixed release of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere.[1] This design philosophy was reflected in the marketing tagline, "It's Changing Everything Again."[2] Gameplay was given more of an arcade feel with an increased focus on score attack objectives and less story cutscenes. In addition to standard missiles that can lock on to any target, Ace Combat 04 introduced special weapons such as anti-ship missiles, unguided rockets, and bombs. Studio 4°C developed the interludes that play between missions as slide show cutscenes, which was a cost-effective alternative to the fully-animated cutscenes in Electrosphere.[3] As opposed to the Top Gun-inspired rock music in Ace Combat 2 and the electronic music in Electrosphere, Ace Combat 04 features a blend of rock, orchestral, and synthesizer music, as well as a Latin chorus, which cemented the style of Ace Combat soundtracks going forward.

Ace Combat 04 was a commercial success and shipped 2.64 million copies worldwide. Critics praised the gameplay, story, and soundtrack, while the graphics received mixed reception. Criticism was pointed to the game's lower challenge and smaller amount of missions compared to its predecessors. It was re-released as a budget title in Japan in 2004 under Sony's The Best label.

Gameplay
The player destroying an enemy aircraft

During the course of the game, the player has the opportunity to purchase 21 different planes, from models that actually exist to prototypes or relatively new aircraft that were in development (at the time of game production) and their weaponry. Every plane has two alternate paint schemes, gained by achieving a superior, or S, ranking on a stage in normal difficulty mode, by shooting down the ace pilots on each stage, or by completing the challenge modes.

The difficulty mode determines the number of enemies per stage, their AI skill and damage threshold, and how much damage the player's aircraft can sustain in total. On the hardest difficulty level, a single enemy missile can take down the player's aircraft, whereas on the easiest level it would take several missile hits.

The player must purchase all aircraft and extra weapons they want to use, but only once. Identical weapons for different types of planes cannot be used interchangeably. Players gain money by destroying enemies, or selling aircraft/weapons between missions. Only the default aircraft, the F-4E Phantom, cannot be sold. It is sometimes advantageous to buy/sell different combinations of planes & weapons depending on the mission requirements outlined in the briefing, as some planes are more suitable than others for certain missions. Once all of the mission objectives are complete, the player is awarded bonus money for performing above and beyond the requirements of the mission objectives (neutralizing extra targets and assorted enemy fighters, etc.). In order to purchase all planes and weapons available in the game, the game must be completed several times.

Plot

A massive asteroid named Ulysses 1994XF04 collided with Earth in a disastrous impact event, killing hundreds of thousands of people. The nations on the continent of Usea had developed an array of anti-asteroid railguns codenamed "Stonehenge" to destroy the asteroid's fragments, but they could not completely prevent the disaster. Erusea, one of the largest nations and located on the west coast, was shattered economically and chose to close its borders to refugees, leading to heightened tensions with its neighbors. Erusea's military launched a surprise invasion of San Salvacion, its closest neighbor, and captured the Stonehenge railguns to repurpose them as anti-aircraft weapons. War quickly broke out between Erusea and the other Usean nations, who formed a military defense coalition known as the Independent State Allied Forces (ISAF). Using Stonehenge to decimate the ISAF's airpower, Erusea routed their military and occupied key strategic locations on the continent. On the verge of imminent defeat, the ISAF's General Headquarters relocated to the island of North Point off the northeastern coast of the continent, outside of Stonehenge's effective radius.

Mobius 1 is a fighter pilot serving in the ISAF Air Force in the middle of the war. Mobius 1 and his fellow pilots are dispatched to thwart Erusea's attempts to invade North Point, intercepting a unit of Erusean bombers off the coast while catching another bomber unit on the ground at a nearby airbase. Mobius 1 also takes part in the destruction of a northern Erusean radar installation, allowing surviving ISAF troops to retreat back to North Point. The ISAF Air Force subsequently destroys Erusea's "invincible" Aegir Fleet moored at Comberth Harbor, thwarting Erusea's attempt to invade North Point by sea. Bolstered by their stunning victories, the ISAF initiates an airstrike to target Erusean solar panel facilities in the heart of the continent. A surprise attack by Stonehenge inflicts heavy casualties upon the strike force, reminding the ISAF that the weapon still has an iron grip over the skies of the continent.

Between missions, a story is told through interlude flashbacks, later revealed to be a long letter to Mobius 1 about the war and living inside Erusea's occupation of San Salvacion. The letter is written by an unnamed man whose parents were killed when an ISAF fighter jet crashed into their house when he was a child. This fighter jet was shot down by Yellow 13, Erusea's top fighter pilot, and a member of the well-known elite Yellow Squadron, who are tasked with defending Stonehenge from air attacks. Following his parents' death, the boy is taken in by his uncle, an alcoholic taxi driver who lives in the city above a tavern frequented by Erusean soldiers. While in the tavern, the boy befriends 13 after meeting him and the other Yellow Squadron members. He also learns that the owner of the bar is a member of the local resistance against Erusea and becomes a "spy" for them due to his friendship with 13.

