I'm playing one title from my 618 game backlog every day that the UK is in lockdown. Today's selection is...
Previous days' entries can be read
The handheld run continues, but we're up to date now with the 3DS... he says, before realising this game is almost a decade old. Terrifying.
Despite the long winded name, this is actually a remake of Ace Combat 2. The Assault Horizon part of the title was specific to the western release, assumingly to try and cross-promote with the 7th gen console (and PC) game that came out around the same time. Besides the title, the games' only other similarity is that they both feature a kind of 'special move' designed to help keep the action more dynamic. It was called 'Dog Fight Mode' in Assault Horizon, and I hated it. As a result I have never completed that game. In fact it’s probably why I haven't played Legacy on the 3DS... until now.
So I'll get right to it. 'Attack Manoeuvres' as they're called in this game, involve keeping within missile range of an airborne target for long enough for a power bar to charge. When triggered you're given a 'canned animation' depicting your aircraft performing some flashy aerobatics that will result in you being behind the enemy.
If you're lucky enough to have played the brilliant 'Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces' on the Wii then you'll be very familiar with how this concept can work well, and not feel like hand-holding and the removal of player agency (as it did with Assault Horizon on 360/PS3/PC).
'Attack Maneuvers' are entirely optional, they flow into the gameplay seamlessly, don't guarantee a kill every time, and most important of all, they're actually quite fun to use. It basically makes you feel like you're in Top Gun for a few moments and, really, isn't that what this kind of game is all about?
It's a short game, taking me about 7 hours to complete first time around but, being a Japanese game, it has replayability built into the structure - I think I've mentioned before that I much prefer this approach to the Western style of a 30 hour game that you're only going to play once (Obviously this doesn't apply to RPGs, but I don't play those). As much as this is a personal preference, I don't think it's contentious to say that short levels are a much better fit for handheld games - with the 3D off you could finish this game (once) on a single battery charge.
Don't turn the 3D off though, it looks great.
In Japan the game featured support for the circle pad pro; the ugly bolt on that gave the 3DS a second analogue stick. I'm sure it works well, but the annoyance for me is that it would be completely unnecessary if the game allowed you to remap yaw from the d-pad to the L/R buttons. It's the game's biggest misstep, as it requires you to move your thumb from the analogue stick to the d-pad meaning you're never in full control of the plane.
Nethertheless, this is still a very good Ace Combat game. It lacks some of the earnestness of previous games and the yaw control is annoying, but as far handheld flight combat games go, this is probably the best there is.
