Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

"New Blood, New Battle"

Plot Summary
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (Simply Ace Combat: The Belkan War in Europe) is a retelling of the events of a war which happened earlier in the Ace Combat time line; the story recounts the actions of a legendary mercenary ace, "Cipher", and his effect on both the outcome of the war and the opposing aces he defeated in combat. The narrator Brett Thompson begins by telling us that, in 1995, Belka invaded its neighbors and started a war which engulfed the world.

After years of internal political unrest, which started around 1988 with the Belkan federal law review, Belka allowed its eastern territories to secede. This however, did not remedy the vast economic crisis that had befallen the country. Osea, seeing a chance to make profit, assisted the eastern provinces in declaring independence and setting up Osean-friendly governments; one of which was the Ustio Republic. An extreme right-wing political group finally comes to power on the 12th of December 1991. Shortly thereafter, vast natural resources were discovered in the B7R region, and Belka invaded outwards on the 25th of March, 1995 recapturing lost territories in a blitzkrieg. These actions prompted both Osea and Yuktobania to combine forces and launch a counter-offensive against Belka.

At this time, the story of Cipher and Pixy begins.

Their early involvement in the war centers around repelling the Belkan forces out of Ustio. Relatively early on, they succeed in securing a direct route to the Ustian capitol of Directus, and, on the 13th of May, 1995, the capital is liberated from Belkan control.

The two pilots are immediately deployed into Belkan territory where they begin offensive operations against the military infrastructure within Belka. The anti-ballistic-missile shield, Excalibur, is destroyed on the 23rd of May, 1995 after a failed operation that alerted the Allied forces to the Excalibur's existence. Cipher and Pixy are involved in numerous sorties including an offensive bombing campaign against the city of Hoffnung on the 1st of June, 1995 where it is revealed that the Belkans are executing a scorched earth policy to keep their technology out of the invading armies' hands. This is a foreshadowing of things to come.

A pivotal moment occurs in the story on the 6th of June, 1995 during a mission to intercept bombers suspected of carrying nuclear weapons. Amidst the fighting, a large flash is witnessed and communication is greatly diminished. This is the date and time that Belka detonated seven nuclear weapons on its own soil to halt the advance of Allied troops. CROW 1 and 2 disappear sometime during the chaos. At this point, Pixy leaves the formation and flies outside of the mission boundaries. It becomes unclear exactly what has happened to Pixy.

Following this turn of events, "PJ" is assigned to the squadron and becomes Cipher's wingman. Their missions take them deeper into Belkan territory. On the very day when a peace agreement is being signed by Belka and the Allied forces (20th of June, 1995), they are involved in a covert operation to eliminate Belkan military holdouts refusing to "accept the Belkan government's official capitulation". Encountering very heavy resistance during this mission, PJ comments that there are too many enemies to merely be remnant forces.

It is only in the next mission, on the 25th of December, 1995, that the intentions of the terrorist organization, A World With No Boundaries, become clear. In this mission, ace pilots from Sapin, an Allied country, are found defending the Hresvelgr aircraft indicating that dissatisfied pilots from all areas of the conflict have banded together to fight the current world powers and remove the notion of "borders".

The final sortie has Cipher and PJ heading out to stop the launch of V2 containing nuclear warheads. On the way to the site, they encounter aces from Osea and Belka now turned to members of "A World With No Boundaries" organization. After defeating these pilots in the B7R "Round Table" region, Cipher and PJ arrive at the Avalon Dam in northern Belka. After destroying the V-2 launch facility, PJ's radio chatter is interrupted when Cipher's former wingman, Pixy, appears in the ADFX-02 aircraft as the organization's ace pilot and shoots PJ down. In order to stop a final V2, Cipher duels Pixy one-on-one, and finally defeats him.

The story ends with a final series of interviews the last of which is of Pixy himself, fighting on a disputed border in present-day. He has reevaluated his perspective on why people fight for national identities and borders. Pixy's last words in the interview were "Yo buddy, still alive? And thanks friend, see you again".

