Kazutoki Kono: You're welcome.
Back in June, I asked the Ace Combat brand director, who's been working on the series since 1997's Ace Combat 2, if he'd ever gotten to strap into an F-16 and experience the real thrills of doing barrel rolls at 30,000 feet. "Unfortunately over the last 30 years of my career I've been appealing, saying 'hey, we want to ride in one of these jets!' but we have not yet had the chance," Kono said at the time. "Neither myself, or anyone on the team."
Mere months later, it's a whole new world. In a promotional video released today alongside Ace Combat 8, Bandai Namco revealed that Kono finally got to climb into the cockpit of a jet and live the real life version of the series he's been overseeing for years and years. Well, minus the combat parts.
"I was scared before getting in. But once we were airborne, it turned into one of the most beautiful experiences," he said in the video. "The G-force during turns was noticeable, but what stood out the most was the force pushing me downward into the seat. Being up in the sky inside such a compact cockpit felt incredible. It was a surprisingly comfortable and enjoyable space to be in. Compared to a large aircraft, it really made me appreciate the appeal of fighter jets."
One way to look at this sequence of events is to see the ad as a logical and inevitable marketing step for a series that Bandai Namco has clearly put more money behind than ever before, including a live-action YouTube miniseries. The other way to look at it—as I'm choosing to—is that the public outcry after my groundbreaking interview was published reached a level of fervor that simply could not be ignored. It may have only gotten one comment on pcgamer.com, but the ripples must've been felt all the way over in Tokyo.
Clearly the people demanded Kazutoki Kono be given the chance to soar that big blue sky, and the money men had no choice but to pay for our guy to hitch a ride in a MiG-21. Whatever it cost, it was clearly worth it. Look at Kono in his post-flight interview. He's glowing!
That's the look of a man who's just had his dream fulfilled. And even after having just experienced the wonder of flight at a speed and intimacy few on this earth will ever know themselves, he remained steadfast in his duty as brand director.
"Looking out at the clouds and the sky while flying, I couldn't help but think how Ace Combat is incredibly well-made," he said. No argument here.
