Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

Ace Combat Zero
Ace Combat Zero
	File:Ace Combat zero art.JPG
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	March 23, 2006(Japan); ; Spring, 2006 (United States)
Genre(s)	Simulation
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Ace Combat Zero is a video game that takes place 15 years before the events of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. This game was recently announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2005. The official website has the game slated for a March 23, 2006 release. The game appears to revolve around the rising of tensions between Belka and the combined forces of Osea and Yuktobania. It is unknown how many, if any at all, of the characters from Ace Combat 5 make an appearance in Ace Combat Zero, but several voice actors of characters in Ace Combat 5 are present in a pre-release trailer. The character you play as is a mercenary hired by the country of Ustio who was invaded in an attack from Belka.

Not much else is known, but the game seems to feature older versions of fighter aircraft seen in its predecessor game, such as F-15, F/A-18, and several second generation aircraft like the Saab Draken. Also, Gamespot.com has reported, based on playing a preliminary build of the game, that the game will feature what are in effect boss battles against rival aces interspersed through the games campaign. These foes apparently boast enhanced weaponry and combat prowess. The game will also rank players on their playstyle. Players who focus solely on the mission objectives will be given the "Soldier" rank, players who neutralize the enemy but do not kill them, along with attaining the mission objectives, will receive the "Knight" ranking, and those who "kill everything in sight" will earn the "Mercenary" ranking. These ranks will reportedly affect the players progression through the campaign, but it is not yet clear how this will function. A split-screen mode has also been revealed with Namco confirming multiple modes of play.

The Story So Far

The Belkan war appears to be a retelling of the events of a war which happened earlier in the Ace combat time line; the story is being retold on the 25th of November 2005. The narrator tells us that, in 1995, Belka invaded its neighbors and started a war which engulfed the world.

After years of internal political unrest, which started around 1988 with the Belkan federal law review. Belka allowed its eastern territories to cecede. The economic crisis did not end. Osea seeing a chance to make profit started to assist the eastern provinces in declaring independence. A right-wing political group, between 1988-1991, became more influential during an economic crisis. Finally, the party comes to power on the 12th of December 1991. 4 Years later, on the 25th of March, Belka Invades outwards. In between this crisis, the Ustio Republic is founded on the 12th of May 1988. With the discovery of natural resourses in Ustio Belka invades its neighbors and triggers the Belkan war. Belka is able to win the first half of the war using blitzkrieg tactics (much like Germany in WWII). The combined forces of Osea and Yuktobania push the Belkan forces out of the invaded countries. Pushed to the limit Belka detonates seven nuclear bombs on their own cities in the south to stop the allied forces.

The Round Table (Area/Airspace B7R)

Not much is known about this particular airspace but it is believed to be the main battle zone in the game and the border between Belka and Ustio. Aces who distinguish themselves in this area are known as "Knights of the Round Table".

It is located at north latitude 24° east longitude 235°. The topography makes the location look like a giant circle with a 400 km radius, hence the name "The Round Table". It is supposedly the attack corridor used by Belka to invade not just Ustio, but also its surrounding nations, making it an extremely important strategic location, charged to many Belkan aces to defend. Apparently, it also holds a large natural resource reserves that Belka desperately needs to fund its war effort.

Characters

Thus far, only 10 characters have been revealed from 9 different squadrons.

Ustio Air Force(Mercenary Pilots):

File:Glam66th.gif

Call sign- GALM 1

‘Cipher’

6th Air Division / 66th Air Force Unit (Mercenary and unknown main character, much like Blaze and Mobius 1 in Ace Combat 5 and 4)

Call sign- GALM 2

Larry ‘Pixy’ Foulke

6th Air Division / 66th Air Force Unit: Narrator and wingman of the main character. He is nicknamed "Solo-wing Pixie" because of a mission where his plane's right wing blown off but he still managed to complete the mission and return. (This has some sort of reference to a real-life incident. [1] Pixie's preferred plane is also happens to be a F-15 Eagle like that pilot.)

