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Another Century's Episode 3


CF18

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1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes, Co-op too but not story co-op

4. Yes in all modes except the VF-1 Series can fire them in battroid mode unless wearing Fast Packs with Nukes :)

Also I own all 3 Ace games if your interested I suggest getting ACE 2 as that was the debut of Macross in the game series and they had a huge role in that game story wise but only Macross DYRL was used. Wait till November though to buy ACE 2 as a new version of ACE 2 is being released that will include vocal songs in it unlike the previous release which had the songs but no vocals to them.

Edit: Well just finished unlocking all 103 units and all their limiters.

I never got to play a Macross unit in ACE 2 (lucky for me, unlike Graham, I do like Gundam). In fact, I got stuck on one mission. It's the one where there's a large group of enemy ships leaving the combat area, and you fail if more than four get away. Do you have any advice for finishing that mission? My big problem seems to be that after I take out a few ships, the target lock switches to the little guys.

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I never got to play a Macross unit in ACE 2 (lucky for me, unlike Graham, I do like Gundam). In fact, I got stuck on one mission. It's the one where there's a large group of enemy ships leaving the combat area, and you fail if more than four get away. Do you have any advice for finishing that mission? My big problem seems to be that after I take out a few ships, the target lock switches to the little guys.

i think the unit availability is affected by which story arc you choose at the beginning of the game. i chose the DYRL arc, & i got the Vf1's at around mission 40(?). IIRC i used the Vf1's on those kinds of missions, the gerwalk mode proves very useful in 'em.

flying a gundam's cool & all, but the 7/15 *PEW-PEW* just doesn't feel right compared to the 220/320 rounds of *BZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRT* B))

yeah. the lock-on's always been stupid. the game gives you priority targets in missions, but the lock-on doesn't differentiate small-fry from bigbadthing.

when the lock-on goes stupid, i usually just fly toward the bigbadthing & hit it up close & personal.

the arrow thing is your friend :lol:

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the arrow thing is your friend

For most missions. But the arrow usually points to the closest mission-objective target. On the mission I'm thinking of, they're scattered so that a ton near the border will get away if you just follow the arrow.

i think the unit availability is affected by which story arc you choose at the beginning of the game. i chose the DYRL arc, & i got the Vf1's at around mission 40(?). IIRC i used the Vf1's on those kinds of missions, the gerwalk mode proves very useful in 'em.

Actually, that thing at the beginning is just to pick your favorite series. Then, units from the series you pick get bonuses, potentially making them the best in the game. ACE 3 seems to have a similar system, but instead of picking, it goes by the units you use/upgrade the most (in my case, Macross Plus).

And the VF-1s wouldn't help me in ACE 2, as I haven't unlocked them yet. I've been using units like Heavyarms and that one insect-looking unit piloted by the guy in blue with a red space fairy, thinking that firepower was the solution. In retrospect, I think I might beef up the Gun Ark, and try a speed approach.

After I finish ACE 3, that is.

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Got ACE 3. Played missions 1 to 3 so far. Thanks to Mike for his translated menu guide. Without it I probably wouldn't have had the patience to figure it out by my self and would have most likely given up already.

I'm hoping there is a way to modifying the fighter mode controls, as on the defult setting up and down are reversed from normal flight games, which is a major PITA.

Graham

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Got ACE 3. Played missions 1 to 3 so far. Thanks to Mike for his translated menu guide. Without it I probably wouldn't have had the patience to figure it out by my self and would have most likely given up already.

I'm hoping there is a way to modifying the fighter mode controls, as on the defult setting up and down are reversed from normal flight games, which is a major PITA.

Graham

You can change the settings in the main menu. They will give you 4 types of control:

1) Pushing left or right rolls your aircraft. Pitch controls corresponds to up or down on the left analog stick. (ie. Push up, nose goes up)

2) Pushing left or right turns your aircraft. Pitch controls are same as above.

3) Pushing left or right rolls your aircraft. Pitch controls are reveresed.

4) Pushing left or right turns your aircraft. Pitch controls are same as above.

I wrote this at 3am so my mind is not very clear. If I make a mistake, I do apologize.

