Arcade Mode

Arcade Mode, also known as Ace Combat: Operation Katina is an addition featured in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. It is a self-contained story with no ties to the main campaign mode,

This mode's events take place in 2006, a year after the events of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, and details the rise of "Free Erusea", a remnant of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Erusea who have refused to drop their arms and are still willing to fight the victorious ISAF.

Overview
Upon first beginning Arcade Mode, the player is met with a redesigned main menu, now with a light blue tone. After beginning to play, they are given a mission briefing explaining the backstory and plot of Operation Katina.

Gameplay is relatively straightforward. The objective of each mission is to fill a destroyed target quota. Each stage has limited time, additional seconds can be earned by eliminating enemies. As well, the player begins with a relatively realistic payload, consisting of 20 basic missliles, four multi-lock XMAAs and unlimited machine gun ammo. Extra missiles can be acquired by destroying certain "special" targets makred with an "M" symbol.

At the end of stage 02A, the game divides into two branches, "A" and "B", which in turn branch into two "ending" routes, making for a total of sixteen stages. Each stage takes place in a location featured in Shattered Skies. Included in this mode are a number of "breather" stages consisting of simple minigames, namely landing and airborne refueling.In the final stage of each route, Mobius One must fight an squadron of unmanned X-02 Wyvern aircraft, whose number (ranging from four to six) depends on the chosen route.

Completition of Arcade Mode will yield a number of rewards. A first playthrough will unlock the F/A-22A for use in Campaign Mode as well as its SP (Mobius) color. In the other hand, finishing all four available routes will allow the use of any aircraft unlocked in the campaign.