Characters / Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

A list of characters found in Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies.

---

Independent States Allied Forces

In General

The ISAF's emblem

"O'er azure skies

And emerald plains

Where freedom and justice prevail

With courage and strength

We'll fight to the end

For liberty in our land."

— USEA National Anthem - “Hymn of Liberty”

An alliance formed by the Federation of Central Usea to fight against the Federal Republic of Erusea when they invaded and occupied the small nation of San Salvacion in 2003 in retribution for harsh economic and political sanctions following the Ulysses asteroid’s devastation of the continent and Erusea’s actions during the subsequent refugee crisis. In 2004, Erusea would eventually invade and occupy most of the continent and it would take a year for the ISAF to defeat Erusea.

After the formal surrender of Erusea in 2005 and a short rebellion in 2006, the ISAF would reduce their armed forces and eventually disband, leaving the reformed-IUN to take its place in keeping the peace.

---

• Back from the Brink: In just a few weeks of fighting Erusea, they were forced to abandon all of their continental bases and retreat all of their remaining forces to the island nation of North Point. There they were able to plan a counter attack spearheaded by Mobius Squadron and reclaim the continent in a year-long campaign.
• Blue Is Heroic: One of few factions in Ace Combat to not have some skeletons in their closet.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of the North Atlantic Organization Treaty a.k.a NATO, even having a similar flag.

Mobius One

One of ISAF's fighter pilots, and later their top ace. Mobius 1 also returns as the playable character for side modes in two later games, putting down a Free Erusea movement in 2006 in the Arcade mode of Ace Combat 5, and in Ace Combat 7's VR missions, now affiliated with the IUN, fighting yet another movement in 2014.

---

• Ace Pilot: One of the most notable and recognizable ones in the franchise, given he's the only one absolutely confirmed to remain in the military after his introductory game.
• Blue Is Heroic: His ribbon insignia is predominantly blue.
• Featureless Protagonist: Mobius 1 is a man. That's all we know about him.
• Hero of Another Story: He's involved in anti-Free Erusea ops with the IUN in Ace Combat 7, a campaign that is totally unrelated to the main game.
• Hope Bringer: After destroying Stonehenge and shooting down a Yellow Squadron member for the first time in Mission 12, Mobius One becomes a symbol of strength for ISAF's military. Erusian forces have the opposite reaction.
• Living Legend: As the one who spearheaded the liberation of the Usean continent from Erusea, he already becomes this before 04 ends, to say nothing of his reappearance nine years later for 7's VR campaign. Allied pilots have a hard time believing it's really him.
  Omega 11: I hope this guy's the real deal.
  AWACS Sky-Eye: You'll find out if he is soon enough. Everyone will.
• Old Soldier: By the time of the VR missions in 7 he's been on active duty for 10 years. Viper 2 even calls him an "old timer". Perhaps he's the reason Erusea hasn't gone anywhere near North Point in the main game.
• One-Man Army: As tradition for Ace Combat player characters, but he especially embodies this trope due to the fact that, unlike many others, he does not fly with any wingmen for the entirety of the game. Though he is accompanied by a "Mobius Squadron" in the final level, they do not behave any differently than regular ISAF pilots. By the time of the first Free Erusea uprising in AC5's Arcade mode, the ISAF assess that Mobius 1 alone is equivalent to an entire fighter squadron and sends him alone to handle the situation — and he succeeds beyond their expectations.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Mobius One is only known by the TAC name provided by AWACS Sky Eye, unlike future Ace Combat protagonists that would be known by a TAC name and a callsign.
• Parental Abandonment: Additional media on the website states that his parents were killed in an Erusian bombing.
• Previous Player-Character Cameo:
  • In 5 and 7, as the protagonist of respectively Operation Katina in the former and the VR missions of the latter.
  • He also gets a brief appearance in Zero as the True Final Boss of The Gauntlet.
• Worthy Opponent: Yellow 13 views him as this as the game goes on.

AWACS Sky Eye

The AWACS assigned to Mobius One.

---

• A Birthday, Not a Break: Downplayed somewhat, since both events are important victories for ISAF rather than a negative event. During Mobius One's first operation, intercepting a squadron of bombers, he mentions it's his birthday. One In-Universe year later, during the capture of the Erusian capital, he brings up his birthday again at the start of the mission.
• Mission Control: Is responsible for command and control during various ISAF operations, mainly the missions undertaken by Mobius One. He later returns in the same task for the IUN.

Erusea

Yellow 13

Erusea's top ace, and leader of Yellow Squadron.

---

• Ace Pilot: Mobius One's most formidable adversary, with sixty-four confirmed kills in his first appearance. Makes sense since he was mentored by Mihaly Shilage himself.
• Anti-Villain: He's show to be quite an honorable man, in spite of being the closest thing the game has to a Big Bad. Over the course of the story he shows care for his wingmen, despises cowardice in battle (especially sabotage), pities the weaker enemies he shoots down, and derides the army's tactic of hiding AA guns on top of hospitals. The only thing you could say he'd be is an antagonist; Perhaps his only crime that warranted him getting shot down was being on the enemy side.
• Breakout Villain: While Thirteen doesn't survive the events of this game, his role as Mobius 1's rival throughout the campaign as well as his Anti-Villain qualities made him one of the series' most popular characters, and would serve as a template for many of the other rival aces in the series such as Pixy, Pasternak, and Mihaly.
• Early-Bird Cameo: An ace in his livery shows up as one of the optional Aces in Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
• A Father to His Men: As noted by the narrator, 13 prided himself not on his kill record, but on the fact that he never lost any of his wingmen in battle. This ends during the destruction of Stonehenge.
• Worthy Opponent: Longs to have one of this, and eventually comes to see Mobius One as this. The narrator speculates that it brought 13 great joy when he and Mobius finally fought, even if it resulted in the former's death at the story's conclusion.

