History YMMV / AceCombat7SkiesUnknown

* ThatOneLevel: As soon as you fly for 444th Fighter Squadron, expect a long chain of these. In addition, if you're trying to spawn the bonus ace in each mission, after doing so, if the player dies and restarts from checkpoint, the ace ''will not spawn again'', necessitating a restart of the mission. These few missions however, are the standouts:
** Mission 7 - First Contact. You're destroying enemy [=SAMs=] and radar sites in a twisted maze of canyons under extreme weather conditions, which only get worse in the latter part of the mission, where you're fighting the fast [=UCAVs=] and enemy aces in a lightning storm with barely any visibility.
** Mission 8 - Pipeline Destruction. Your mission is to destroy the Erusean fuel factory. The objective itself is simple ([[StuffBlowingUp and fun]]), but the latter half of the mission involves tracking down fuel trucks, which are fleeing under the cover of an absolutely brutal sandstorm that can send your plane into the ground and completely hides the trucks from radar unless there's a gap in the storm or you get within about one kilometer/half a mile or so of them, meaning you're basically flying blind while feeling around for them. Further complicating matters, during the sandstorm, Erusea looses a swarm of MQ-99 drones to hunt you down. And just to complicate the NoDamageRun medal, some of the fuel trucks are actually carrying strange blue high explosive devices that hurt you if you're caught in the blast, something that the player [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/avihb8/so_you_can_see_mihaly_dunking_brownie_what_other/ehfv5q5/ may have only noticed in passing during Mission 2.]]
** Mission 9 - Faceless Soldier. In the first half of the mission, you must fly below the clouds in the narrow canyon. Stay above it for too long, and you'll get shot down by invisible SAM sites that launch high-speed projectiles that can't be dodged or spoofed. It doesn't help that the mission targets you're required to destroy are often located above the clouds, forcing you to fly up in order to strike and hurry back down, where you could crash into the ground because you never know what's waiting below the clouds. The real kicker is that the topographic map in the radar can be deceptive, a player might be forced into a cul-de-sac valley, try to quickly rise over the mountains at the end to dive into the clouds on the other side, only to find that there ''is no cloud cover'' on the opposite side [[TrialAndErrorGameplay and no time to turn back]]. Fortunately, the second half of the mission is [[Awesome/VideoGameLevels a glorious turnaround]]. [[ThatOneAchievement It is also very hard to S-Rank, compared to other levels.]] The situation [[FromBadToWorse only worsens]] on [[HarderThanHard Ace difficulty]], where the missile alerts become nigh-instantaneous the moment you fly above the clouds.
** While the Season Pass missions usually combine fun with a bit of challenge thanks to the multitude of targets, the same cannot be said for SP Mission 03 - Ten Million Relief Plan, which will punish you dearly if you're not adequately prepared for it. The first section is a boorishly long EscortMission that requires you to cover a really wide area to intercept [[GoddamnBats SLUAVs and SACS Rafale Ms that constantly dodge your missiles]], made worse by [[ArtificialStupidity Wiseman's utterly idotic decision to have the LRSSG uselessly follow you around]] (and sometimes take away precious targets from your score) instead of spreading evenly to protect every Specter plane, whose F/A-18F escorts are just as nonexistent. Then comes the boring MAD section where you're forced to fly at low speed and altitude to detect the ''Alicorn''. ''Then'' comes the big submarine fight, where you have to deal with an insane amount of missile launchers, railguns, jammers and even barrier drones that act like the Arsenal Bird's APS. Overall, the contrast between the lethargic sonobuoy section and the absurdly action-packed ''Alicorn'' fight is just too much to warrant any sort of replayability.

* ThatOneLevel: As soon as you fly for 444th Fighter Squadron, expect a long chain of these. In addition, if you're trying to spawn the bonus ace in each mission, after doing so, if the player dies and restarts from checkpoint, the ace ''will not spawn again'', necessitating a restart of the mission:
** Mission 6 - Long Day. It's an Annihilation mission, meaning that players must cause enough damage to enemies to exceed a certain score threshold within a time limit for the mission to be successful. The actual opposition in that mission isn't terribly challenging, but the threshold for points is high and the time is low, and causing enough damage to pass that threshold [[EarlyGameHell using only the options available to a player early in the story is quite difficult]], especially if they are playing through on Hard difficulty. However, the mission becomes much less arduous ([[Awesome/VideoGameLevels and far more enjoyable]]) on subsequent playthroughs with better planes, and even a sizable number of first-time players have expressed similar opinions while flying in [=A-10Cs=] (or higher-tier aircraft like the Su-34, [[LevelGrinding provided the player has enough MRP at the time]]).

