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ACE COMBAT 04 PLANE GUIDE
Version: 1.0
Copyright 2003 RichardB
E-Mail: [email protected]
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Table of Contents:
==================

1. Version History
2. Introduction
3. Legal Disclaimer
4. Contact Rules
5. Plane List
6. Outro
7. Credits

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Version History
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is the short version history for this guide:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Version 0.0 - 11/01/03 - Started my FAQ/Walkthrough for the game. Pretty slow,
but hey. =)

Version 0.01 - 11/05/03 - Realized a Walkthrough was going to be devastatingly
difficult for me, so I started something smaller.

Version 1.0 - 11/09/03 - Sent in the guide at last.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've always been a fan of this awesome game I have for my PlayStation2 and I
started to write a walkthrough for it... only to find out that it's a little
too hard for an amateur like myself. I thought a little bit and then I found
that perhaps this guide needs a few more in-depth guides, besides maps and
lyrics and stuff... so I just thought that perhaps we need a guide on the
planes, since there's a lot of detail on them that can be needed. So I got off
the rock I'm sitting on and started to type out this guide. Anyway, here I am.
Let's get started here.

Note that this is not a walkthrough by any means. If you are curious what all
the weapons in the game are and stuff like that like the UGBLs and that stuff,
look in a walkthrough (although UGBLs themselves are bombs). If I don't do a
walkthrough (which I probably won't), please don't send me e-mails on those
things! And as for this not being a walkthrough, note that this is just the
information about the planes, nothing more. Got that under control? Okay, good.
Now... let's get it on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. Contact Rules
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E-MAIL RULES
============
I love getting good emails, so you're free to email me with a question any
time, but I will not answer questions already answered in this FAQ. I prefer
e-mails with good grammar, and subjects with Ace Combat 4 <insert whatever
here> or I will delete them, sorry. Also, don't send me e-mails about other Ace
Combats with an Ace Combat 4 subject, please. And don't bother sending things
like:

"You friggin' idiot. Your guides suck, you suck, and everything about you
sucks. DIE DIE DIE!"

"BURN IN THE FLAMES OF HELL, YOU STUPID RETARD!!!"

"What the hell did you think you were doing writing all that garbage, you piece
of crap?

"I hope you fall down the stairs and break every bone in your body!"

"u su><0rz, eVrYtInG BoUt u sUx, dIe ass!!!!!!1"

I will laugh at e-mails like that and delete them.

IM RULES
========
I'm sorry to tell you that I have recently closed my AIM list. So for a while,
you will have to take everything by e-mail. I will update this guide when I
open my AIM list. If you absolutely have to be on my list and do it by IMs, you
will have to e-mail me first while following the rules above, and keep the
e-mail saying "Your AIM list" or something like that. Any e-mail without a
subject goes directly to the trash. I am a good person to talk to on AIM, so
you are more than welcome to e-mail me, asking.

However, once I add you to my list, you can't keep talking to me every day. I
am extremely busy on the internet usually, and if you have absolutely nothing
to say to me, and it's just "hey", "hi", or "hola" and nothing else, please
don't bother IMing me at all. And don't offer for me to do hard work on web
sites, because you must have something better to do than that. And don't IM me
too much either, or chances are you won't be responded to, and I wouldn't want
to disappoint you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Plane List
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's the plane list.

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1. F-4E - Fighter

Speed: 7
Air to Air: 9
Air to Ground: 7
Mobility: 7
Stability: 7
Defense: 11

Guns: 650
Missiles: 52
UGBM: 8
NPB: 6

Ship: 76,000
Paint: 99,000
UGBM: N/A
NPB: 32,000

F-4E is the very first plane that you pick up, so obviously it's not that
great. Still, it's not _that_ awful. It has more missiles than the F-5E does,
and in the first mission it's the only plain you have, and it's also pretty
good at air combat, and for ground combat it has the UGBM and NPB, which are
both bombs. Overall a pretty average plane we got here. Good for the beginning
plane though, I suppose. Anyway, that's all.

