We are reaching the end of the Switch’s life cycle, and with that, the end of one of the most interesting kinds of games I’ve reviewed since the inception of this website: the “impossible Switch ports”. Games which, given the system’s underwhelming mobile-based horsepower, shouldn’t be able to run or be ported to it. In some cases, companies would shut me up, with amazing ports such as Doom, Wolfenstein II, The Witcher 3, and others. In other cases, well, logic would prevail, and we’d get crap like Mortal Kombat 1 or Kingdom Come: Deliverance. When Bandai Namco announced a port of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, I was stunned. That game was famous for not even running properly on the PS4 and Xbox One. How the hell would they be able to make it work?

And so they did. It does work.

Of course, I’m not going to say that the Switch port of Ace Combat 7 is as good as its PS4, Xbox One, or its PC counterparts. This is the Switch we’re talking about. Its hardware was dated the day it was released, a whopping seven years ago. I am more impressed with how Project Aces, the team behind it, was able to take advantage of some of the system’s features to make some of its cutbacks less noticeable. Playing this game on portable mode is, of course, the way to go. If you decide to play it this way, you won’t notice its many graphical setbacks.

Let me be clear that this is not an Outer Worlds case of having to tone down the resolution, asset quality, and textures to the point of making the game look like you’re trying to run Crysis on an Amiga. It’s still quite good looking in some aspects. The lighting is still quite good, for instance, and so are the fighter jet models. There are a lot less assets on the ground, but those are the kinds of setbacks I’m okay with; I’m meant to take my jet into the clouds, so I really don’t mind having less trees onscreen, for example.

There’s also the fact that this game isn’t trying to aim for a huge framerate. I’ve reviewed Ace Combat 7 on the Xbox One, and that version wasn’t able to achieve that benchmark, after all. Instead, this Switch port aims for 30fps, and to be honest, I’m fine with that. Unlike a lot of Switch titles aiming for that benchmark, the frame pacing is solid. In no moment did the framerate feel clunky, or as if there were missing frames of animation. It was just 30 frames a second, but a SOLID 30 frames a second. I’m fine with that, as it also made the gameplay intuitive, and the controls responsive enough. Of course, be sure to have a Hori Split Pad or a Pro Controller, as the joycons simply weren’t made for this kind of more precise gameplay.

So, in theory, all of it works. But does it mean it’s fun to play in a portable? There are some impressive ports on the Switch which just don’t feel right on the system, even if, technically-speaking, they are great. Ace Combat 7 is not the case. Even if I still don’t give a crap about the game’s plot, and I ended up skipping each and every single cutscene thrown at me, Ace Combat 7 is still an arcadey game at heart. You can still pick up any given mission and have fun with a recently unlocked jet, or enjoy some extra postgame missions for the sake of it. Loading times aren’t egregious, and the soundtrack didn’t feel excessively compressed. I don’t know which kind of compression technique was used in order to reduce Ace Combat 7‘s file size; all I know is that it worked like a charm.

I have always wanted to play Ace Combat 7 on-the-go, but I’ve always thought that wouldn’t have been possible unless I had access to a Steam Deck. What Project Aces and Bandai Namco did here is nothing short of spectacular. Sure, the framerate is limited to 30fps, and it drains the Switch’s battery like a Rimac Nevera at 250mph, but it’s a fantastic port of a game that was already quite demanding on much more powerful systems. It still looks quite good, its framerate is solid, and its pseudo-arcadey gameplay loop works quite well on a portable. In short, Ace Combat 7 might not exactly be the absolute BEST impossible Switch port, but it’s safe to say it’s easily the most impressive of them all.

Graphics: 8.5 Of course, the game went through some hardcore graphical setbacks in order to run on the Switch. But what really matters is that, miraculously, it runs well, and looks quite good on a smaller screen.	Gameplay: 8.5 A locked 30fps is a bit underwhelming for an arcade combat flight simulator, but the controls are very responsive and the frame pacing is solid. It just works shockingly well on the Switch.
Sound: 9.0 Pretty much the same as the PS4 and Xbox One versions. If there’s any audio compression, it was done in a way I could barely notice.	Fun Factor: 9.0 I have always wanted to play this game on-the-go, but I’ve always thought that wouldn’t have been possible unless I had access to a Steam Deck. Bandai Namco and Project Aces did some marvelous work porting Ace Combat 7 to the Switch, whilst still keeping it fun, frantic, and somewhat good-looking.
Final Verdict: 9.0

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch

Reviewed it on Switch.