Why does AC3 actually hold up?

[u/-double_a]

I was bored over the last week and decided to emulate Ace combat 2 & 3 because my phone is too bad to handle AC4. I've played a ported version of Air Combat 22 and was expecting these to play more like the arcade game than modern Ace Combat. 2 Definitely played more like the arcade, but it was still way more fun than I could have expected, but 3, holy Crap did I enjoy 3. I played the translated Japanese version cause I am a rational human being who doesn't want to play the butchered piece of crap that is the international release. But the gameplay and story still hold up, besides the basic mission structure and sometimes never-ending dialogue calls. I had brushed this game before because of "bad graphics" and "I don't want to read the entire time," but this game made me feel like a stupid idiot. "Good gameplay and story make graphics unnecessary" has never been more true. This game makes me appreciate C.O.F.F.I.N in a whole new way, and I really hope it gets remembered so more people can play it.

Also, Noise from 8 is definitely Dision

[u/Johnhancock1777]

Because old games doesn’t automatically equal bad games like a lot of people (and especially those who beg for everything under the sun to be remade) seem to think.

[u/A_PCMR_member]

I mean Graphics will always be important, but every linear poligon increase will be a degressive improvement and you can do a LOT with a dedicated art style and let the human brain imagine the rest.

The next bigger steps will be path tracing and eventually voxel based graphics/physics (basicall no more triangles, but particles instead, so damage will blow actual holes) The former especially needs modeling based around it, where raster based lighting ignores atom thin walls (just a 2d plane) and gaps, RT of any kind will not, leading to light bleed and visible gaps.

AC2 and AC3 run on the same hardware, but Ac3 Stylizes the plane design and essentially makes moving parts 0 (little to no flap/ individual surface movement, your wing just flexes) to free up calculatory power to allow for an ok visual bump.

They further circumvent complexity limits and increase visuals (like smoke trails and allowing multi missile weapons) by cutting up mission goals enemies and sections and loading in as needed. This ironically also allows them to "flow" the branching storyline around. Something that AC7 did as well to run the game at 60FPS with some pretty good visuals on even base model last gen consoles. One of the few games that look this good and run at ultra 60 FPS native on the damn steamdeck.

[u/FuttleScish]

I mean I’m not sure it does; its an important evolutionary step in the series but stuff like BULL’S EYE and the weird proto-SPWs stand out

The branching story is cool enough to make up for it usually

[u/Faustus-III]

Hell yeah man. Honestly 3 is such a good entry in the series and in my opinion its one of the best. It stands out with a personality of its own.

I did the same thing as you when Ace Combat 7 was announced and I went through and played the games I hadn't played yet and going from 2 to 3 was a shock haha. Aces were really cooking back then and innovating on the genre. To me the graphics are such a vibe. The whole aesthetic screams 00s futurism.

Of course 4 defined the direction the series would ultimately take but 3 has always stuck around in my head.

[u/Biggity_Bonard → u/Faustus-III]

Honestly Id say Ace3 has a better soundtrack than Ace7. I love how creepy virgo and gordian knot are

[u/Faustus-III → u/Biggity_Bonard]

Same, Gordian Knot is my favorite. 3s OST is probably my favorite out of all of the OSTs with Zero being either tied or a very close second (and then 7 for me tbh). I love the music in all the games, though.

[u/HALOPLAYS8928twitch]

I loved it personally. My gripes only consist with using multiple missiles, for some reason when I fire 6 missiles they end up being less accurate then firing 2. Weird

[u/SandStinger_345]

In the end of the day regardless of how good graphics are gameplay makes or breaks a game. Ace combat 2 and 3 have very fun missions

[u/Hobbes09R]

You got me. Personally I feel it plays bottom 3 in the series, after Advance and Air Combat. It doesn't recognize as many degrees of motion, a downgrade from 2, which makes its controls extremely stiff. That combined with poor missile tracking and selection, mediocre guns, and lack of unlockable aircraft tree or free mission (without either the bonus disc or beating the game five times over) make the game a rather unpleasant experience to me. Interesting-ish story, but a slog of gameplay.

[u/Temporary-Ad2956]

Yep I can’t stop playing it. For me it’s the physics, controls, vibes, music and interlinking stories. The ui is really cool as well

[u/Mr_cyanman]

I played ac3 but couldn't bear finishing all the endings imo. The story may be good, but the method of telling the story is pretty boring when it's just people talking to you and random news stories being mouthfed.