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Got the flight settings figured out and changed, thanks. Although I have to say the game is definitely biased towards Battroid mode, as Fighter mode seems useless for combat and seems only good for getting somewhere in a hurry. The main thing that bugs me is that there seems to be no lock-on capability in Fighter mode! It would have been nice to be able to lock-on to groups of enemies from a distance and launch missiles at them before closing to close range and finishing them off in Battroid mode.

Anyway, next question. I’m having trouble completing the mission (I think it’s mission # 4) where you have to fight the two bad guy Gundams from Gundam X at the end of the mission. I can defeat the first one, but I’ve taken so much damage early on in the mission from those ships that throw out some sort of energy field and rapidly drain your armor, that I don’t have enough armor to beat the second Gundam. Actually, what are the objectives for this game? Are you supposed to attack those ships or leave them alone? Also, it seems you can’t lock on to those two Gundams at the end.

Graham

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I recommend to any import gamers studying the Japanese katakana and hiragana scripts an hour every day for a week. Those will get you very far in a lot of Japanese game menus. It`s pretty much a simple memorisation exercise. Like learning the alphabet. Kanji on the other hand is a little more difficult..

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Got the flight settings figured out and changed, thanks. Although I have to say the game is definitely biased towards Battroid mode, as Fighter mode seems useless for combat and seems only good for getting somewhere in a hurry. The main thing that bugs me is that there seems to be no lock-on capability in Fighter mode! It would have been nice to be able to lock-on to groups of enemies from a distance and launch missiles at them before closing to close range and finishing them off in Battroid mode.

Anyway, next question. I’m having trouble completing the mission (I think it’s mission # 4) where you have to fight the two bad guy Gundams from Gundam X at the end of the mission. I can defeat the first one, but I’ve taken so much damage early on in the mission from those ships that throw out some sort of energy field and rapidly drain your armor, that I don’t have enough armor to beat the second Gundam. Actually, what are the objectives for this game? Are you supposed to attack those ships or leave them alone? Also, it seems you can’t lock on to those two Gundams at the end.

Graham

You can lock on in Fighter mode. Just type triangle when you're not holding any other buttons. I usually go fighter mode, shut off the booster whenever I'm in range, lock on, fire a few missiles, switch the Battroid, then mop up what's left.

As for those energy fields, you're NOT supposed to fly into them. You can see the borders on your radar map; near each one should be a target that looks like an X in a box. Head toward them, and you'll see a very large device (often defended by grunts you have to take out first). When you take them out, the energy field will go away.

My other suggestion is that there are two different methods of switching weapons. One is Select, which changes the equipped weapon when you hit L1, and you always fire with square. The other is Shift, which has hitting square as the main weapon, then using a combination of L1+ another button to fire a different weapon. The game is much easier with the Shift style.

If you're using the YF-19, save the more powerful missiles for the boss. When you're not spamming missile at him, hit the boosters, fly back and forth, and keep on the gunpod. They should go down without too much hassle.

Oh, before the mission, don't forget to spend your Ace points on upgrades! As near as I can figure, the top bar is defense, the bottom one offense.

Finally, there's no shame in turning the difficulty to easy. I know a lot of kids today complain games are too easy and use beating games like Ninja Gaiden as some kind of badge of honor, but A.) Games are supposed to be fun; if I wanted to work, I'd vacuum, and B.) As adults, we just don't have the time we used to as kids to sit down and totally master a game.

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I would like to add that you need not worry about crashing to the ground at high speed especially with the booster on. You automatically switch to Battroid mode upon touching the ground.

One good tactic I use when fighting large of number grunts is to charge them at high speed, obtain lock, drop a missile or two, and just when you are about to crash into them, hit the circle button for the Pin Point Barrier punch(note: you don't have to transform to do that, the YF-19 automatically does that for you). Keep bashing the circle button as you are most likely surrounded by large numbers of grunts and once your lock on target is dead, you will automatically lock on to the nearest target. You don't need to hit the triangle button to switch lock.