2. F-5E - Fighter

Speed: 7
Air to Air: 7
Air to Ground: 3
Mobility: 7
Stability: 12
Defense: 7

Guns: 650
Missiles: 48
UGBS: 12
RCL: 64

Ship: 52,000
Paint: 68,000
UGBS: N/A
RCL: 41,000

Whether the F-5E is better than the F-4E, I cannot decide. For one thing, F-5E
is very weak and falls in combat easily. Its ground weapons are absolutely
horrible, and many people will buy it after the first mission if they shoot
down a lot of planes in Sitting Duck... F-5E is a little faster, and really
stable, but this can't make up for all the faults found in it. No wonder that
it's even cheaper than the F-4E is... not to mention it has the least missiles
of any plane in the game.

3. F-16C - Fighter

Speed: 10
Air to Air: 12
Air to Ground: 6
Mobility: 12
Stability: 4
Defense: 10

Guns: 700
Missiles: 52
UGBS: 14
XAGM: 12

Ship: 97,000
Paint: 126,000
UGBS: N/A
XAGM: 52,000

You get this plane around Lifeline, which is not exactly a good time to pick it
up, seeing as how almost all of that mission, and the two following ones are
totally ground combat. F-16C excels in air combat, but lacks in ground combat.
Unfortunately though, it is pretty unstable, even though it's very agile. Try
not to push things. Overlook these and you've got yourself a pretty nice plane
here.

4. A-10A - Attacker

Speed: 2
Air to Air: 2
Air to Ground: 20
Mobility: 8
Stability: 14
Defense: 20

Guns: 850
Missile: 56
UGBL: 12
XAGM: 16
CLB: 12

Plane: 123,000
Paint: 160,000
UGBL: N/A
XAGM: 58,000
CLB: 55,000

A-10A is a real mixed bag. You get it around the seventh mission, which is an
excellent time, seeing as how A-10A is a pure ground attacker. It has almost no
air combat power at all. It is also the single slowest plane in the game,
although it is still quite possible to get 1000 MPH in. A-10A is a horrible air
fighter, but it is still heavily defended. It's pretty stable too, and it has
the best ground weapons yet, and some of the best weapons in the game. All of
them are bombs, giving any ground targets some hard time.

5. MIR-2000 - Fighter

Speed: 15
Air to Air: 14
Air to Ground: 7
Mobility: 14
Stability: 2
Defense: 12

Guns: 700
Missiles: 52
UGBS: 16
LASM: 10

Plane: 111,000
Paint: 143,000
UGBS: N/A
LASM: 56,000

The MIR-2000 is a little better than the F-16C, but not much. It is much
faster, a little better at ground combat, more mobile, but even less stable.
Actually I don't think that the MIR-2000 should be purchased at all, because
while it is a good plane and has some great weaponry, you can purchase the
F-14A, which is much better in every aspect.

6. F-14A - Fighter

Speed: 12
Air to Air: 17
Air to Ground: 6
Mobility: 12
Stability: 12
Defense: 15

Guns: 750
Missiles: 64
XLAA: 16
UGBM: 10

Plane: 188,000
Paint: 244,000
XLAA: N/A
UGBM: 66,000

If I am not mistaken, you can get the F-14A in Shattered Skies. This is
extremely useful, because everything in Shattered Skies is in the air. The
F-14A is THE air fighter, seeing as how it is an ace in combat (intentional
pun) when shooting down planes. It also has nice speed to boot, and it's very
mobile and stable. And it can take some gunfire as well, not to mention it has
XLAAs. Nothing bad about it and I definitely recommend you purchase this one
before Shattered Skies.

7. TND-105 - Attacker

Speed: 8
Air to Air: 8
Air to Ground: 16
Mobility: 6
Stability: 14
Defense: 18

Guns: 750
Missiles: 58
BDSP: 12
PGB: 8
LASM: 12

Plane: 172,000
Paint: 224,000
BDSP: N/A
PGB: 76,000
LASM: 70,000

The TND-105 is like another A-10A, except it's much better in air combat and
speed. It's well defended with good stability, average mobility and superb
ground capabilities. For Operation Bunker Shot, I recommend using the TND-105.
However if you get past that mission and can't afford it, then just buy the
F/A-18C afterwards, because it's better and more well-rounded. The worst part
about TND-105 is that it uses BDSPs as main bombing weapons, and BDSPs are more
or less entirely useless.

