Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy was an enjoyable romp trough the skies in the early days of the 3DS, and its chunky dogfighting proved to be a delightful fit for auto-stereoscopic 3D. What better way to immerse yourself in a virtual world than to feel as if you're soaring over it, right?
Bandai Namco is now offering the chance to do it all over again in Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy+ on New Nintendo 3DS, this time with a few neat-o new features plus some older ones that didn't quite make the leap in the a Western version of the original game.
"Plus" is a suitable subtitle for this edition as what is new amounts to minor pleasantries. The meat of Assault Horizon Legacy+ is by and large the same as it ever was, which we won't go into much here — check out our full review for all that detailed goodness.
One of the benefits of playing on New Nintendo 3DS is the vastly more stable auto-stereoscopic effect, which minimizes the visual jitter caused by natural hand movements or bumpy transit. This keeps the skies from splitting, offering a more visually appealing world in which to fly around and bomb to bits. However, since the improved 3D effect is actually a hardware-level feature, players of the original 2011 version will receive the same benefit.
Assault Horizon Legacy+ players are able to look around the skies thanks to C-Stick support — handy for locating bogies. This rights a wrong of the previous Western release, as the original Japanese version — released in 2012 — did offer this feature when using the Circle Pad Pro.
All-new this time around is amiibo support. This novel addition allows you to unlock Nintendo mascot-themed skins for jets, finally allowing you to live your dream of flying a Tomcat with Princess Peach painted on the sides. Fret not, amiibo dissidents: you can still unlock these skins without having to buy a physical trinket. Select stages now contain a classic Mario question block, and blasting it to smithereens will unlock a skin. As these mascot skins are the most substantive new addition to Assault Horizon Legacy+ — let that sink in for a second — it's assuring to know that they aren't locked behind an additional purchase.
So where does Assault Horizon Legacy+ fit into the New Nintendo 3DS line-up? It's a tough sell to those who may have already experienced the title previously. If you skipped this game last time around, the allure of improved 3D and amiibo support help strengthen the case to take off. Although we must admit, we're pretty happy to have an excuse to take to the skies again.
Comments 26
Bought the original for a fiver but can't see plus being worth a purchase.
I am a big fan of the series, really big fan of Namco / Project Aces fine arcade flight sims shooters series. In fact and surprisingly, the original 3DS entry is my favourite of the series due to that awesome L+R manoeuvring technique and a very impressive plane roster. I really hope this revised entry reaches more people than the sadly overlooked original, because I really wish Namco would consider a full fledged "Ace Combat" on Wii U (FYI I dislike the "Ace Combat Infinity" freemium model.)
i loved this game when i had it, but at the time i was edicted to buying, beating, then selling...
If it's made downloadable this time, I'll get it for sure.
@TruenoGT great suggestions!
I never got around to buying the vanilla version(but always wanted to). In the end I'm glad I held off. The amiibo support is a nifty addition.
this is an old game with added amiibo support. they could have easily done this with a patch.
i will try to get a used version of the old game instead
If you skipped this game when it launched with the 3DS, get it now in it's updated form. It was exhilarating, fun, and challenging. Also, it looks spectacular in 3-D.
If I ever get a new 3DS I would get this one because of the C stick.
It doesn't look as good as I thought it might
@Shiryu You basically said everything word for word I wanted to say.
Surprised they even mentioned it on their Facebook page as it's literally all Infinity This & Infinity That and "here's another way to sink tonnes of money this week".
Would like to add I'm glad the Amiibo thing is optional as I wanted to limit my Amiibos to ones I really wanted.
My question is since this is basically an old game with a new coat of paint how much will we be charged? This should be 20$ at best. If that the case I'll sell my old copy I never really played due to too many games at one time and pick up the new copy. If it's priced above that it's highway robbery and nothing more.
I have the original, a keeper for me. The new features don't interest me, I got on okay with the controls. Strange they didn't add more levels and other stuff. Pass
Does it have online multiplayer?
@crazyj2312 No, it's the only single flaw with the game, no multiplayer of any kind sadly.
Maybe if we all start making enough noise, there will be an "Ace Combat" on Wii U?
@Shiryu I doubt that will happen. They first turned AC reboot into a COD action overdose game on PS3/360 and then into a free-to-play game on PS3. They obviously want to find a more accessable way of bringing AC to a bigger audience. The Wii U doesn't really fit into that model. Another AC on 3DS is more likely and I'd prefer that over the last two console takes on the series.
@SuperWiiU I will continue to dream because I not only really love the series but know that the touch-screen gamepad could be used for radar.
There's really no point in this version is there? All those things they added could've just been added via update. Bamco's just trying to trick people into spending more money on a 2-3 year old game just because it has amiibo support (which got added to other games VIA UPDATE).
Legacy is an excellent game, but anyone whose interested is far better off buying the older version, unless you really want to pay $30 additionally for costumed planes.
If they had updated this with new missions, free flight mode, and local and online multiplayer then this would've been worth existing.
@Shiryu The only issue I have with that is that in real life they've been pushing to placing more information in the pilot's forward view (HUD, HMD, etc) and then ACAHL put the airspeed on the lower screen (when in 3rd Person view).
At this point I'd gladly take another remake on the 3DS, perhaps the full Japanese version of Ace Combat 3 would be a nice start; if they can fit the cut scenes.
@Shiryu They could use the Gamepad screen as the entire front panel of a cockpit. And ofcourse use the Wii mote as a flightstick. There's all kinds of possibilities, but so far it doesn't look likely to happen.
@FX102 The full Japanese version of "Electrosphere" would certainly be a welcome to my pocket.
@SuperWiiU That's what I am looking forward in "Star Fox".
I skipped the original, so I'll probably snag it.
Even I'm a big fan of this series, I don't think this is enough for me to buy this. Well probably years later when the price is dropped low enough.
@Dawn-Shade
The original release of this was budget priced at $20 new, so this will probably be the same. It's worth it.
A key point I saw about this game on Siliconera: you don't need Amiibo to unlock all the Nintendo jet designs. You can unlock them by achieving things in-game. The only one they mentioned was Princess Peach, but I assume there are others. So if you're on the fence about this game and not into Amiibo, jump off it and get in line at Gamestop.
@Quorthon
Sorry to burst the bubble for those looking for a discounted release but http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=245089
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