** Mission 12 - [[spoiler:Stonehenge Defensive]]. While it is an excellent mission, it can be frustrating to S-Rank, mainly because it initially starts as a ground attack mission, with heavy amounts of ground targets (favoring an Attacker-type plane such as the A-10C)... only to swing heavily towards being primarily based around aerial combat halfway through, with heavy amounts of bombers, enemy attackers and fighters, topped off with the Arsenal Bird and [[ZergRush its 80 MQ-101 UAVs]], meaning going into the mission with a plane geared towards one or the other will make it difficult to destroy all of the enemies. Additionally, the mission requires frequently jumping from one side of the map to the other, as enemy groups spawn in various locations far from each other, necessitating a fast aircraft. This also makes the mission far less fun to replay, since the number of aircraft success is even feasible with is highly limited, discouraging experimentation with anything other than certain multirole planes... or the F-22A Raptor, as usual.
** Mission 13 - Bunker Buster. The main gimmick is the bunker buster's [[ScrappyMechanic laser targeting system]], which replaces the SP weapon slot. It is rather difficult to aim the laser and there is a delay between calling in the bomb and [[TrialAndErrorGameplay having it land on the bunker]]. Factoring in the presence from [[GoddamnedBats the enemy planes and gun encampments]], the presence of [[RandomNumberGod fake silos]] and the [[TimedMission strict time limit]] before the ballistic missiles start launching (which will result in having to chase down more than three missiles if you can't destroy the five bunkers in time), this mission can be quite the headache.
** Mission 14 - Cape Rainy Assault. The first part of the mission involves a [[StealthBasedMission somewhat lengthy canyon flight]] that involves dodging searchlights. Then comes the assault on the airbase, which can be [[SurpriseDifficulty surprisingly difficult]] as there are many airborne and ground targets that need to be destroyed within [[TheComputerIsALyingBastard an extremely strict time limit that is much shorter than the official mission timer would have you believe]], [[EscortMission or else the allied ground tropes will be overrun]], with very little room for error.
** Mission 15 - Battle for Farbanti. The threshold for points is quite high, the time limit can be somewhat restrictive, there are lots and lots of enemies spread out across the whole map, and it is difficult to S-Rank, partly because the dogfight with Sol Squadron and Mister X in the second half can drag on for a while.
** Mission 17 - Homeward. The LRSSG are attempting to re-locate to Tyler Island, and to do so they must wipe any Eruseans off the map. Simple Annihilation mission, right? [[SchmuckBait LOL.]] There is ''no'' IFF support ([[spoiler:Kessler Syndrome and all that]]), so, as with Mission 16, you have to ID everything before you shoot it. [=IDing=] a target takes significantly longer than just shooting it, which limits your DPS. You are then interrupted by a TimedMission in which enemy bombers approach the island to commit a saturation attack; there is heavy cloud cover from the east, complicating any sort of interception. [[ScrappyMechanic You still have to ID all your targets,]] meaning you have to move fast and shoot straight while fighter cover tries to stop you and without TGT tags (which only get added after you ID something, at which point you might as well just take an extra few moments and shoot it down). If any of them pass the threshold, it's a NonStandardGameOver. And remember, this is an Annihilation mission, so we're talking CheckpointStarvation: if you mess up, you start over. Then it's back to the island, until a CutScene and a checkpoint. After this is another TimedMission where you have about 90 seconds in which to destroy certain enemy units that are besieging an allied position; the game doesn't mark the relevant units with TGT tags. (At least AWACS Long Caster [=IDs=] everything for you.) Finally, there's ''another'' checkpoint followed by a high-speed interception mission as you chase Single-Stage-To-Orbit spaceplanes that, depending on your mount, could possibly outrun you. Through thunderclouds. None of these tasks are particularly difficult by themselves, but the fact that you have to do them ''together'', all in a row, without a return line, with additional fail states in every segment of the mission beyond the standard hazards of crashing or getting shot down, takes it over the top.

** [[spoiler:Was Full Band's death a genuine accident or [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident was that what the AWACS Bandog wanted others to believe]]? Everyone in Spare Squadron accuses Bandog of tagging Full Band as an enemy in order to trick someone into shooting him down along with the enemy fighters, which is supported by the fact that throughout the mission, Full Band and Bandog don't seem eye-to-eye in a lot of things, Full Band has been bragging about [[HeKnowsTooMuch hacking into classified, sensitive information]] (and seems inclined to spread it around, as he offers to give Bandog a look when they RTB), and Bandog specifically asking for Full Band's location after Spare Squadron forms up around Trigger. Worse, it's implied Full Band sells the intel he gathers for a good price, and what he digs up, judging by his comments in Missions 7-9, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47bGgdOtJjY is most likely]] Osea's plans to repair the last functional Stonehenge turret--a strategy that marks a turning point in the war in Osea's favor. With Avril's narration establishing that many members of the penal unit agreed with Cossette's anti-Osea speeches, it's not impossible that Full Band would consider giving away this information to Erusea. Even still, Full Band was flying a F/A-18, which is also what the enemy planes are flying, and it's suggested Bandog had to manually punch in the new IFF data for each Spare individually, so it still could have been an accident as well.]]

** From the DLC missions, is Howard Clemens [[spoiler:actually a traitor and deliberately trying to sabotage the LRSSG efforts to assist Torres and his ''Alicorn'' crew? Or was he just played for fools by the false intel provided by one of Torres's agents? Moreover, his goal to remove Trigger from the picture by siccing Mimic Squadron on him. Was it motivated by jealously that Trigger's extraordinary skills outshined the rest of the Osean Military? Or was it an attempt to prevent Trigger from potentially turning out to be another dangerous threat like Torres, especially because unlike Torres who went nuts from PTSD and getting stuck underwater for 2 years Trigger has a legitimate reason to despise Osea after being falsely convicted of treason (further, since the DLC is taking place between mission 13 and 14 Trigger was still only really a military inspiration rather than a savior)? Was it even his own idea or was it orchestrated by his superior Lieutenant General Shepherd, who disavowed all of Clemens' actions once things went south to avoid taking any responsibility?]]