Flyable Aircraft

 * F-5E Tiger II - Fighter (QAAM, UGB, NPB)
 * J35J Draken - Fighter (SAAM, UGB, RCL)
 * F-1 Kaizen - Attacker (RCL, UGB, LASM)
 * MiG-21bis Fishbed - Fighter (RCL, UGB, QAAM)
 * F-4E Phantom II - Fighter (SAAM, UGBL, NPB)
 * MiG-29A Fulcrum - Fighter (SAAM, RCL, XAGM)
 * F-20A Tigershark - Fighter (SAAM, GPB, XAGM)
 * F-16C Fighting Falcon - Fighter (XMAA, LAGM, UGBL)
 * F/A-18C Hornet - Multirole (LASM, SAAM, SOD)
 * A-10A Thunderbolt II - Attacker (XAGM, FAEB, RCL)
 * MiG-31 Foxhound - Fighter (XLAA, QAAM, UGBL)
 * Mirage 2000D - Attacker (UGB, GPB, XAGM)
 * EA-6B Prowler - Jammer (ECMP, LAGM, QAAM)
 * Su-27 Flanker - Fighter (XMAA, UGBL, SFFS)
 * F-15C Eagle - Fighter (XMAA, UGBL, QAAM)
 * X-29A - Fighter (QAAM, FAEB, LAGM)
 * F-14D Super Tomcat - Figher (XLAA, GPB, NPB)
 * JAS-39C Gripen - Multirole (RCL, XLAA, SOD)
 * F-16XL - Attacker (XAGM, SAAM, BDSP)
 * Tornado GR.4 - Attacker (BDSP, ECMP, LASM)
 * F-2A - Attacker (LASM, XMAA, SFFS)
 * F-15E Strike Eagle - Attacker (SFFS, SAAM, GPB)
 * F-117A Nighthawk - Attacker (GPB, LAGM, QAAM)
 * F-35C - Multirole (LASM, SOD, QAAM)
 * EA-18G Growler - Jammer (ECMP, XMAA, LAGM)
 * Rafale M - Multirole (LASM, XMAA, SOD)
 * Typhoon - Fighter (XLAA, SOD, SFFS)
 * Su-32 Strike Flanker - Attacker (XAGM, LAGM, XMAA)
 * YF-23A Black Widow II - Fighter (QAAM, NPB, BDSP)
 * F-15S/MTD - Fighter (FAEB, XLAA, SOD)
 * Su-47 Berkut - Fighter (SAAM, SFFS, BDSP)
 * Su-37 Terminator - Fighter (XLAA, FAEB, NPB)
 * F/A-22A Raptor - Fighter (XMAA, GPB, SOD)
 * X-02 Wyvern - Multirole (XLAA, QAAM, XAGM)
 * ADFX-01 Morgan - Fighter (TLS, MPBM, ECMP)
 * ADF-01 Falken - Fighter (TLS, XLAA, FAEB)

Other Aircraft

 * ADFX-02 Morgan
 * AH-64 Apache
 * AV-8B Harrier II
 * B-2A Spirit
 * B-52H Stratofortress
 * C-17A Globemaster III
 * C-130 Hercules
 * CH-47 Chinook
 * E-767
 * KC-10A Extender
 * XB-0 Hresvelgr
 * XB-70 Valkyrie
 * SR-71 Blackbird

Squadrons
MERCENARY: Rot Squadron- Typhoon (4) Schwarze Squadron - MiG-31 Foxhound (8) Sorcerer Squadron - F-15S/MTD (8)

SOLDIER: Grun Squadron - F/A-18C Hornet (4) Schnee Squadron - F-14D Super Tomcat (4) EA-6B Prowler (1) Gault Squadron - Su-47 Berkut (8)

KNIGHT: Indigo Squadron - Gripen C (4) Silber Squadron - F-4E Phantom II (1) F-16C Fighting Falcon (4) Wizard Squadron - F-16XL (4) YF-23A Black Widow II (4)

OTHER: Gelb Squadron - Su-37 Terminator (2) Espada Squadron - J35J Draken (1) Rafale M (1)

The Three Ace System
Your actions dictate who you are now. Moral and ethic decisions and also dialogue will come into play as you eventually turn into one of the Three Ace kinds:

-Mercenary Ace: An Ace that lives for battle, money and glory. If you focus on going after targets and the money, regardless of affiliation or whether the target is crippled or not, chances are you will be rated as this.

