References to Arthurian mythology in Ace Combat Zero

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War's story contains a large number of references to Arthurian mythology, also known as the Matter of Britain. Below are most examples of references to King Arthur myths in the game.

Excalibur
Main article: Excalibur

In Arthurian mythology, Excalibur was the legendary sword wielded by King Arthur that served as the proof of his lineage. Two versions of the story of Excalibur exist: first is Robert de Boron's Merlin, where the sword could not be removed from its resting stone by anybody other than "the true king"; that is, the heir (biologically or divinely speaking) of king Uther Pendragon, while the other is the Post-Vulgate Cycle's Suite du Merlin, where Arthur is given Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake after his first sword was destroyed in a duel with King Pellinore.

In Ace Combat Zero, Excalibur is an anti-missile laser system engineered by the Belkan Federation. The weapon was both feared and respected by combatants from both sides, causing widespread chaos amidst the front lines. The references to the Matter of Britain are even found in NPC chatter; for example, at the end of Sword of Annihilation, a friendly pilot comments on how "[Cipher] pulled the sword from the stone", alluding to Merlin.

Glatisant
In the Matter of Britain, Glatisant, alternatively known as the Questing Beast or the Beast Glatisant was a fantasic creature that was the centerpoint of quests from King Pellinore and Sir Percival, amongst others. In appearance, the creature possessed the head of a serpent, the torso of a leopard, the hunches (hind legs) of a lion and the feet of a hart. It's name comes from the sound made from its belly, which has been described as "the sound made by thirty couple hounds questing". The creature born as a result of a human woman, a princess lusting for her own brother. The woman had sexual affairs with a devil who, in exchanged, promised her to make the boy lover her, but instead manipulated her into accusing her brother of rape. Their father had the boy teared apart by dogs. Before the boy died, however, he prophesied that his sister would give birth to an abomination which would make the same sound as the pack of dogs that killed him. This story would eventually lead Glatisant to be associated with the incest, violence & chaos that would soon lead to the fall of Arthur's kingdom.

In Ace Combat Zero, Glatisant is a mountain range located in the Mt. Ivrea region at the northern Belka-Ustio border. Glatisant is also known as the Hydrian Line, which is most likely a reference to Hadrian's Wall, a massive fortification spanning the entire width of Northern England (of note is the fact that the name "Hydrian" is most likely an X-SAMPA mistranslation, due to the phonetic similarities between Hydrian (Haidrian) and Hadrian (Heidrian).

Glatisant itself can be linked through several facts to its namesake:


 * 1) Operation Hell Boudn involved a massive number of aircrews, both in the battlefield and in airfields, alluding to the fact that Glatisant was the subject of a quest for many knights.
 * 2) Op. Hell Bound was launched under the belief that Glatisant also served as a nuclear warhead storage facility, while if no bombs were found, a great threat to the Allied forces would have been eliminated. However, no nuclear bombs were found on Glatisant; Excalibur itself was the true threat. This can be linked to the devil in in the Beast's story, who misled Morgause (the sister) into accusing Mordred (the boy she lusted after) of rape.
 * 3) The Questing Beast's belly noise was described as the sound made by "thirty couple hounds questing." This can be seen as an allusion to the massive number of Belkan units spread across the Hydrian Line.
 * 4) Lastly, the Beast Glatisant is normally seen as a symbol of the violence and chaos that would lead to the destruction of Arthur's kingdom. As well, Operation Hell Bound can be seen as the beginning of the end for the Belkan war machine, as the unstoppable Allied push towards Sudentor would soon lead to the Belkans detonating nuclear weapons on Nord Belka in June 1995.

The Round Table
The Round Table is, in the Arthurian mythos, a circular table where King Arthur and his knights, collectively known as the Knights of the Round Table, would congregate. In the Round Table, all were of equal standing: nobody would be relegated to a lower or higher position than his kin.

In Ace Combat Zero, The Round Table is the nickname given to the Belkan Air Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R, Airspace B7R for short, a desertic mountain range located in the Ustio-Belka border. Throughout the course of the Belkan War, B7R was the site of several great battles that wold go down in history,