** At least to missiles and rockets, AD Tanks and Aegis Cruisers are demonic spiders. Against cannons (internal and external pods), lasers, and railguns, you would have the best chances of destroying one of those accursed things.

** Mission 6 "Long Day", the first "annihilation" mission (a mission with a fixed timer and a minimum score to clear) is infamously difficult for players unfamiliar with the series, as it is the first mission in the game that cannot be cleared by simply eliminating designated targets and taking on a map with so many enemies over such a large area for the first time can be overwhelming.

** Out of all named pilots, Wiseman -- the flight lead of Cyclops Squadron -- seems to be the most popular for being a cool-headed ReasonableAuthorityFigure AcePilot who is almost as good as Trigger. Wiseman's [[TheGadfly humorous methods of]] [[TeamDad dealing with Count]] are also liable to bring a smile to one's face, especially for those who find Count to be insufferable pre-CharacterDevelopment. [[spoiler:His tragic death at the hands of Mihaly during the Battle of Farbanti left many players upset.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: In Real Life 2022, there's both a charismatic Eastern Bloc leader declaring military operations to fight what he perceived as encroaching Western influence as well as a former president being assassinated, eerily mirroring two early plot points of the game.

** Mission 11 - Fleet Destruction. It's another Annihilation battle, but unlike the last two you're given more than enough time to both hit the quota, allowing for massive amounts of destruction with the proper loadout, and more than enough airspace to maneuver and dodge. Compared to the last series of missions, this is around when you start unlocking much better planes like the Gripen E ([[LevelGrinding unless you repeat missions through Free Mission or play Multiplayer]]) and other Multirole planes that make missions like this considerably easier, and the elbow room this mission gives perfectly shows it.
** Mission 12 - [[spoiler:Stonehenge Defensive]]. [[spoiler:As the title says, you're tasked with defending the last operational [[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies Stonehenge]] turret, which the Oseans are attempting to restore in an effort to shoot down one of the Arsenal Birds, from a massive Erusean assault. After fighting off scores of enemies including the Arsenal Bird itself, Stonehenge manages to score a direct hit past the Arsenal Bird's shield, bringing it down and turning the tide of the war in Osea's favor.]]

** The first half of ''Pipeline Destruction'' (Mission 8) has you launching an assault on an enemy oil field. As you destroy one oil tank, the explosion will cause a chain reaction to other nearby targets as well. The sight of [[StuffBlowingUp enemy oil fields exploding in a massive inferno one after another]] is pretty cathartic. This also doubles as InUniverseCatharsis for Spare Squadron; [[BreatherLevel coming right after the encounter with Mister X in the Yinshi Valley]], Tabloid appreciates the simplicity of the operation, another Spare declares "This beats being stuck at the penal base!", and most of the radio chatter consists of various Spares enthusiastically commenting on the ensuing carnage--including one unnamed member cheering on Trigger if the player's dealt signficant damage to the enemy facilities [[TimedMission before Megastorm Inessa II rolls in]].
--->'''Spare Squadron:''' "Yeah! That's the stuff, Trigger! Go ape on 'em!"
** The first half of ''Faceless Soldier'' (Mission 9) involves doing a "corridor flight" through mountain valleys with limited visibility due to cloud cover, special rules that cause players who rise above the clouds to get one-shoted if they don't go back under them within a few seconds, and an unclear path of traversal through the level resulting in some frustrating TrialAndErrorGameplay. However, the second half of the mission is a glorious turn around involving a pleasantly challenging furball of a battle set to awesome music where [[TeethClenchedTeamwork the fractious]] [=444th Squadron=] [[FireForgedFriends starts pulling together]] and [[SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder kicking ass]], and is extremely morale-boosting moment after several missions spent being degraded and disposable.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Go ahead. Try to find any high-cost multiplayer match without the [[spoiler:[=X-02S=] Strike Wyvern]] in it. Bonus points if it's equipped with the EML. Or, [[HistoryRepeats just like in]] ''VideoGame/{{Ace Combat 6|FiresOfLiberation}}'', people spamming [[SuperPersistentMissile QAAM]], especially flying the F-22A Raptor.
* CompleteMonster: [[ArcVillain Matias Torres]] is the [[InsaneAdmiral Captain]] of the super-submarine ''Alicorn'', a veteran of the Continental War and a survivor battleship Tanager's sinking at the hands of Mobius 1, going rogue along with his crew during the events of the three {{DLC}} missions in order to seemingly put an end to the Lighthouse War with the nuclear massacre of a million lives, thus terrifying the world into putting down their weapons. That seemingly extreme-but-noble motive is [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist eventually proven false]] when Torres, at the command of an absurdly powerful boat and a fanatically loyal crew, reveals that for all of his posturing, he actually revels in the "elegance" of hitting a difficult target--in this case, the million lives he's about to butcher from 5,000 kilometers--over 3,100 miles--away--and has an almost fetishistic obsession with death. In fact, he'll even violate wartime conventions by [[ISurrenderSuckers feigning surrender]] just to gain time to fire his nukes, and if he's successful, he'll keep laughing maniacally and describe the act as "beautiful". On all accounts, Torres is a narcissistic madman who strives to inflate his ego through mass murder, and won't hesitate to sacrifice his crew for it; the devil incarnate, as one character would put it.
* ContinuityLockOut: If this is someone's first ''Ace Combat'' game set in Strangereal [[note]]unless they're a player coming in from ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity Infinity]]'' who was inclined to do their homework due to that game's [[MythologyGag/AceCombatInfinity many nods to Strangereal's lore]][[/note]], there are a number of plot points they might not fully grasp.

