Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

Opened up a tab to play 'Blurry' after reading this so yah.

Just finished Zero (and thus the entire PS2 trilogy) and I would have to agree. 5 has far weaker and more inconsistent mission design than 04 and Zero (e.g. Final Option, Handful of Hope, Reprisal, Solitaire are big low points, I'd argue none of the missions in 04 or Zero are as boring as these except maybe 04's Safe Return), its lack of return lines leads to you running out of missiles basically every mission, the ace antagonists in this game are both less interesting and pose less challenge than that of the Yellows in 04 or the Belkan aces in Zero.

I think worst of all, thematically as an anti-war statement Zero brings up far more interesting points and damns the "we're fighter pilots fighting for peace" message 5's Razgriz embody.

Wholeheartedly agree. In general I've always found 5 disapponting compared to those two, even as a kid, just didn't feel quite the same. Also that Puddle of Mudd song in the opening... yikes. AC04's short opening remains my favourite, beautiful.

Yeah 04 might be a bit too lowkey and simple for some people but I dig the more melancholic, grounded, and less dramatic approach to it, especially when paired with the side story.