One of the crowning achievements of the Ace Combat series is its ability to weave fast-paced aerial combat with engaging and powerful stories. The final mission of Ace Combat 5 is a culmination of so many fantastic elements that it almost seems unfair to other flight combat games.

*Spoilers ahead*

Ace Combat 5 focuses on a squadron of pilots named Wardog. A war erupts between Osea and Yuktobania, the two fictional world superpowers, after a mysterious attack on the Osean airforce base on Sand Island. The only pilots to survive the attack are the trainee pilots of Wardog Squadron. Wardog then defends Osea against Yuktobania and later participates in a counter-offensive on Yuktobanian soil. Despite the success of the squadron, Osean officials remain distrustful and eventually frame Wardog for the death of civilians. Shortly thereafter their government brands them as traitors after attempting to kill the aces at the base on Sand Island. Wardog fakes their deaths and takes shelter aboard the aircraft carrier Kestral.

It is then revealed that a secret society called “The Grey Men,” an organization dedicated to exacting revenge on both Yuktobania and Osea for what was done to the country Belkan in the last great war, has been pitting the two countries against one another. The Grey Men even staged a coup d’etats and secretly assumed control over both countries’ leadership to continue the war. Wardog, now known as The Ghosts of Razgriz, participates in operations to save the president of Osea and the prime minister of Yuktobania. Both officials broadcast orders to end the war, causing the Grey Men to resort to the use of V2, a weapon of mass destruction capable of destroying half the cities in either Osea or Yuktobania.  

For the final mission, both countries come together in a desperate attempt to stop the weapon’s deployment and restore peace. After heavy fighting, including a battle with several enemy aces, mission 27 culminates with the player flying through an underground tunnel in a scene very reminiscent of the Death Star assault from Return of the Jedi. Touching any of the walls, ground, doors, or crashing into other aircraft results in instant death.

Immediately after completing mission 27, the game throws the player into mission 27+ in which The Ghosts of Razgriz are tasked with shooting down the SOLG weapons satellite that has been set in a descent path toward the Osean capital. It is guarded during it’s descent by the remnants of the notoriously skilled Ofnir and Grabacr squadrons.

Moments like these occur constantly throughout Ace Combat 5, framed by great graphics, a masterful soundtrack, and great dialogue, making it one of the best aerial combat games ever made.