I find this quick button bashing quickly clears out grunts especially in missions where you have to capture buildings. This tactic is very very fast and since you are moving so fast, the grunts will have a hard time hitting you. Do watch out for leader units. They are denoted with a star next to their name above the health bar. There are always one defending each building and the field generators.

One last thing, save the combination attack for the bosses.

Edited by Project Phoenix
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Got the fighter mode controls figured out. I’m now also having great fun flying over groups of grunts and hitting them with missiles, before looping back and finishing them off in close quart combat.

I reckon whoever modeled the YF-19 fighter in this game definitely based it heavily on the SHE and Yamato 1/72. You can tell by the chunky intakes, the short wings which don’t sweep forward far enough, the shiled which is raised too high and the incorrect angle of the upper intakes (where the sub-air intakes are).

I hope somebody writes a walkthrough soon. While the game is very playable, sometimes it's difficult to know what the objectives are. I've had a few missions where I thought I was doing great, blowing sh*t up left, right and centre, protecting the good guys, but I still get game over.

Graham

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Finally, there's no shame in turning the difficulty to easy. I know a lot of kids today complain games are too easy and use beating games like Ninja Gaiden as some kind of badge of honor, but A.) Games are supposed to be fun; if I wanted to work, I'd vacuum, and B.) As adults, we just don't have the time we used to as kids to sit down and totally master a game.

I concur.

On the side note, does anyone want translations for the menus in the game? Source's from the GameFaq's ACE 3 forum, though I think it'll be easier for you guys to see it here...

EDIT: Oops, saw mikes already put it up. Sorry guys.

Edited by MangledMess
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Gah, I'm stuck on mission 7 What the heck are you supposed to do to complete it?

I kill 99% of everything on the map in the time limit with the exception of 3 cannon-foder enemies in the far corner of the map (ran out of time). I've still got loads of armor left. None of the good guy units get destroyed.

Don't tell me you have to completely clear the map of all enemies within the time limit?

Graham

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Gah, I'm stuck on mission 7 What the heck are you supposed to do to complete it?

I kill 99% of everything on the map in the time limit with the exception of 3 cannon-foder enemies in the far corner of the map (ran out of time). I've still got loads of armor left. None of the good guy units get destroyed.

Don't tell me you have to completely clear the map of all enemies within the time limit?

Graham

Today's your lucky day; I beat it, and was replaying to try to do the alternate routes. I was just one mission before the train level, so I figured I'd play and see what's up.

Is that the train level, or the one right after? If it's the train level, you need to stay with the train, and only attack the units near it. Occasionally, you'll see some flashing points on your radar; pick one, eliminate the enemies, and the train will take that route. Boss fight after the train leaves.

If it's the level after, you don't have to kill everything. What you need to pay attention to are the green ally units on the southern edge of your radar. You'll see a bunch of purple units appear behind them; the level is basically the greens are trying to escape to the north, and the purples are chasing them. You need to clear a path; I did this by using the YF-19 and flying from west to east, moving north, then moving east to west, and so on. You can ignore the red dots on the edges of the radar, even the ones attacking the green units on the western edge. Just focus on what's in front of the allies so they can keep moving north (you'll know you're fighting the right stuff if you're downing those big black enemy planes). You'll have to take out two armor draining fields; and at one point, some enemy planes will pop out of nowhere right next to your allies. When that happens, race back to them, take them out, then finish clearing the path. Once the path is clear, you can attack the enemies chasing your allies, but as long as your friends escape, you move on to an easy boss fight.

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I will try to keep things simple and help anyone who is reading better understand what the hiragana and katakana means in the game menus. The following are my explanation of controls along with some descriptions.

After pressing START, the Navi girl(aka Fee) will ask if you would like to load a saved game. If you press CIRCLE, she will take you to the list of saved games for you to load. Once that is done, you are presented with the following selections:

Campaign (Basically start a new game)

Continue (Continue from your last saved game)

Multi player (Self explanatory)

Free Mission (You get access to extra mission along with any cleared missions)

Versus (Play against your friend/enemy/rival/lover/wife/child/neighbor/etc.)

