Ace Combat 3
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| Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere | |
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Release date(s) | May 27, 1999 (Japan), March 20, 2000 (US) |
| Genre(s) | Simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Media | CD(x2) |
Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere is the third installment in the Ace Combat series of games. A major departure from every other game in the series, it featured a futuristic storyline involving a war between a group of multinational corporations, shades of the Armored Core series of games.
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[edit] Plot
The plot, taking place in the distant future, revolves around a war between a group of corporations fighting over territorial disputes, and eventually a prototype fighter known as the X-49 Night Raven. During a period of financial chaos, the many governments of the world have eroded to nothing but corporatocracies. These corporations, not unlike the governments they control, have disputes often, and eventually a war is sparked.
- General Resource LTD. is a successful company, formed through a merger of many worldwide financial assets. It was once Gründer Industries, a military corporation found in Ace Combat 5. Focusing on the domination of common products, General Resource is always in constant disagreement with Neucom. A massive corporate war was sparked when General Resource's armed forces engaged fire with Neucom's forces. General Resources has a para-military force called General Resources Defence Force (GRDF). Abyssal Dision and Keith are members of the GRDF.
- The UPEO (Universal Peace Enforcement Organization) is a military organization controlled by the U.N. and originally a General Resource puppet, ultimately dedicated to stopping the corporate war. However, it is referred as a paper tiger, since it requires weapons from the corporations to support itself. UPEO is supervised by NUN General Secretary Gabriel Clarkson. UPEO's military arm is the Special Armed Response Force (SARF). The main characters, Rena Hirose, Fiona Fitzgerald, and Erich Jaeger are members of the SARF. Gilbert Park is the commander of the UPEO and SARF. However, he is distrusted by almost every character in the game. (reason of which later revealed) After all hell breaks loose at the near the end of the game, main character and Erich decide to take the battle to Park in order to save the UPEO from corruption and stop the Ouroboros, while trying to save Rena from her cruel fate.
- Neucom Inc. is a generally struggling corporation that focuses on progress through technological advances. It was once the Erusian Air and Space Administration (EASA), a corporation found in Ace Combat 04. Formed by a group of defecting scientists from General Resource and a former government agency, Neucom has similarities to real-life defense contractor McDonnell Douglas. Neucom's para-military force is named Neucom Emergency Unit (NEU) and it's only side that uses its own design aircraft. Cynthia is a member of the NEU (as is her sister Fiona, defecting along with the main character if player wishes, in the later missions). For some reason, Neucom is named Neuwork in the seriously downgraded English versions of AC3.
- Ouroboros is a mysterious organization formed from members of all units, with its own shadowy agenda. According to the story, Abyssal Dision seems to be its lead pilot and executive officer while Gilbert Park, commander of the UPEO, is actually its leader, operating behind the scenes. Cynthia (and main character, if player wishes) later join Ouroboros for unknown reasons although she later realizes the madness behind the organization's true intentions and decides to escape. (again, with main character)
[edit] Gameplay
AC3 was the first game in the series to feature a third-person 360-degree camera that could be rotated on all three axes with the right thumbstick; allowing the player to keep enemies in constant sight. A welcome feature, this was carried over to later games. It was also the first game to allow the player to choose their aircraft's armament.
It is the only game in the series so far to feature a mission in outer space. Although there is only one, it featured a reasonably accurate physics model of a zero-gravity situation. The game was also a departure in other ways; the style is reminiscent of the Wipeout series of games, especially the Head-Up Display (though some found it was too bulky and interfered with the player's view). The company logos of Neucom, Ouroboros, General Resource and the UPEO bear resemblance to the works of The Designers Republic. The soundtrack consists of a variety of electronic music, largely ambient mood setting tunes (as opposed to the rock music found in Ace Combat 2), composed by much of the same team responsible for the critically-acclaimed Ridge Racer soundtracks.
