PART #1 -- INTRODUCTION

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First of all, welcome to my very first FAQ!!!!!  Feel free to E-Mail me any 
questions, suggestions, contributions, comments or corrections.  (Please read 
the "UPDATES" section -- "Version 0.3" first.)  I plan to add in some more 
information, but whether I will actually do that or not depends on you.  After 
all that time I spent writing this, if no one cares to take a couple of minutes 
to E-Mail me, then I will assume this: that sadly, nobody is reading what I 
wrote.  Thus, I might as well say: "forget it."  I won't bother with updating 
this FAQ anymore, and it shall remain as a "Mini-FAQ" forever.  Once again, you 
can reach me at: <cecilx@hotmail.com>  But besides all that, I sincerely hope 
that this FAQ will help you with the game.




Namco has done is again.  "Ace Combat 2" blows its predecessor, "Air Combat", 
out of the air.  It is quite possibly THE best flight simulation game of 1997 
for the PlayStation.  I'm talking about the great music, 3D polygon graphics, 
excellent control, story and style that, all in all, makes the game undeniably 
fun.  There are 30 missions in all, although you only need to accomplish less 
than 21 of them to beat the game.  However, the computer possess enough tricks 
up its sleeve to make you sweat through it all.  With hidden planes, hidden 
missions, and hidden options, this is a game that's truly worth finishing 
twice...





PART #2 -- THE MISSIONS

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All the missions have a "code name" that will used through out this FAQ.

Here's a list of all the missions:



Mission 1: Gambit

Mission 2: Easy Money

**Mission 3: City On Fire**

Mission 4-1: Tin Castle                     Mission 4-2: Opera House

**Mission 5: Greased Lightning**

Mission 6-1: Midnight Assassin         Mission 6-2: Bear Tracks

**Mission 7: Sledgehammer**

Mission 8-1: Rising High                   Mission 8-2: Cuckoo's Nest

Mission 9: Swordsmith

Mission 10: Toy Box

Mission 11: Seagull

Mission 12: One Night Stand

Mission 13: Power Play

>>>BRANCHING POINT<<<

(Pick to play the missions in Operation "A", or in Operation "B")



   [OPERATION "A"LPHAVILLE]

Mission 14: El Dorado

**Mission 15: St. Elmo's Fire**

Mission 16-1: Visiting Hours              Mission 16-2: Juggernaut

Mission 17: Sentinel



   [OPERATION "B"ELLISIMA]

Mission 14: Dark Star

**Mission 15: Dead End**

Mission 16-1: Calvary                         Mission 16-2: Electric Dreams

Mission 17: Final Countdown



>>>END OF BRANCHING POINT<<<

Mission 18: Jewel Box

**Mission 19: Kingpin**

**Mission 20: Last Resort**

Mission 21: Fighter's Honor



NOTES:  Hidden missions appears after you satisfied certain conditions.  The 
missions that are important to the flow of the game are marked with two 
asterisks around them.  For the maximum enjoyment, do NOT read the section 
below!!



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<WARNING!!  SPOILERS BELOW!!!>

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1)  Destroying the two transport ships in Mission 3 will gain you the chance to 
play the hidden Mission 4-2: Opera House.



2)  Destroying the enemy transport plane (the C-5) in Mission 5 will gain you 
the chance to play the hidden Mission 6-2: Bear Tracks.



3)  Destroying the two transport ships in Mission 7 will gain you the chance to 
play the hidden Mission 8-2: Cuckoo's Nest.



4)  [OPERATION "A" ONLY]  After you have successfully defended all three allied 
ships (2 battleships and 1 aircraft carrier) in Mission 15, you will get the 
chance to play the hidden Mission 16-2: Juggernaut.



5)  [OPERATION "B" ONLY]  After you destroy the two stealth bombers (B-2) that 
are on the ground of the base in Mission 15, you will get the chance to play the 
hidden Mission 16-2: Electric Dreams.



6)  In Mission 19, you will be able to see the "Normal Ending" if you did NOT 
shoot down the skilled enemy pilot Z.O.E.



7)  Mission 20: Last Resort is only available after you shoot down the Z.O.E. in 
Mission 19.  In this mission, you will be able to see the "Bad Ending" if you 
did NOT shoot down the cruise missile.



8)  Mission 21: Fighter's Honor is only available after you shoot down the 
cruise missile in Mission 20.  In this mission, simply destroy the enemy base to 
see the "Bonus Ending".

