Area 88 and US Navy recordings
Oct 9th, 2007 by admin
Submitted by Gaming Briefs
Before I present the following, let me note that the names I’ve given here are for the Japanese versions of these games. The names for the overseas versions are UN Squadron and Carrier Airwing. The former game has a most unfortunate title, since it’s got nothing to do with the real life United Nations, one of the most corrupt outfits on the globe that was responsible for the oil-for-food scandal (and which I’ve discussed at times on my politics blog). Quite the opposite, the game is based on an anime production* from Japan starring a couple of troubleshooters who accomplish much more than the UN has ever accomplished since the time it was first founded. The latter game has a better title, but somehow, the one for the Japanese version sounds a bit more appealing. Anyway, here’s the recording of the first:
In between the stages, you have a goofy looking weapons dealer who sells you various special weapons and upgrades with which to make your way across the ten missions in store, as you battle against the sinister forces of Project 4, a terrorist organization hell-bent on global domination.
Now, here’s the sequel, in two recordings:
I think the sequel is even better than the first. The objective here is to take down all the evil forces run by an evil dictator who may have been based on Saddam Hussein. The story is set in the future, and this vile scum has been attacking many countries and causing chaos everywhere. The US has dispatched a trio of top pilots to put a stop to the dictator’s reign of tyranny. There are powerups and fuel containers available, and with the right amounts of money gained, you can obtain various specials weapons to help you in all the missions here. And yep, the commander explaining the missions does look a lot like Sean Connery, even more so in the Japanese version of the game!
Note that the games may only give you one turn for each credit, as in a way, the designers were following closely on an approach used in a lot of other plane games at the time where, if you’re shot once, you lose a turn instantly. So here, they made it slightly different, where you have a lifebar in the shape of a fuel gauge, and you need to do your best to make sure it won’t run out or that damage will occur from getting shot. That’s why there’s various fuel containers floating through the air that you can try to get in order to keep in shape!
All in all, these are some most awesome games!
* It could very well be that the initials stand for something like United National Squadron, which would imply that it’s a Japanese defense movement, or even United Ninja Squadron, which would imply that it’s a team of pilots who study ninjutsu, even though in a fight like this, it takes lot more than just martial arts to deal with the invading enemies!
