Air Combat

Air Combat is a 1995 combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation, and the first title of the Ace Combat franchise. Players control an aircraft and are tasked with completing a series of missions, with objectives ranging from destroying formations of enemies to protecting a specific target from enemy fire. Missions award money that is used to purchase new fighter aircraft, each with its own unique weapons and strengths. Air Combat is based on a 1993 arcade game of the same name that ran on the Namco System 21 hardware. Company employees Masanori Kato and Kazumi Mizuno were tasked with bringing the game to the then-new PlayStation, but decided to create a new game from scratch after realizing the PlayStation's hardware was not powerful enough to properly render the arcade version's gameplay. Air Combat was both a critical and commercial success; its arcade-like gameplay, realism, and cinematic approach were praised, though several criticized its graphics and presentation for being below-average. It spawned the Ace Combat franchise with several sequels, spin-offs, and other forms of media, and was followed by Ace Combat 2 in 1997.