*** Also, in the previous mission, [[spoiler: You know how Yellow 13 felt when he lost Yellow 4? Now it happens to ''you'', as Mihaly ambushes and shoots down [[KillTheCutie Brownie]], a young lady pilot who was flying back to base after her plane was damaged in the battle. It doesn't help that Brownie gradually undergoes an emotional breakdown as she realizes she's going to die, and is practically ''begging'' for someone to help.]]

* PortingDisaster: DownplayedTrope. The game exists on PC in finished form, with excellent graphics and all content available. However, it doesn't support many controllers: it makes use of X-Input configurations, meaning some older controllers and converted controllers (both of which include [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOTAS HOTAS]]) won't work. This includes the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 DualShock 2]][[labelnote:note]]although some [=DualShock=] 2 to USB adapters may be able to work[[/labelnote]]. It also supports an [[http://www.thrustmaster.com/en_US/ace-combat7-thrustmaster-compatibility extremely small roster]] of PC flight sticks, all of which are made by Thrustmaster and cost [[RevenueEnhancingDevices at least as much as the game itself does]]. While [[https://guides.gamepressure.com/ace-combat-7/guide.asp?ID=48549 hacks]] allow you to use your ten-year-old but still-working USB joystick, the PC version still isn't playable ''conveniently''.
* RealismInducedHorror: Despite the presence of giant unmanned airships, massive railguns, rapid fire laser weapons, and semi-sentient ArtificialIntelligence, the most terrifying part is the lack of proper communications across all parties involved in the war. [[spoiler:The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome ablation cascade]] that occurs near the end when Osea and Eurusea launch a simultaneous A-Sat strike, makes it even worse because with communications completely blacked out, no one can tell whose an ally and whose an enemy. It also leads to an escalation of violence between both sides, and some units from both countries even end up fighting each other due to a lack of communications.]]

** Significantly so when compared to earlier numbered titles in the series. Enemies are more numerous and more aggressive in taking shots and pursuing the player. Enemy missiles track you more effectively and move at a speed compatible to the player's own, which makes evasion a priority when locked on. Defense systems like the AD Tank and CIWS can shoot down incoming missiles, which forces the usage of guns or bombs to effectively take them down. Missions often throw in tactical wrinkles such as rough weather or altitude restrictions along with tight time and score requirements to keep you under pressure. Earning the medals for completing the campaign without taking any damage or by using only machine guns are a challenge unto themselves and will put your mission objectives at risk by running out of time or being unable to protect an ally.

* ShippingGoggles: Once Count is transfered to Cyclops Squadron, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEAUHv3jMYk his dynamic with squadmate Húxiān]] slowly goes from mutual dislike (ex. Húxiān [[WhatTheHellHero calling out Count]] for his GloryHound tendencies in Mission 12) to [[VitriolicBestBuds more friendly banter]] (ex. Húxiān jokingly calling Count an asshole when he "miraculously" seems to [[spoiler:disable the Arsenal Bird's microwave shields]] in Mission 19), though there's no indication their relationship is anything more than platonic. Even so, because of their interactions, Húxiān having a rather personal confession about [[DarkAndTroubledPast her thieving days]] during Mission 18 that startles Count, and Húxiān being the one to express relief when Count [[spoiler:confirms a successful belly landing after his plane takes damage in the final skirmish with the ADF-11 beneath the Lighthouse]], several fans were quick to pair them up.

