Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
Encyclopedia
is a semi-realistic flight simulator
developed by Namco
for the PlayStation 2
video game console. It is part of the Ace Combat
series of games. In Europe
the game was released under the title Ace Combat: The Belkan War.
, revolving around the conflict between the nation of Belka and the Allied Forces; a multinational military alliance with forces from the nations of Osea
, Yuktobania, Ustio, and Sapin among others. Several characters from Ace Combat 5 make an appearance in Ace Combat Zero, but they appear in tertiary roles. The player plays as a mercenary
pilot, callsign "Cipher", hired by the country of Ustio, which was invaded by Belka.
The game features primarily older versions of fighter aircraft seen in its predecessor game, such as F-15C Eagle, F/A-18C Hornet, and several second and third generation fighters like the Saab 35 Draken. The player will go up against enemy ace squadrons who feature enhanced weaponry and combat prowess. Players who destroy everything without regard to hostility will receive the Mercenary rank, players who instead spare neutral targets will receive the Knight rank, and those that strike a balance between the two will earn the Soldier rank. These ranks will affect which enemy ace squadrons a player will face throughout the campaign. A split-screen versus mode is included with the game, but no online
feature exists. A notable, if unfortunate, difference with previous and following game of the series is that the player does not have the ability to choose the aircraft his wingman will be flying, but is able to choose his SP weapon.
The game contains many references to the Arthurian legend, in the form of aircraft, weapons, structures and locations.
Cipher and Pixy join forces with other Allied air forces, and together with ground and naval forces, they launch a counteroffensive which succeeds in driving the Belkans from Ustio. However, the Allied forces then push into Belka, conquering and demilitarizing much of the country and knocking out its industrial capabilities. Meanwhile, Pixy starts to question the validity of the invasion, especially after participating in a mission where Allied planes indiscriminately bombed civilian targets. In a last-ditch attempt to save itself from total defeat, Belka detonates several nuclear weapon
s on its own soil to fend off the advancing coalition forces. In the confusion of the nuclear blasts, Pixy commits an act of treachery by firing upon Cipher's aircraft. He then flees, and Cipher is ordered to pull back into friendly territory. Pixy is then replaced as wingman by fellow pilot PJ.
The nuclear blasts fail to drive off the invading Allied forces. A short time later, the Belkan government falls and is replaced by an interim government, which orders all Belkan forces to cease-fire. Some Belkan forces, however, continue to resist. As Cipher and PJ finish off the final Belkan resistance, a cease-fire treaty is signed, which reduces the size of the Belkan military and requires Belka to cede much of its resource-rich territory, which is to be divided up between the Allied countries. As the Allied countries argue over the newly-gained territory, a coalition of disillusioned pilots and soldiers from all five superpowers do not support the treaty; they form a terrorist organization called A World With No Boundaries (AWWNB), that seeks to erase the concept of borders between countries and create a unified world. The rest of the game is spent fighting these terrorists. The first battle with the terrorists is when PJ and Cipher engage the XB-0 Hresvelgr, a superplane that was stolen by AWWNB. During the engagement, the Galm team encounters the XB-0 and destroys it with its defenders, the Sapinish renegade squadron Espada, consisting of a J35J Draken (Espada 1) and a Rafale M
(Espada 2). After this engagement, Cipher and PJ go off to destroy Avalon
Dam, which houses an experimental V2 superweapon which a "A World With No Boundaries" plans to use to erase the borders in the world. On the way to Avalon, Cipher and PJ are intercepted by an ace squadron over Area B7R (either Sorcerer Squadron's 8 F-15S/MTD
s, Gault Squadron's 8 Su-47s, or Wizard Squadron's 4 F-16XL
s and 4 YF-23As). After destroying the squadron, Cipher and PJ proceed to Avalon through a canyon nearly escaping enemy SAMs
and proceeds with the destruction of the lock joints and the V2 controls.
