Awesome / Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

• Arguably within the first 5 minutes of actual gameplay, Bartlett earns kudos for defying orders to withhold fire, because he refused to lose the "nuggets" again.
  Bartlett: (as the music shifts to "Open War") Shut your mouth and fire back!
  AWACS Thunderhead: Captain Bartlett, this is Thunderhead. You are violating direct orders.
  Bartlett: Shove it! I'm not gonna watch any more of my pilots die!
• When you, the player, finally realize that all that you have succeeded and suffered throughout the game have earned you the right to call yourself and your squadron as the Razgriz.
• Ofnir Squadron's entrance into the ravine in Mission 23: Ghosts of Razgriz is unquestionably badass. The formation of four planes arrives over the ravine, before performing a high speed simultaneous 360-degree corkscrew descent into the canyon, leveling out mere feet above the canyon floor and just barely hitting each other.
• Mission 17: Journey Home. It begins with Edge commanding and leading you on a fly by where the Vice President addresses the nation. Then the Yukes attack, you're trying to cover the evacuation against at this point the toughest enemies in the game, then Chopper gets hit and holds out as long as he can until everyone escapes, but the ejector is stuck.
  • That is not the best part though. His death clearly leaves Wardog shattered, and they fight back, the enemy believes demons had literally taken them over and That One Level suddenly becomes a Curb-Stomp Battle.
• Mission 26: Sea of Chaos. The Aircraft Carrier Kestrel desperately tries to convince the Yuke Fleet to cease fire and re-ally to fight a common enemy. When the Yuke flagship Umely (a Kirov-class battlecruiser) attempts to attack, one of the ships in her fleet, the brave frigate Pitomnik blocks its approach, intending to protect Prime Minister Nikanor on board the Kestrel. Incensed, Umely orders the rest of the fleet to fire on Pitomnik, sinking it. Disgusted at the flagship's willingness to sink his countrymen, five more Yuktobanian warships, the missile destroyer Gumrak, Chuda, Dub, Bystry and Budusheye all defect in steadfast defiance and begin steaming towards the Osean fleet. Cue a 3-way naval clash between the Yukes, the Oseans, and Razgriz.
  • Of note, the captain of the destroyer Gumrak still addresses his ship as part of the "Glorious Yuktobanian Navy," making it clear that despite turning against his fleet commander, he still sees his vessel as proudly Yuktobanian, and essentially telling the Umely's captain, "Your insanity no longer represents the views of our wonderful country!" in an extra, and awesome, act of defiance.
  • Even more notable is that the Gumrak is a Sovremenny-class guided missile destroyer while Umely is a much larger Kirov-class battlecruiser bristling with anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. Even though his ship is smaller and could easily be destroyed should Umely decide to turn its weapons on Gumrak, the captain does not falter in his decision, steaming at full speed towards the Kestrel.
• Mission 27: Aces: the Tunnel Run, with the second most driving music in the game, surpassed only by the The Unsung War itself, flying at Mach 2 down the tunnel, and then Bartlet comes from the other direction.

  Bartlett: I'm going to pass by you on the count of 3.
  One! Two! Three! (F-14A Tomcat screams by)
  YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

• Nothing quite says "badass" or Game-Breaker quite like actually breaking the final mission. The first battle is supposed to last at least a minute. Using XLAAs and a little skill this can be cut down to five seconds, with the game unable to keep up and the pre recorded dialogue running long after you've already won. On the plus side you get ample opportunity to hear all the second lot of dialogue uninterrupted.
• The final mission. Especially the music accompanying the final part where you tear the SOLG apart piece by piece as it tries to crash land right in the middle of Osea. Nothing makes whatever you're doing more awesome than an entire Latin choir with orchestral accompaniment singing your praises as you do so.
• The premise of arcade mode, where ISAF responded to a rebel uprising by sending only Mobius One and an AWACS. They win.