It is late and I am falling asleep but just wanted to get some words out about this.
Ace Combat 3’s international release was lacking. A lot. A large chunk of missions, it’s entire narrative, and the majority of what made it anything was stripped out. Another sad localization story.
A few days ago, the (mostly) finished fan translation of the Japanese release took to the skies. You can find it here: https://projectnemo.net/
Ace Combat 3, in its uncut form, is delightful. If you liked the PS2 games, then you will probably appreciate it as a link between the series’ arcade roots and the overwrought “Strange-real” melodrama it became famous for. If you like late '90s-era anime bullshit in your video games, then buckle the fuck up because talking heads are ready to call you over hyper-cyberspace with hot takes on the socio-economic impact your last mission had on the corporation-nation you’re fighting in. If you like PS1 aesthetic, then oh boy, are you going to love some of the spiffy bullshit Namco pulled off in this jam.
I use the word “ambitious” multiple times down there because that’s what this is: a really ambitious project. Branching mission paths, aggressive world-building/lore, Production I.G. cutscenes and character design, sublime and emotive techno soundtrack - all to prop up what is essentially a 3D time attack shmup.
There is a single space mission with unique zero-gravity physics that lasts for three minutes that is barely even acknowledged by a single person in the story.
I love Ace Combat. And 7 is right around the corner, too.
<HeavyViper> Ace Combat 3 is the glorious anime mess I expected it to be <HeavyViper> militarized corporation-states, transhumanism, and "what if modern day technology but fucking insane" <HeavyViper> good ace combat, kind of weird playing it now after all the PS2 games though <HeavyViper> one of the corporations calls all of their fighter jets "Radical" <HeavyViper> like, that's the brand name <@secret> sounds a lot like the other psx series with which it shares an abbreviation <@secret> (armored core) <HeavyViper> yeah, heard there's a bit of crossover of themes there <HeavyViper> it's only just now setting in how happy I am about it getting translated finally tbh <HeavyViper> the ending I just got had me chasing the digital copy of an ace pilot into the hyper-internet to have a cyber-dogfight <HeavyViper> so I guess that did it <@lenox> i always find that interesting. "let's localize our game but...let's remove all the story elements because translating it would be a doozie/Westerners wouldn't get it" <@secret> nice <@lenox> i think the reverse of that happened with blaster master? or something <HeavyViper> it's...beautifully weird and has that ambitious '90s "holy fucking shit guys COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET" view of the future <@secret> i think it <@secret> 's similar to how like no (non-porn) visual novels were brought over <@secret> although actually there were some <HeavyViper> I'd always heard that AC3 was basically stripped down to nothing because playtesters didn't care and just skipped through the story, but I don't know now <HeavyViper> like, playing it, there is a LOT of shit here <HeavyViper> don't want to even guess what it would have cost to properly localise something this ambitious <HeavyViper> especially on the tail-end of the PS1's lifespan <HeavyViper> (at least in the West)
I heard a lot of the in-mission pilot chatter is still untranslated along with a lot of the lore dump things you can read in-game. That’s a real shame if so, I was somehow under the impression this was a full translation.
From what I’ve played so far, all plot-critical dialogue is translated, including in-mission drama. If you’re talking about incidental stuff like “GRR TAKE THIS,” “NOW I HAVE YOU” there’s not a lot they can do with that as there’s no text associated with those. The lore dump is a shame, but that’s the kind of stuff I don’t might bringing up a FAQ for.
From what I’ve played so far, all plot-critical dialogue is translated, including in-mission drama. If you’re talking about incidental stuff like “GRR TAKE THIS,” “NOW I HAVE YOU” there’s not a lot they can do with that as there’s no text associated with those. The lore dump is a shame, but that’s the kind of stuff I don’t might bringing up a FAQ for.[/quote]
That’s what I absolutely loved about 5 and Zero, the banter and the Enthusiasm, and wonky stereotyping and shouting, all which made me a satisfied and addicted airforce drama-queen. I think that even without it, it would work just based on the lore established in the plot (e.g. Excalibur and what it stands for), but having it is obviously ace (pun unintentional, by Razgriz)
Hints of high atmosphere/space silliness…
Drone implementation, folks worried they’ll phase out human pilots…
Laser/energy weapons in some screenshots…
Kinda neat how Electrosphere just got easier to understand, huh?
I wanted to take this opportunity to speak directly to you, our loyal ACE COMBAT fans, and give you a first-hand update on the launch timing for ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN. The Project ACES team and I have been working hard on ACE COMBAT 7 and we’re determined to achieve the vision we have set for the game. In order to reach that vision, we have decided to move the launch of ACE COMBAT 7 to 2018.
We would have loved to launch ACE COMBAT 7 at the end of 2017 as we originally intended, but doing so would compromise our goal for the game. We take our art very seriously and that means we have instead chosen to devote additional time and effort to perfect and optimize this newest chapter of the ACE COMBAT saga.
The combination of the Unreal 4 Engine and the power of current generation consoles and PC hardware have literally opened the “skies of opportunity” to us to develop the best ACE COMBAT experience to-date. At no other time in ACE COMBAT’s 20+ year history has gaming technology allowed us to deliver the minute details of flight combat - such as cloud cover and air currents – or give players a new way to experience dogfights and attack sorties through hardware such as the new PlayStation VR.
We’ll have a lot more information and details to share with you in the coming months, starting at E3 2017 where we plan to reveal a brand-new demo showcasing one of the non-VR missions in ACE COMBAT 7 for the first time ever!
On behalf of the entire Project ACES team, I want to thank you all for your patience and for your continued support.
