Warning! Warning! Wardog Squadron, return to base immediately!
...what just happened?
Yuktobania just declared war.

Speed Run Rules:

* Single Session
* Campaign Mode
* Very Easy Difficulty
* Takes Damage to Save Time
* Plays with Tons of Different Airplanes
* Discovers the Truth
* Wins the War

WARNING NOTICE!

Those people who easily suffer from motion sickness should NOT watch this speed run! This run contains a number of aerobatic maneuvers and other twists and turns that could make you sick on watching it.

END WARNING NOTICE

Following the success of doing speed runs for Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies in 2007 and Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War in 2008, you all knew this was coming at some point, right? Well, given that 2009 is here, yes it's time. To return to the skies!

Ace Combat 5 takes place 15 years after the events of Zero and directly refers to events of that war. In the events of 5, Yuktobania and Osea, who were allies since that war, have suddenly turned against each other and have started a bitter war filled with anger. You play one of the few surviving members from Sand Island, and are dubbed Wardog Squadron. Initially you're lead by "Heartbreak One", but shortly into the game, his plane is shot down and Blaze (you, the player) take over command of your teammates.

This game initially took the most time for me to get into of the three PS2 Ace Combat games, but I feel has the best story of them all. It also has an excellent soundtrack, even oddly enough including a song by rock group Puddle of Mudd. And as you can see by the time listed in the record books, it's the longest of the 3 - in fact the time is longer then both Ace Combat 04 and Zero COMBINED.

Now, I've done some long single session runs before. My original Legend of Mana (Jumi Storyline) run clocked in at 3:17 and a recording time of about 3.5 hours. But this blows that away, with an in-game time of just under 4 hours and a recording time pushing FIVE. Since my recorder is acting up, I split up the recording around the 2 hour mark, to try to prevent the recorder from messing up too much of the recordings. The reason is that there's no manual split option and the system's auto split by running the disc full and continuing on another likes to mess up a few frames. I still goofed on the 2nd recording section by doing one more mission then I should (White Bird II should have been on section 3). Oh well.

A few interesting things about this game:
1. You can give your wingmen commands, such as to attack, cover, or disperse.
2. You also can (and sometimes have to) respond to yes/no statements. Some of these directly affect which missions you face or the actions of the NPCs in the game.
3. 3 of the main characters from Cowboy Bebop are voice acting in this game - "Spike" as Heartbreak One, "Jet" as Swordsman, and "Faye" as Major. "Eledore" from The 08th MS Team is the voice of Chopper. "Albedo" from Xenosaga is the voice of Hamilton. "Vash the Stampede" of Trigun is the voice of Archer. And I think I even heard "Gene Starwind" from Outlaw Star in the game too (Listen to Mission 03 part 2). How's that for a team of voice actors?

Mission 01: Shorebirds (Operation Lagoon)
1101hrs, September 24th, 2010

Planes (No Choice):
Heartbreak One: F-4E
Edge: F-5E
Chopper: F-5E
Blaze: F-5E

The mission starts you as the tailman, instead of the lead. You follow Heartbreak One, Edge, and Chopper as they head after a spy plane that is in Osea territory. However, a bunch of Yuktobanian planes head into the area. The mission ends once all of those planes are shot down.

Time: 5'33" (Rank: S)

Mission 02: Open War (Operation Gyre)
1133 hrs, September 27th, 2010

Planes (No Choice):
Heartbreak One: F-4E
Edge: F-5E
Chopper: F-5E
Blaze: F-5E

This mission has us shoot down 8 unmanned recon planes. When several manned fighters fly in, we decide to escape, but have to help out Chopper as he gets run down. After what appears to be mission complete, Heartbreak One gets shot down.

Time: 3'22" (Rank: S)

Mission 03: Narrow Margin
1433 hrs, September 27th, 2010

Planes (No Choice):
Blaze: F-5E
Edge: F-5E
Chopper: F-5E

No rest for the weary here. We jump right back into battle as a port gets attacked. We are there mainly to protect the Air Carrier Kestral. But partway through, a ballistic missile hits, doing some major damage to the fleet. We assist the rest of the fleet that manages to escape from a ship blockade.

Time: 6'41" (Rank: C)

Mission 04: First Flight
1946 hrs, September 27th, 2010

Planes (No Choice):
Blaze: F-5E
Edge: F-5E
Chopper: F-5E
Archer: F-5E

The longest day in Ace Combat history continues - this time, our base itself gets attacked and we have to scramble to get into the air and take out a bunch of bombers. Luckily for us, we receive our new tailman - Archer. This is the first mission where you may see a slight bug in the game's AI - the battle is over with Mission Accomplished, yet I'm still getting shot at by the enemy (and no, I can't lock on to them!). Good job, Namco.

Time: 4'55" (Rank: A)

Mission 05: Rendezvous (Operation Whalebird)
1422 hrs, September 30th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F-5E
Edge: F-5E
Chopper: F-5E
Archer: F-5E

No targets? Really? AWACS Thunder-Blockhead indeed. You guys are worthless. We get hit by a surprise attack here by a host of fighters, and then the ballistic missiles try to finish everybody off in the end. Only the Kestral, Swordsman, and Wardog Squadron survive. It's...surreal.

Time: 7'46" (Rank: S)

Mission 06: White Bird - Part I (Operation Silverbridge)
1200 hrs, October 3rd, 2010

Planes (Carries over from Mission 05):
Blaze: F-5E
Edge: F-5E
Chopper: F-5E
Archer: F-5E

The operation here is to get a ship carrying a big laser beam up to the Arkbird, a giant space plane. First the base is attacked by tanks. Once that fails, they decided to throw infinite cruise missiles into the base. Uh, yay?

Time: 9'18" (Rank: A)

Mission 07: Front Line (Operation Vanguard)
1007 hrs, October 4th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F-16C
Edge: F-16C
Chopper: F-5E
Archer: F-16C

This is another mission that seems easy. First, you start by taking out a bunch of nautical targets. But after taking out a few of them, suddenly they already start throwing out the ballistic missiles! HOLY CR...wait, wait...what?! What was that giant laser? Oh wait, it was that cool laser that we launched yesterday! Oh cool, this is still going to be ea...OH CRAP THREE FOUR FIVE MISSILES WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!! Can't we do anything about those damn missiles? Oh, we're gonna shoot a laser into the ocean? We hit the Scinfaxi? YES! SHOOT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT DAMN SUB! Woo hoo!

And for your enjoyment, I left the small post-episode cutscene in. BOOM!

Time: 9'31" (Rank: B) Subs: 9999 points. w00t!

Mission 08: Handful of Hope
1616 hrs, October 22nd 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F-16C
Edge: F-16C
Chopper: F-5E
Archer: F-16C

This mission can be quite intense, even if it looks like there's nothing to it. You have to guide a crippled plane, codename "Mother Goose" through a radar system, since the plane is coded to not be listed as an Osea Plane to disguise itself from the enemy. Unfortunately, this also means that our AA systems will attack it. Since the plane is crippled with no radar, we have to visually guide it through. Staying at low altitudes makes the AA radar system circles smaller - making it easier to navigate. After that, you just have to protect it from a few planes, and then take out a few windmills.

Time: 8'55" (Rank: A)

Mission 09: Lit Fuse (Operation Footprint)
1630 hrs, November 1st, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: A-10A
Edge: A-10A
Chopper: F-16C
Archer: F-16C

The mission focuses on us attacking a bunch of bunkers. However, aerial attacks can only silence them temporarily, so it's up to the 4 companies on the ground to finish them for good. And since they regenerate a LOT, you'll see me hit them with 1 missile and gun fire instead of 2 missiles. How tight is this? 13 missiles left and no XAGMs left.

And congrats to Scott...you have a baby boy! (Or occasionally, the chatter says that he forgot his lucky charm.)

Time: 13'29" (Rank: S)

Mission 10: Blind Spot (Operation Hammerblow)
1011 hrs, November 2nd, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: MIR-2000
Edge: F-16C
Chopper: F-16C
Archer: F-16C

This is an absolutely bizarre mission. The enemy has this technology that allows them to "create" a whole host of planes from just a couple. It is possible to hit the real planes if you know which ones they are. I can do it on the first two sets, but after that I need to take out the E-767s first. During the corrupted chatter, I have to respond a yes/no question blindly. However, it has a HUGE impact on the next two missions. I say "yes" because the missions I face are much easier then the "no" missions.

Time: 5'22" (Rank: C)

Mission 11a: Chain Reaction (Operation Emerald)
2101 hrs, November 4th, 2010

Planes (Carries over from Mission 10):
Blaze: MIR-2000
Edge: F-16C
Chopper: F-16C
Archer: F-16C

This mission is one that can be a scary mission. The enemy has decided to attack a civilian airport and even threatens to shoot down civilian planes (and no, they're not like the ones in Ace Combat 04. No bomb carrying civilians here). They even manage to sneak planes and tanks onto the airport itself! But luckily for us, cool heads prevail and we win the day. (Telling people not to panic will surely cause people to panic. Remember that next time, Airport PA lady!)

Time: 6'59" (Rank: S)

Mission 12a: Powder Keg (Operation Snake Pit)
1306 hrs, November 7th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: MIG-29A
Edge: MIG-29A
Chopper: MIG-29A
Archer: F-16C

For those that don't want nightmares, you may wanna turn the audio off. The objective here is to fire missiles into tunnels to destroy an ammo dump - it's not as easy as it sounds. You have to hit them from straight on, or else it'll miss. But the explosions are much worse then anybody can anticipate. Just listening to all the chatter about what happens to the base and all of the people inside...it's really creepy.

Time: 4'32" (Rank: C)

Mission 13: Demons of Razgriz (Operation Long Harpoon)
1559 hrs, November 14th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: MIG-29A
Edge: MIG-29A
Chopper: MIG-29A
Archer: F-16C

This mission brings us to the location where the main legend is supposed to be. The "Demons of Razgriz" is a legend about a terrible being that rains destruction on the land, dies, and then comes back as a hero. This legend is enough to give people chills, more so then the cold air around us. This mission is similar to the end of Front Line. This time though, the ENTIRE focus is on blowing up a giant submarine, the Hrimfaxi. Much like the Scimfaxi, this sub can fire long range ballistic missiles from underwater. However, our surprise attack takes out the underwater capabilities, forcing it to surface (since as stated at the beginning, we have ZERO help from the Arkbird. This mission is really REALLY hard - and looking at my damage meter kinda proves it. (Wait, why didn't I just take out the AA weapons on the sub? Because it's weird - every time it submerges, I swear they regenerate.)

Hrimfaxi, you have been defeated by Razgriz itself. :)

And just like before, you can see the sub explode. BOOM!

Time: 8'52" (Rank: B)

Mission 14: Ice Cage (Operation Backhaul)
1708 hrs, November 17th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: MIG-31
Edge: MIG-31
Chopper: MIG-31
Archer: MIG-31

As long as we're in the chilly weather of the north, we're staying up there a little longer. Our mission is to help protect the marines in Sea Goblin, who are extracting POWs from a POW camp. One of the people we hope is here is Captain Bartlett (Heartbreak One). The mission starts us by flying around in the snowstorm and shooting down a few planes. After they are eliminated, we have to take out some AA weapons on the ground. The mission isn't as bad as it seams, but a surprise twist at the end. Edge gets shot down, and the gunship crashes going after her. And there's nothing we can do until tomorrow. Nagase...