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot, which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, told that he (along with his wingmen) are expendables with no rights, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units. Several others note that no matter the odds or the predicament he's in, he's never too down to carry out his missions, not even towards the end of the game when everyone else is tired and wants to finally go home.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot, which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, told that he (along with his wingmen) are expendables with no rights, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units, and is described by several fellow pilots as a HotBlooded fighter who's never too down to carry out his missions, not even towards the end of the game when everyone else is tired and wants to finally go home.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot, which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, told that he (along with his wingmen) are expendables with no rights, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units, and is described by several fellow pilots as a HotBlooded fighter who's never too down to carry out his missions, not even towards the end of the game when everyone else is tired and wants to finally go home. It's later revealed that the missile that killed Harling was actually from a disguised Erusean drone taking advantage of the chaos, which fully absolves him of the deed but also means Trigger was court-martialed and put through a humiliating stint in a penal unit for nothing.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot, which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, told that he (along with his wingmen) are expendables with no rights, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units. It's later revealed that the missile that killed Harling was actually from a disguised Erusean drone taking advantage of the chaos, which fully absolves him of the deed but also means Trigger was court-martialed and put through a humiliating stint in a penal unit for nothing.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot, which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, told that he (along with his wingmen) are expendables with no rights, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units. It's later revealed that the missile that killed Harling was actually from a disguised Erusean drone taking advantage of the chaos, which fully absolves him of the deed but also means Trigger was court-martialed and banished to a penal unit for nothing.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot, which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, told that he (along with his wingmen) are expendables with no rights, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units. It's later revealed that the missile that killed Harling was actually from a disguised Erusean drone taking advantage of the chaos, which fully absolves him of the deed but also means Trigger was court-martialed for nothing.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot, which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, told that he (along with his wingmen) are expendables with no rights, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units. It's later revealed that the missile that killed Harling was actually from a disguised Erusean drone, which finally vindicates him of the deed but also means Trigger was court-martialed for nothing.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and due to the circumstances of the firefight he's easily accused of firing the killing shot]], which gets him sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units. It's later revealed that the missile that killed Harling was actually from a disguised Erusean drone, which finally vindicates him of the deed but also means Trigger was court-martialed for nothing.]]

* IronWoobie: [[spoiler:Trigger is an up-and-coming OADF officer who proves himself as a fighter pilot quickly, becoming one of the IUN's choice pilots for high-risk missions. Unfortunately, his career is swiftly cancelled when one of those high-risk missions ends with a stray missiile killing former Osean President Vincent Harling, and he is rapidly convicted of the shot (later revealed to be a FalseFlagOperation by the Eruseans, making it even more heartbreaking in hindsight) and sent by Osean high command to [[SuicideMission basically die]] in the 444th Spare Squadron. There, he is treated with contempt by his superiors and his wingmen, mocked for the three "sin lines" on his aircraft that represent the most heinous of criminals ''especially'' every time he amasses a decent kill count in one sortie, and sent to solitary confinement repeatedly despite his accomplishments. Nevertheless, as is typical of an ''Ace Combat'' [[HeroicMime silent player character]], he never expresses any misery over his situation, and he reliably carries out his duties in Spare, eventually being recognized as a fearless ace and not only being pardoned of his crime but also going on to join one of Osea's most elite air defense units.]]

* RealismInducedHorror: Despite the presence of giant unmanned airships, massive railguns, rapid fire laser weapons, and semi-sentient ArtificialIntelligence, the most terrifying part is [[spoiler:the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome ablation cascade]] that occurs near the end when Osea and Eurusea launch a simultaneous A-Sat strike. With communications completely blacked out, no one can tell whose an ally and whose an enemy. Not only does it lead to an escalation of violence between both sides, but some units from both countries even end up fighting each other due to a lack of communications.]]

** While the Season Pass missions usually combine fun with a bit of challenge thanks to the multitude of targets, the same cannot be said for SP Mission 03 - Ten Million Relief Plan, which will punish you dearly if you're not adequately prepared for it. The first section is a boorishly long EscortMission that requires you to cover a really wide area to intercept [[GoddamnBats SLUAVs and SACS Rafale Ms that constantly dodge your missiles]], made worse by [[ArtificialStupidity Wiseman's utterly idotic decision to have the LRSSG uselessly you follow around]] (and sometimes take away precious targets from your score) instead of spreading evenly to protect every Specter plane, whose F/A-18F escorts are just as nonexistent. Then comes the boring MAD section where you're forced to fly at low speed and altitude to detect the ''Alicorn''. ''Then'' comes the big submarine fight, where you have to deal with an insane amount of missile launchers, railguns, jammers and even barrier drones that act like the Arsenal Bird's APS. Overall, the contrast between the lethargic sonobuoy section and the absurdly action-packed ''Alicorn'' fight is just too much to warrant any sort of replayability.

* ParanoiaFuel: Not a gameplay example, but a lore-based one. In Mission 16, [[spoiler:Labarthe reveals that Harling's death in Mission 04 was caused by an Erusuan drone spoofing an Osean IFF and even admits that this caused an actual Osean officer (''you'', but he doesn't know this) to take the fall, and that the "Osean" fighters encountered in Mission 09 were in fact Erusean drones too. What's to say that there aren't other Erusean drones flying around pretending to be OADF -- or the air forces of other countries for that matter -- and shooting up helpless other fighters or staging other {{False Flag Operation}}s?]]

* ParanoiaFuel: Not a gameplay example, but a lore-based one. In Mission 16, [[spoiler:Labarthe reveals that Harling's death in Mission 04 was caused by an Erusuan drone spoofing an Osean IFF and even admits that this caused an actual Osean officer (''you'', but he doesn't know this) to take the fall, and that the "Osean" fighters encountered in Mission 09 were in fact Erusean drones too. What's to say that there aren't other Erusean drones flying around pretending to be OADF -- or the militaries of other countries for that matter -- and shooting up helpless other fighters or staging other {{False Flag Operation}}s?]]

