Gaming

Now Playing: ACE Combat 8: Wings of Theve

A refreshing change of pace

Published

September 28, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

I came into ACE Combat 8: Wings of Theve completely blind.

I knew very little about the franchise outside of the fact that it’s a fighter plane game. My entire exposure was limited to a handful of press releases from Bandai Namco and, of course, the noise the pink-haired character made on social media when she was first revealed.

So, I had no idea what to expect when I climbed into the cockpit.

What surprised me most wasn’t the flying. It was everything that happened outside of it.

A surprisingly beautiful presentation

I was floored by the story segments of the game, particularly the visuals and presentation.

A lot of these scenes are presented from a first-person perspective. The characters and environments you interact with are beautifully rendered, and there’s an impressive level of detail to the world around you.

It looks like a AAA game. It just doesn’t move like your typical AAA action game or RPG. That threw me off a bit.

There’s something intentionally different about how ACE Combat 8 presents its story and world. You’re not controlling a character running around a beautifully rendered environment. Instead, you’re mostly observing the world from a grounded first-person perspective before getting back into the cockpit.

It’s an unusual approach, but one I found myself appreciating.

Learning how to fly

The bigger adjustment was actually flying the plane.

I had trouble getting used to the controls and the structure of the missions. I failed the first one quite a few times because I couldn’t fully understand the radar or the environment I was flying in.

It took plenty of getting used to on my part.

Even after a few hours of play, I can’t say I got fully used to it.

The game offers STANDARD and EXPERT control schemes. STANDARD is designed to be more intuitive, while EXPERT gives you more control over the aircraft through traditional roll-and-pitch inputs.

I still had plenty to learn regardless of the control scheme. There’s a lot of information to process at once: your aircraft’s position, altitude, speed, radar, targets, incoming missiles, objectives, and everything happening around you.

It takes time to develop a feel for how everything moves.

Missions aren’t just about shooting everything

The mission structure is quite specific.

You have to do things a certain way in each mission. It’s not just “blast everything in your path.”

That offered a lot of variety and made the game more engaging.

Some missions asked you to maintain a certain altitude to avoid detection. Others demanded expert flying. Some also felt like full-on aerial combat.

Objectives can range from destroying targets and protecting allies to earning a certain number of points, with some missions changing objectives while you’re already in the air.

That keeps the campaign from feeling like a series of identical dogfights.

There’s also a progression system built around different aircraft types, including fighters, attackers, multirole aircraft, and electronic warfare planes. More than 30 aircraft are available, with new planes, upgrades, and special weapons unlocked through the Aircraft Tree.

Your choice of aircraft and weapons can also change how you approach a mission. A fighter makes sense when the skies are packed with enemies, while an attacker can be better suited to ground targets. Multirole aircraft offer a middle ground when you’re unsure what you’ll encounter.

Wingman commands add another layer to combat. You can order your pilots to attack, spread out, provide support, or use their special weapons.

The result is a game that asks you to pay attention to what’s happening instead of simply holding down the trigger.

A story worth sticking with

The story I’ve encountered so far isn’t something to write home about.

Its presentation, however, is engaging enough that I feel a lot of people can easily soldier on to see it through to the end.

The first-person story segments, radio chatter, briefings, and events that unfold during missions give the campaign more personality than simply jumping from one dogfight to another.

There’s clearly a larger conflict unfolding, and the game does a good job of making its missions feel like part of something bigger.

The presentation does a lot of the heavy lifting here.

Is ACE COMBAT 8: Wings of Theve your Play Match?

The campaign has 30 missions that run at around 15 minutes each, give or take. Your mileage, naturally, will vary.

For me, those first few hours took longer because I was still trying to figure out how to move, where to look, and what the game actually wanted me to do.

ACE Combat 8 isn’t immediately intuitive if you’re coming into it completely blind like I did. The game does give you training options for practicing flight controls and special weapons, which can help you get comfortable before throwing yourself into tougher missions.

Once things start clicking, though, the experience becomes quite distinct from the type of game most people gravitate towards.

Overall, ACE Combat 8: Wings of Theve feels like a nice break from the usual games where you control a single character and go through linear levels or an open world.

It’s the perfect palette cleanser.

