Review Aleosha 3/5 · Sep 14, 2025
English version is a mess indeed
The story of Ace Combat 3’s western release is almost legendary at this point, and not in a good way. Namco developed one of the most ambitious arcade flight sims of its era, only to panic that it wouldn’t sell well outside Japan. Their solution? Cut more than half of the game for the English release. Predictably, the result didn’t …
The story of Ace Combat 3’s western release is almost legendary at this point, and not in a good way. Namco developed one of the most ambitious arcade flight sims of its era, only to panic that it wouldn’t sell well outside Japan. Their solution? Cut more than half of the game for the English release. Predictably, the result didn’t sell well at all — a true self-fulfilling curse.
I started my playthrough with the English version before comparing it to the fan translation, and the difference is staggering. The Japanese edition ships on two discs with full cutscenes, branching storylines, and voice acting. The English version? One disc, no intro, no voiceover, and mission “briefings” that amount to white text on a black screen. It feels less like an official release and more like a bootleg rip from the ’90s.
That’s a shame, because the underlying game is remarkable. The leap in visuals from Ace Combat 2 is enormous. Land textures are sharper, water reflects sunlight, clouds and lens flares add atmosphere, and explosions ripple with shockwaves — details that wouldn’t look out of place on the PS2. The very first mission feels like a flex.
Unfortunately, controls are where things stumble. The aircraft handle sluggishly, to the point where I had to wrench the stick just to get a response. Oddly enough, machine guns — historically a nightmare in Ace Combat — are now easier than ever, with multiple kills possible in a single burst. Turning, however, is another story. Even on an original PS2 controller, the game never quite feels right. Worse, my copy consistently crashed on the second mission, leaving me unsure if it was my disc, my PS2 Slim, or the game itself to blame.
When it does work, though, Electrosphere experiments in ways no other entry does. “Fragile Cargo” tasks you with clearing chimneys for a zeppelin’s landing path, and the fiery eruptions feel straight out of Blade Runner. For the first and only time in the series, you can choose between different machine guns. Missile options are also more varied — yes, you can fire four at once, though with reduced range.
The aircraft lineup takes a “futuristic reskin” approach — familiar jets reimagined with sci-fi flair, like the F/18U HornetAdv. Missions push boundaries too: navigating a ravine while shadowing an F-117, flying a stratospheric fighter, or even piloting a spacecraft to shoot down satellites. Mini-games like landing and refueling are finally forgiving compared to Ace Combat 2, and some set pieces (like a quick train chase) are short but memorable.
The English campaign, however, is an incoherent mess. With all the story gutted, missions feel like isolated scenarios linked by nonsense text. And yet it’s the longest Ace Combat game in terms of sheer volume, clocking in at 35 missions versus the usual 25. Once you adapt to the controls, most missions are fairly easy — until the infamous Geofront tunnel run, which forces you through claustrophobic corridors for nearly five minutes. Torture.
The climax fares even worse. First you duel the X49 “superfighter,” which soaks up missiles like a sponge while returning fire with a laser. Then comes a grueling double fight against both the X49 and the UI4054 Aurora. On my first attempt, I simply ran out of missiles — almost 200 of them. On my second, it took 18 exhausting minutes of chasing one target after another. And just when you think it’s over, the game makes you fight Aurora two more times: once in another dogfight, and again in virtual reality.
To make matters worse, the last five missions don’t allow saving. My 30th mission alone took 2 hours and 30 minutes, and mission 33 added nearly another 20 minutes. Altogether, the final stretch is a brutal 3–4 hour gauntlet — longer than most complete Ace Combat games.
The English version of Ace Combat 3 is both fascinating and frustrating. Beneath the butchered localization lies one of the most visually and mechanically ambitious PS1 titles ever made. But stripped of its story and hampered by clunky controls, it plays like a silent movie stitched together with random set pieces.
There’s brilliance here — flashes of what could have been a masterpiece — but in the west, it was buried under cuts and compromises. If you want the real Electrosphere experience, the fan translation is the only way to fly.
