"Abandon Hoffnung.." (German for Hope).

It’s not easy to notice it in Stage Of Apocalypse, but the nuke’s mushroom explosion is partially rendered for the duration of the Mission 12 in Zero after it goes off (you’d have to go high and point towards the southwest corner of the map - your initial spawn point)

I never left hoffnung

I still remember it.

The bad ending in AC2 is made even worse in Assault Horizon Legacy, because in the remake it is implied the missile carry a nuclear warhead

I don't know if we can count it, because you only get this dark moment using the Skies Restored mod, but when Mihaly shoots down Brownie in Ace Combat 7. With the mod, Brownie gets progressively more and more terrified as Mihaly toys with her. And then his theme kicks in, like he's the angel of death on the prowl as Brownie begs for support and eventually screams out for Trigger right as his shoots down. I remember re-playing the mission with the mod and feeling cold, even though I knew it was going to happen.

You earned my attention with that PW reference on thumbnail

3:09 Code red, I repeat, CODE RED! THE COLONY IS ABOUT TO HIT

Whats even worse about The Inferno is some of the unused dialogue.

Pixy questioning what the mission was is part of it.

01:48 HATE-THIS-MISSILES-TILL-THIS-DAY . . .

personally, I know it isn't exactly shown, so it isn't on the top list, but an honorable mention to Tyler Island in Ace Combat 7, while on the island I think its mission 16? its the second Identify Target mechanic mission. You hear on the comms about how horrible the actions that the Erusians committed were, including dead children, and how terrifying it even is down there. Its not shown at all, for good reason honestly, but I feel it deserves a mention.

The maxor quote is appreciated

I think you could have done 10 or more including
ACZ - How the canon implies Cipher was hitting yellow targets to meet Heartbreak One, Huckebein, Grabacr, and Ofnir
ACZ - Interview with Gelb 2, how everyone's celebration of liberation is intrinsically tied to your squadmates death and forced to live as an outcast of the city.
ACZ - Interview with Schwarze Leader, Belka simply dishonorably discharges him and charge him as murderer despite his assignments
ACZ - XB-0 attack on Valais Air Base, and how it struck Lumen city right before
AC4 - The narrator's intro, forced to live the rest of the war as an orphan, then losing his guardian figure because of the player
AC4 - Emancipation mission 15, mass Blackjack bombing over civilian city
AC5 - Reprisal mission, literal mustard gas attack
AC5 - Powder Keg mission, and how your teammates joke about the entire thing being Vietnam Simulator
AC6 - Childrens being awfully familiar with the cities tunnel systems, while the adults aren't
AC6 - The economic fallout of Estovakia for building Chandelier and the logistical nightmare of Aigaion squadron
AC7 - Homeward mission 17, another scorched earth
ACX - Gleipnir dive towards civilian city and the necessity of Meson Cannons over civilian city
ACX2 - Spiridus attacks (and our combat) over civilian cities (Tokyo, London, and Lake Tahoe)
ACX2 - Sulejmani's backstory and the player escorting Olivieri in a civilian plane
AC Infinity - The last campaign mission Ulysses wipeout

Bonus
ACAH - Markov's backstory cutscene (Takeoff), how your side bombed off course and hit civilians caused Markov to take personal revenge for his wife.
(gameplay wise) AC X2 - Physics breaking Triple Orgoi fight over Antares and Canopus's Air Base
(gameplay wise) AC5 - Arkbird UAV maneuver glitch
(gameplay wise) AC5 and AC Infinity - SOLG Interception requires players to shoot the core from the inside the SOLG
(gameplay wise) AC X2 - Cyclops mission Balaur strike (Stonehenge and Excalibur on crack) and the Balaur itself can aim as fast as your plane.

The worst part about the true ending of Ace Combat 3 is that not only did Simon do all that for no other reason than he was a simp, but unlike every game from Ace Combat 04 onwards, you have to beat Ace Combat 3 to unlock free mission mode. In the Japanese version, that means playing through all five routes to unlock the true ending.

One of the most disturbing things about Huffnung is, like you said, that it means hope.

The very last transmission of the Belkan forces during that mission is: Abandon Huffnung.

In other words, abandon hope.

Abandon all hope those who enter here.

19:19 i got Knight rating on that mission, I did not dared to kill any yellow tgt in belkan war, and its gonna stay like that

Never thought I’d ever see Ace Combat get this much love in 2026. Awesome video!!

9:46 Ok I’m gonna need some elaboration on that UGSF timeline because this is my first time hearing about other games set in the ace combat universe.

Damn, New Order music at the end there…

love that Max0R reference at the end

Ace combat zero infeno mission  clearly shows that you are not fighting for the good guys