Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere is a combat flight simulation video game. Like its predecessors, it is presented in a more arcade-like format in contrast to other flight sim video games. Unlike most other entries in the series, a greater focus on realism was applied to the aircraft's energy conservation, with players having to avoid tight turns and steep inclines lest they burn off airspeed and enter a stall, which were notably difficult to recover from compared to later entries. Players pilot one of 23 aircraft in both releases.

On the Japanese release, they may fight across four factions and complete a selection of the game's 52 missions depending on their faction. Only 36 missions are available in the international release, limited to the UPEO side. These missions range from destroying squadrons of hostile planes to protecting bases from enemy attacks. Player performance is graded from an A to D letter scale, which are logged in a chart displayed on the title screen.

Ace Combat 3 is set in the series' fictional universe of Strangereal, where Earth has entirely different nations, geography, and history. Specifically, Ace Combat 3 is set in a partially-noncanonical cyberpunk near future rendition of Strangereal, in which the world's governments have been effectively superseded by multinational megacorporations that wield massive political, economic, and military strength, the two effective "superpowers" being General Resource Limited and Neucom Incorporated ("Neuwork" in the international versions). Both megacorporations, locked into a fierce power struggle in the continent of Usea, eventually declare direct corporate warfare against each other in 2040, prompting the Universal Peace Enforcement Organization (UPEO), an international peacekeeping force with dwindling influence, to respond to stop the Intercorporate War from worsening. A major part of the 2040 rendition of Strangereal is the "Electrosphere", a fictional, advanced successor of the Internet; in the 2030s, advancements in technology made uploading one's consciousness to the Electrosphere possible, causing a rise in transhumanism as well as Ouroboros, a transhumanist terrorist group based out of the airship Sphyrna that believes humanity can ascend to a new plane of existence by uploading their consciousness to the Electrosphere.

The characters of Ace Combat 3 include peacekeepers, mercenaries, company men, diplomats, scientists, news presenters, and terrorists. The game is played through the perspective of a silent protagonist named Nemo. The main cast is composed of fighter pilots affiliated with either UPEO, General Resource, Neucom, or Ouroboros. The player, allies, and enemies, may change their allegiance over the course of the game. NPC characters interact with the player via videophone calls, videomail messages, and radio transmissions during gameplay.

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere began development in 1998 following the critical and commercial success of Air Combat and Ace Combat 2. Directors Takuya Iwasaki and Atsushi and producer Takashi Fukawa led a team of other Namco employees during production, most of whom had worked on Ace Combat 2. The directors wanted the third entry to be far more ambitious than its predecessors in both content and presentation. The team focused primarily on making the storyline a key mechanic, which would change and affect the gameplay based on player progress and decision.

Storylines in previous Ace Combat games were seen as unimportant and did not have a direct effect on the gameplay itself; this decision was to help make the story feel like an integral part of the game and to serve an actual purpose. Drama television shows and the game R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) served as inspiration for this idea. Graphic designer Minoru Sashida, who worked on the arcade game Techno Drive, designed the game's menu interface.

The Japanese version received mostly positive reviews. Staff from Famitsu appreciated the game for its "overwhelming" graphics and deeper storyline, in addition to its realism. An Official Czech PlayStation Magazine reviewer had a similar response, enjoying its futuristic approach, realistic graphics, and refined gameplay. In an early preview, James Mielke of GameSpot commented that the game, while it was not as fun as Ace Combat 2, had the same ambitious design as R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, with personality-driven cutscenes, sleek fighter craft designs, and detailed graphics. Edge staff members highlighted its branching storyline, stating that it makes the game more involving and rewarding than its predecessors.

In contrast, reviews for the North American and European releases were met with a considerably more mixed response. Because international versions had a significantly lower amount of content than in the Japanese version, reviewers showed confusion and disappointment towards the lack of missions and a proper storyline for diminishing the game as a whole. Mielke presented a radically different response to Electrosphere from his preview, writing that its removal of content from the Japanese version and linear approach made the game feel inferior to its predecessor Ace Combat 2. NextGen's Eric Bratcher agreed that without its branching level system and additional campaign, it felt boring to play and not nearly as refined as earlier Ace Combat games.