* ParanoiaFuel: Not a gameplay example, but a lore-based one. In Mission 16, [[spoiler:Labarthe reveals that Harling's death in Mission 04 was caused by an Erusuan drone spoofing an Osean IFF and even admits that this caused an actual Osean officer (''you'', but he doesn't know this) to take the fall, and that the "Osean" fighters encountered in Mission 19 were in fact Erusean drones too. What's to say that there aren't other Erusean drones flying around pretending to be OADF -- or the militaries of other countries for that matter -- and shooting up helpless other fighters or staging other {{False Flag Operation}}s?]]

** [[spoiler:Was Full Band's death a genuine accident or [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident was that what the AWACS Bandog wanted others to believe]]? Everyone in Spare Squadron accuses Bandog of tagging Full Band as an enemy in order to trick someone into shooting him down along with the enemy fighters, which is supported by the fact that throughout the mission, Full Band and Bandog don't seem eye-to-eye in a lot of things, Full Band [[WhatAnIdiot has been bragging about]] [[HeKnowsTooMuch hacking into classified, sensitive information]] (and seems inclined to spread it around, as he offers to give Bandog a look when they RTB), and Bandog specifically asking for Full Band's location after Spare Squadron forms up around Trigger. Worse, it's implied Full Band sells the intel he gathers for a good price, and what he digs up, judging by his comments in Missions 7-9, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47bGgdOtJjY is most likely]] Osea's plans to repair the last functional Stonehenge turret--a strategy that marks a turning point in the war in Osea's favor. With Avril's narration establishing that many members of the penal unit agreed with Cossette's anti-Osea speeches, it's not impossible that Full Band would consider giving away this information to Erusea. Even still, Full Band was flying a F/A-18, which is also what the enemy planes are flying, and it's suggested Bandog had to manually punch in the new IFF data for each Spare individually, so it still could have been an accident as well.]]