The final battle in the game is fought over the Avalon Dam, where Cipher and his replacement wingman PJ are sent to destroy an enemy base capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles. During the battle, PJ is shot down by Pixy, who defected to AWWNB, with his newly-acquired ADFX-02 Morgan
's laser weapon. After Cipher engages in a battle with his former wingman, he is victorious and succeeds in putting an end to A World With No Boundaries.
The entire story is told through a documentary made several years after the war, centered around Cipher who disappeared shortly after the end of the war. Many of the enemy aces Cipher fought managed to eject from their planes and survive the war, either being sent to prison or going on to lead normal lives. The narrator manages to track them all down and interviews them about their battles with Cipher from their own perspectives. The final person he interviews is revealed to be Pixy, who survived the dogfight with Cipher. He is disillusioned with his AWWNB ideals, but continues to try and find meaning in them. He also thanks Cipher, in hopes that he may be watching the interview. Pixy's last words to Cipher are his catchphrase, "Yo buddy you still alive?" The narrator concludes that there's not enough information to find out who Cipher really is, but the fact that all of Cipher's former enemies smile when they recall him is enough for him.
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
developed by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
video game console. It is part of the Ace Combat
Ace Combat
Ace Combat is a hybrid arcade-simulation flight action video game series featuring 12 games, published by the Japanese company Namco Bandai Games...
series of games. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
the game was released under the title Ace Combat: The Belkan War.
Introduction
The game takes place in 1995, 15 years before the events of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung WarAce Combat 5: The Unsung War
, released in the PAL region as Ace Combat: Squadron Leader, is a semi-realistic flight combat video game for the PlayStation 2. Like other titles in Namco's Ace Combat series, Ace Combat 5 features gameplay that is a mix between arcade flight and authentic flight simulation...
, revolving around the conflict between the nation of Belka and the Allied Forces; a multinational military alliance with forces from the nations of Osea
Ace Combat
Ace Combat is a hybrid arcade-simulation flight action video game series featuring 12 games, published by the Japanese company Namco Bandai Games...
, Yuktobania, Ustio, and Sapin among others. Several characters from Ace Combat 5 make an appearance in Ace Combat Zero, but they appear in tertiary roles. The player plays as a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
pilot, callsign "Cipher", hired by the country of Ustio, which was invaded by Belka.
The game features primarily older versions of fighter aircraft seen in its predecessor game, such as F-15C Eagle, F/A-18C Hornet, and several second and third generation fighters like the Saab 35 Draken. The player will go up against enemy ace squadrons who feature enhanced weaponry and combat prowess. Players who destroy everything without regard to hostility will receive the Mercenary rank, players who instead spare neutral targets will receive the Knight rank, and those that strike a balance between the two will earn the Soldier rank. These ranks will affect which enemy ace squadrons a player will face throughout the campaign. A split-screen versus mode is included with the game, but no online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
feature exists. A notable, if unfortunate, difference with previous and following game of the series is that the player does not have the ability to choose the aircraft his wingman will be flying, but is able to choose his SP weapon.
The game contains many references to the Arthurian legend, in the form of aircraft, weapons, structures and locations.
Story
The Principality of Belka has launched an invasion on the nearby Republic of Ustio, which had recently seceded from Belka, in an attempt to seize the newly discovered resources required for its economy. Ustio and the nations of Osea, Sapin, and Yuktobania form a coalition to fight off the advancing Belkans. Most of Ustio is overrun by the powerful Belkan military, and as a last hope, the Ustians hire mercenary pilots to serve in their air force. Two of the mercenaries know by the callsigns Cipher and his wingman Pixy (who gave his name as "Solo Wing" on his paperwork, but whose real name is Larry Foulke). Cipher soon earns enough notoriety and respect that he gains the nickname "Demon Lord of the Round Table" after eliminating most of the enemy aircraft and defeating the guardians of area B7R.Cipher and Pixy join forces with other Allied air forces, and together with ground and naval forces, they launch a counteroffensive which succeeds in driving the Belkans from Ustio. However, the Allied forces then push into Belka, conquering and demilitarizing much of the country and knocking out its industrial capabilities. Meanwhile, Pixy starts to question the validity of the invasion, especially after participating in a mission where Allied planes indiscriminately bombed civilian targets. In a last-ditch attempt to save itself from total defeat, Belka detonates several nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s on its own soil to fend off the advancing coalition forces. In the confusion of the nuclear blasts, Pixy commits an act of treachery by firing upon Cipher's aircraft. He then flees, and Cipher is ordered to pull back into friendly territory. Pixy is then replaced as wingman by fellow pilot PJ.