Yellow 4

Yellow 13's most trusted and devoted wingman, determined to keep him safe both in the air and on the ground. She is the first Yellow Mobius One shoots down.

---

• Ace Pilot: It comes with being the Yellow Squadron's second-in-command. She was apparently trained from a young age by Thirteen himself.
• Ambiguously Brown: The only member of the squadron we see who isn't obviously Caucasian.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The Gentle Girl to Thirteen's Brooding Boy.
• But Thou Must!: No matter which plane you target during the Stonehenge raid, it will invariably be hers. And you have to shoot one of them down to complete the mission.
• Child Soldier: Thirteen says he started training Four to be a fighter pilot when she was still a young girl.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Given how protective she is of Thirteen in any situation, and how long she's known him, it's no stretch to imagine that she's probably a bit possessive of him. Which of course frustrates the barkeep's daughter.
• Four Is Death: Considering this game is Japanese, it's probably no coincidence that the first Yellow to die is Yellow 4.
• The Quiet One: She doesn't have any lines in the whole game and she comes off as being generally a very quiet person.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Wears a military-style pencil skirt, apparently carries around a perfumed handkerchief, and drinks from what appears to be a porcelain teacup, all the while possessing a gentle and subdued demeanor. But let's not forget that she's also a career soldier and ace pilot who has probably killed her fair share of enemy pilots and soldiers in the name of her country.
• The Smurfette Principle: Stated to be the only female in Yellow Squadron, and is one of the only two female characters in the story, as well as the only one Mobius One actually interacts with in some way.
• Worf Had the Flu: Her plane is in terrible shape when you shoot her down, having been damaged in a resistance bombing. It probably wouldn't have mattered given that she was fighting Mobius One, but it probably prevented her from bailing out.

Yellow Squadron

Erusea's most elite squadron, led by Yellow 13.

---

• Ace Pilot: They are notable much more threatening than standard Erusian pilots, even demonstrating the capability for advance maneuvers like Pugachev's Cobra.
• The Dreaded: Feared greatly by ISAF at first, so much so that the initial response to them showing up during a strike on Erusea's oil supplies is an order for all planes to flee immediately. Over the course of the game, however, they begin to lose this reputation as Mobius One gets better and slowly but surely begins to whittle down their numbers. By the second-to-last mission, the order given to Mobius One is to shoot them down on his own, despite being outnumbered. Mobius One successfully complies.
• Monster Threat Expiration: Over the course of the game, Yellow Squadron's veteran members are moved to other units as ISAF begins to regain territory, leading to less experienced pilots to join the squadron. In the first appearance, they cannot be shot down by any means. In their final appearance, they are essentially slightly more skilled standard pilots. Justified by that point, because the Yellow squadron faced at Megalith are regular radical Erusean pilots who painted their planes in Yellow livery to honor their fallen comrades.
• Sole Survivor: Implied with Jean-Louis or Yellow 1, as a voice line has him state that he's bailing out after his plane suffered too much damage. Considering that nobody else gets these same voicelines about bailing out, Jean-Louis may be the only one who did survive the attack on Megalith.

Civilians

Storyteller Boy

A young boy whose life is changed by the war. He is the narrator of the intermission cutscenes.

---

• Distant Finale: The final cutscene reveals that the Framing Device has been a letter sent by him to Mobius One years after the war ended, simultaneously giving Mobius One a perspective on the war from the point of view of the Eruseans and the civilians whose cities and countries were occupied, while also trying to figure out how Yellow 13 thought, figuring the pilot who shot him down at the end of the war would be the best person to ask.
• No Name Given: His name is never mentioned or revealed throughout the campaign.
• Parental Abandonment: The first time he witnesses war as anything more than, in his words, an abstract idea from some faraway land on TV, is when a jet battle breaks out in the skies above him while he's heading off to school and Yellow 13 accidentally drops an ISAF plane on the boy's house. He's able to move in with his uncle in the city, but even he "disappears" after a while.

The Barkeep’s Daughter

The daughter of a tavern owner in San Salvacion who caters to the Erusean troops occupying the city.

---

• Child Soldier: She’s barely older than the Storyteller Boy, yet she is an active member of the San Salvacion resistance capable of planting and detonating explosives.
• La Résistance: Despite ostensibly catering to the Erusean occupiers, she and her family are in fact members of a local resistance cell.
• No Name Given: Like the Storyteller Boy, her name is never revealed in-story.
• Precocious Crush: The Storyteller Boy has a crush on the Barkeep’s Daughter despite her being at least a couple years older than him. She in turn has her own one-sided crush towards Yellow 13, and often shot jealous glances towards Yellow 4 whenever she was around him.