Our interview with Ace Combat Brand Director Kazutoki Kono at PAX South 2019 was originally scheduled for Tokyo Game Show in 2018, but under went a rescheduling due to unforeseen circumstances. The questions presented in this interview were gathered from various members and staff from Project: Lighthouse during the lead up to the convention, along with questions that were created onsite at PAX South. We give our special thanks to Bandai-Namco US community specialist Dmitryi Khlynin for assisting with the rescheduling of this interview. This interview is available in English and ​日本語 thanks to TaskForce23 who also assisted Ace Combat Fan in his interview with Kazutoki Kono. 

​Within a month of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown being released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the 5th Generation of competitive Ace Combat history has begun. Weekend tournaments have been hosted, new online squadrons are forming, older squadrons are being reestablished and talks of an esports style competition has launched. This article focuses on the beginning of the current generation - the 5th generation-  of competitive Ace Combat. ​

​The following could be considered a spoiler to the story of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown but it is also an explanation of an unseen and unexplained side story. Events that happen in the final mission of Ace Combat 7 are mentioned. Consider this to be a spoiler warning. 

​This report is written by Ribbon-Blue, a member of Project: Lighthouse leadership who attended PAX South 2019 and experienced it all first hand. Written from his point of view, he describes some of the day by day events not mentioned in the Summary: PAX South 2019 article. 

The first part of our two-part interview series from attendees from PAX South 2019. The three interviews in part one feature two new faces to the Ace Combat online community and Zetec, the head moderator of r/AceCombat. These short interviews focus on the individuals, their experience with Ace Combat and their time at PAX South 2019.