GamingPickz

Air Combat

Air Combat is a 1995 combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation, and the first title of the Ace Combat franchise. Players control an aircraft and are tasked with completing a series of missions, with objectives ranging from destroying formations of enemies to protecting a specific target from enemy fire. Missions award money that is used to purchase new fighter aircraft, each with its own unique weapons and strengths.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.

Simulation

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Released
1995
Developer
Namco
Platforms
2 systems
Critics
Not scored
Steam Deck
Unknown
Download
Not stated
We have not written a full review of this game.This is a catalogue entry: everything below comes from a source we can link, checked on a stated date. There is no score and no verdict here, because we only publish those after a reviewer has played the game and written it up properly. Our team may well have played this one. Until someone writes the review, we are not going to imply a verdict we have not put our name to.

The record

Catalogue facts
First released29 June 1995
DeveloperNamco
PublisherNamco, Sony Interactive Entertainment
PlatformsPlayStation, Steam Deck
GenresSimulation

Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q2604312, seeded 30 August 2026.

How long is Air Combat? How long to beat it

Total play time for Air Combat is about 4.5 hours to do everything, and around 2.6 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.

Air Combat length by how much you play
How you playHoursPlayers logged
Just the main story: straight through the critical path2.6h72
Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do3.4h33
Completionist: everything: 100% the game4.5h19

Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.

Where Air Combat sits on the grid

The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Air Combat lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.

The whole catalogueLargely forgotten
Year
52ahead of 8% of the catalogue
Reach
38ahead of 79% of the catalogue

Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.

What readers say about Air Combat

Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.

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Where Air Combat appears

The ranked lists and finder pages Air Combat qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.

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Common questions about Air Combat

What platforms is Air Combat on?

Air Combat is available on PlayStation, Steam Deck. It first released in 1995.

Who made Air Combat?

Air Combat was developed by Namco and published by Namco, Sony Interactive Entertainment.

How long does it take to beat Air Combat?

about 2.6 hours for the main story, 3.4 hours with the main extras, 4.5 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.