This is such a strange game to exist. It feels like the developers took the engine from Assault Horizon and grafted it onto the “story” of Ace Combat 2 — which is ironic, since Ace Combat 2 barely had a story to begin with. Sure, your first mission involves taking down some bombers, but that’s practically a tradition in this series. The early Ace Combat titles (1 and 2) treated story like an excuse for the action — kind of like how some movies treat plot as an excuse for explosions.

In terms of gameplay and mechanics, Assault Horizon Legacy feels closer to Assault Horizon than Ace Combat 2. You can select your loadouts and even customize aircraft parts in an RPG-like fashion — something I haven’t seen in any other Ace Combat game. The addition of offensive and defensive maneuvers changes the pace significantly: once a gauge fills, you can instantly dodge an incoming missile or position yourself behind an enemy. Of course, that also makes manual missile evasion much harder.

Thankfully, checkpoints are now included — a small but very welcome quality-of-life feature that prevents you from replaying ten minutes of flight every time you fail.

One of the most curious changes is the aircraft selection. I’m not sure if it’s because some planes from Ace Combat 2 are too outdated by modern standards, or because of licensing issues, but this time you start with an F-16 instead of the F-4. The F-16 did appear in the original, but only as a mid-tier option. On the bright side, the new engine allows for a cockpit view, something the original never had — and it’s fantastic.

Ace Combat 2 introduced the idea of unique enemy squadrons, though they were subtle and easy to miss. In Legacy, these rival units are front and center — each introduced with a cutscene and appearing as a full squadron of five. Every group also has its own gimmick. For example, the “Beast” Squadron can’t be damaged while they’re flying close together, forcing you to lure them apart one by one.

The in-game economy has also been rebalanced. There are fewer aircraft overall, and they’re more expensive to unlock. I skipped the Mirage 2000 just to save up for the F-14. Some missions have been modernized too: the classic ravine mission involving a submarine is now a chase sequence where you have to strike before the sub hides in the docks.

Interestingly, older aircraft aren’t completely gone — you can unlock the F-4 later. By Mission 21, you even get the fictional F-15M (a Macross homage). What used to be a tense mission in the original is now surprisingly easy. Even the infamous “Last Resort” cruise missile chase — which took me 30 tries in Ace Combat 2 — only took three this time.

For the first time in the series, I’ve actually seen wingmen complete objectives. In earlier games, their main purpose was to act as distractions. Here, they genuinely contribute to the mission.

Visually, this is one of the most impressive games on the 3DS. It looks fantastic — easily on par with the PS2 Ace Combat titles, maybe even better. It’s also one of the few games that fully utilizes the New 3DS hardware, including the C-stick and ZL/ZR buttons.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy is a fascinating hybrid — part remake, part reimagining. It plays great, looks fantastic, and adds enough modern mechanics to keep things fresh, even if it loses a bit of the original’s charm and challenge.