Anchorhead Raid was actually composed by Yusuke Yamauchi in what I *think* is his first contribution to the series, and boy does he hit it out of the park right off the bat.

Always love it when Ace Combat shows up on the channel. Anchorhead Raid is the second DLC mission for Ace Combat 7 where you take on a host of enemies on the ground and the air. This mission also features another song that you've already done, Mimic, which is a sort of 'boss fight' of the mission! As for Werewolf, you are right on the money about it being a sneaking mission. In this mission you fly through a canyon to avoid radar detection to launch a surprise attack on an enemy base. After playing Ace combat for so long I have to agree too, outside of the tracks used in the Top Gun movie, this series really represents what aerial combat in a video game should sound like. As for the story of all the Ace Combats, there is a chronological order to them as well as a connected universe (other than Ace Combat: Assault Horizon) being based in the same world named Strangereal. Each game is stand alone in story but you can find references to events in the other games as it goes. As always, love your reactions, and keep up the great work!

Werewolf is composed by Hiroshi Okubo, a veteran composer of the series since at least AC2. His compositions are generally among the most rhythmically focused of each soundtrack (as you noted in this one). Anchorhead Raid is composed by Yusuke Yamauchi, a new addition to the composing team for the AC7 DLC. But he clearly understood the assignment.

Before watching: I'm surprised to see Anchorhead Raid and Werewolf in the same video, as they have no direct attachment in the game. For my fellow Ace Combat nerds, Werewolf also has some strong resemblance to Heartbreak One, a track in Ace Combat 5. After watching: Others have said but neither of these tracks are Keiki Kobayashi. Anchorhead Raid was guest composed by Yusuke Yamauchi (also known as mifumei), currently his only contribution to Ace Combat's soundtrack. Before this, he was best known for iDOLM@STER and DAEMON X MACHINA, which you haven't reacted to yet, but you may know him from Tekken 7 or Tekken 8. Surprisingly the track is not dynamic in the slightest, it just loops for the entire first part of the mission (the second part is Mimic, which you've reacted to). Anchorhead Raid is very much an action theme, it's one of the biggest "get out there and wreck shit to get as many points as you can" missions in 7. You were right to think for a second about the game taking place on the ground, cuz most of the targets in this mission are ships and ground installations. Hey, that's my comment you were talking about! 😊Most Ace Combat games take place in the same fictional world; they're usually not directly connected to each other, but longtime fans will pick up more references and callbacks. Werewolf was composed by Hiroshi Okubo, who has been one of Ace Combat's composers for quite some time. It is 100% a sneaking mission, it's one of Ace Combat's signature canyon missions at night while dodging searchlights. Werewolf is actually the only track in the mission it plays in, but it's more dynamic than Anchorhead Raid: everything before 16:35 plays during the canyon run, but then 16:35 hits once you leave the canyon and have to escort allied helicopters in their assault on a base, and it loops from there. It's a very stressful mission, starting with a canyon run and followed by an escort, so the track being more ambient was probably a direct choice. If you ever react to Ace Combat 5's Heartbreak One, you should listen to Werewolf again because they've got strong similarities, even the missions both take place at night and Heartbreak One is a little bit sneaky as well.

There are many reasons why people love these games. One of them (for me at least) is that Ace Combat is just Diet Metal Gear but with Aircraft and sci-fi superweapons instead of giant mechs.

I did a little voice over for a character from Sol Squadron in this game years ago. One of the coolest soundtracks I’ve ever heard

Anchorhead Raid is, what do you know, played during a raid on Anchorhead Bay. You’re sent in for a complete surprise attack on the enemy fleet while they’re docked in the port, so for the first minute or two you’re just dropping bombs and missiles on a ton of bunched up stationary targets listening to the enemy sailors panicking over the radio. It only turns into a real battle and not just a one sided shooting gallery once they manage to get their ships out into the water and their planes and drones launched to try and intercept you.