I didn’t expect to spend my first few hours struggling with radar, movement, altitude, and mission objectives. Those struggles also made the moments when I finally understood what I was supposed to do feel more rewarding.

I’m still not fully comfortable in the cockpit.

I’m also ready for another sortie.

Verdict: Swipe Right.

Gaming

FFVII Revelation: 11 things you missed

Deep cuts from Hamaguchi’s interviews

Published

October 6, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

I have had the privilege of interviewing Final Fantasy VII Revelation game director Naoki Hamaguchi before, back when Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was still on its way to release.

So, naturally, I have massive FOMO seeing all the interviews that have come out since Tokyo Game Show.

GadgetMatch Managing Editor Rodneil Quiteles with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth game director Naoki Hamaguchi

Rather than sulk about it, we’re doing the next best thing: collecting the bits and pieces Hamaguchi has shared across those interviews, along with his own comments and clarifications, as we get closer to the final installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.

We’re now roughly six months away from Revelation’s April 8, 2027 release, and there’s already a surprising amount we know about the game.

You’ve probably already heard about the huge open world, the Highwind, new playable characters, FITS, and the two story DLCs.

But Hamaguchi has also dropped plenty of smaller details that haven’t received nearly as much attention.

Here are 11 things you probably missed.

1. Some armor can link three Materia together

Let’s start with one of the biggest gameplay deep cuts.

Revelation will have armor with three linked Materia slots.

That might sound like a small upgrade, but linked Materia are fundamental to how Final Fantasy VII‘s build system works. More linked slots mean more room to experiment with combinations and create specialized setups.

Hamaguchi also revealed that some Materia are restricted to specific FITS, meaning the game’s new outfit-based combat system isn’t purely about choosing a role and calling it a day.

The Materia system is getting its own layer of experimentation on top of FITS.

Interestingly, Hamaguchi told Wccftech that this was a detail nobody had asked him about before. Wccftech interview on Materia and FITS

And that makes this exactly the kind of detail we wanted to dig up.

2. Master Materia isn’t coming back

Here’s another one for longtime Final Fantasy VII players.

Don’t expect to eventually turn your Materia collection into the original game’s ridiculously powerful Master Materia.

Hamaguchi explained that Master Materia was deliberately left out because it could break the game’s balance, particularly when it comes to summons.

That makes sense in a game where combat is much more action-focused than the original.

Instead, Revelation is expanding the existing Materia system with new combinations and more ways to customize characters.

It’s a very different approach from simply recreating the original game’s endgame progression. Wccftech interview on Materia and FITS

3. Some Materia are locked to specific FITS

FITS already looks like one of Revelation’s biggest changes to character customization.

The four combat-oriented outfits aren’t just cosmetic loadouts, either.

Hamaguchi revealed that certain Materia can only be equipped to specific FITS.

That means the game is effectively asking you to think about two layers of character customization at once: which FITS you’re using and which Materia you’re slotting into it.

It could also mean that the “best” setup isn’t necessarily about stacking the strongest Materia on your favorite character.

You’ll have to work around the rules of each FITS. Wccftech interview on Materia and FITS

4. The team considered bringing back Double Cut and 4x Cut

Here’s one that could easily disappear beneath all the bigger announcements.

Hamaguchi discussed how the team considered bringing back classic Materia such as Double Cut and 4x Cut.

Ultimately, those ideas didn’t fit the game’s action-oriented combat particularly well.

It’s a fascinating example of the team deciding where Revelation should preserve the original game’s ideas — and where simply recreating them wouldn’t make sense.

The Remake project has always involved translating systems designed for a turn-based RPG into a modern action RPG.

This is another example of that process happening behind the scenes. Wccftech interview on Materia and FITS

5. Knights of Round gets its own storyline

We knew Revelation would bring back plenty of familiar elements from the original.

But Knights of Round isn’t simply returning as another summon.

Hamaguchi has described dedicated content surrounding the summon, structured similarly to how Gilgamesh received his own story content in Rebirth.

That means one of the most iconic summons in the original Final Fantasy VII is being given considerably more room to exist as part of the world.

For longtime fans, this is exactly the kind of expansion that makes the Remake trilogy interesting.