* MemeticMutation:
** The game's title was sometimes referred to as "Ace Combat 7: Date Unknown", as no official release date was announced for over ''two and a half years'' after the game's unveiling near the end of 2015. It took until Gamescom in August 2018 to set the date as January 18, 2019, with a Steam release on February 1, 2019.
** Related to the above, [[http://i.imgur.com/UNxWOVD.png the words "Please understand" accompanied by a particular picture of series producer Kazutoki Kono]] became a minor meme among the fandom after Kono apologized in advance for ''Ace Combat 7'' being a no-show at [[UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo E3 2016]].
** Fans have taken a liking to juxtaposing Mihaly's rhetorical "Yet, what is a nation?" with [[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Detlef "Red Swallow" Fleisher's]] description of what constitutes a country.
** It's also common to make macros with screenshots of Rosa Cossette D'Elise, especially one that presents her as prim and proper at the start of the Osea-Erusea conflict, then looking disheveled in the next while the text claims it's been three days into the war, even though there was no clear timeline of the events pre-release. [[note]]Turns out it's closer to three months... but she's first seen in her bedraggled state after having her plane shot down and surviving in the wreckage for -- you guessed it -- three days.[[/note]]
** The repeated use of the phrase "[[ArcWords Can you hear me?]]" from the Gamescom 2018 trailer has been seen as this game's equivalent to [[VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation "Go dance with the angels."]] Thankfully, said ArcWords are only sporadically used within the story, and nowhere as obnoxious as ''6'''s CatchPhrase.
** Mihaly's [[OverlyLongName absurdly long real name]] has become a source of amusement. It's [[spoiler:Mihaly Dumitru Margareta Corneliu Leopold Blanca Karol Aeon Ignatius Raphael Maria Niketas Archange Shilage]].
** [[MemeticMolester Pedophile Schroeder]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Dr. Schroeder is "fascinated" by the granddaughters of Mihaly, who are respectively 15 (Ionela) and 10 (Alma). It didn't take long for fans to deliberately twist the meaning of Schroeder's words during his narration about the Shilage Sisters.[[/labelnote]]
** Anyone who has been up to date with the series' plot will point out that someone of Belkan background probably manipulated Osean and Erusean leaders to go to war. [[spoiler:Amusingly enough, this turned out to be the case in the game, with the Eruseans using Belkan A.I. technology to develop their drone squadrons and then employing them to regain their lost glory, with Dr. Schroeder -- a Belkan and the person who's tasked with gathering flight data from the top ace Mihaly -- being the one who spearheaded the project.]]
** One cutscene features a happy-looking Golden Retriever alongside a couple of main characters. Doesn't sound like anything noteworthy aside from the fact that said dog isn't actually a 3D model, but a [[SpecialEffectFailure static image of a dog with a heat haze barely masking the fact that it's just an image juxtaposed onto the scene]]. [[https://kotaku.com/ace-combat-7s-most-lovable-character-is-a-picture-of-a-1831875794 Twitter had a field day with this.]]
** The use of Col. [=McKinsey's=] CatchPhrase "Solitary" (or something that has "Solitary" included in a dialogue, both of which are also used by Bandog), especially if said person is using it to respond to a snarky question/comment.
** Bandog did nothing wrong. [[labelnote:Explanation (Spoilers!)]]A variant of the series-wide "Belka did nothing wrong" meme, used in reference to Bandog's [[spoiler:allegedly accidental tagging of Full Band as an enemy during Mission 9, leading to Spare 6's death]]. Whereas the original is often said in a joking matter, this one is usually the opposite; the circumstances behind Bandog's actions (as explained in AlternativeCharacterInterpretation above) [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/az05t1/in_defense_of_bandog/ are believed to be]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/amnaqr/spoilers_did_anyone_else_feel_slightly/ the "right" choice]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/amt8t9/just_your_typical_day_with_bandog/efp9hsz/ (or at least a justifiable one)]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/axr881/mission_9_in_a_nutshell/ by a not insignificant]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/aj6y25/most_accurate_depiction_of_awacs_in_the_entire/efmer4q/ percentage of]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/ax1954/why_awacs_bandog_killed_full_band_explained/ the fandom.]][[/labelnote]]
*** Related to above:'Blank' wants to know 'blank' location.[[labelnote:Explanation (Spoilers!)]] This infers a powerful person/organization is angered at another person and wants to hurt them. The phrase loosely references Bandog's actions in mission 9 [[spoiler:in which Bandog gets fed up with Full Band being careless with classified information and allegedly offs him by tagging him as an enemy]].[[/labelnote]]
** "Missile Missile Missile Missile Missile Missile Missile Missile" as a result of [[SuperPersistentMissile incredibly persistent multiplayer missiles]] resulting in nearly non-stop missile warnings. Even the single-player campaign contributes, as the A.I. enemies are much more aggressive than in past games, but without the Level 2 multiplayer-only parts, it's easier to get a break from all the missile warnings.
** Due to the nature of how AnyoneCanDie in this game, with a total of at least ''ten'' named character deaths, the game has earned the nickname "Ace Combat: Series/GameOfThrones Edition" from some fans.
** Post Stall Maneuver challenge. [[labelnote:Explanation]]A new mechanic of this game allows a player who's flying a highly-agile plane such as the Su(khoi) series or F-22 to perform a limited number of post stall maneuvers, namely the Pugachev's Cobra and the Kulbit. Needless to say, many players have attempted and recorded videos of them performing these maneuvers in increasingly dangerous places, such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WctdiPd51jc in an enclosed stadium]] or ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdx4Vx_7WHA inside an underground tunnel and the space elevator.]]''[[/labelnote]]
** TRIGGERED. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The protagonist of this game has the callsign Trigger. This doubled with the ReferenceOverdosed nature of the story leads to jokes that characters from previous games in the series will be "triggered" by events that transpired in this game. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/ayctqw/why_did_bandog_kill_full_band/ Here is one such example. (Spoiler warning!)]] [[/labelnote]]
** Gamers arguing who's the better waifu: [[PrincessClassic Cossette]], [[WrenchWench Avril]], [[MauveShirt Brownie]], [[ActionGirl Húxiān]], [[MajorlyAwesome [=McOnie=]]], or [[AxCrazy Scream]]. Occasionally, people will [[ComicallyMissingThePoint instead name their favorite planes]], [[https://www.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/apukwq/who_is_your_ace_combat_waifu/ like so.]]
** Jaeger frequently mentioning that [[CatchPhrase he has a good story to tell his son]] after the war is over.
** Lanza and his big maze [[labelnote:Explanation]]Lanza has a tendency to randomly shout "It's a big maze!" even when the situation doesn't call for it, making for an amusing moment when he says that sentence in the middle of a completely open map.[[/labelnote]]
** With Alex mentioning "Define crazy" when David asks the A.I. while watching an OBC breaking news story in the DLC trailers, viewers began to spout off anything that's crazy for a pilot to do, even by ''Ace Combat'' standards.