Keiki Kobayashi when he's out smoking cigars in his spy lounge: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rNx_oJWekpfblqs.html

Regarding the potential repetitiveness of the games, you're definitely correct that the core gameplay loop of "just flying around and shooting stuff" can easily get repetitive if the devs aren't careful, and in some of the entries in the series, it definitely does. The way they keep it fresh is to keep injecting new twists that force you to adapt. Forcing you to fly through very specifically shaped terrain features is a popular method, or having to dodge large area of effect attacks. In AC7 specifically they introduced different weather conditions with various effects. Clouds, lightning, even dust storms that completely block visibility below a certain altitude. There's also various "gimmicks" that last for one or a few missions, e.g. "oops our target ID system is offline, so you have to visually identify all your targets at close range before shooting" or "this is a recon mission, you are only equipped with a camera and have to take photos of the bad guys smuggling nukes".

Wait, does that mean there is a possibility that he does reactions for the tracks of the next mission. 10 million relief plan, Alicorn, and hero of comberth harbour

To answer your question of whether Ace Combat ever gets outside of its usual synth+orchestral style, yes it does! You've previously heard Zero, which takes the synth and orchestra and tosses in Spanish guitar. AC5 has a number of intentional departures from the usual style to accompany specific story moments, such as Into the Dusk and The Unsung War, which both have no synth component at all, IIRC. Perhaps the most extreme departure is Chandelier from AC6, which I won't spoil in case someone ever requests it in the future, or you just want to check it out for yourself.

be careful when playing ace combat. you should take breaks every once in a while. if you fly too much it'll leave you soar.

AIRPLANES GO BRRP BRRP BRRP FWOOSH BANG! Also the ace combat soundtrack is fantastic.

Woohoo more Ace Combat! I'll always make time to watch these from you. Also i never paid attention to Anchorheadv Raid until now and wow it's incredible

Finaly anchorhead!!

Anchorhead Raid reminds me of something Yokko Kano would come up with for Ghost In The Shell. If Origa was still alive I could see (hear) her singing over the top of it. Werewolf wouldn't be out of place in a Metal Gear game. If I didn't know any better I would have thought it was in one of them.

We all know the meme of ace combat... Everybody gangsta till the sky start sing latin.... But anyone think about what the enemy hear when Mobious or any other protag arrive to the battle?!

The closest the Ace Combat series gets to ground combat is the ability to fly as helicopters in a few missions in Ace Combat Assault Horizon.

IT'S PIZZA DELIVERY TIME BOIS

Well, you know Jesse, with games like AC you may just have to play one to get the full hit of the song with the experience; then you will still ask yourself how the heck did they nail it. I'd say try 5 or 0 someday. 7 is fantastic, but I've seen a few people quit early because of an abrupt difficulty spike; otherwise it's an excellent choice. Glad to see someone new enjoy these tracks regardless.

Nice to see another person enjoying Ace Combat soundtracks. If you plan to do any more, then might i suggest "Dogfight" from Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (not generally a popular entry to the series but this track is sick!)

Yeah my understanding is that Ace Combat 7 was a huge comeback for the series as far as mainstream success, after many many years with little to no activity (outside of the free-to-play one you mentioned). I want to say 7 ended up being the best selling game in the series, by a large margin?

5:40 reminds me of fire emblem

ACE COMBAT RULES! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ENCHANCER I & II !!! ace combat after the one you tested was on the down slope, ace combat 7 was like the revival that came after many many years of no ace combat games, it was so succesful that it then inspired the devs to make a story DLC with this banger song you just reacted to, and the fanbase through sheer purcharses made it clear to the devs that we want more ace combat!

ah! .. crisp white sheets!

Yea so Ace Combat's success had its up and downs. After Ace Combat Zero, it kind of peaked, with AC6 being "meh" since its story was very Melodramatic but it's gameplay was solid. But Ace Combat is very heavily driven and relied upon its story and narrative. After AC6 they did a spin off game, Assualt Horizon, and it had interesting and dynamic gameplay, and a decent multiplayer in my opinion, it abandoned the fictional world AC built in favor of the real world, as well as make an odd story. So the game flopped for diehard fans. After that blow the studio focused on online only and console exclusive games like AC Infinity. So they were reeling back from the lack of success. Then AC7 was announced, bringing back the beloved fictional Strangereal world and its lore with a new captivating story. 12 years since AC6. AC7 did well and recaptured that magic, even if it wasn't the best of the series. But it did well enough to warrant another game, so as of writing this, Ace Combat 8 is in active development.