――On January 17, 2023, ACE7 celebrated its 5th anniversary. Please tell us how you feel now.
Kazutoshi Kono (hereinafter referred to as
Kono) I am simply surprised that it has been five years. After the game's release, there was DLC development, and there was also a Nintendo Switch version, so it feels like ACE7 has been going on for a long time. As always, I am grateful for the support of my fans over the past five years. Thank you.
――I was surprised by the announcement of the Nintendo Switch version. How did the development begin?
It is the brainchild of former producer
Konoshita (*). I jumped in and said, "Mr. Kono, maybe we can guarantee the quality that can be released!" Naturally, we always want more people to play the game, so if we can achieve quality that meets the expectations of users, we would love to do it. So, at first, we started small with a technical verification of whether it was really feasible.
* Manabu Shimomoto. Producer of ACE7.
――Speaking of ACE7, the representation of the "sky" such as clouds and thunder is wonderful, but how is it reproduced in the Nintendo Switch version?
Kono: We started with the technical verification, and while we didn't touch the visuals as much as possible, we proceeded to ask ourselves, "Can we maintain a comfortable frame rate for the gameplay as much as possible?" Therefore, we carefully step by step to confirm the reproducibility. If the reproducibility of clouds and lightning was extremely low, development would have been stopped halfway. As a result, one of the pillars of ACE7, "Sky Innovation," has been reproduced almost as well in the Nintendo Switch version.
――Please tell us about the other difficulties you faced in transplanting [porting].
Kono: be honest, the Ace Combat team didn't have the know-how to port the game because it was the first Nintendo hardware release in a long time. This time, with the help of external development, we decided to make it a reality with the supervision of the staff of "ACE7". The hardest part must have been the external development staff who improved the reproducibility. Thank you very much. Producer Hagiwara, who is producing his first work, also did a great job.
――What do you think is the best thing about the Nintendo Switch version?
KonoWe believe that it is the concept of the Nintendo Switch, "Anytime, anywhere, with anyone." It is highly portable, and we hope that you will be able to make the most of it according to the situation, whether you carry "ACE7" with you and play it in your spare time, or get together with friends and play against each other online (*) and have a lot of fun.
* Multiplayer mode does not support local communication play.
――I'm sure there are many game fans who will be exposed to the Nintendo Switch version of ACE for the first time. Please tell us again about the appeal of this work.
Kono: It's a "super full-fledged hikoki game," so you can enjoy a sweaty dogfight in a beautiful and magnificent visual. We are proud that the story that unfolds in real time through the radio during the game will also give you goosebumps. Once you get used to the 3D flight controls, you will be able to enjoy the fun of a fast-paced and highly flexible air combat shooter.
――Of course, I'm looking forward to the Nintendo Switch version of ACE7, and I'm looking forward to seeing what PROJECT ACES will do in the future. Please tell us about the challenges you would like to take on in the future with the ACE series.
Kono: We're in the middle of a challenge right now, and if we add more challenges, the Bandai Namco Aces development team
won't be able to talk to us. I don't have anything to talk about yet, but there are times when I'm checking the output that comes out and I'm like, "Oh, it's really working with this quality, wow, it's working!" and sometimes I'm like, "Well, I tried to put this idea in, but it doesn't work." We are creating the greedy royal road "Ace Combat".