Time: 9'46" (Rank: S)

Mission 15: White Noise (Operation Stray Sheep)
0958 hrs, November 18th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: MIG-31
Chopper: MIG-31
Archer: MIG-31

The storm has cleared. It's time to bring back Captain Nagase! I purposely left in the instructions on how we're finding her, for your reference. After that, it's simply protect Sea Goblin long enough to they can reach her. Finding Blaze isn't too hard in and of itself, but when it gets to phase 2, EVERYTHING wants to fricken target Sea Goblin. It's very easy to fail here. (Funny to note, I was more focusing on dogfighting when I got the "BLAZE!" comment, which means Edge's position has been discovered.)

And while I didn't leave the cutscene, it's one that you need to watch the whole thing yourselves. You find her in DO NOT MESS WITH THIS BITCH mode. She's only armed with a fricken HANDGUN yet he manages to protect herself, the gunship crew, AND holds up several enemy soldiers and gets some info from them. DAMN! You go girl!

For those that want to watch it in full: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t63k_amFU4c

And once again, the choice of yes/no here decides the next mission.

Time: 6'40" (Rank: A)

Mission 16a: Desert Arrow (Operation Desert Arrow)
1050 hrs, November 25th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F-15C
Edge: F-15C
Chopper: A-10A
Archer: MIG-31

This is a two-front battle. One front is a line of tanks, going towards the runway. The other front is a line of bombers going towards the HQ. The first part ends after a time limit, but we need 10,000 points in order to be successful. Once the time limit ends, then we have to take out the enemy AWACS and refueling planes. Once you take out "the boss" (as Chopper so puts it), the mission is then officially over.

Time: 16'14" (Rank: S)

Mission 17: Journey Home (Operation Supercircus)
1700 hrs, November 29th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: MIG-31
Edge: MIG-31
Chopper: MIG-31
Archer: MIG-31

This mission is a nice little show. You simply have to fly in formation (as the tailguy again) with your comrades above the stadium in November City. Seems really easy, right? Well, it is. Until all hell breaks loose. Enemies come by the dozens. The reinforcements throw this "oh it's all a drill" crap. And then to make matters all the more interesting, they actually manage to shoot Chopper. While he doesn't see a place to bail out (technically he could fly into the ocean, but whatever, I just chose no for the hell of it this time instead of yes, since that's what most people pick), he eventually hits the center of the stadium. Unfortunately, since his electrical systems fail, he can't bail out. ...Chopper.

BTW, why the straight flight at the beginning of the enemy attack? Yeah, short break. Heh. Not like it affect the time any.

And at the end, the cutscene is left in as a short memorial to our motormouth wingman, Chopper. You will not be forgotten. SALUTE!

Time: 14'50" (Rank: S)

Mission 18: Fortress (Operation Doodlebug)
1254 hrs, December 6th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: JAS-39C
Edge: JAS-39C
Archer: JAS-39C

We may be short a wingman, but it still isn't going to stop us from being effective. We have to assist a ground crew that's attempting to take over a fortress. This is their 3rd attempt - there will be no 4th time. Yep, we made sure of that.

"This fortress has been successfully captured. We're going back to our country real soon."

Time: Not Displayed. Estimated to be 7'20".

Mission 18+: 8492
1609 hrs, December 6th, 2010

After a tough fortress capture, we're going to get a nice escort back to our base. How nice of...wait, where did the escort...? OH SHIT.

Time: Not Displayed. Estimated to be 0'59".

Mission 19: Final Option
0704 hrs, December 7th, 2010

Planes (No Choice):
Pops: HAWK (Unarmed!)
Blaze: HAWK (Unarmed!)
Edge: HAWK (Unarmed!)
Archer: HAWK (Unarmed!)

This is probably the most interesting mission of them all. You don't win by shooting anything. You simply win by surviving an interesting obstacle course around a volcanic island with narrow tunnels to fly through. YIKES.

And then, our old friend Swordsman shoots us down. But this is all a plan by Pops to make it look like we died, so we can escape. Swordsman really is still on our side.

