The very last thing you’d consider influencing a fantasy series that’s all about characters being forced into heroism is a militaristic flight simulator. However, once you read between the lines, the fact that Ace Combat 7 inspired Sentenced to be a Hero isn’t too surprising.
In a recent interview with Anime News Network, Sentenced to Be a Hero writer Rocket Shokai explores this very connection, highlighting what made both the original light novel series and its anime adaptation by Studio KAI so appealing. They note the penal unit episodes in Ace Combat 7 as directly influencing the concept of “hero sentencing,” which makes a lot of sense in retrospect.
Although odd on the surface, this revelation should come as no surprise to Ace Combat fans. The flight simulator, which was originally released in 2019, still offers some of the most cinematic dogfights and aerial action you’ll get in a modern video game. All the while, it’s oozing with very similar themes presented in Sentenced to be a Hero, nailing that moral gray zone and the transactional essence of war with expert precision. Microsoft Flight Simulator simply can’t match.
Even the main character in Ace Combat 7, Trigger, bears many resemblances to the anime’s Xylo Forbartz. Both are wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to fight in a war they have no real stake in. This is the crux of what makes Ace Combat 7, as much as Sentenced to Be a Hero, such a darkly rich experience — even when it’s mere jets streaking across the sky.
But that’s just the thing. While you’re rarely ever given true freedom in Ace Combat 7, it’s in those meditative moments where it’s just you alone in the cockpit and the radio chatter fades into the background as you slice through the clouds, chasing contrails with the troposphere streaking above you, where you find true bliss. There’s no other game that offers you such freedom, while still painting the harsh costs of war in its subtle narrative cues.
A particular highlight for me in Ace Combat 7 is Mission 11, Fleet Destruction. As the name implies, you’re tasked with wiping out an entire fleet of faceless “bad guys” scattered across support vessels, warships, and carriers in the waters near Snider’s Top, Northern Usea. The mission structure is simple: mass destruction. Kill every target and don’t ask any questions.
However, when you zoom out, things get a bit more complex. Mission 11 is set in a particularly large operational area over open ocean, allowing you the freedom to tackle the assignment in a wide variety of ways. The outcome is always the same, though. You might have the freedom to move about practically anywhere, but never true freedom of purpose.
It might be nearing seven years in age, but Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown still feels like a breath of fresh air. Whether you’re coming from Sentenced to be a Hero or just chasing that Top Gun high, it’s a rare experience that lets you feel completely untethered — even as it reminds you that you never really are.
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