SPOILERS OF ACE COMBAT 04

Here’s a comprehensive history and overview of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies — one of the most important titles in the Ace Combat franchise:

🎮 What Is Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies is a 2001 arcade-style aerial combat video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2. It’s the fourth main installment in the Ace Combat series and the first on PS2, marking a major turning point for the franchise.

• In PAL/European regions, it was released under the title Ace Combat: Distant Thunder.
• It’s widely regarded as one of the best and most influential entries in the series

🛠️ Development & Legacy

🔁 A Reboot and New Direction

After the mixed reception of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, Namco rebooted the series with Ace Combat 04, returning to more classic, arcade-focused gameplay. The internal team, initially called the AC04 Project, eventually became Project Aces, the long-lasting Ace Combat development team.

The game’s marketing slogan was “It’s Changing Everything Again,” highlighting its new emphasis on score-based objectives and fewer cutscenes compared to its predecessor.

🌍 Introduction of Strangereal

Ace Combat 04 established the “Strangereal” universe, the series’ main alternate-Earth setting. Though originally intended as just a marketing phrase for the game’s fictional world, fans adopted the name, and it later became the official term for the shared universe used across many subsequent titles.

🧠 Story & Setting

The game occurs in 2004–2005 on the Strangereal world’s continent Usea, in the midst of the Continental War.

📌 Key Plot Points

• In 1999, an asteroid called Ulysses 1994XF04 impacts Usea, causing massive destruction and destabilizing global politics.
• The Federal Republic of Erusea seizes a massive railgun network called Stonehenge—originally built for planetary defense—and uses it as a long-range anti-air weapon.
• Erusea quickly overruns most of Usea, forcing the Independent State Allied Forces (ISAF) to retreat to the island nation North Point.
• You play as Mobius 1, an ISAF ace pilot who executes numerous missions that eventually help turn the tide of the war.

📜 Dual Narrative

The story unfolds in two layers:

1. Main campaign — Mobius 1’s military actions during the war.
2. Side Story interludes — narrated slideshow intermissions follow a young boy’s perspective on the conflict and his complex relationship with Erusean pilot Yellow 13.

🎮 Gameplay

Ace Combat 04 features:

• 18 story missions with varied objectives (air superiority, ground attacks, escort missions, etc.).
• 21 unlockable aircraft, including real-world fighters and fictional prototypes.
• An arcade combat style with infinite fuel and generous ammunition compared to true simulators.
• A return line mechanic allowing players to fly back to base to instantly repair and rearm mid-mission.
• Split-screen multiplayer for one-on-one dogfights and score contests.

🎼 Music & Sound

The soundtrack marked a signature shift for the series, blending orchestral, rock, and synthesizer elements — even including a Latin chorus — setting the tone for many future Ace Combat soundtracks.

📅 Release & Reception

• Japan: September 13, 2001
• North America: November 1, 2001
• Europe: February 8, 2002 ([Ace Combat Wiki][3])

The game was a critical and commercial success:

• Metacritic average around 89/100. )
• Sold over 2.64 million copies by 2008, making it the best-selling entry in the series until Ace Combat 7 surpassed it.
• It won accolades like Famitsu’s Gold Hall of Fame and IGN Editor’s Choice.

🧠 Legacy

Ace Combat 04 is often credited with defining the modern Ace Combat formula: cinematic storytelling, arcade combat, iconic music, and the Strangereal universe. Its influence strongly shaped later entries like Ace Combat 5, Zero, and up through Ace Combat 7

HISTORY OF F-4

The F-4E Phantom II, first flown in 1965 and introduced in 1967, is a heavily upgraded, gun-nosed variant of the versatile McDonnell Douglas F-4, designed for the U.S. Air Force as a multi-role fighter-bomber. With 1,387 units built, it featured improved engines, radar, and an internal M61 Vulcan cannon, seeing significant service in Vietnam, the Middle East, and worldwide.

Development and Design
Origin: Developed from the Navy’s F-4B/C, the F-4E was created to meet Air Force needs for a versatile fighter with superior air-to-air capabilities.
Key Upgrade (The Gun): Based on combat lessons in Vietnam where air-to-air missiles proved unreliable at close range, the F-4E was the first Phantom to feature a built-in 20mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon under the nose.
Technical Improvements: It featured more powerful J79-GE-17 engines, an upgraded radar (AN/APQ-120), and a revised nose shape to accommodate the gun.
First Flight: The prototype (YF-4E) first flew on August 7, 1965.
Production: It is the most-produced variant of the Phantom, with 1,370 to 1,387 units built, and it was in production until 1981.
Operational History
Vietnam War: The F-4E was deployed to Vietnam, where it served as a primary fighter-bomber, offering a 3.6:1 kill ratio against MiG fighters.
Middle East: Used extensively by the Israeli Air Force in the 1973 and 1982 Arab-Israeli conflicts.
International Service: The F-4E was widely exported to countries including Greece, Turkey, Iran, Japan, and South Korea.
Specialized Roles: In addition to combat, it was used by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team in 1969.
Retirement and Upgrades
U.S. Retirement: The U.S. retired the last of its F-4E active-duty fighters in 1996.
Later Use: Many U.S. F-4Es were converted into QF-4 target drones.
Modernization: Greece and Turkey upgraded their fleets in the late 1990s and 2000s (e.g., "Peace Icarus 2000" and the Terminator 2020 program) to keep them operational well into the 21st century.
Current Status: As of 2024, the F-4E remains in limited service, particularly with South Korea.