The team isn’t merely recreating the things we remember. It’s finding ways to turn familiar elements into new experiences. JCR Comic Arts‘ reproduction of the interview

6. Yes, Johnny’s clones are back

Of all the things to survive into the final game, this might be one of the most delightfully ridiculous.

Johnny returns.

And, somehow, his clones return too.

Hamaguchi has confirmed that Johnny will have his own side content in Revelation, continuing one of Rebirth’s strangest recurring bits.

It’s also a reminder that the Remake trilogy isn’t suddenly going to become completely serious just because we’re approaching its conclusion.

If anything, Revelation appears to be bringing along plenty of the weirdness that made Rebirth such a bizarre and memorable RPG. Wccftech‘s Hamaguchi interview

7. The snowy section brings back stamina management

Remember the Great Glacier?

That icy section of the original Final Fantasy VII is making a return in Revelation, and Hamaguchi has confirmed that stamina management will once again be part of the experience.

This isn’t simply a matter of walking through another snowy environment.

You’ll have to manage Cloud’s stamina as you make your way through the area, creating a gameplay sequence that deliberately echoes the original.

It’s another example of Revelation using nostalgia as a starting point rather than simply recreating an old location. Shacknews‘ interview with Hamaguchi

8. The PC version is being built to run more smoothly than Rebirth

PC players have another reason to pay attention.

Hamaguchi has specifically talked about making Revelation’s PC version run more smoothly than Rebirth.

That’s significant because Rebirth’s PC release became a major talking point around its performance and image quality.

Rather than treating the PC version as an afterthought, Square Enix says the lessons from Rebirth are feeding into the final game’s development.

We’ll obviously have to wait until we can actually play it to judge whether those ambitions translate into a better release.

But at least the team knows exactly what players will be watching for. Wccftech on Revelation’s PC version

9. FITS started as something much simpler

FITS looks like a major part of Revelation’s identity now.

But the idea apparently started much smaller.

Hamaguchi explained that the team initially considered simply putting Warrior or Black Mage symbols on the characters’ outfits.

That eventually evolved into the full FITS system, with distinct outfits representing different combat roles.

It’s a neat example of how a seemingly small visual idea can eventually become an actual gameplay system.

And it explains why FITS feels like more than just an excuse to give the cast new outfits for the finale. Wccftech‘s Hamaguchi interview

10. The Highwind actually changes as you explore

The Highwind isn’t just your fancy new way of getting around the world.

As you explore Revelation’s massive world, the airship will also become more lively, with changes to the people aboard it and their dialogue.

That makes the Highwind feel more like a moving part of the world rather than another menu disguised as a vehicle.

It also fits with Hamaguchi’s broader philosophy for Revelation: the game is supposed to give players more freedom while still making the journey itself feel meaningful. GamerBraves‘ interview with Hamaguchi and Kitase

11. Hamaguchi really doesn’t want this to become “his” Final Fantasy VII

And this might be the most important detail of all.

Hamaguchi has repeatedly emphasized that the original Final Fantasy VII remains at the heart of the project.

In a recent post, he clarified that the Remake trilogy has always been developed with fans in mind, rather than as his own personal reinterpretation of the classic.

That philosophy is particularly interesting heading into Revelation.

The trilogy has made enormous changes to the original story. It has introduced new characters, expanded existing ones, changed the structure of the world and played with expectations about where the story is going.

But Hamaguchi says the goal isn’t to turn Final Fantasy VII into something that exists purely because the developers wanted to make their own version of it.

It’s still Final Fantasy VII first.

And that philosophy could ultimately be what determines whether the trilogy sticks its landing. GamesRadar on Hamaguchi’s “personal fan project” comments

That’s only the stuff you might have missed

The 11 details above are the ones that stood out to us precisely because they aren’t the usual Revelation talking points.

But Hamaguchi has shared a lot more over the past few months.

So, if you’re trying to keep track of where we actually stand six months before launch, here’s everything else we know.

Story and structure

This is still one connected trilogy

Hamaguchi recently clarified something that had apparently been misunderstood in some of his earlier comments.

Remake, Rebirth, and Revelation are intended to be experienced as one connected journey.

