is a 1997 air combat video game developed and published for the PlayStation by Namco. It is the sequel to Air Combat and the second in the Ace Combat franchise. The player controls one of 24 different fighter jets through 21 different missions with certain objectives to fulfill, such as protecting a base from enemy fire, intercepting a squadron of enemies, or taking down an aircraft carrier.
Conceived by Namco designer Masanori Kato, Ace Combat 2 was created out of Kato's dissatisfaction with the original Air Combat, feeling from a technical standpoint it was severely lacking. Along with a small group of others, Kato set out to create a follow-up that greatly improved on the original, featuring improved graphics, a variety in missions, and providing a true sense of flight for the player. Missions were created to be exciting and fun to play, with the gameplay itself being designed to mimic the typical style of arcade games.
Ace Combat 2 was a commercial success, selling over 500,000 copies in Japan by May 1998. It was commended by critics for its gameplay, graphics, variety in missions, and improvements over its predecessor. Some also called it one of the best flight-sim games on the PlayStation. The lack of a multiplayer mode and its high-difficulty level were the subject of criticism. A remake for the Nintendo 3DS, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, was released in 2011.
Gameplay
Ace Combat 2 is a combat flight simulation game but it is presented in a more arcade-like format than other flight-sim games of the era. The player controls one of 24 different fighter jets through 21 different missions, each having different objectives to complete; these include intercepting a squadron of enemies, destroying a specific aircraft carrier, or protecting a base from enemy fire. Completing missions awards the player money which can be spent on new aircraft in their personal hangar.
Beginning at the game's fourth mission is the ability to allow a wingman to fly with the player, which provide additional support and will help them in completing the objective. The game begins in a mostly linear format, with branching mission paths being available later on. A fuel meter acts as a time limit and will deplete as the player flies around the level and attacks enemies; the mission will automatically end if the meter fully depletes. New to this game are "aces", elite enemy pilots that can be fought to unlock special medals and their special aircraft for play later. Two difficulty options are present, "Novice" and "Expert", with Expert allowing for realistic aircraft maneuvers such as rolls and high-g turns.
Development
Ace Combat 2 was the creation of Namco designer Masanori Kato, who previously worked on the game's predecessor Air Combat, and a small team of others. The idea for the game came from Kato's dissatisfaction with the outcome of Air Combat, which he saw as incomplete from a technical point of view. Kato and his team decided to create a follow-up to make the best use of the PlayStation's hardware as possible, with an emphasis on graphics and making the player feel as if they're really flying a fightercraft. One of the first things the team wanted to improve on were the graphics, doing technical research on how many polygons the console could display. The team created a program that was able to output as many polygons as possible without causing strain on the hardware, which allowed the graphics to be of significantly higher-quality than most other games. The team also looked into including a large variety of missions, as opposed to Air Combats two mission types. Missions were designed to be exciting and fun to play, and when new fighters were added the team determined if they would make the missions more interesting or not. The gameplay itself was designed in the style of an arcade game instead of being strictly a flight-simulation game, which they felt made the game much more fun.