Load (Load a different saved game)

If you chose Continue, you will be taken to the Intermission screen which has the following selections:

Launch (Go into the Global Meeting screen then the actual Mission Briefing screen)

Unit Recruitment (Buy your new units not given to you in the story mode)

Keywords (Keywords from the story in the game)

Unit Viewer View units that has appeared in the game)

Battle Record (Show how many times you’ve launched with which unit so far)

Visual Record (View all the movies that appeared during your play through)

Options (Explained below)

Return (Back to the main menu)

More coming...

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If anybody wants to tackle it, a list of objectives for each mission would be nice. Not looking for a detailed walkthrough, just a short simple sentence or two for each mission, like for example: -

Mission 6: Escort friendly train to top of map. Destroy any enemy units that are attacking the train or blocking the track.

Mission 7: Clear pathway for both (green) friendly units within the time limit so they can move northwards on map. Destroy black enemy planes and knock out both energy fields.

Graham

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Here are a somewhat detailed explanation of the Options Menu that I think may help.

Options Screen:

Here are the following menus available:

Save (Save your game)

Load (Load your game)

Game Settings (Explained below)

Controller Settings (Explained below)

Sound (Sound settings)

Screen (Screen brightness settings)

Under Game Settings you are presented with the following selections:

Difficulty – Easy / Normal / Hard / Real Ace (available after beating the game once)

Lock Info – On / Off (This allows you to display the target’s additional info if available)

Target – Camera view priority / Heading priority / Distance priority / Damage priority (This sets which target your unit will lock on initially when pressing the TRIANGLE button. Camera view targets whichever is in front of you, Heading targets which ever is in front of your unit, Distance targets the ones that are closest to you and the Damage targets the enemy with the least AP)

Quick Turn – On / Off (Enables your unit to quickly turn to face the lock on target)

Auto Altitude Adjustment – On / Off (Enables your unit to attempt to be on the same height with your target)

Attack Demo – On / Off (Enables the Combination Attack movie)

Text – On / Off (Enables in game messages to be shown across your screen)

Control Navi – On /Off (Enables Fee to pop up every step along the way, asking what you want to do)

Default Settings (Returns to factory settings)

Under Controller Settings you are presented with the following selections:

Controller Type – Shift Type / Select Type

Flight Type – Easy / Flight / Easy Reverse / Flight Reverse

Radar Controls – Semi-auto / Manual (Semi-auto will zoom in your radar when targets are near)

Camera Controls – Normal / Horizontal Reverse / Reverse

Vibration – On / Off

Key Assign (Enables you to remap the button controls)

Default Settings

Under Sound you are presented with the following selections:

Sound – Stereo / Dolby Pro Logic II

BGM Volume

Sound Effects Volume

Visual Effects Volume

Attack Voice – On / Off (Basically lets you hear the various characters announcing their attacks)

BGM Type – Vocal One / Vocal Off / Random (Enables the songs for the corresponding anime to be played during missions)

BGM Test (Enables you to listen to all the included anime songs)

Default Settings

Under Screen you are presented with the following options:

Brightness

Contrast

Default Settings

P.S. I will try to get Mission Objectives typed up as well as any Secret requirements that I've uncovered. I'm sure mikeszekely would have done that by now. :)

Slightly more to come...

Edited by Project Phoenix
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I apologize for the confusing nature of my explanation. Here is the screen explanation for a new game.

When choosing a new campaign, you are presented with the following options:

Decide (Accept whatever settings you made and start the game)

Difficulty – Easy / Normal / Hard / Real Ace (available after eating the game once)

Controller Type – Shift Type / Select Type

Vibration – On / Off

Auto Altitude Adjustment – On / Off (Enables your unit to attempt to be on the same height with your target)

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Mission Requirements with Secret Requirements

Mission 1: Destroy all targets

Secret: Your unit must take less than 100 points of damage

Mission 2: Destroy all targets

Secret: Nadesico B’s damage must be below 20%

Mission 3: Capture all target buildings

Secret: Blood Ark takes 90% damage

Mission 4: Destroy all targets

Secret: Freeden’s damage must be below 20%

Mission 5: Destroy all targets

Secret: Capture all buildings within 150 seconds

Mission 6: Escort the Exodus train out of the area

Secret: Destroy above 100 enemies

Mission 7: Motherships must reach target point

Secret: Destroy all Metalbeasts

Mission 8: Destroy all enemy warships

Secret: Destroy all ??? targets

Mission 9A: Destroy all targets

Secret: The Infinite Mobile Cannon must not fire even once.