However, Square Enix doesn’t view them as one RPG artificially chopped into three pieces.

Instead, the team considers them three full-scale RPGs, each designed to provide a satisfying standalone experience while contributing to the larger trilogy. Hamaguchi’s clarification on X

That’s an important distinction when we eventually judge whether Revelation feels like a complete game.

The theme this time is “resolve”

Remake centered on change and the desire to escape fate.

Rebirth placed considerable emphasis on bonds between characters.

For Revelation, Hamaguchi has described the central theme as resolve — the determination to make a choice and see it through.

The Japanese concept is tied to ketsui, which also informed the thinking behind the game’s title. MMO.net‘s Hamaguchi interview

Choices matter more

Hamaguchi has also said Revelation contains more situations where player choices can influence not just progression, but the direction of the storytelling itself.

That makes the game’s “resolve” theme more than just a marketing phrase.

We’ll have to see how substantial those choices actually are. Automaton‘s interview with Hamaguchi

The world and exploration

It’s the biggest world yet

Remake was focused and densely packed.

Rebirth opened things up into a traditional open-world structure.

Revelation takes another step by adding verticality to that formula.

Hamaguchi describes it as a “spatial open-world experience.” RPG Site‘s interview with Hamaguchi

The Highwind arrives relatively early

One of the biggest structural changes is how quickly the game gives players access to the Highwind.

Once players have it, the game essentially tells them to go wherever they want.

That is a major philosophical shift from the more directed opening portions of the trilogy. Automaton‘s interview with Hamaguchi

Guidance is stronger — perhaps too strong

Square Enix has added more on-screen guidance specifically because the developers don’t want players who aren’t familiar with open-world games to get lost.

But there was an interesting twist: experienced players told Hamaguchi the guidance could be too aggressive.

The team is therefore considering ways to let players customize how much guidance they receive. Hamaguchi’s guidance clarification on X

Combat and progression

FITS is a major new layer

The four FITS roles are built around combat functions rather than simply representing the developers’ favorite Final Fantasy jobs.

Hamaguchi has also explained that FITS evolved specifically from the team’s desire to expand the combat possibilities introduced in Rebirth. Wccftech‘s Hamaguchi interview

Auto-leveling is optional

Players who don’t want to spend as much time grinding can automatically bring characters up to the recommended level for the story.

It’s another example of Revelation trying to accommodate different types of players without removing progression altogether. Hamaguchi’s auto-level clarification on X

You won’t need to restart from Level 1

After finishing the story, Chapter Select returns.

That’s particularly important because Hamaguchi says there are objectives, outcomes and discoveries that players won’t necessarily see in a single playthrough.

The team wants players to experiment without feeling like they’re throwing away an entire save. Hamaguchi’s multiple-playthrough clarification on X

Side content and minigames

The minigames aren’t going away

If you were hoping Revelation would finally calm down with the minigames, sorry.

Hamaguchi considers their sheer variety an important part of what makes Final Fantasy VII feel like Final Fantasy VII.

The difference this time is that minigames are less tied to combat progression.

Instead, their rewards lean more toward cosmetics and customization. Automaton‘s interview with Hamaguchi

Minigames can be made easier or skipped

Players can adjust minigame difficulty, including setting them to Easy.

More importantly, they can skip them immediately rather than being forced to complete a minigame just to move on.

That’s a potentially significant quality-of-life improvement after some of Rebirth’s more divisive side activities. Automaton‘s interview with Hamaguchi

Rewards should be clearer

Hamaguchi also says the team has worked to make the reward structure more transparent.

Players should have a better idea of what they’ll get for completing a particular activity before investing their time in it.

Again, that’s something we’ll want to test ourselves.

DLC and the finale

Fan Favorite Vincent Valentine

Sephiroth and Vincent are getting story DLC

Square Enix has announced two story DLCs, one focused on Sephiroth and another on Vincent.

Hamaguchi says the decision was inspired by the response from fans after Revelation was announced.

He also stresses that these stories aren’t intended to replace anything from the main game’s conclusion. Hamaguchi’s DLC announcement on X

The original story remains the priority

This is important because it’s easy to interpret DLC announcements as Square Enix holding things back for post-launch content.