The nuclear blasts fail to drive off the invading Allied forces. A short time later, the Belkan government falls and is replaced by an interim government, which orders all Belkan forces to cease-fire. Some Belkan forces, however, continue to resist. As Cipher and PJ finish off the final Belkan resistance, a cease-fire treaty is signed, which reduces the size of the Belkan military and requires Belka to cede much of its resource-rich territory, which is to be divided up between the Allied countries. As the Allied countries argue over the newly-gained territory, a coalition of disillusioned pilots and soldiers from all five superpowers do not support the treaty; they form a terrorist organization called A World With No Boundaries (AWWNB), that seeks to erase the concept of borders between countries and create a unified world. The rest of the game is spent fighting these terrorists. The first battle with the terrorists is when PJ and Cipher engage the XB-0 Hresvelgr, a superplane that was stolen by AWWNB. During the engagement, the Galm team encounters the XB-0 and destroys it with its defenders, the Sapinish renegade squadron Espada, consisting of a J35J Draken (Espada 1) and a Rafale M
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy...
(Espada 2). After this engagement, Cipher and PJ go off to destroy Avalon
Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
Dam, which houses an experimental V2 superweapon which a "A World With No Boundaries" plans to use to erase the borders in the world. On the way to Avalon, Cipher and PJ are intercepted by an ace squadron over Area B7R (either Sorcerer Squadron's 8 F-15S/MTD
F-15S/MTD
|-F-15 ACTIVE:-See also:- External links :* * *...
s, Gault Squadron's 8 Su-47s, or Wizard Squadron's 4 F-16XL
F-16XL
The General Dynamics F-16XL is a derivative of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, with a cranked-arrow delta wing. It was entered in the United States Air Force's Enhanced Tactical Fighter competition but lost to the F-15E Strike Eagle...
s and 4 YF-23As). After destroying the squadron, Cipher and PJ proceed to Avalon through a canyon nearly escaping enemy SAMs
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
and proceeds with the destruction of the lock joints and the V2 controls.
The final battle in the game is fought over the Avalon Dam, where Cipher and his replacement wingman PJ are sent to destroy an enemy base capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles. During the battle, PJ is shot down by Pixy, who defected to AWWNB, with his newly-acquired ADFX-02 Morgan
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
's laser weapon. After Cipher engages in a battle with his former wingman, he is victorious and succeeds in putting an end to A World With No Boundaries.
The entire story is told through a documentary made several years after the war, centered around Cipher who disappeared shortly after the end of the war. Many of the enemy aces Cipher fought managed to eject from their planes and survive the war, either being sent to prison or going on to lead normal lives. The narrator manages to track them all down and interviews them about their battles with Cipher from their own perspectives. The final person he interviews is revealed to be Pixy, who survived the dogfight with Cipher. He is disillusioned with his AWWNB ideals, but continues to try and find meaning in them. He also thanks Cipher, in hopes that he may be watching the interview. Pixy's last words to Cipher are his catchphrase, "Yo buddy you still alive?" The narrator concludes that there's not enough information to find out who Cipher really is, but the fact that all of Cipher's former enemies smile when they recall him is enough for him.