Mission 9B: Gekko Go must reach target point

Secret: Gekko Go’s AP must be 40% and above when clearing the mission

Mission 10A: Destroy all enemy ships

Secret: Successfully avoid all long range cannon fire

Mission 10B: Destroy all transport ships

Secret: None of the transport ships escape the area

Mission 11A: Destroy all enemies

Secret: Gekko Go must successfully avoid all enemy attacks while clearing the mission

Mission 11B: Capture all target buildings

Secret: Capture all buildings within 150 seconds

Mission 12B: Destroy all targets

Secret: Discover the Dominator’s hiding spot 4 times and defeat her

Mission 13: Destroy all enemy warships

Secret: Destroy at least 30 satellite cannons

Mission 14: Survive for a certain time limit

Secret: Capture all buildings within 420 seconds and ensure the allied warship Credo(?) survives

Mission 15: Destroy all targets

Secret: Ensure all allied squadrons survive

Mission 16: Destroy all targets

Secret: Destroy all traitor Vulture units (there will be grunts surrounding the neutral Vulture landships that you must destroy thoroughly)

Mission 17A: Capture all target buildings

Secret: Oukaoh must transform into Hyper mode within 30 sec (i.e. destroy his first form within 30 sec so he can grow bigger and beat the crap out of you)

Mission 17B: Capture all target buildings

Secret: Capture all buildings within 300 seconds

Mission 18A: Destroy all enemy warships (You'll lose the mission if 7 of them escapes)

Secret: Destroy all enemy warships

Mission 18B: Destroy all targets

Secret: Destroy all jamming fields (to do this, you must clear out the grunts surrounding the jamming towers ala capturing buildings)

Mission 19A: Prevent the enemy from breaking through your defense line

Secret: Capture all buildings

Mission 19B: Capture Zondaepta Island (check spelling)

Secret: Defeat both Frost brothers

Mission 20: Defend all allied buildings within the time limit

Secret: Capture all enemy buildings within 100 seconds

Mission 21: Destroy Shin Dragon

Secret: Successfully avoid all Shin Dragon’s attacks

Mission 22: Destroy 100 enemy units

Secret: Destroy 8 and above leader units (denoted by a small white star next to their name and long AP bar)

Mission 23: Destroy all targets

Secret: Destroy all Field Generators within 240 seconds

Mission 24: Nadesico C reaches target point

Secret: Do not attack any of the G-Bits

Mission 25: Destroy all targets

Secret: Destroy all Field Generators

Mission 26: Mothership reaches target point

Secret: Your unit must take less than 100 AP damage and Gekko Go must have 50% AP remaining

Mission 27: Destroy all targets

Secret: Allied fleet damage must be 25% and below

Mission 28: Destroy all targets

Secret: Your unit must take less than 3000 AP damage

Mission 29: Destroy the target

Secret: Your unit must take less than 2000 AP damage

Once I completed the A route missions, I will post them up unless someone else has done it. I hope this helps.

Edited by Project Phoenix
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If anybody wants to tackle it, a list of objectives for each mission would be nice. Not looking for a detailed walkthrough, just a short simple sentence or two for each mission, like for example: -

Mission 6: Escort friendly train to top of map. Destroy any enemy units that are attacking the train or blocking the track.

Mission 7: Clear pathway for both (green) friendly units within the time limit so they can move northwards on map. Destroy black enemy planes and knock out both energy fields.

Graham

I'll try to remember what I do for the rest of my second playthrough, but I'm warning you, I'm going all B routes this time.

EDIT: Looks like Project Phoenix beat me too it, and did a helluva better job than I would have, too.

Edited by mikeszekely
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Thanks guys. I thought I help out since I see there are a lot of confusion in understanding the menu system when i was reading about it in Gamefaqs.

