This is the first and only Ace Combat video game series to feature live actors on camera in full-motion videos instead of its common CG rendered characters.
The live actors portraying their characters in the full motion video sequences only provided the lip movements so that the dubbing voice talents speak for the characters as if the live actors portraying their character speaking. This occurred with the original Japanese version and the US release had the live actors lip movements readjusted so that the English voice talents carry out the character voices for the live actors' characters.
The developers of the game said that the "Belkan War", which is the main topic of the game until a mission where a massive bomber attacks an air base somewhere in the French Alps, was inspired by both World War II and the Gulf War. This is because the German-speaking country of Belka, which acts as the main antagonist until some point in the game, is loosely based on Nazi Germany and Iraq under Saddam Hussein.