Quote: "Galm 2 to Galm 1. Enemy reinforcements, probably the main force."

Call sign - PJ

‘PJ’ A pilot that flies for Valais Air Base's Crow Team who happens to fly an F-16. He flies with the main chracter when Pixy is not part of the unit. Although a capable pilot, he appears to be young and slighly naive often stating that he is fighting to stop the fighting.

Quote: "I really like Polo, you know, the sport with horses."

Belkan Air Force:

File:ROT.gif

Call sign- ROT (RED) 1

Detlef ‘Red Swallow’ Fleisher 2nd Air Division / 52nd Tactical fighter squadron: "A pilot who lives by pride" according to the trailer. His squadron of four use Eurofighter Typhoons with a red,grey and white paint scheme. His squadron is the most famous in the Belkan airforce and thus is usually used as propaganda. They can use XLAA while dogfighting.

Quote: "Rot 1 to all craft. Time to hunt some wild dogs. Down 'em all!"

File:GRUN.gif

Call sign- GRUN (GREEN) 1

Bernard ‘Owl’ Schmidt 10th Air Division / 8th Tactical fighter squadron: "The Strategist" according to the trailer. His squadron is extremely flexible and can change to any flying style to suit the current situation. He is also nicknamed the "Night Owl" for his outstanding vision. His squadron of four uses F/A-18C with a green paint scheme.

Quote: "Ustio planes. Mercenaries. I think I'm gonna enjoy this."

File:INDIGO.gif

Call Sign- INDIGO 1

Dimitri ‘Indigo Heron’ Heinreich 7th Air Division / 51st Tactical fighter squadron: " A Man Who Upholds Honor" according to the trailer. His squadron uses four JAS-39C Gripens.They are posted to the eastern battle line. They are also known for their elegant style of combat which gained them the name "Indigo Order of Belka".

Quote: "Indigo 1 to all planes. Target confirmed. Begin attack."

File:GELB.jpg

Call sign- GELB (YELLOW) 2

2nd Lieutenant Rainer "Cormorant" Altman /5th Air Division 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron: "The Fallen" according to the trailer. He is in a two-man squadron, both of which uses SU-37 Terminators. They are known collectively as "The Coupled Cormorants". They can fire QAAM backwards to clear their 6.

Quote: "There's two of them and two of us. That works in our favor."

File:SCHWARZE.jpg

Call sign - SCHWARZE (BLACK)

Captain Dominic "Vulture" Zubov /13th Night Fighter Air Division 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron: "The Bringer of Death" according to the trailer. His squadron of eight uses MiG-31 Foxhounds with black and red paint schemes. He Leads the Schwarze flight. A special surveillance and night fighter unit. They are the only unit in the Belkan airforce that has unconditional clearance to engage at will. Schwarze Wing is also infamous for their clearance of shooting down FRIENDLY forces without hesitation if they try to run away from combat. (reminiscient of the duties carried out by the NKVD during World War II)They are nicknamed "The Vultures" and are universally feared and hated.

Quote: "You're falling behind mercenary."

File:SCHNEE.jpg

Call sign - SCHNEE (SNOW) 1

2nd Lieutenant Erich "Phoenix" Hillenberand /22th Air Division 4th Tactical Figher Squadron: "A man who lived for battle" according to the trailer. Never liked to belong to a specific faction , Hillenbrand is still a 2nd Lieutenant despite his skill and experience. Never interested in promotion or awards , Hillenbrand's only loves are flight and combat. Because of this he is nicknamed "The Eternal 2nd Lieutenant". He is fiercely trusted by his wingmen, just like every ace in the Belkan Air Force. His squadron uses 4 F-14D Super Tomcats for combat and one EA-6B Prowler for jamming enemy radar. After inflicting critical damage to enemy forces in southern frontier (possibly Osean forces) they were sent to the frontline. They have the ability to use XLAAs in combat.