Time: 9'10" (Rank: S)

Mission 20: Ancient Walls (Operation Keynote)
1611 hrs, December 9th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F/A-18C
Edge: F/A-18C
Swordsman: F/A-18C
Archer: F/A-18C

This mission focuses on one thing - rescuing the Osean President who was captured by the Belkans (the 8492nd Squad) as part of the plan to start this war. Since the president is a peace loving president, he had to be removed to help escalate the war.

The area is a sad barren land, due to the events of The Belkan War. This area was part of the land that was hit by 7 nukes (Ace Combat Zero - Mission 12: The Stage of Apocalypse [Operation Ravage]).

And much like First Flight, the game has a bad bug that causes the AI to keep attacking you even the mission is over.

Time: 11'53" (Rank: A)

Mission 21: Solitaire (Operation Silvereye)
0749 hrs, December 11th, 2010

Plane:
Blaze: MIR-2000

As can be expected from a mission name like this, Blaze has to go alone. Much like Handful of Hope, you have to fly low and dodge the AA radar. This time though, it's the enemy's radar. Getting caught in the circle is an instant failure. After I make it through, I have to take some pictures. Getting the pictures is a bit picky, so I missed with the 2nd shot I have to take. But I get my shots and get the hell out of there.

Time: 5'50" (Rank: S)

Mission 22: Closure (Operation Deepsix)
1312 hrs, December 12th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: A-10A
Edge: A-10A
Swordsman: A-10A
Archer: A-10A

This mission takes place in the same area as Solitaire, but this time I'm armed, I don't have to dodge the radar, and I get to blow shit up. YES. The cavern that we have to go after is supposedly a nuke storage area. Some of them have been taken out, but we decided to close the cavern anyways, just in case there's more still in there.

Time: 3'46" (Rank: B)

Mission 23: Ghosts of Razgriz (Operation Riverbed)
1503 hrs, December 16th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: TYPHOON
Edge: TYPHOON
Swordsman: F-15C
Archer: A-10A

I go on a mass buying and selling spree. Don't worry...this is the last time you'll see those screens. I have all of the rest of the planes I need.

We're sent on a mission to take out a bunch of enemy planes in a mess of riverbeds. We have to stay low throughout the fight, or the AA weapons will go after us. It is possible to fly the ridges, but it's just not smart. I had a little trouble with one plane flying behind me pretty much the ENTIRE flight, plus one target managed to somehow appear behind me in the NW corner. I was locked onto it, but I guess I was thinking it was on the other side of the wall. Oops. And the Ofnir Squadron bitches are a pain in the ass. I managed to get the first couple quite quickly, the 3rd was a little more difficult, and the last one was a pain in the ass.

"Hey Kid, I hear you're a helluva Squad Captain now..." I just wonder if it's...him. Hmm...

Time: 9'51" (Rank: S)

Mission 24: White Bird - Part II (Operation Game Bird)
1309 hrs, December 19th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F/A-22A
Edge: F/A-22A
Swordsman: F/A-22A
Archer: F/A-22A

Well, all things that were once good and turn bad must fall. It's time for us to take out the Arkbird. However, this thing is loaded with targets. And just when you take them out, there's tons more! And you take them out, and yet there's STILL more. But finally we take it out.

And for your enjoyment, the bird's splash cutscene is left in.

Time: 7'23" (Rank: A)

Mission 25: Heartbreak One (Operation Crossroad)
0705 hrs, December 23rd, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F/A-22A
Edge: F/A-22A
Swordsman: F/A-22A
Archer: F/A-22A

Well well, look who's decided to show his face again. It's Captain Bartlett! Time to save his ass and get him back into a plane, though he won't join our team. It's funny to hear him and Major together (for the reason I stated at the beginning of these comments).

The route choices affect how many enemies you face, but it's faster to take the shortcut all 3 times. The downside is that I almost run out of missiles! I could have skipped a few targets, but oh well. I managed to finish quite nicely. That's even despite the toughness of being able to see the terrain, due to the time of day the mission is being run.