[edit] Aircraft
Note: some of the planes only appear or are flyable in the Japanese version. *
UPEO Aircraft:
- EF-2000E Typhoon II - Fighter
- MiG-33 Fulcrum SS - Fighter
- F/A-18U Hornet ADV - F/A (Multirole) (UPEO paint scheme version of F/A-18I)
- F-16XFU Gryfalcon - Fighter (UPEO paint scheme version of F-16 XF)
- R-101U Delphinus #1 - F/A (Multirole) (UPEO paint scheme version of R-101)
- R-201U Asterozoa - Attacker (UPEO paint scheme version of R-201)
- Su-37 Super Flanker - Advanced Fighter
- Su-43 Berkut - Advanced Fighter
General Resources LTD. Aircraft:
- F-16XA Sakerfalcon - F/A (Multirole)
- F-15S/MT Eagle+ - Fighter
- A/F-117X Navhawk - Attacker *
- F-22C Raptor II - Fighter
- F/A-32C Erne - F/A Multirole
- RFA-12A Blackbird - Strato-Fighter
- XFA-36A Game - Advanced Fighter
- F/A-18I Hornet ADV - F/A Multirole *
- F-16XF Gryfalcon - Fighter
Neucom Aircraft:
- R-101 Delphinus #1 - F/A (Multirole)
- R-102 Delphinus #2 - F/A (Multirole)
- R-103 Delphinus #3 - Advanced Fighter
- R-201 Asterzoa - Attacker
- R-211 Orcinus - Attacker
- R-311 Remora- Strato-Fighter
- R-352 Sepia - Star Fighter
- XR-900 Geopelia- Advanced Fighter
Ouroboros Aircraft:
- Su-37 Super Flanker - Advanced Fighter
- Su-43 Berkut - Advanced Fighter
- R-103 Delphinus #3 - Advanced Fighter
- XFA-36A Game - Advanced Fighter
- X-49 Night Raven - Advanced Fighter
- UI-4054 Aurora - Advanced Fighter
[edit] Non-playable Aircraft
- AH-66B Comanche (Attack Helicopter)
- B-1C Lancer II (Supersonic bomber) *
- C-17B Globemaster III (Transport Plane)
- EC-17U Super Hornet EW (Jammer Craft) *
- EK-17U (Tanker Plane)
- KC-777 (Tanker Plane) *
- R-501 Rhincodon (Transport Plane)
- R-505|R-505U (NUN Transport)
- R-531 Mobura (High-Altitude Transport)
- R-701 (Attack Helicopter)
- R-808 Phoca] (Space Shuttle)
- UI-4052 Cralias (Bio Airship)
- UI-4053 Sphyrna (Attack Airship)
- V-22B Osprey (Multirole Plane with VTOL capability)
Other Aircraft:
- SR-71 Blackbird - Strato-Fighter
[edit] Weapons
Machine Guns
- M61Vulcan Machine Gun 20mm
- Heavy Machine Gun 25mm
- Cannon 30mm
- Pulse Laser
- Neutron Beam
- Laser
Missiles
- Missile
- Short-Range Missile
- MIRV (Multiple Independently targeted Re-entry Vehicle)
- Ground Missile (Cruise Missile)
Special Weapons
- Anti-Nanobite Bomb
- Spread Bomb
- OSL (Orbital Satellite Laser)
[edit] Development history
Released in 1999, the Japanese version is extremely story-driven, featuring anime cutscenes, detailed characters, and 52 missions, with multiple paths through the game and 5 possible endings. The Japanese version introduced some elements carried over to Ace Combat 04, including radio chatter between comrades and enemies, and intelligent wingmen. The American and European versions, released a year later, have been extremely criticized for removing almost all of the story elements, including all of the cutscenes, and cutting the game down to 36 missions. Despite Namco Hometek's arguments, fans of the game feel there was no excuse to have taken a year's time to release it in America, only for it to be a shell of what it once was. Features such as the intelligent wingmen and all individual characters were also removed. The anime cutscenes and the fictional aircraft also alienated Japanese fans of the series, who were expecting something closer to the arcade style of Ace Combat 2. However, sales in Japan were still strong, but the cutting down of the storyline led to a lack of success in other markets.
Despite the lack of initial success, the game has gained somewhat of a cult following in recent times, being a major departure from the rest of the series.
[edit] Trivia
- Neucom planes are largely named after the scientific names of various sea creatures, such as the phoca, delphinus, and remora.
- The F/A 32C Erne is based on the real world X-32 Joint Strike Fighter, but the Erne has a slanted air intake and has two engines, while the X-32 has only one.
- All of the planes in the game (with the exception of one tanker) have an operation system called "Connection For Flight Interface" COFFIN system. This system allows aircraft to be piloted by your own thoughts, thus giving better reaction time and fighting capabilty. However, as the name suggests, this system is quite unstable and dangerous since it requires complete concentration of pilot. There is a risk that pilots might be psychologically damaged during operation, therefore only a handful of pilots are allowed to use it, namely Rena and Cynthia.
- Many aircrafts in this universe is derived from otherwise prototype-only aircraft, such as the YF-12 and F-16 AFTI.
[edit] References
As a side note, Ridge Racer 6 contains an extremely large amount of references to Ace Combat 3, including cars sponsored by Neucom and General Resource, the UPEO logo plastered on quite a few cars along with the Data Swallow logo, and a small Electrosphere sponsor logo on various cars. This shows that Namco has definitely not forgotten about the Ace Combat 3 universe, and may plan to revisit it. Also, General Resource LTD. is featured in Ace Combat Advance as the enemy with their own squadron, the A.S.F. (Air Strike Force). There are also many other Ace Combat 3 references in the game.
[edit] Possible Re-make
The following is taken from an interview between GameDaily.com and Naoto Maeda from Namco Bandai:
"Are you considering re-releasing Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, but this time with all of the missions, movies, and dialogue intact and translated? Do you think the Ace Combat series has gained enough respect and popularity for you to finally do this?"
"As far as a re-make of Ace Combat 3 is concerned, we have no plans to do this at this time. The development team is aware that there are a lot of fans out there that really loved Ace Combat 3. If enough voices calling for a re-make were gathered and various issues could be resolved, then I think it might be worth considering."
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Japanese Ace Combat 3 site
- Ace Combat series fansite and forum
- Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere at GameFAQs
- Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere at MobyGames
- The Electrosphere - the largest AC Database on the net
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| Air Combat | 2 | 3 | 04 | 5 | Zero | X | Advance | 6 | ||||||
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| Aircraft of Ace Combat | Characters of Ace Combat |
