There’s a LOT more to it than that, which we won’t spoil here, but much revolves around the fact that this isn’t the real world and while the game features lots of real, licensed planes there’s also fictional ones too and a modest amount of near future sci-fi weaponry that means you’re never quite sure what to expect in any given mission.Īt the start at least you’re flying around in familiar American jet fighters like the F-16 and F-14, with the game offering either a ‘normal’ or ‘expert’ control system when you start. The short version of the story is that Erusea has surprised Osean with a Pearl Harbor style attack using unmanned drones, while much of the narrative focuses on an aircraft enthusiast caught up in the struggle and forced to help out.
But while the plot is frequently confusing, and ultimately very silly, it’s told with some impressively cinematic cut scenes and a lot of earnest effort. After the abortive attempt to reboot the series with a real-world setting, in 2011’s fun but shallow Assault Horizon, Ace Combat 7 returns to the fictional world of the Osean Federation and the Kingdom of Erusea, whose anime-influenced melodramatics account for a lot of the game’s popularity in Japan.