First Flight
Mission 4: Emergency Sortie – September 27th, 2010 | NO COMM
The Cutscene That Was Promised
Overview: The Yuktobanian Air Force launches a nighttime raid on Sand Island AFB. Wardog Squadron is scrambled to defend the island, but with Captain Bartlett gone, and his replacement, Colonel Ford still en route to the island, they are vastly outnumbered.
Guest Commentator: I am joined today for this mission by Max Payne 3 speedrun world record holder (I’m not lying, look it up), CJacobs.
ARCHER
Real Name: Hans Grimm
Callsign(s): Archer, Wardog 4
Age: 19
Sex: Male
Nationality: Osea
Signature Plane: Player determined (F-14A Tomcat in all promotional materials)
Voice Actor: Johnny Yong Bosch
A recent graduate of the Osean Air Defense Force’s pilot training program out of Heierlark AFB, and one of the reserve trainees not yet officially cleared for active duty at the time of Sand Island’s attack by the YAF.
At the age of 19, just two years out of high school, Hans Grimm is the youngest pilot (and arguably youngest person) currently stationed at Sand Island AFB, as well as the least experienced in active combat. Prior to his first combat flight on the evening of September 27th, 2010, he was officially posted to the OADF’s 703rd Maintenance Company under Chief Peter Beagle while he waited for flight clearance from Captain Bartlett.
Military service runs in Grimm’s family. His father and older brother served in the military. SPECULATION: It’s speculated that his father (who is curiously never mentioned in Ace Combat 5, while his brother and mother are) is actually Heinrad Grimm, aka GrauOrca 2 of the Belkan Air Force, whom you might remember from the Assault Records from Ace Combat Zero’s Mayhem. It’s never confirmed by any canonical sources, but its implied that Heinrad’s widow took her two sons and emigrated to Osea after the end of the Belkan War, or merely remained in South Belka and became an Osean citizen by default as Osea assimilated the territory, and her sons later joined the military of their new homeland.
Despite his inexperience and occasional lack of faith in his own abilities, Grimm is a quick learner and quite skilled for a beginner, possessing incredible courage under pressure. With the loss of Capt. Jack Barlett at sea and the death of Lt. Col. Ford en route to Sand Island, Col. Perrault has decided, begrudgingly, to maintain Wardog Squadron’s current configuration as of the conclusion of the Sand Island defense sortie.
Hans Grimm now assumes the position of Wardog 4, with [NAME REDACTED] granted an in-field promotion to the rank of Captain and assuming the position of squadron leader, Wardog 1. Flight Lieutenants Kei Nagase and Alvin H. Davenport, respectively, retain their original positions as Wardogs 2 and 3.
(Possibly) named after German author (and Nazi supporter :stonk:) Hans Grimm, though that’s probably an intentional reference. He was more likely named after the German fairtale authors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (aka the Brothers Grimm), as Hans and his unnamed brother are literally the Brothers Grimm in Ace Combat 5.
He also shares (obliquely) a birthday with his voice actor, Johnny Yong Bosch. Bosch was born on
January 6, and dialog from Grimm in the final mission of the game places his birthday between the week of January 3 and January 9.
This is also Johnny Yong Bosch’s “return” to the Ace Combat franchise after we first saw him as PJ in Ace Combat Zero, though like Beau Billingslea last time around, his AC debut was here in 5, with PJ coming later.
KIRK
Real Name: Kirk
Callsign(s): …seriously?
Age: 7 (47, dog years)
Sex: Male
Nationality: Osea
Signature Plane: BAE Hawk
Voice Actor: None
A Labrador Retriever owned by Peter S. Beagle and the unofficial mascot of Wardog Squadron.
FORD
Real Name: [UNKNOWN] Ford
Callsign(s): Wardog 1 (provisional)
Age: Unknown
Sex: Male
Nationality: Osea
Signature Plane: Unknown
Voice Actor: Uncredited
A Lieutenant Colonel in the Osean Air Defense Force. He assigned to Sand Island AFB to assume wartime command over Wardog Squadron as its immediate flight lead and to act as the Commander Air Group for all additional OADF and ONAF squadrons expected to be transferred to Sand Island in the coming days and weeks in preparation for possible counter strike operations against Yuktobania.
It can’t be said for certain whether Ford was assigned to Sand Island purely to fill the hole left by Jack Bartlett in the base’s command structure following Bartlett’s apparent death, or if Ford’s reassignment was intended from the beginning in response to the war’s outbreak. The latter is highly likely, as the OADF would probably want someone with command experience and the highest in-field rank possible at the command of Sand Island’s air wing, plus it would give Perrault an excuse to either sideline or outright turf Bartlett, which Perrault would consider a personal bonus given Bartlett’s history of self-righteous insubordination.
Not that matters now, anyway, because Ford’s kind of a dead motherfucker now.
WHY IS THERE A PUDDLE OF MUDD SONG IN AN ACE COMBAT GAME?
If ever there was a question to build an LP around, I think we have landed on it. It’s a truly curious thing, but not entirely out of the blue. Prior to Ace Combat 5’s release, Namco actually put out a press release touting that Blurry by Puddle of Mudd would be featured prominently in AC5 after securing the rights to it from PoM’s recording studio, Geffen Records.
To quote a Gamestop article on the announcement from 2004:
[quote=Chris Kohler]
The captain has turned on the “Rock Out” sign, because Namco announced today that its aerial combat title Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War will feature music by Puddle of Mudd. The multiplatinum rock group’s hit song “Blurry” will appear in the opening trailer and in several other segments of the dogfighting game, which ships to retail on October 25.