** Because the three DLC missions of the Seasonal Pass focus on a renegade super-submarine captain who intends to start a nuclear war, fans were quick to make [[https://old.reddit.com/r/acecombat/comments/d6yg2j/the_dlc_missions_in_a_nutshell/ a poster]] parodying ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober''[='=]s own promotional poster.
** Matias Torres and his [[PunctuatedForEmphasis CRISP! WHITE! SHEETS!!]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Torres's minor VillainousBreakdown after Trigger managed to stop Torres's fighter squadron from carrying out his plan has him angrily declaring that Trigger [[ItMakesSenseInContext "walked all over the crisp, white, bedsheets that he had just made with his dirty boots."]] Fans became pretty enamored with this one line because of how over-the-top it sounds.[[/labelnote]]
** "Do it with a bang!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Skald's CatchPhrase during "Unexpected Visitor." Even when Húxiān tells him to shut up and keep fighting instead of whining about the overwhelming odds, all Skald can say is that catchphrase.[[/labelnote]]
** Fans have noticed that Rage & Scream, the two rival aces for the DLC missions, bear a [[https://i.redd.it/yfvl7w8qslo31.jpg resemblance]] to the [[VideoGame/Borderlands3 Calypso Twins]]. It helps that they are both villainous [[BrotherSisterTeam Brother-Sister Teams]] that showcase violent and psychotic tendencies.
** Listen to the briefings! [[labelnote:Explanation]]When ''Ace Combat 7'' was released, many players new to the franchise skipped the briefings, making them miss crucial intel to beat certain missions, like Mission 7, which foreshadows [[spoiler:Mihaly]] and the drones by explicitly telling the player to bring AA weaponry. This resulted in many players struggling by bring an A-10 Warthog to a dogfight and losing to [[spoiler:Mihaly]] because they didn't pay close attention to the briefing. This became standard advice many veterans gave during the first months of the game, and over time it became a meme for criticizing new players and critics. Became an AscendedMeme during Special Mission 1, where [[spoiler:shooting the ''Alicorn'']] has your commander yelling at you for not listening to the briefing, triggering a NonStandardGameOver.[[/labelnote]]
** Thanks to the [[https://www.reddit.com/user/sillygoodness/comments/c4e2jg/grundergram_link_hub_and_description/ Grundergram]] [[https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=grundergram posts]] found on [[Website/{{Reddit}} r/acecombat]], fans have latched on to the headcanon characterization of Trigger as a MemeticBadass and ChickMagnet who has a harem of women.
** Z.O.E and Nemo [[labelnote:Explaination]]While there have been theories that Z.O.E (a major recurring antagonist in ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat2 AC2]]'' and [[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy its remake]]) is somehow related to Nemo (the protagonist of ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere Electrosphere]]''), the usage of drones and their capabilities (complete with the {{Final Boss}}es sporting the Zone of Endless emblem) all but confirms the theory and the fandom accepts that Nemo is the latest descendant of Z.O.E. Since Nemo obviously isn't born yet until 20 years later, a few fanfics popped up about how the humans would interact with Nemo if they met it.[[/labelnote]]
** "Shit, my cola..." [[labelnote:Explanation]]During the debriefing for "Anchorhead Raid", Húxiān angrily confronts [[TheMole Brigadier General Clemens]] after it's revealed that he had been in contact with Mimic Squadron. The resulting scuffle causes Lanza to spill the soda he was drinking, resulting in this line. Several players have come to list the spilling of Lanza's soda as another of Clemens' crimes against the LRSSG, humorously considering it as heinous if not ''moreso'' than hiring Mimic to murder Trigger. [[/labelnote]]
** AVE BELKA [[labelnote:Explanation]] One of the soundtracks for “Ten Million Relief Plan”, was leaked by a dataminer two months before it was released under the title of “[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6KLwT9RM4M AVE BELKA]]” to avoid spoilers. Some fans took the working title to signal a possible Belkan connection with the narrative of the SP Missions, particularly as one of the OminousLatinChanting lyrics in the track was a {{Mondegreen}} saying the leaked track’s alleged title. Ultimately, the Belkans have no role or presence in any of the SP Missions, and the track’s actual title is simply “[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZbWHIPMjqM Alicorn]]”. [[/labelnote]]
*** L IS REAL[[labelnote:Explanation]]After 24 years, people digging through ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' discovered actual data to compile to prove that Luigi existed in the game's code. As one user sent the data through a model creator to finally bring about the existence of "The Holy One", 4Chan started freaking out, saying how they know not the destruction they would release on this world, and that if Nintendo found out, it'd bring about the apocalypse. A video started circulating around the internet of the numerous posts compiled together leading to the official reveal of an extremely crud but official model of Luigi, all the while the "Alicorn" music from "Ten Million Relief Plan" section 2 set the mood.[[/labelnote]]
** NOSFERATU IS THICC[[labelnote:Explanation]]In an interview, Kono admitted that the development team initially had trouble implementing the CFA-44 into the game because its whopping size of '''25 meters in length''' (most heavy fighter planes are around 20 meters long on average) meant that ''the CFA-44 couldn't actually fit in the in-game hangar''. This immediately let to fans making jokes about the CFA-44's size.[[/labelnote]]
** "That's right. I'm Belkan, born and raised." [[labelnote:Explanation]]A quote from [[spoiler:Dr. Schroeder]] mainly used for scenarios where one successfully gets away with [[LetsYouAndHimFight pitting people against each other]], in reference to Belkans' reputation of doing the same with other countries.[[/labelnote]]
** Everyone's acting gangsta [[GratuitousLatin until the water starts speaking Latin]]. [[labelnote:Explanation]][=Max0r=] notes in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL2KFkNVzLg&t=16m37s "An Incorrect Summary of Ace Combat 7"]] that dramatic moments like the fight against the ''Alicorn'' are underscored by the soundtrack's use of Latin vocals. He also lampshades this when he gets to Mission 15, where the clouds are instead heralding Sol Squadron with Latin music, and Mission 18, where you fight Mihaly.[[/labelnote]]
** Trigger is a [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furry.]][[labelnote:Explanation]] Trigger's insignia is some kind of canid, presumably a fox, which has brought the occassional joke about him being part of the furry fandom.[[/labelnote]]

* AwardSnub: The ''Ace Combat'' fandom was utterly ''incensed'' when it was announced that ''7'''s phenomenal soundtrack wouldn't even be among the nominees for best music for the 2019 edition of The Game Awards, being passed over by less outstanding choices like ''VideoGame/DeathStranding''. Some even declared that they wouldn't watch the show because it's become nothing more than a popularity contest with no quality control on it. The game managed to nab two prizes at the [=PlayStation=] Awards 2019, though

* RetroactiveRecognition: Full Band is voiced by Creator/JoeZieja, who would later go on to hit it big by voicing main character Claude from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''.