| Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War | |
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North American boxart |
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| Developer(s) | Project Aces |
| Publisher(s) | Namco Bandai |
| Director(s) | Naoto Maeda Kosuke Itomi |
| Series | Ace Combat series |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Arcade, combat flight simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
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| Media/distribution | DVD |
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (エースコンバット・ゼロ ザ・ベルカン・ウォー Ēsu Konbatto Zero Za Berukan Wō) 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.
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The game takes place in 1995, 15 years before the events of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung 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.
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 natural resources required to boost its struggling 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 (nicknamed "Solo Wing" due to an historical accident involving the loss of one of his aircraft's wings). Cipher soon earns enough notoriety and respect that he is given the nickname "Demon Lord of the Round Table" after eliminating most of the enemy aircraft guarding area B7R almost single-handedly.
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. 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 weapons 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 Cipher's 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 openly defy 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 renegade Espada squadron consisting of a J35J Draken (Espada 1) and a Rafale M (Espada 2). After this engagement, Cipher and PJ are sent to destroy Avalon Dam, which houses an experimental V2 superweapon which a "A World With No Boundaries" plans to use to erase all 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/MTDs, Gault Squadron's 8 Su-47s, or Wizard Squadron's 4 F-16XLs and 4 YF-23As). After destroying the squadron, Cipher and PJ proceed to Avalon through a canyon narrowly escaping enemy SAMs and proceeds with the destruction of the V2 control systems, preventing the missile's launch.
The final battle in the game is fought over the Avalon Dam, where PJ is shot down by Pixy, who had defected to AWWNB, with his newly-acquired ADFX-02 Morgan's laser weapon. 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 ideals, but continues to try to 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 was, but the fact that all of Cipher's former enemies smile when they recall him is enough for him.
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