Quote: "Ustio Mercenaries! This is gonna be fun!"

File:SILBER.jpg

Call sign - SILBER (SILVER) 1

Lieutenant Colonel Dietrich "Boss" Kellerman /51st Air Division , 126th Tactical Fighter Squadron : "The Reborn Veteran" according to the trailer. Already retired from active duty , Kellerman called to the active duty after the war to boost the troop morale. He was training the pilot cadets before he was recalled to active duty. He is known as a man of few words , letting his flying skills talk for him. He pilots a F-4E Phantom II , however his wingmen use F-16C Fighting Falcons which are painted with silver zebra paint schemes.

Quote: "If you get confused, just let your hands take over. You've had enough training to do this in your sleep"

Also, the Belkan Squadrons Grabarc and Ofnir from Ace Combat 5 may be added as some of the elite squadrons.

Planes Known to be in the game

Note: Planes confirmed to be player-flyable are marked with an asterisk.

Note: Please see discussion before adding to or removing from aircraft list.

Special Weapons

Up to three special aircraft-specific weapons can be purchased for each aircraft.

ECMP (Electronic Counter Measure Pod)
FAEB (Fuel-Air Explosive Bomb)
GPB (Guided Penetration Bomb)
LAGM (Long-Range Air-to-Ship Missile)
LASM (Long-range Air-to-Surface Missile)
MPBM (Multi-Purpose Burst Missile)
NPB (Napalm Bomb)
QAAM (Quick manuver Air-to-Air Missile)
RCL (Rocket Launcher)
SAAM (Semi-Active Air-to-Air Missile)
SFFS (Self Forging Fragment Submunitions)
SOD (Stand Off Dispenser)
TLS (Tactical Laser System)
UGB (Unguided Bomb)
UGBL (Unguided Bomb Large)
XAGM (Advanced Air-to-Ground Missile)
XLAA (Advanced Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile)
XMAA (Advanced Medium-range Air-to-Air Missile)

Belkan Super Weapons

File:Excalibur ballistic missile defense.jpg

A screenshot of the Excalibur in action.

Some focus of Ace Combat Zero revolves around Belka's two (possibly more) super weapons. The first of these weapons is the Excalibur Ballistic Missile Defense platform. Developed in 1981, it is a symbol of Belka's military dominance. It is categorized as a chemical laser based weapon which was designed to shoot down incoming missiles and to stop enemy invasions. Because of the laser's situation on top of a tower, it has a range of 1,200kM. However, by utilizing high-altitude aircraft carrying reflectors, the laser's range can be extended to counteract the curvature of the earth. Just as pure speculation, this technology may be the basis of the Arkbird's laser system (and to a lesser extent the FALKEN's laser system) in Ace Combat 5 as part of Belka was taken over by Osea and Gründer Industries began to sell its cache of weapons and technology.

File:Hresvelgr aircraft.jpg

A screenshot of the Hresvelgr aircraft.

The second super weapon operated by Belka is the massive Hresvelgr (XB-0) aircraft. Developed by the South Belkan Gründer Industries, this gargantuan flying fortress is actually a prototype with no mass production as of 1995. It is designed to act as a staging area and aerial aircraft carrier for air and land dominance operations, and, because of its size, can act as a large-volume transport and bomber. Despite its cost to maintain, circumstances have arisen that have made its use necessary.

Ace System

Your actions dictate who you are now. Moral and ethic decisions and also dialogue will come into play as you eventually turn into one of the Three Ace kinds:

Mercenary Ace: An Ace that lives for battle, money and glory. If you go about shooting everything down, you'll become this.

Soldier Ace: An Ace that lives for his fellow soldiers, and his country. If you are passionate about your country, but you restrain yourself at times, you're one of these. You must only concentrate on getting mission targets.

