Genre: 3D / Arcade / Aerial Combat CDs: 1 (506 Megs) Players: 1 or 2 Players (Versus) ESRB: Kids to Adult
 No Descriptors
Publisher: Namco Retail Barcode: 7 22674 02050 3 Memory: 1 Block
Developer: Namco Sony ID: SLUS-00001 Accessories: None
Released: September 13, 1995 PSRM: 000770


Box Copy
Lock on and unleash the most devastating firepower in the skies!

You are the team leader of an Elite Corps of mercenaries - fighter pilots hired to strike where NATO Air Forces have failed. Your mission? Take out a ruthless sect of terrorists that has invaded and entrenched themselves within the confines of several global hot spots. Your hardware? Everything from F-15's to radar-invisible F-22 Stealth fighters. The briefing is over, gentlemen. Win one for the free world. Good hunting.

Discussion
Though now horribly dated through the absolutely gorgeous Ace Combat 6, the original still holds a special place in my heart, being one of the original launch era games.

There's a bountiful one player mode as well as a 2 Player versus mode where you duel it to the death Top Gun style. Graphics are basic, music is forgettable, and your  co-pilot doesn't always say the right phrase in the given situation, but damn it, it's still fun.

With a good variance in the missions and some wicked 'boss' fights that include both ground and air combatants, AC is a cheap thrill from the early days of 32 Bit.

 

 

 Trivia
  • Variants, see below.
     
  • Based on the original arcade game Ace Combat, there was apparently some sort of Legal Issues and Namco had to change it to Air Combat. It would again be called Ace Combat for the two sequels and future releases.
     
  • There is a hidden mini-game buried on the disc and is available via code.
     
  • Funny story. A long time ago I worked at a family owned game store, and a religious family was shopping for a game. I let them try Air Combat, and when the co-pilot yelled, "We just missed!" the father though the game yelled, "Jesus, we missed!"

    He refused to buy the game. He then when on a small tirade about how evil it was for someone to "Raid" people's "Tombs". I had to bring him down gently. 
Variants / Misprints
Due to it's great popularity, Air Combat was re-released into Jewel Case format for late comers, and then released again under the budget Greatest Hit labels.

There's nothing really note-worthy about either version sans one little change that took Namco two releases to fix. The GH version finally shows the Memory Card icon.

None of the three releases are terribly rare, regardless of what eBay tells you.

Air Combat "jewel Case" Variant - All Info is the Same

Air Combat "Greatest Hits" Variant - All Info is the Same
Ads
Marketing for the game.

This was a 2 Page Spread found in magazines around the PlayStation's launch era. Namco had a unifying theme / layout for all their early games.

Air Combat "2 Page Spread"
All pages and content are Copyright Game-Rave.com and Jason Dvorak. Game-Rave.com, PlayStation Perfect Guide, Game Rave, and all related material are Copyright Jason Dvorak.
Biggest PlayStation Fan is Copyright Sony Computer Entertainment - All other content is the respective Copyright and Trademark of its owners. Till all are one.