Ace Combat Zero

Coolection Verified independent store

→

Item ConditionComplete in box: the disc, the manual and the original case, all original. Original inserts or paperwork shown in the photos are included; display stands and other ph otography props are not. The photos are of this exact disc — look them over closely for its condition, packaging and details. Discs are professionally resurfaced when they need it and tested before listing. It ships in a collector's bag or a hard plastic case.Item DescriptionAce Combat Zero: The Belkan War is the prequel to Ace Combat 5 and one of the most celebrated entries in Namco's long-running aerial combat series on PS2. Developed by Namco's Project Aces team and released in 2006, it is set in the series' fictional Strangereal world and puts you in the cockpit as Cipher, the legendary mercenary ace who flies for Ustio with his wingman Larry "Pixy" Foulke in the 1995 Belkan War, a war that reshaped the balance of power across a continent. The story is told through a clever framing device: a television documentary, made a decade later, in which journalist Brett Thompson interviews the pilots and survivors who crossed paths with the player. It lends the campaign a mythic, almost spaghetti-western quality that sets it apart from other flight combat games of its era.The gameplay is sharp and deeply satisfying: a wide roster of real-world aircraft to unlock with credits, up to the fictional ADFX-01 Morgan and X-02 Wyvern, and dogfights that manage to feel cinematic and mechanically rewarding at the same time. The Ace Style system tracks how you fight, pulling a gauge toward Mercenary, Soldier or Knight depending on whether you destroy everything in sight or protect allies and spare non-hostile targets. That choice changes the radio chatter, the cutscenes, the veterans the documentary interviews and which enemy ace squadrons appear, which gives the game genuine replay value and draws players back into missions to see what they missed the first time. Duels with those elite Belkan squadrons, in a war fought over the deadly airspace known as the Round Table, are some of the most memorable moments the PS2 offered in the genre.Aurally and visually, Ace Combat Zero holds up remarkably well. Its flamenco-inspired soundtrack, overseen by music director Keiki Kobayashi, sets Spanish guitar against the roar of afterburners and missile-lock tones in a way that somehow works brilliantly, and it has kept a devoted following years after release. The game arrived late in the PS2's lifespan, shipped nearly 800,000 units worldwide by 2008, and remains a favorite among fans who consider it a high point, or even the high point, of the series. Show more