8. F/A-18C - Multirole

Speed: 10
Air to Air: 12
Air to Ground: 12
Mobility: 12
Stability: 10
Defense: 14

Guns: 700
Missiles: 60
UGBM: 10
LASM: 14
XMAA: 14

Plane: 170,000
Paint: 221,000
UGBM: N/A
LASM: 72,000
XMAA: 71,000

F/A-18C is one of the most well-rounded planes in the whole game. All of its
categories are above 10, it has a good deal of guns and missiles to shoot
things down, and it has some good bombs to come with it, and it's even cheaper
than the TND-105! Overall it's a pretty good plane, but I think I prefer F-14A
if going for air combat.

9. F-15C - Fighter

Speed: 12
Air to Air: 16
Air to Ground: 6
Mobility: 15
Stability: 12
Defense: 15

Guns: 800
Missiles: 68
UGBM: 12
XMAA: 16

Plane: 272,000
Paint: 354,000
UGBM: N/A
XMAA: 95,000

Except ground combat, F-15C is just as well rounded as the F/A-18C is. For
bombs it has UGBMs, that's good, and it even has XMAAs to shoot down air
targets. It's a pure air fighter, but it's not horrile in ground combat. It's
quite agile and very well-defended, but it begins the point where planes start
getting quite expensive. It jumped up 102,000 from the F-15C, so you can see.

10. MIG-29A - Fighter

Speed: 16
Air to Air: 13
Air to Ground: 12
Mobility: 15
Stability: 7
Defense: 12

Guns: 750
Missiles: 64
UGBS: 18
RCL: 72

Plane: 259,000
Paint: 337,000
UGBS: N/A
RCL: 81,000

While in no means a bad plane, MIG-29A is a total waste of time buying because
it has absolutely no strong ground weapons. The RCLs are totally worthless.
It's also a hefty 259,000, which you should save up for the EF-2000. I only
recommend the MIG-29A if you are going back to play a lot of air missions like
Shattered Skies for more money.

11. F-117A - Attacker

Speed: 8
Air to Air: 2
Air to Ground: 17
Mobility: 8
Stability: 14
Defense: 17

Guns: 650
Missiles: 54
UGBL: 14
PGB: 14
CLB: 14

Plane: 386,000
Paint: 502,000
UGBL: N/A
PGB: 126,000
CLB: 106,000

Actually you don't need the F-117A as it's way too expensive. You need to save
the money up for the real pricey planes, which aren't too far off. Still,
F-117A is a decent attacker. It's like an improved version of the A-10A. It's
much faster, although it still has rotten air combat. It's good at ground
combat and it's well defended, and it has the PGB and CLB. It even has more
ammuntion, although I think that 54 missiles is not anywhere near enough.
Still, a worth purchasing if you need a really good ground bomber. Buying it
for Whiskey Corridor or Emancipation would work...

12. EF-2000 - Fighter

Speed: 16
Air to Air: 16
Air to Ground: 7
Mobility: 16
Stability: 10
Defense: 14

Guns: 800
Missiles: 56
XLAA: 16
UGBM: 14

Plane: 351,000
Paint: 456,000
XLAA: N/A
UGBM: 104,000

The EF-2000 is one of the best planes in the entire game. It even has decent
ground combat because it has UGBMs to go with it. It's mainly an air fighter,
as it has XLAAs and 16 points for air combat. It's also very agile, and it has
800 gun pellets for blowing up ground targets. Overall an extremely decent
plane, and you'll use it a lot for later missions.

13. R-MO1 - Multirole

Speed: 15
Air to Air: 13
Air to Ground: 12
Mobility: 15
Stability: 13
Defense: 17

Guns: 800
Missiles: 64
SOD: 14
XMAA: 18
LASM: 16

Plane: 370,000
Paint: 481,000
SOD: N/A
XMAA: 108,000
LASM: 111,000

The R-MO1 is almost exactly the same as the EF-2000, except it's now a
multirole fighter, but it's a total waste of money. The SODs are pure crap, the
XMAAs are the ONLY saving grace, and the LASMs are worthless. It's improved in
a couple areas over the EF-2000 like stability, but I still recommend you stick
with the EF-2000. You need to save money up.