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<END OF SPOILERS...SORT OF.>

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PART #3 -- HOW SHOULD I TACKLE THE GAME?

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This part is also a bit of a spoiler...yet, if I say that, then I might as well 
call this whole FAQ a spoiler!!  OK, OK, enough about that.  Here's what I 
recommend first-time players to do.  Put in a memory card, and go into the 
Options menu.  Center the screen, and get use to the functions of the buttons on 
your PlayStation pad.  (I recommend keeping the "Caption" ON, "Advice" ON, 
"Target View" to PER MISSION, and using the "Novice Key Mode".)  Now, start a 
new game under "Normal" difficulty.  (Yes, forget about playing this great game 
on "Easy".  The "Normal" mode it's not THAT hard, and if first you don't 
succeed, try, try again!!)  Play through the game without regard for hidden 
missions (congratulate yourself if you find them, even though that's not hard), 
your rank, and money.  (Do NOT use this FAQ...if possible.)  Just have fun!!

*****HOWEVER...be 100% sure that you HAVE shot down ALL of the planes marked as 
'DANGER' on the Briefing Screen.  It doesn't matter which mission you pick the 
first time you play, but if those skilled enemy pilots are in the Briefing 
Screen, find them, and blow them out of the sky!!  (You will get a cool medal on 
the Debriefing Screen afterwards.  Then the medal will be a part of your 
collection in the Statistics Screen!)

*****ALSO...do try to shoot down some enemy planes, blow up some anti-aircraft 
machines guns, and missile launchers...although they are only secondary targets.  
(Doing so will almost guarantee the appearance of the "New Aircraft Available" 
sign on the Debriefing Screen; provided that there IS a new plane for the 
completion of that particular mission.  Plus, those guys will constantly open 
fire at your unprotected rear end...making them both annoying and dangerous to 
your health.)

*****AND...make sure you either see the Normal Ending, or the Bonus Ending. 
(Don't give in to the computer if you only saw the Bad Ending!!!)



OK...?  So you have beaten the game once, right? (Save the ending data.)  On the 
Title Screen, if you were to select "Start Game"...then to select "NEW 
GAME"...you should see that after selecting "DIFFICULTY", a new option called 
"AIRCRAFT" will appear!!  You can pick from "NORMAL" (where you get to buy and 
use planes like the F-14, Su-35, F/A-18E), or the new option "EXTRA", which 
enables new planes (like the MiG-31, F-15S, EF-2000, and the [insanely 
powerful!!] XFA-27) to be given out at the end of certain missions.  I strongly 
suggest that you DO play the game again, this time with the difficulty on 
"HARD", and using this "EXTRA" Aircraft Mode.  Now...EVERYTHING you do matters!!  
Here's some goals you should set for yourself.  If you accomplish some of them, 
some cool options will become available in the Options Screen!  (Refer to PART 
#4 for more details.)



1)  Complete the game with a rank higher than First Lieutenant.

           How to do this?!?  Simple...for me to tell you, that is.  [A] Destroy 
as much of the enemy forces as you can.  (All the white icons, both ground & 
air, that appears on your radar.  Often, enemy planes are easy to miss.  I 
suggest that you mark down the ones listed in the Briefing Screen, and keep a 
record of WHAT you have shot down.)  [B] Complete the mission as fast as 
possible.  (This, however, is not as important as destroying the enemy.  Just 
keep your fingers on the accelerate and decelerate buttons!)  [C] I'm not sure 
about this one, but a successful landing (after certain missions), probably WILL 
help increase your rank.  It's probably just my gut feeling, but ranks SEEMS to 
raise faster on the Hard difficulty level.



2)  Complete your collection of medals.  (By finding and picking the missions 
you didn't play.  For example, if you picked OPERATION "A" the first time you 
played the game, pick OPERATION "B" the second time.  Find these skilled enemy 
pilots and shoot them down!!)



You might as well play the last few missions a couple of times just to see the 
other two endings you might have missed.  Even the "Bad" Ending is quite well 
made (in terms of cool graphics), and definitely worth watching!!  Enjoy both 
the music and the game a second time, and remember to have fun!!





PART #4 -- YOUR OBJECTIVES

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Here, the missions will be analyzed in detail.  (And yes, it is not completed 
yet.)