Knight Ace: An Ace that lives for pride, and honor. If you believe in mercy, peace and fairness, you'll be one of these. You must try to minimize damage to hostile units and allow them to escape if they surrender.

It has been stated that the player will be able to review his flight after each battle and determine exactly when and where he or she received a certain ranking.

What kind of Ace you are determines which Belkan Ace squad you will meet in battle.

Multiplayer

There are several stages available for play, each with their own specific situations. No online play is available as of this time.

Stage 1: Deathmatch-esque level where a "bonus point" flag appears. The player must decide between attacking the other player or CPU-controlled aircraft or going for the bonus points.

Stage 2: A very mountainous level purely in nature, the hilly terrain will serve as a good defence against attacks.

Stage 3: Applying a bit of realism, both players will start out with a more realistic weapon loadout (e.g. 4 missiles and one special weapon). Because of the very urban nature of this city, using buildings to stop incoming missiles will be a very useful tactic.

Stage 4: A level made up of a maze of gorges mixed with an anti-aircraft missile system and jamming centers provides for a very unique experience. Players can use the relative safely of the jamming zones to pop up into normally dangeruos altitude or destroy them outright, cutting down the available airspace.

Stage 5: A level filled with AI-controlled enemy and friendly aircraft (in essence, a furball), a player must balance attacking the other player and swatting the other player's allies out of the sky for maximum points.

Missions

01. GLACIAL SKIES (OP. CROSSBOW)

02. ANNEX (OP. ROSELEIN)

03. THE ROUND TABLE (OP. CHOKER ONE)

04. JUGGERNAUT (OP. OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN NO. 4101)

Gelnikos
Round Hammer
Costner

05. FLICKER OF HOPE (OP. VARSITY)

06. DIAPASON (OP. CONSTANTINE)

07. BASTION (OP. HELL BOUND)

08. MERLON (OP. DYNAMO)

Alpha Team
Beta Team
Theta Team

09. SWORD OF ANNIHILATION (OP. JUDGMENT)

10. MAYHEM (OP. BATTLE-AXE)

11. INFERNO (OP. CANNIBAL)

12. THE STAGE OF APOCALYPSE (OP. RAVAGE)

13. LYING IN DECEIT (OP. STONE AGE)

14. THE FINAL OVERTURE (OP. BROOM)

Mars Strike Team
Mercury Strike Team
Jupiter Strike Team

15. THE TALON OF RUIN (OP. VALKYRIE)

16. THE DEMON OF THE ROUND TABLE (OP. THUNDERBOLT)

17. THE VALLEY OF KINGS (OP. POINT BLANK)

18. ZERO

SP. THE GAUNTLET

Trivia

All the Belkans squadrons are German words for colors.
- Rot is Red
- Grün is Green
- Indigo is Indigo
- Schwarze is Black
- Gelb is Yellow
- Schnee is Snow
- Silber is Silver
Gelb Squadron share many similarities with Yellow Squadron from Ace Combat 04 other than the same name. The both fly SU-37s and share the same paint scheme.
Galm Squadron is most likely a translation error from Garm as the Japanese language doesn't recognize the difference between the letters "L" and "R"
The Country of Belka's name comes from the Russian word for squirrel, a popular animal in Germany.
Schwarze Squadron has a paint scheme very similar to the Ace Combat 2 Ace "Stalker" whom also flys a MiG-31.
Cipher's F-15c paint scheme is almost like Mobius 1's F-15c from Ace Combat 4
The country of Sapin is an anagram for Spain.
The Multi-Purpose Burst Missile weapon may be related to the Burst Missile weapons later seen on the Scinfaxi-class submarines in the Yuktobanian Navy 15 years later.
In the previews, when Pixy starts talking, it says that the date is 2005 near a disputed border in what appears to be a war torn town. It is possible that Pixy is also fighting as a foot soldier in the Usea conflict, since it took place in 2004-2005.

External links