Namco’s Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies is the fourth game in the Ace Combat series and the first game in the franchise for the PlayStation 2. Originally released in September 2001, the game is an incredibly visually impressive upgrade from its predecessor and a much-loved entry in the franchise as the first next-gen game in the series. Interestingly, Ace Combat 4‘s release in 2001 coincides with the PS2 hitting its stride as a current-gen console. For reference, the release of Ace Combat 4 would come just weeks after the arrival of seminal classics like Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy X, and other 6th-generation bestsellers.
Namco’s intent with Ace Combat 4 would be for the game to serve as a soft reboot of the franchise. Following the somewhat mixed reception to Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere in Western markets (despite its success in Japan), the core development team would go back to the drawing board. Famously, Ace Combat 3‘s story elements would be removed from the original Japanese release for its localization to other regions. This would prove to be one of the game’s biggest drawbacks, leading to the core Ace Combat team deciding to make the plot a central focus of the game.
The gamble to switch up the franchise would greatly pay off for Ace Combat 4. Not only would the title become one of the highest-rated PS2 games of the year, but it would also become the biggest sales success within the Ace Combat franchise. Ace Combat 4 would remain the highest-selling game in the series until the launch of Ace Combat 7 almost 20 years later.
Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies Premise
©Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies gameplay screenshot – Original
Like the other games in the series before it, Ace Combat 4 is a flight-sim game with a heavy emphasis on action. Unlike ultra-realistic games in the genre such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Ace Combat is very beginner-friendly. Accessible controls and fast action are the highlights of the series, with Ace Combat sitting nicely between an arcade-style shooter and a flight simulator. Ace Combat 4 is no different, leveraging the power of the PS2 to deliver one of the most visually impressive entries in the series across 18 new missions.
The main narrative of Ace Combat 4 takes place in the fictional universe of Strangereal, an alternate version of Earth in the not-too-distant future. An asteroid impact in the year 1999 threw the world’s governments and economies into crisis, which led to the formation of two major coalitions and a war between them in 2003. The player controls the hero Mobius 1, a pilot for the ISAF. As players go through Ace Combat 4‘s 18 main story missions, they take the fight directly to the ISAF’s main enemy, the Federal Republic of Erusea, and later, the destruction of the Megalith base and super weapon.
The gameplay of Ace Combat 4 brings several new elements not seen in previous series entries. In the earlier games in the series, players would have their fuel gauge as a time indicator for missions. Ace Combat 4 switches this up by featuring a mission timer and having players refuel during longer missions.
Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies Main Characters
©Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies gameplay screenshot – Original
Like the series entry before it, Ace Combat 4 places a much greater emphasis on its story. The universe of Strangereal in which the Ace Combat games take place is an alternate version of Earth. Like Square Enix’s Front Mission series, the geopolitical realities of this alternate Earth lead to conflicts over resources and attempts to control the economy, with the world eventually dividing itself into two major coalitions of allied nations. The player controls a pilot for the ISAF who takes the fight directly to their enemies in the Federal Republic of Erusea. The main characters in this imaginary conflict include:
- Mobius 1: The hero of Ace Combat 4 and the player character. Mobius 1 is an ace pilot in the ISAF who leads a run of successful missions against the Erusea military.
- Yellow 13: Yellow 13 is Mobius 1’s counterpart in the Federal Republic of Erusea and a rival pilot. The two clash against one another in several missions but respect each other’s skill in the cockpit.
Games in the Ace Combat Series
Though it’s not quite as popular as it once was, the Ace Combat franchise still stands as one of Bandai Namco’s most important properties. The series’ beginnings on the PlayStation would cement it as one of the premier flight-action games. Across more than 8 main entries and several spin-off titles, the Ace Combat franchise continues to earn a devoted following, with many players hoping for an announcement regarding Ace Combat 8 coming soon. Games in the Ace Combat series include:
- Air Combat (1995)
- Ace Combat 2 (1997)
- Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (1999)
- Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (2001)
- Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (2004)
- Ace Combat Advance (2005)
- Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (2006)
- Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (2006)
- Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2007)
- Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion (2009)
- Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010)
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (2011)
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (2011)
- Ace Combat Infinity (2014)
- Ace Combat 7: Skies Unkown (2019)
Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies Cheats & Secrets
While Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies doesn’t support any official “cheats” or cheat codes, there are several unlockables. Additionally, players with a Game Shark device for the PlayStation 2 can use any of the several available codes.
Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies Unlockables
Completing any of the following conditions will reward players with specific bonuses.
| Unlockable | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Ace Difficulty | Beat Ace Combat 4 on Expert Difficulty |
| Expert Difficulty | Beat Ace Combat 4 on Hard Difficulty |
| Extra Modes | Beat the game on any difficulty mode |
| X-02 Aircraft with Both Paint Schemes | Beat Ace Combat 4 twice, getting S Rank on all missions |
| View the FMV Opening with Any Plane | Go to the Start Mission screen and select any aircraft. After getting to the weapon selection screen, exit the menu to return to the title. The aircraft will feature in the opening movie. |
Ace Locations/Unlock Alternate Colors
Players can locate and shoot down an Ace in each Mission to unlock an additional color for each aircraft.