You'll notice that I've only completed Route B. Maybe mike can fill in the missing spot with his Route A missions? :)

Graham, after certain missions, the game will ask you if you would like to move to the next world. Press the CIRCLE button to say yes and X to stay in the current world. You will notice this occurs after missions 8 and 16. Other times, the game will move you to the next world based on the story. To know which world you are currently in, notice the blue or red globe that is in the lower right corner of the Intermission screen. They will either say World A or World B on top.

Again, I apologize if my explanations are a little haphazard. I am glad to be able to help.

Edited by Project Phoenix
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Thanks guys. I thought I help out since I see there are a lot of confusion in understanding the menu system when i was reading about it in Gamefaqs.

You'll notice that I've only completed Route B. Maybe mike can fill in the missing spot with his Route A missions? :)

Graham, after certain missions, the game will ask you if you would like to move to the next world. Press the CIRCLE button to say yes and X to stay in the current world. You will notice this occurs after missions 8 and 16. Other times, the game will move you to the next world based on the story. To know which world you are currently in, notice the blue or red globe that is in the lower right corner of the Intermission screen. They will either say World A or World B on top.

Again, I apologize if my explanations are a little haphazard. I am glad to be able to help.

Sorry, I already took the B route for my replay.

And the way I remember it, it's not a matter of circle or X. The operator will actually give you a choice. Highlight the top one for A, the bottom one for B.

EDIT: Graham, you're definitely going to want to stick with A. I didn't see them on Project Phoenix's list, but there's two memorable Macross Plus levels, so they must have been on the A route.

Edited by mikeszekely
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Just a quick advice for those who are new to the ACE series and just wanna have fun hassle-free:

When asked to pick what kind of controls you want for flight mode(for valkyries and the like. Refer to previous post in this thread for menu translations), pick the first option, which is Easy. Or if anyone's too used to games like Ace Combat, pick the third option, which is Reverse Easy, which basically lets you control the fighter mode like you'd control a fighter, but easier. Considering how Lock-On seems absent when you transform into fighter mode and can be quite hard to shoot down pesky teleporting units *cough*Blood Ark*cough*, the first (easy) and third (reverse easy) helps. Picking the second and fourth option will only frustrate you more and best for veteran ACE players.

In my opinion, fighter mode seems best for hit-and-run(which is the real role of a fighter, perhaps?) on slow moving targets, and ships if you upgrade it enough. I think I'm gonna try taking out 2 or 3 ships in a row(if lined up :D) in fighter mode with the YF-19 once I advance through the stages...

Edited by MangledMess
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After you beat the game and replay it, you will get to buy the limiter in the upgrade screen.

P.S. Anyone need a translation o the upgrade screen? I can do a quick one.

That'd be GREAT!

WELL. I just beat ACE3 and being a first time player to the series I was pleasantly suprised.

The number of mechs is mindbogling but I doubt you'll wanna use more than your core 3 for upgrades.

AWESOME ost, beautiful voice acting from some of my favorite characters, the cell shading works very well, and the mecha animationis are a blast.

BUT the gameplay gets a bit repetitive of wipe out carriers, drones, protect mothership, and fight boss.

Overall I'd give it a 3.8/5.

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Oh yeah, question about the YF-19: How come it can't spin roll to the side in fighter mode like the VF-1S in ACE2? I tried to double tap to the left or right while boosting, but nothing happens. So I guess easy controls won't allow that, huh? Or am I missing something? Will go back to play it again (giving this game as much love as I've given Front Mission 5)

Edited by MangledMess
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Oh yeah, question about the YF-19: How come it can't spin roll to the side in fighter mode like the VF-1S in ACE2? I tried to double tap to the left or right while boosting, but nothing happens. So I guess easy controls won't allow that, huh? Or am I missing something? Will go back to play it again (giving this game as much love as I've given Front Mission 5)

Actually you can do that. In Fighter mode, the L2 and R2 button serves as your rudder controls. I'm not very sure but I think double tapping them engages the roll.

I'll double check tomorrow after I get enough sleep.

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