“Ace Combat 8,” “You’re a fighter pilot, adrift at sea in a rescue boat until the outdated aircraft carrier, Endurance, pulls you aboard. Your homeland’s navy is shattered. The aging vessel, its decks crowded with refugees, has already retreated far from the front lines. It’s July 2029. The Federation of Central Usea (FCU) has fallen under a lightning invasion by the Republic of Sotoa. Most of the nation is occupied, the military is scattered, and the Endurance is just one fragment of what remains. On this ship, you’re given a single name: “Wings of Theve.” A legendary ace, a symbol of hope, a name tied to Theve, the FCU capital. But that legend was a lie, mere propaganda—a story to keep morale alive. Now, you must carry that name and take to the skies again. With three new comrades at your side, fight to reclaim your lost homeland.”
“The graphics are something that we really, really leaned into heavy for ‘Ace Combat 8’ and visual expression of the sky itself,” Udagawa said. “I think of how the clouds are shown and rendered — I would get different development updates and the developer would show me what the progress is, and every time, wow the sky and the clouds, it’s so amazing, and how it ties into the weather change as well. So I think that’s something the fans are going to really And it is a franchise IP, so certainly the gameplay, I think the fans can know what to expect, so keeping everything that worked really well, but we’re really adding value in the story and the narrative and the sort of cinematic presentation of how it’s delivered. It’s gonna feel like this epic movie that you’ll want to see on a big screen.”