| Ace | Location |
|---|---|
| F-5 | Mission 1, just north of the Allied Airbase |
| A-10 | Mission 2, north of the Enemy Airbase |
| F-16 | Mission 3, south of the second Radar Station |
| Mirage 2000 | Mission 4, northwest of the westernmost radar-jamming plane |
| MiG-29 | Mission 5, south of the far western Pumping Station |
| F-14 | Mission 6, north of the northernmost enemy group |
| TND-INS | Mission 7, north of the Solar Tower |
| F-18 | Mission 8, east of the main combat area after refueling |
| F-15C | Mission 9, north of the center beach combat area |
| RF-01 | Mission 10, northwest corner of the map just past the Sub Base |
| Su-35 | Mission 11, appears with 90 seconds left in the mission timer |
| F-2 | Mission 12, north of the Stonehenge Gun Base |
| F-15E | Mission 13, in the northeast of the enemy group that appears after destroying the radar balloons |
| F-22 | Mission 14, far northeast portion of the map |
| EF-2000 | Mission 15, in the center of the map between two combat zones when the mission starts |
| F-117 | Mission 16, northwest of the westernmost combat zone |
| F-15A | Mission 17, far northwestern corner of the map past the city |
| S-37 | Mission 18, north of the Megalith |
Additionally, players can unlock new paint schemes for the F-4 and X-2 by doing the following:
- Complete Hard Mode to earn the F-4 Ace
- Complete Expert Mode to earn the X-2 Ace
Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies Game Shark Cheat Codes
Players can use any of the following cheats as long as they have a Game Shark for their PS2. Alternatively, players experiencing Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies on an emulator can enter any of the following cheats into the emulator’s “Cheat” menu.
Ace Combat 4 General Cheats
| Cheat | Code |
|---|---|
| Master Code (Must Be On) | 76044DF0 00000000 F4529E3E BB644C0E |
| Unlock All Aircraft | 76089DE0 00000000 240FCC96 E90F8C03 14009C3E BC34852A |
| Unlock All Weapons | 760C7380 00000000 240FCF96 E90F8C03 240FCF96 E90F8C23 240FCF96 E90F8C13 |
| Max Money | 760726F0 00000000 D440BE35 BDBC8C02 25437F86 DEE1CC1A 2403FC86 FC25DE8A |
| Extra Paint Schemes | 1CBD8450 61DFB00C 1CBD8450 61DFB00C 1CBD8454 61DFB00C 1CBD8458 61DFB00C 4CBD845C 1456B00C |
Ace Combat 4 Aircraft Cheats
| Cheat | Code |
|---|---|
| Max Ammo A-10A | 1CBD9E50 14DF089C 4CBD9E52 1456E788 4CBD9E56 1456E788 4CBD9E5A 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo EF-2000 | 1CBD9ED0 14DF089C 4CBD9ED2 1456E788 4CBD9ED6 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-117A | 1CBD9EC0 14DF089C 4CBD9EC2 1456E788 4CBD9EC6 1456E788 4CBD9ECA 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-14A | 1CBD9E40 14DF089C 4CBD9E42 1456E788 4CBD9E46 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-15 Active | 1CBDA140 14DF089C 4CBDA142 1456E788 4CBDA146 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-15C | 1CBD9E90 14DF089C 4CBD9E92 1456E788 4CBD9E96 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-15E | 1CBD9EB0 14DF089C 4CBD9EB2 1456E788 4CBD9EB6 1456E788 4CBD9EBA 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-16C | 1CBD9E30 14DF089C 4CBD9E32 1456E788 4CBD9E36 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-22A | 1CBD9E10 14DF089C 4CBD9E12 1456E788 4CBD9E16 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-2A | 1CBD9EF0 14DF089C 4CBD9EF2 1456E788 4CBD9EF6 1456E788 4CBD9EFA 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-4E | 1CBD9F20 14DF089C 4CBD9F22 1456E788 4CBD9E26 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F-5E | 1CBD9F10 14DF089C 4CBD9F12 1456E788 4CBD9F16 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo F/A-18C | 1CBD9E80 14DF089C 4CBD9E82 1456E788 4CBD9E86 1456E788 4CBD9E8A 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo MIG 29A | 1CBD9EA0 14DF089C 4CBD9EA2 1456E788 4CBD9EA6 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo MIR-2000 | 1CBD9E60 14DF089C 4CBD9E62 1456E788 4CBD9E66 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo R-M01 | 1CBD9EE0 14DF089C 4CBD9EE2 1456E788 4CBD9EE6 1456E788 4CBD9EEA 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo S-37A | 1CBDA130 14DF089C 4CBDA132 1456E788 4CBDA136 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo SU-35 | 1CBD9E00 14DF089C 4CBD9E02 1456E788 4CBD9E06 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo SU-37 | 1CBD9E20 14DF089C 4CBD9E22 1456E788 4CBDA126 1456E788 4CBDA12A 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo TND-ID5 | 1CBD9E70 14DF089C 4CBD9E72 1456E788 4CBD9E76 1456E788 4CBD9E7A 1456E788 |
| Max Ammo X-02 | 1CBDA150 14DF089C 4CBDA152 1456E788 4CBDA156 1456E788 4CBDA15A 1456E788 |
Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies Cheat FAQs
How to unlock all planes in Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies?
To unlock the various fighter jets and their different colors, players just need to shoot them down during missions. Earning different color schemes for jets requires finding the Ace in each mission.
How to unlock X-02 in Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies?
Players can unlock the X-02 aircraft after completing Special Mission 1: Operation X. The plane will cost players $695,000 to purchase and have in their hangar for missions.
How long to beat Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies?
The length of time necessary to beat Ace Combat 4 varies depending on completion percentage and player skill. Most playthroughs will take roughly 4 hours on average. However, that time increases dramatically for a 100% completionist playthrough. Players hoping to see and do everything in Ace Combat 4 can expect to spend roughly 23 hours.
What is Mission 14 in Ace Combat 4?
The 14th Mission in Ace Combat 4 is “Breaking Arrows”. In this mission, players must shoot down a series of cruise missiles before they cross the Return Line and exit the airspace.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Matt Karoglou.