Why Strangerealism Is Our New Aesthetic

We've got a spooky episode for y'all today! First, Rob leads the crew into the Streangreal world of Ace Combat 7 and learn that not all Ace Combat games are created equal. Patrick has been checking out the Oculus Quest 2, and Cado's been diving back into Pokemon with The Crown Tundra DLC. You can listen to the full episode and read an excerpt below.

Patrick: “Following the release of Ace Combat: Joint Assault, Assault Horizon, and Ace Combat Infinity, many fans assumed that Bandai Namco had abandoned Strangereal entirely. However, the release of Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy, Ace Combat Northern Wings, and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown puts this theory to rest.

Kono confirmed the strangereal was abandoned for assault horizon in particular, because it was seen as a barrier to entry for newcomers to the Ace Combat series. Bandai Namco believed that a setting a main game in the real world, which would be more relatable, would help draw new players to the franchise.”

So you're going to have to do some work on, you know, even if all of them are backwards compatible, not all of them are like narrative compatible. If you're looking for the strangereal-a-verse, that's that's not going to [include] every single one of them.

Ricardo: You see this? I just found the timeline. Look at this shit.

Patrick: Paste me. There we go.

Ricardo: There it is. So seven is technically the second to last in the series. Ace Combat 3 takes place in 2040. Ace Combat 7 Takes place in 2019. All the other games are before that.

Patrick: What is going on here?

Rob: Wait what?

Ricardo: Yeah!

Patrick: Ace Combat 3 came out on the PlayStation one in, I don't know when, but like the nineties.

Ricardo: This is approaching some Nier level bullshit right here.

Rob: Okay. So Ace Combat 0 is the first one–

Ricardo: Yeah, PlayStation 2. And then we've got an Ace Combat 4, then–

Rob: Basically I don't need to worry about Ace Combat 2 ?

Ricardo: Apparently not. Is Ace Combat 0 the first one [to release]? Is it just, is there an Ace Combat 1, Ace Combat no subtitle, somewhere out there that doesn't matter anymore?

Patrick: Oh, man, I just read the synopsis for Ace Combat 3 Electrosphere. All right.

Ricardo: I mean, I'm really interested in that one, it's called the inter-corporate war! I'm really interested in what's happening there!

Patrick: Just, I'm going to paste. I'm going to say, I don’t want to spoil Ace Combat 3 for everyone, but I do want to spoil it for the people [on this call].

[rising laughter as we read the synopsis]

Rob: Oh my god.

Patrick: Yeah, right?

Rob: It's all the test where some sublimated character gets–

Patrick: Don't ask me.

This transcript was edited for length and clarity. Discussed: Ace Combat 7 5:57, Ace Combat 7 Spoilers 18:49, Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra 32:42, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit 44:54, Oculus Quest 2 50:38, Ghostrunner 1:20:50

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