-Soldier Ace: An Ace that lives for his fellow soldiers, and his country. He is able to turn the tide of battle at will. You will be rated this if you maintain a spread between destroying crippled/civilian targets and saving them.

-Knight Ace: An Ace that lives for pride and honor. If you help out allies and avoid hitting targets not related to the mission at hand, you are truly honorable and rated as this.

Assault Record
There are 169 Aces total, and each one you shoot has a distinct name, plane, record and history. You can use the Assault Records to see your victories and read information about the pilots.

Special Weapons
Selectable Special Weapons makes its return since ACE COMBAT 04.

Two-Player Multiplayer
The Multi-player option returns since ACE COMBAT 04. There are seven levels with which to fight against another player, four which are well known places (Mt. Schezna(AC04), Bana City(AC5), Payavlenie Ravine(AC5) and a Multiplayer map from AC04). Everything from the old multiplayer is back, including the 'competition' and 'dogfight' levels.

Wingman Control System
The Wingman Control from AC5 is back, however this time you can assign your wingmen to attack either ground-based targets, air-based targets and both aside from the usual ATTACK, DISPERSE, COVER and SPECIAL WEAPONS orders.

In order to develop a working strategy with the Player, the Wingman AI was strengthened in ACE COMBAT ZERO. Because of this, the player and Wingman are more closely tied together and faith is put in each other.

Return-Line/Long Missions
The Return-Line from ACE COMBAT 04 makes it return(later the Return-Line is used in ACE COMBAT 6). You can now return to base during a missions and rearm, refuel and repair or change special weapons then go back to the mission! However, this line is only available in two missions(Operation Hell Bound/Bastion & Operation Stone Age/Lying in Deceit).

Take-off 'Events'
Similar to the AC5 mission "First Flight," there is a Take-Off Event that occurs in Operation Valkyrie/The Talon of Ruin. Watch from the relative safety of Cipher's cockpit as the air base is destroyed before your eyes.

Unlockable Planes
There are two unlockable planes from AC04 and AC5--the FALKEN and the X-02. Having save data from 4 and 5 will make the obtaining easier, but is not required to obtain. The FALKEN can be acquired with AC5 data, by completing all three paths at least once during the Campaign mode. Without any AC5 data, the player must acquire all three Supreme Ace medals (which are obtained by completing a path at the most extreme point on the bar--far left, far right, and dead center [i.e, on the "d" in "soldier"]) to obtain the FALKEN. The X-02 Wyvern may be obtained with AC4 data, right after the first mission. And ultimately, if you have AC04 & AC5 on the same memory card, you can get both' the FALKEN and the X-02 Wyvern "Switchblade" by beating the 1st mission.Without the data, however, players must complete two different paths at least once during the Campaign.

Boresight System
Now you can target completely manually (read: with a thumbstick) with the new Boresight System! This way you don't have to cycle through endless bogeys and ground targets to get to that one target you want!

New Control Schemes
You can now choose between three different control schemes based off of Zero, or AC5 ('ACE5 A' and 'ACE5 B')

Retrospective Interview System
The story of Cipher is told through interviews an Osean journalist is having with Cipher's wingmen and former enemies ten years after the Belkan War. Your actions and Ace Ranking will have an effect on the interviews and how much information (and what kind) is released. The game's cutscenes and EVERY SINGLE LEVEL varies depending on your Ace Ranking.

Emotional Feedback System
Every action you do has consequences, wether they are good or bad. All enemies react differently to you depending on your Ace Ranking, dialogue and actions. Remember how at the end of AC04 the Erusians were scared of 'The Blue Ribbon' and how in AC5 the Yukes/Belkans/Oseans were scared of 'The Razgriz'? Well, you can be either feared (Soldier), revered (Knight) or viewed with disdain (Mercenary).

