With the release of Ace Combat 8 not far off, we’ve been graced with a new story trailer and the reveal of a new Strangereal fighter.

The new Strangereal fighter is called the FA-36 Game (shown above), and for those who have been keeping up with their Ace Combat lore, it should look rather familiar.

In that, the FA-36 Game is clearly a version of the XFA-36A Game from Ace Combat 3 . This is very noteworthy, as Ace Combat 3 is the furthest along the Strangereal timeline, and Ace Combat 8 is coming close to some of those events.

The FA-36 also looks like a cross between an F-22 and the X-02S Strike Wyvern , which is a funny mix. No doubt it will perform wonderfully once you get your hands on it in the game.

In the new trailer (shown below), we also see the familiar orbital elevator from Ace Combat 7 and more shots of the frankly terrifying Land Battleship .

So it’s clear that the Strangereal setting is being carefully planned out in Ace Combat 8 .

There’s also a live-action prequel episode on the way soon called Hour Zero , which has a pretty impressive cast and will likely add some much-needed context for who and what the Wings of Theve really is.

In any case, Ace Combat 8 is looking amazing, and I fully expect it to surpass Ace Combat 7 , which is no small feat considering it sold 7 million copies .

Ace Combat 8 is released for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam on October 2.

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