MISSION 1 - GAMBIT

   There are no skilled enemy pilots here.  Basically, this is a beginner's 
mission: no anti-aircraft fire, and very little chance that you will be hit at 
all by your air-borne enemies.  (Gun fire and missiles)  Simply get used to the 
controls, and the fact that you can only fire 2 missiles in succession.  (You 
will have to wait for them to hit or miss their targets before your missiles are 
"reloaded".)

   The 'KF-C7' plane will be available after you finish this mission.  If you 
are playing the game using the "Extra Aircraft Mode", however, you will get the 
'X-29' plane instead.

   **HINT: Although you may lock on to the enemy when you are 1000 meters or so 
away, your chances of hitting the enemy increases as you fly even closer.  I 
will stop here.  Discover just what distance is the best, on your own!!



MISSION 2 - EASY MONEY

   PROCESSING..

   **HINT: If you have no idea where you targets are, simply press the Square 
button to trigger the "Ground Map Display".  (It is also a good idea to pause 
the game first.)



MISSION 3 - CITY ON FIRE

   PROCESSING..



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MISSION 21 - FIGHTER'S HONOR

   A possible spoiler here, so I will pick my words carefully.  In case you are 
stuck here (I once was), here's a quick tip...  After seeing the "Clear To 
Engage" message, follow the arrow (the arrow appears in Easy and Normal 
difficulty modes only) and fly at a low attitude.  Study the, hmmmm... 'enemy 
structure' closely and you will notice a section that looks like a black 
rectangle.  You should be able to figure out the rest.  If not, you are welcomed 
to E-Mail me!!





**...MORE IN NEXT UPDATE...IF THERE _is_ A NEXT UPDATE...**





PART #5 -- THE CODES

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EXTRA AIRCRAFT MODE  (after the "Start Game" option & "NEW GAME")

     Allows some new (but some are the enemy's) aircraft, like the XFA-27, F-
15S, TND-F3, MiG-31, to be available for sale after finishing certain missions.  
Simply finish the game and seeing the Normal or Bonus Ending.



FREE MISSION MODE  (after the "Start Game" option on the Title Screen)

     Play any mission you have found any time you want.  Simply finish the game 
using the "EXTRA" aircraft option, and seeing the Normal or Bonus Ending.



MUSIC PLAYER  (appears inside the Options Screen)

     Complete the game with a rank higher than First Lieutenant.



VIEW ALL AIRCRAFT  (appears inside the Options Screen)

     Complete your collection of medals.  (Simply shoot down skilled enemy 
pilots, and you will be rewarded with a medal on your Statistics Screen.)  If 
you manage this, then you can see ALL the planes you have encountered (yours & 
the enemy's) in 3D!!



LOCK REPLAY VIEW

     Hold the Square button during a replay to lock the camera.



ALTERNATE MISSION MAP

     Highlight the "Mission" option on the Mission Selection Screen.  Press 
SELECT.  You can now see the map from 3 angles.



DISPLAY REAR VIEW OF THE SONY ANALOG CONTROLLER

     Press SELECT at the Control Configuration Screen.



**IMPORTANT!!**

***Completing the game with a rank of General...  Does this give you anything?  
Can anyone help me on this?!?!?!?  Also, I think there are some Game Shark (c) 
codes out there...  Anyone care to send me some???***





PART #6 -- THINGS YOU CAN PERSUADE ME TO ADD IN

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Come on people, E-Mail me!!  You can't expect me to believe that I only have 
THREE readers in a place as big as the WWW.  Is this FAQ really that bad?!?  Is 
all this work done in vain...useful to only three people?!?  As long as there 
are SEVERAL people (10+ readers, at the very least!!) out there who appreciate 
my work, I'm willing to do my best to make this "Ace Combat 2 Mini-FAQ" the best 
one there is.  (And perhaps even take out that "Mini" part, if this FAQ ever 
grows big enough.)



THINGS YOU CAN PERSUADE ME TO ADD IN:

- A list of all the ranks.  (I need help for this one!!  Any first-time 
players???)

- A list of all the planes you can get.  (And where to get them.)

- Detailed descriptions of each mission.  (Such as what enemies are in them.)

- Hints on difficult missions.  (Like the last one...)

- Tips as to how to become a better pilot.  (Dog-fighting, missile usage, etc.)




"Ace Combat 2" is (c) Namco Ltd.

"PlayStation" is (c) Sony Entertainment of America.

All other copyrights and trademarks are also acknowledged.




"...That is all."   (c) 1998 Cecil-X, of <cecilx@hotmail.com>