Time: 12'59" (Rank: S)

Mission 26: Sea of Chaos (Operation Glory Horn)
1744 hrs, December 29th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: F-35C
Edge: F-35C
Swordsman: F-35C
Archer: F-35C

This mission, while simple, is a bit chaotic if it was real life. Forces from both forces (Yuktobania and Osea) continually jump sides so it would be hard to tell friend or foe without the IFF signals. And we get stuck in the middle of it all! But after taking out all of the "enemies" from both sides, the mission ends.

Time: 5'47" (Rank: S) Ships: 9999P!

Mission 27: Aces
2221 hrs, December 30th, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: SU-47
Edge: SU-47
Swordsman: SU-47
Archer: SU-47

This is the last ship selection, as our carrier gets blown up. As we head into the area, it looks like we're gonna have a lot of targets, but a lot of the planes announce that they're on our side - they want this stupid war to end!

First, we have to take out a bunch of AA towers and tanks so the helicopters can get in and destroy one set of controls for the SOLG satellite. But just when we think it's over, there's one more set of targets inside a long tunnel that have to get blown up. The issue? It has to be blown up simultaneously from two different directions. Who would be a good enough pilot to take it from the other...oh yeah. HEARTBREAK ONE RETURNS!

The tunnel is probably one of the hardest sections in the game, since you have to fly through a small tunnel with a pissed off pilot shooting missiles up your ass the entire way. And you've got planes that were going after Captain Bartlett in your face. Plus some tough obstacles blocking your way while you have to dodge closing shutters! GEEZUS anything ELSE you wanna throw at me?!

But with my awesome flying skills, I make it out. Bye bye Hamilton! You bitch.

Time: 9'45" (Rank: A)

Mission 27+: The Unsung War
0606 hrs, December 31st, 2010

Planes:
Blaze: SU-47
Edge: SU-47
Swordsman: SU-47
Archer: SU-47

The final sortie. We have to take down one giant satellite that's descending down to earth. Unfortunately along the way, the survivors of Ofnir and Grabacr Squadrons decide to battle us one last time. Despite all of their boasting, they fall fairly quick. And then, it's on to the satellite. You have to be careful as you're attacking it, as there are sections that when destroyed, fly back off of it. Clip one of those, and it's game over.

And once all the points are destroyed...it explodes into fireworks. It's a beautiful sight.

Time: Not Displayed. Estimated to be 8'20".

Final Game Time: 3:56:54

And thus, the Ghosts of Razgriz helped save two countries that were at war with each other and allowed them to return to being allies by exposing the truth.

This was a fun project, even despite numerous frustrations from failures late in the game (including a death during Mission 27: Aces!). I've really come to enjoy the game during this project. If you haven't played it or given it a fair shake, please do so. I don't think you'll regret it.

Thanks to MRadford at GameFAQs for his FAQ guide which I used as a basis to decide which planes to get and use.

This run is Copyright (C) 2009 Nicholas "Sir VG" Hoppe and IMAMYTH Colosseum (http://www.imamyth.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/SirVG) and is allowed for downloading and private viewing. Permissions for hosting this run have been granted to Speed Demos Archive and their YouTube channel. Public viewing of this run is prohibited without prior permission from the creator. The selling or distribution of this run for profit in any way, shape, or form including (but not limited to) selling on eBay and television for profit is prohibited without prior permission from the author. Hosting on other websites (including other YouTube accounts) is prohibited without consent from the runner or IMAMYTH Colosseum. Any violation of the above listed may result in legal action. Requesting for public viewing/posting of any IMAMYTH Colosseum run, including this run, can be done at IMAMYTH Colosseum's Website. Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War is Copyright (C) 2004 Namco (now Bandai Namco).

"We came. We saw. We speed ran."

Sir VG, signing out.

FIN