As the war progresses, Mobius 1's contributions turn the tide as the ISAF begins retaking Usea. The ISAF establishes a foothold on the southern coast of the continent and restarts the ground war. The situation in San Salvacion becomes more desperate as the ISAF draws closer. The interlude narrator recalls one event where the bar owner's daughter plants a bomb on Yellow Squadron's airfield, which damages the plane of Yellow 13's wingman, a female pilot known as Yellow 4. The ISAF then attacks Stonehenge itself; Mobius 1 manages to destroy all of the active railguns before Yellow Squadron arrives and attacks Mobius 1, who subsequently shoots down and kills Yellow 4. With Stonehenge out of commission, the ISAF invades the northern coast of Usea and pushes forward into Erusean territory, liberating San Salvacion in the process. The interlude narrator recalls following Yellow Squadron as they retreated to Erusea's capital. After breaking through Erusea's final line of defense, the ISAF invades and captures the capital and Mobius 1 shoots down the entirety of Yellow Squadron, killing Yellow 13 and forcing Erusea to surrender. A group of rogue Erusean officers activate a missile launch facility, codenamed "Megalith", that can shoot down asteroid debris stuck in orbit to crash on the continent. The ISAF Air Force is reformed into Mobius Squadron and destroy the Erusean squadron and Megalith putting an end to the war.

Reception

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies was a commercial success. By 2008, it shipped 2.64 million copies worldwide,[11] making it the highest-selling Ace Combat game until Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown surpassed it in 2021.[12]

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies was critically acclaimed at launch, being given the Gold Hall of Fame award from Famitsu and listed as an Editor's Choice by IGN. On the review aggregator website Metacritic, 04 holds an 89/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". IGN gave the game 9.1 out of 10[10] and Famitsu magazine scored a rating of 33 out of 40 on release.[6] It was nominated for GameSpot's annual "Best Story" and "Best Shooting Game" prizes among console games, which went respectively to Final Fantasy X and Halo: Combat Evolved.[13]

Notes
  1. In Japanese: Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (エースコンバット04　シャッタード・スカイ, Ēsu Konbatto Zero Yon Shattādo Sukai). Released as Ace Combat: Distant Thunder in Europe.

References
  1. Kono, Kazutoki [@kazutoki] (July 1, 2013). 何処まで書いたのか分からないが、AC04の話。賛否両論を呼んでしまったAC3から、現用戦闘機路線への復活はスンナリと決まった。それは「原点回帰」が、言わずとも、チーム内であったから。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. Kono, Kazutoki [@kazutoki] (July 1, 2013). なのでその頃、「心機一転、原点回帰」の方向性が決まった。だから、It's changing every thing, again.ってなフレーズを決めた。これは確か、We are〜のフレーズをパクったと記憶している。苦笑。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. Kono, Kazutoki [@kazutoki] (July 1, 2013). で、ここから4℃さんの話になるのだけれど、結構ヘビーです。先ずはお金。予算が全然無かった。それでもAC3の豪華IGさんのアニメと、何とかバランス取らなきゃいけなかった。だから、結局、先ず、その時の時代性、あと自分の感覚だけで、「スタジオ4℃さん突撃作戦」を自ら立案して実行した。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via Twitter.
  4. "Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies for PlayStation 2 Review". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  5. "PS2 Review: Ace Combat 4". Computer & Video Games. Future plc. January 23, 2002. Archived from the original on February 9, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  6. "エースコンバット04 シャッタードスカイ (PS2)". Famitsu. Kadokawa Corporation. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  7. Fitzloff, Jay (November 2001). "Ace Combat 4 Review". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on October 22, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  8. Four-Eyed Dragon (October 22, 2001). "Review: Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies [PS2]". GamePro. Future plc. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  9. Ajami, Amer (October 23, 2001). "Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  10. Smith, David (October 23, 2001). "Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies". IGN. Archived from the original on November 12, 2001. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  11. Ichinoya, Hiroyuki (January 30, 2008). "『エースコンバット』シリーズ全世界累計1,000万本突破！" [The cumulative worldwide sales total of the "Ace Combat" series exceeds 10,000,000 units!] (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Games. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  12. "Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown Tops 2.5 Million Sales, Is Best-Selling Game In Series". PlayStation Universe. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021. Skies Unknown managed to top the previous best-selling title, Ace Combat [04]: Shattered Skies, to be crowned the series' biggest-selling title.
  13. GameSpot VG Staff (February 23, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst Video Games of 2001". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
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