14. F-15E - Multirole

Speed: 14
Air to Air: 16
Air to Ground: 14
Mobility: 15
Stability: 12
Defense: 16

Guns: 850
Missiles: 72
UGBL: 14
XMAA: 10
CLB: 14

Plane: 505,000
Paint: 657,000
UGBL: N/A
XMAA: 117,000
CLB: 119,000

Actually the F-15E is one of the best multirole planes. It's pretty fast and
stable, and it's agile with great air and ground combat abilities. It has XMAAs
too, so you can easily take down the ships in the air. The CLBs will help out
against ground targets. If you can't afford them, UGBLs can also deal with them
in short time. I recommend giving this one a purchase.

15. F-2A - Attacker

Speed: 13
Air to Air: 15
Air to Ground: 17
Mobility: 17
Stability: 9
Defense: 13

Guns: 800
Missiles: 68
UGBM: 16
LASM: 18
RCL: 80

Plane: 505,000
Paint: 657,000
UGBM: N/A
LASM: 121,000
RCL: 99,000

Do we really need another well-rounded fighter? If you have an EF-2000 or an
F-15E, don't even consider buying the F-2A. First of all, it's WEAKER than the
F-15E in everything except air to ground and mobility, and it's only slightly
stronger in these areas anyway. Plus, neither are that important. The UGBMs and
LASMs are not needed, and the RCLs aren't that special either, seeing as how
they can hardly hit a barn door. It's also EXPENSIVE too. Just forget about
this one.

16. SU-35 - Fighter

Speed: 17
Air to Air: 16
Air to Ground: 7
Mobility: 19
Stability: 10
Defense: 16

Guns: 850
Missiles: 72
XLAA: 18
UGBM: 16

Plane: 589,000
Paint: 766,000
XLAA: N/A
UGBM: 133,000

What do you know, another useless plane. First of all you don't need yet more
XLAAs and UGBMs. You are about to get the SU-37 soon, which is only a little
more expensive than SU-35 and it's much better. SU-35 is still a decent plane,
but you ought to just pass it up, because it's the last useless plane in the
game. More great fighters are coming.

17. F-22A - Fighter

Speed: 18
Air to Air: 19
Air to Ground: 10
Mobility: 16
Stability: 14
Defense: 16

Guns: 850
Missiles: 74
XMAA: 22
PGB: 16

Plane: 643,000
Paint: 836,000
XMAA: N/A
PGB: 163,000

F-22A is one of the fastest, most useful planes in the entire game. It's
extremely agile and pretty stable, and it's a huge air fighter. That's not to
mention that it has XMAAs. The PGBs are also nice bombs if you know how to use
them, which will make up for the F-22A's weakness in terms of ground combat,
and F-22A isn't even that expensive.

18. SU-37 - Fighter

Speed: 20
Air to Air: 19
Air to Ground: 8
Mobility: 20
Stability: 11
Defense: 17

Guns: 850
Missiles: 78
QAAM: 8
UGBL: 16
LASM: 20

Plane: 618,000
Paint: 803,000
QAAM: N/A
UGBL: 139,000
LASM: 146,000

The SU-37 is hands-down, in the top five planes of the game. These planes are
what the Yellow Squadron uses. There is simply nothing that the SU-37 cannot
do. It has UGBLs to make up for the lack of ground combat, and the stability is
good enough. It is EXTREMELY agile with high speed and excellent mobility, as
well as great defense. It is also excellent in air combat, because it has 78
missiles and QAAMs. And it's only 20,000 more than the SU-35, when you can just
compare... SU-37 rocks and I definitely recommend you purchase this one.

19. F-15 ACTIVE

Speed: 16
Air to Air: 17
Air to Ground: 13
Mobility: 20
Stability: 17
Defense: 16

Guns: 900
Missiles: 78
XMAA: 22
FAEB: 8

Plane: 620,000
Paint: 806,000
XMAA: N/A
FAEB: 286,000

The F-15 ACTIVE has the FAEB, which is the best bomb in the game. That is the
strongest point, together with the XMAA missiles, some good strength in not
only air but ground combat, and a lot of speed, together with tons of mobility.
This is a pretty good plane, although actually I would prefer the SU-37 over
the F-15 Active, but it's really your choice.