Excalibur
Main Article: Excalibur

Construction of BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) began in 1981 in the country of Belka. It was constucted with the Chemical Laser Weapon "Excalibur" as it's center-point. Against Hostile Enemy Forces other then ICBMs, the Hilly Topography spread around the mainland prevents easy enemy invasions or possible attacks on the Excalibur itself. The Theoretical Range Limit is 545.5 Miles when unsupported by reflective Mirror Satellites or Aircraft, which can extend it's range to around the globe with pin-point accuracy. This allows Belka to "Control the World With A Single Hand" and becomes a point of nationalistic pride. The main tower is defended by several smaller laser stations on rails, and jamming facilities with a few AA guns.

Hresvelgr
Main Article: XB-0 Hresvelgr

A classified 503 meter long heavy AWACS plane produced by the South Belkan Munitions Factory. This plane only passed the first test and currently not entering production or combat use at this moment. The original plan called for an airborne carrier that is used for long range strike operations and can also be used as a AWACS aircraft. Also, depending on the situation, this plane can also be used as a heavy transport or a heavy bomber. However, it is expensive to use in combat. 6 engines producing thrust to up to 1350.2kN powers this giant.

Trivia

 * The Mascot Aircraft of ACE COMBAT ZERO is two F-15C Eagles with Cipher's paint scheme & Pixy's Red Wing pain scheme


 * Solo-Wing Pixy lost his right wing in an operation, but managed to recover the plane and fly back to base with one wing might be based on the Real-Life incident with the Israeli F-15 Eagle. Ever since, he's painted the right wing of his F-15C bright red to commemorate the event.


 * Certain paint jobs you unlock are taken from other Ace Fighters from other games. They are:
 * Mobius One's F-22A Raptor under Soldier
 * Blaze's Razgriz paint of his F-14D Super Tomcat under Soldier
 * Yellow 13's Su-37 under Mercenary.

And many other paint scheme


 * The origin of Cipher's F-15 paint scheme is from AC4. The ISAF paint scheme in the F-15C is exactly the same as Cipher's, except that Namco removed the nose stripe in ACZ.


 * Cipher's late nickname in the game is "The Demon Lord". This is fitting, as he is in the 6th Air Division 66th Air Force Unit. 666 is the Devil's Number. Furthermore, Cipher's name could be taken from the homonym of Lucifer.


 * Galm is a translation error of the name Garm. Garm is a powerful demon hound in Norse mythology that guards Hel. There is a red dog on the Galm emblem. This further emphasizes the connection between Garm and Cipher. In Ragnarok, the viking apocalypse, Garm and Tyr battle, resulting in Tyr's death. Pixy is Tyr and Cipher is Garm.


 * Both Palmer and Bristow have nicknames after Knights of the Round Table: Sir Bedivere and Sir Lucan, respectively. These are the two knights who carried Arthur to the lake so he could be transported to Avalon, apparently to sleep until he was needed to rule Britain again.


 * The mission codenamed "Valkyrie" is where Galm Team must shoot down the Hresvelgr aircraft, is based on the Garm legend about the battle of Ragnarok. In fact, in this mission Cipher is decorated with the Ragnarok medal.


 * During the interview with Pixy ten years later an ISAF flag can be seen flying which would seem to suggest that Pixy is fighting in the Usean Continental War.


 * Zero is rich for Arthurian Legend references for example:
 * The Round table and the Aces called Knights of the Round Table are references to Arthur and His kinghts. Also, B7R is called the Round Table because all pilots are being equal on ground & no Ranks or Affiliatios can hinder them.


 * The reference to "The sleeping King in Avalon" is a direct reference to Arthur sleeping at Avalon and awaiting his return.


 * The southern defense line is known as The Hydrian Line. This is a sybolization of Hadrians wall, built by order of Roman Emperor Hadrian to keep the northern tribes from attacking/invading roman occupied southern Britain.


 * The super weapon Excalibur is a direct refernce to Arthur's sword, and in two missions it is mentioned that Cipher "pulled the sword from the stone", "the guy who pulled out Taubergs sword is here".


 * In the Final Mission Pixys ADFX-02 is given the codename "Morgan". Morgen was to heal and protect Arthur at Avalon after Lucan and Bedivere brought him there.