their own route through the campaign, which affects how the game progresses. There are points where missions branch out into multiple paths, marking segments of the game. By choosing which missions to take on, players can shape the course of the missions that are being played after by triggering or not triggering certain events (shorter time limit due to limited fuel or removing enemies that could have appeared otherwise). Certain bonus stages are also unlocked by taking a particular campaign path. Most of the missions in the game are laid out as simply "search-and-destroy", where the player must engage a target and destroy it within a time limit; the only variations to this layout is whether the targets are air-to-air or air-to-ground (land or sea). There are four levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, and the unlockable Ace level. The difficulty mode affects how many enemies are in a stage, how accurate the enemies are, how much damage the enemies and the player's airplane can take. Plot Throughout the various cutscenes, the story is narrated by Albert Genette, a reporter sent on assignment to cover the conflict. This is the same reporter who covers the Osea-Yuktobania conflict of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. In the year 2020, after years of civil war and internal struggle, the Democratic Republic of Leasath (), under the command of Diego Gaspar Navarro invades its peaceful neighboring country, the Federal Republic of Aurelia. Owing to their Gleipnir Flying Fortress, Leasath overwhelms most of Aurelia within ten days. The remainder of the Aurelian military bands together at Cape Aubrey Airbase and manages to achieve a Pyrrhic victory: they destroy a flight of Leasath bombers, but Gleipnir in turn wipes out most of the deployed Aurelian aircraft. Among the survivors of Gleipnir's attack is the ace pilot Gryphus One, who bears the symbol of "Southern Cross". Following the battle of Cape Aubrey, Gryphus One spearheads an offensive to recapture Port Patterson, a critical supply base and landing area for Leasath's forces. Gryphus One distinguishes himself by inflicting heavy damage on the enemy air force, navy and ground forces. After the liberation of Port Patterson, the Aurelians set out to liberate the city of Santa Elva and destroy Gleipnir. Depending on the players choice, either the Aurelian navy or ground forces engage Gleipnir. Gryphus One downs Gleipnir over Santa Elva, earning the nickname of "Nemesis" among Leasathians.