20. S-37A - Fighter

Speed: 18
Air to Air: 19
Air to Ground: 7
Mobility: 18
Stability: 15
Defense: 17

Guns: 900
Missiles: 78
QAAM: 10
UGBL: 18

Plane: 889,000
Paint: 1,560,000
QAAM: N/A
UGBL: 154,000

This is the SECOND best plane in the game. It is expensive, but very well worth
it. It has a lot of gunfire in it, and 78 missiles. I doubt you'll run out with
that many. It's as fast as the X-02 is, and it's an excellent air fighter. It
also has decent weapons to go with it, so basically the only weakness is the
lack of ground attacking power. Still, this is a good plane worth buying,
using, and having victory with.

21. X-02 - Multirole

Speed: 18
Air to Air: 20
Air to Ground: 17
Mobility: 20
Stability: 16
Defense: 11

Guns: 950
Missiles: 82
XLAA: 26
BDSP: 24
QAAM: 16

Plane: 1,414,000
Paint: 1,838,000
XLAA: N/A
BDSP: 240,000
QAAM: 160,000

The X-02 is a secret plane, but it still by far the greatest plane in the game.
It is THE ace air fighter, seeing as how it's extremely fast with a great power
for air combat. It is almost as good at ground combat, and its agility
astounds. It's pretty stable too, so just about its only weakness is the only
average defense. Still, the Erusians should stand no chance to the X-02 and its
weapons. It has 950 bullets, which is just about all you'll ever use, and it
has more missiles than needed. You should never have to go back and repair for
missiles alone. It has three of the best weapons in the entire game, seeing as
the XLAA's are superb air missiles, the BDSPs are the best bombs in the game,
and the QAAM tracks the enemy, basically leaving it with nothing left.
Basically now all I have to complain about is the very expensive price, but you
should easily be able to afford it after what it takes to get it.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

~~~~~~~~
6. Outro
~~~~~~~~

Well, it is now the end of one of the shortest guides I've ever written. Still,
I do think it's a pretty good guide and I did need some more in-depth guides
anyway, since most of mine are 100+ KB walkthroughs. Anyway now, hope you
enjoyed this guide. Sometime I might actually write an Ace Combat 04
walkthrough, but till then, see you later.

~~~~~~~~~~
7. Credits
~~~~~~~~~~

Gbness: For wasting his time enough to write out this guide. Bah, whatever.

CJayC: He is the one who made this excellent web site and my hat's off to him
for that.

DBM11085: Devin happens to hold a prolific list, and I'm on that list. Once I
submit the guide, he has to move me up. I love that list.

Minesweeper: The author of the greatest Ace Combat 04 guide out there, hands
down. I loved it even though I didn't take anything from it.

Namco: I have to thank them properly for making this fantastic game. I hope to
see Ace Combat 05 soon.

And of course, there are a lot of FANTASTIC authors on the GameFAQs FAQ
Contributors and Social Boards. Some day, I really want to meet these authors
in person; they rule that much! Check them out at these links:

� Cyril: (Stephanie Nutter)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/26010.html
� Psycho Penguin: (Steve McFadden)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/9471.html
� DBM11085: (Devin Morgan)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/3579.html
� ZoopSoul: (David McCutcheon)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/26774.html
� Supernova54321: (Duncan Hardy)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/22472.html
� Fox: (Martin Dale-Hench)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/30730.html
� Meowthnum1: (Trace Jackson)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/11356.html
� BSulpher: (Brian Sulpher)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/19608.html
� BTB: (Chad Steele)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/26608.html
� Karpah: (Rebecca Skinner)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/22431.html
� AlaskaFox: (Ronan Murphy)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/7818.html
� Snow Dragon: (Jesse Eubanks)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/10258.html
� Warhawk: (Stephen Harris)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/12949.html
� SinirothX: (Nick Henson)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/30775.html
� Gbness: (Richard B.)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32454.html

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