Game Music Showcase: Ace Combat

Namco's Ace Combat series is probably the most well-known flight sim/arcade shooter hybrid, combining the graphics and real-world planes with fun dogfighting. The games typically take place in an alternate world called Strangereal, with its own military and political timeline, and has games take place in various conflicts in that world over different time periods. Some other games take place in a real world setting, with stories seperate from the Strangereal continuity. What remains constant however is the music, ranging from sweeping orchestral pieces to hard rock songs to electronic songs, all prime for inclusion in Taiko no Tatsujin.

	-Ace Combat series-

	IN THE ZONE Fighter's Honor (Flying Remix) Night And Day Comona Roca Roja

 IN THE ZONE Ace Combat X2 Joint Assault

Version
Taiko PSP 2	x5 (161)	x6 (222)	x8 (493)	x10 (765)
Taiko 14, Taiko Wii 3	x5 (161)	x7 (222)	x8 (493)	x10 (765)
Taiko 0	x4 (161)	x6 (222)	x8 (493)	x9 (765)

 Taiko 14, Taiko 0, Taiko PSP 2, Taiko Wii 3
 170~177
 none
 acex2


Previously a Song of the Week, IN THE ZONE originates from Ace Combat X²: Joint Assault, which is one of the few set in the real world. IN THE ZONE plays during the 6th mission, Desert Dawn, and is one of the few songs to contain vocals. To see more about this song, check out the link to its Song of the Week page above!

 Fighter's Honor (Flying Remix) Ace Combat 3D Cross Rumble

Version
All	x3 (136)	x3 (196)	x4 (304)	x7 (527)

 Taiko 3DS 1
 145.58-146.55
 none
 ace3ds


Also previously a Song of the Week, Fighter's Honor (Flying Remix) originates from the only Ace Combat on 3DS yet, Ace Combat 3D Cross Rumble, also known as Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy. The game is actually a remake of Ace Combat 2, which initially did not have much of a story, but has now been expanded upon to fit better into Strangereal lore. To see more about this song, check out the link to its Song of the Week page above!

 Night And Day Ace Combat 2

Version
All	x4 (156)	x6 (259)	x8 (481)	x9 (698)

 Taiko 0 Mu, Taiko 3DS 2, Taiko Wii U 3
 140
 none
 ac2nad


Also previously a Song of the Week, Night and Day, much like Fighter's Honor, has a great-grandfather in source in the form of Ace Combat 2; this song, however, originates from the original Ace Combat 2 rather than its 3DS remake. To see more about this song, check out the link to its Song of the Week page above!

 Comona Ace Combat 04

Version
All	x3 (157)	x5 (214)	x7 (455)	x9 (726)

 Taiko 0 B, Taiko PS Vita
 138
 none
 ???


Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies was perhaps the game that put Ace Combat on the map, at least for the western audience. Having a compelling story to go along with the new and shiny PS2 graphics helped a ton, as well as memorable squadrons and enemy aces to dogfight against, not to mention a shift in music towards having some movie-style influences. Out of all the tracks from the game's soundtrack, though, Comona is perhaps the most famous of them all; playing during the mission 'Shattered Skies', where our protagonist Mobius 1 eventually ends up dogfighting the fearsome Yellow Squadron.

Comona is a mix of orchestra and electric guitar that would soon be associated with Ace Combat, providing the basis for the chart in this song. This gives it a nice rhythmic chart, with a few offbeat but still intuitive sections. Along with the usual 1/16s are some 1/24s to watch out for, but otherwise this is a rather simple 9* Oni, albeit a bit long since it's a full loop of the song.

 Roca Roja ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

Version
All	x4 (174)	x6 (256)	x7 (552)	x9 (830)

 Taiko PS4
 160
 none
 ???


Ace Combat 7 came out on January 18th 2019 for PlayStation 4 and xBox One, with a PC port following suit a few weeks later (February 1st). Winner at the CEDEC Awards (Best Sound) and PlayStation Awards (Gold Award and Best VR support for its dedicated side missions) in the same year, this game retained the same gameplay structure of its predecessors while also having its story-related content expanded over the course of the year, with the gradual release of DLC content containing both customization flairs and DLC missions that expanded on the world's lore.

Roca Roja (Spanish for 'Red Rock') is one of Ace Combat 7's locations in the Usean continent, and its namesake BGM for mission on its skies has been composed by Keiki Takahashi (小林啓樹), already a NAMCO SOUNDS composer that was involved in music for PS2-era series installments, from Katamari Damacy to Tekken, Ridge Racer and Idolm@ster.

With a pure 1/16 notechart blend, Roca Roja's Oni mode manages to top all its series predecessors on the note-number department. Be mindful on your stamina and don't let its vicious 9-note clusters finish your Full Combo attempts off!

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