Interestingly enough, “the Ace Combat 5 development team had this song in mind when creating the game,” said Yoshi Niki, business unit director at Namco Hometek. …[/quote]
So basically, the answer to this question ultimately lies with Project Aces boss and series executive producer Kazutoki Kono, he of the LP series subtitle “Kazutoki Kono’s Wild Ride,” aka the “Ship.” dude depicted in those Ace Combat development comics that Cooked Auto posted in the Shattered Skies thread.
The above quote shows that this wasn’t some last second decision made by Project Aces, they had Blurry in mind throughout the game’s development, which means they were listening to it probably non-stop during the making of AC5. Blurry is even included on the Ace Combat 5 soundtrack as a bonus track at the end of the last disc.
So the question still is, “why?” Again, that’s probably a question better pitched to Kono himself, but I have my theories. Ace Combat 5 is ostensibly a game about America, specifically early 00s George W. Bush-era America, explicitly Japan’s interpretation of 00s George W. Bush-era America. So the production team was no doubt immersing themselves in contemporary American pop culture at the time in order to properly get the “feel” of the game world down as much as they could. This means they were probably watching a lot of American TV shows, American movies, American news broadcasts (particularly CNN), reading American books, and listening to American music. And one of the songs that happened to stick with them for one reason or another was Blurry, by Puddle of Mudd, which had been released in 2001 just four years prior.
Now, separating it from all the baggage associated with it coming from an also-ran American second wave grunge band and what an utter bonkers shitbag Wes Scantlin is, Blurry is, for the most part, a halfway decent song. So I can see why PA went with it over its contemporary compatriots because it is a really catchy song if you don’t pay attention to or think about its lyrics. I mean, what the hell else were they gonna go with? Something from Limp Bizkit, Smash Mouth, Creed, or Nickleback? Probably because they were too expensive :V
Still, it’s probably worth diving into just what specifically Blurry is actually about which isn’t readily apparent at first blush.
CJacobs ddinkins and I discussed this in the Operation Katina video, but, to directly quote from the Wikipedia article on the song:
[quote=Wikipedia]
Puddle of Mudd’s lead singer Wes Scantlin wrote this about his desire to be a good father and hang with his child. “Blurry” angered Scantlin’s son’s mother when she first heard the song. She and Scantlin are separated. According to Scantlin, “Blurry” helped bring some issues into the open and improved their relationship.[/quote]
[quote=Wikipedia]
The music video for the song shows Scantlin playing with his son, Jordan, interspersed with shots of the band playing in a garage. Towards the end, as the song picks up, it shows Jordan driving off in the back seat with a man and a woman in the front seat (presumably Jordan’s mother and stepfather), as Wes watches the car sadly. The video was directed by Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst.[/quote]
So yeah, basically Wes Scantlin is a creepy fuckup shitbag.
Scantlin has, apropos of the thread title, been arrested or had run-ins with the police 11 times since 2001, including one incident in August 2016, a mere three days after the Ace Combat 04 LP kicked off where Scantlin tried to jury-rig a carbomb as a means of deterring alleged thieves whom Sctanlin believed were repeatedly breaking into his car.
In April, that same year, Scantlin was involved in an armed standoff outside his Los Angeles house involving 30 LAPD officers. He has also had several on-stage meltdowns including one incident in 2015 where he destroyed his guitar, headset, and part of a drum kit before storming off stage seemingly unprompted, and an incident from February 2016 where Scantlin paused in the middle of a show, singled out an audience member in the front row, and then went on a protracted rant about how the person “stole [his] fucking house” and then left the stage in a fit of anger, cancelling the show.
Don’t believe me? Watch the video.
I have learned more than I ever wanted to know about Wesley Reid Scantlin as a result of this LP and I am utterly fascinated by all of it.
Aircraft featured in Mission 4
C-1 Trader
Manufacturer: Grumman
Role: Carrier transport / anti-submarine aircraft
Manufactured: 1955-???
Status: Retired (1988)
Primary Operators: United States
Quick Facts:
- A carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft and variant of the Grumman S-2 Tracker.
- Used as a ship-to-shore transport to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo between land ports and aircraft carriers at sea.
- Originally designed to be an anti-submarine aircraft.
- Can carry nine passengers or 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) of cargo.
- As of its retirement in 1988 it was the second to last radial aircraft in service in the US military.
- Approximately 10 Traders are still in operation as of 2010 as Warbirds (former military craft now operated by civilian firms, primarily as display planes for airshows).
- Its companion/successor plane, the C-2 Greyhound is still in service as a COD craft today.
- The C-1 that appears in the cutscenes of Ace Combat 5 is stamped with the OMDF (Osean Maritime Defense Force) logo on its fuselage in the place where the real world Trader would have the NAVY marking.
- This would either suggest that the Osean Navy it still operating C-1s in 2010 (22 years after their real-world retirement) or that the Trader that appears in this mission is a warbird privately owned and operated by Pops, yet still possessing its old OMDF identification markings.
- Interestingly, the C-1 model that appears in-game is marked with the roundels and flags of the Yuktobanian Air Force…
Mindripper
- Plane: F-4G Wild Weasel
- Mission 4
- Spawn conditions: Appears from the north in the first part of the mission (before Grimm takes off) after some F-4s and B-1Bs are destroyed.
Tracks featured in Mission 4:
DISC 1
DISC 4
The final member of Wardog squadron, Hans Grimm:
The Four Three Wings of Sand Island:
