Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere
| Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere | |
|---|---|
PAL cover art
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Distributor(s) | |
| Director(s) | Takuya Iwasaki Atsushi Shiozawa |
| Producer(s) | Takashi Fukawa |
| Composer(s) | Tetsukazu Nakanishi Koji Nakagawa Hiroshi Okubo Go Shiina Kanako Kakino Tomoko Tatsuta |
| Series | Ace Combat |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Arcade, Combat Flight Simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (エースコンバット３ エレクトロスフィア Ēsu Conbatto San Erekutorosufia?) is a flight simulation game made by Namco for the PlayStation game console. The third installment in the Ace Combat series of console flight simulation games, Electrosphere takes the contemporary setting of the first two games into a story set in the mid-21st century, involving a war between multinational corporations.
The game is notable for having two radically different releases for the Japanese and Western markets. The Japanese version of Ace Combat 3 released in 1999 featured a lengthy 2-disc campaign of 52 missions that were split among different paths depending on in-mission decisions, along with multiple endings and multiple factions for the player to join. It also featured fully voiced anime cut-scenes, along with in-game radio chatter.
The international version of Ace Combat 3 was released in 2000. While nothing was changed from the overall gameplay, its campaign was stripped down to a 1-disc 36 mission campaign with no branching paths. English voice acting was planned and started recording in the early stages, but Namco cut the funding for the translation efforts. While Namco never officially explained why this occurred, many speculated it was due to sales being lower than expected for the Japanese release, along with the impending release of the PlayStation 2. To accommodate for the Japanese plot not being translated, all story related voice acting and cut-scenes were removed, along with the plot being rewritten to a more basic story with no voice acting. While the international version still received critical acclaim for its gameplay and graphics, the decision to remove most of the plot was heavily criticized by Western critics and gamers, since Namco initially advertised that the Western release would featured all the content seen in Japanese version.
The plot, which takes place on the Usean continent sometime in the first half of 2040, involves two megacorporations – Neucom Inc and General Resources Ltd. These two companies fight over territorial disputes and eventually a prototype fighter known as the X-49 Night Raven, with the Universal Peace Enforcement Organization trying to placate both sides.
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Wikipedia