Hamaguchi has framed the DLC more like the character-focused expansion seen with Episode INTERmission: additional stories that explore characters without replacing the main narrative. Ourinsaneblogs‘ TGS interview with Hamaguchi

What we still don’t know

And this might be the most important section to keep updated as we get closer to launch.

How exactly does it connect to Advent Children?

Hamaguchi has acknowledged the wider Final Fantasy VII universe and the importance of things like Advent Children, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus.

But there is no clean confirmation that Revelation simply ends by directly setting up Advent Children.

That’s still something we’ll have to discover.

How much do our choices actually matter?

We know choices can affect progression and aspects of storytelling.

We don’t yet know the full extent of those consequences.

That’s going to be one of the biggest things to investigate once we can play the finished game.

How big is “big”?

We’ve heard a lot about scale.

We’ve seen the world.

We’ve heard about the Highwind and vertical exploration.

But there’s still a difference between a large map and a world that genuinely feels worth exploring.

That’s another question for the eventual review.

The bottom line

Six months before release, Final Fantasy VII Revelation is already shaping up to be an absurdly ambitious finale.

It’s bigger than Rebirth. It’s more open. It’s more vertical. It has a new combat customization system, a revamped Materia setup, more meaningful choices, an earlier Highwind, a ridiculous number of minigames, and two post-launch story expansions.

But the smaller details are arguably more interesting.

Three linked Materia slots.
FITS-locked Materia.
No Master Materia.
Johnny’s clones.
Knights of Round getting its own storyline.
A returning stamina mechanic in the snow.
A PC version specifically targeting better performance.
And a combat system that started life as nothing more than symbols on everyone’s clothes.

Those are the details that make Revelation feel less like “the third Final Fantasy VII Remake game” and more like a game that has spent years trying to figure out exactly what the finale should be.

We’ll find out whether all of those ideas come together when Final Fantasy VII Revelation launches on April 8, 2027.

And yes, we will absolutely be keeping this list updated as Hamaguchi inevitably gives us even more things to obsess over.

Gaming

The Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve launch event is happening this week

Head to Orchard Central from October 7 to 11 for exciting experiencies

Published

October 5, 2026

GadgetMatch

The Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve official launch event is happening this week in Singapore.

From October 7 to 11, Ace pilots are all invited to report to the Stage Area outside Molly Tea at Orchard Central (181 Orchard Rd., Singapore, 238896) from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily.

Open to the public, the launch event commemorates the arrival of the first mainline entry in the Ace Combat series after seven years.

The title promises to elevate the franchise to new heights, harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5 and proprietary technology to create a visually stunning and ultra-realistic aerial experience.

Players will take to the skies and rise above every challenge to earn their place among the elite.

At the event, visitors can take on the Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Hanging Bar Challenge for a chance to top the leaderboard and win prizes.

Fans can also meet and snap photos with special guests, momoko_pigsfly (Wednesday to Thursday) and djharharuka (Friday to Sunday). Exclusive freebies are up for grabs as well, while stocks last.

Gaming

The regular PlayStation 5 is getting an AI upscaling feature

The feature debuts with Wolverine and Ghost of Yotei.

Published

October 2, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

If you’re an owner of a regular PlayStation 5, watching a PS5 Pro owner might touch you with a tinge of jealousy. Besides the upgraded console’s better hardware, it also has something called the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which uses AI to improve resolution and framerate. Unfortunately, that feature isn’t available on the regular console. But Sony is throwing the classic console a bone today by adding Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR), which does the same as PSSR but on the older machine.

Since the introduction of PSSR, fans and developers alike have asked whether the older console can have a version of the technology. Developed with AMD, QSSR is an AI upscaling feature that improves performance for modern games on the PlayStation 5. For now, the feature is debuting first on Ghost of Yotei and Marvel’s Wolverine via a set of patches. Moving forward, Sony will also allow its developers to add the feature for their respective games.

Now, the choice of games is deliberate. Marvel’s Wolverine is still fresh on everyone’s mind. Meanwhile, Ghost of Yotei has just released a Complete Edition, which packs in a new story expansion and a roguelike mode. You don’t even need to Complete Edition or the corresponding paid upgrade to enjoy the new feature.