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Game and system: Air Fortress for the NES
Year released in the United States: 1989
Manufacturer/Publisher: Hai America
Today I had the urge to sit down and write something special about a video game that means something to me. Why is it special? Well, mainly because it’s something that is very near and dear to me and it’s a game that I feel doesn’t get the true respect it deserves among the retrogaming community. What game could I be talking about, you wonder? I’m talking about a title that many of the "casual" gamers of the 80's and early 90's may have not known about. And to me it's not just any video game, but a videogame that happens to be near and dear to my heart, and a game that has flown underneath the radar among fans and collectors for far too long. The game I’m talking about is Air Fortress for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and it’s about damn time this classic title gets a little love.
For those unfamiliar with the game allow me to elaborate on just how unique of a title Air Fortress really was. See, back in the days of the NES you had multiple kinds of games to choose from whether it be side scrolling, racing, flying, fighting, arcade-style, sports, or whatever else you could think of, but there wasn’t much in the way of games that combined all of the genres. There were a few at the time on the NES, and a few that came after, but what Air Fortress did was take two very popular styles of gameplay and mixed them together into a very fun and exciting package that was actually fun to play. Air Fortress was released in Japan sometime in 1987 and then in the U.S sometime in 1989, but there is a rumor that the publisher released a small amount of the game in the U.S in 1987 to see what the reaction would be for it and that there are copies floating around out there that may be slightly different than the version the masses saw in ‘89. The game starts out with you on an aircraft and you spend some time flying through space shooting enemies and collecting power-ups much like in games like Defender. After a while you find yourself docking your ship and the game morphs from a traditional side-scrolling space shooter into a side-scrolling action adventure game where your character floats around inside of some kind of space station shooting enemies and destroying glowing meteors. It’s interesting that the developers decided to take this approach and it’s really exciting that they did because the game excels at both portions and makes for a great gaming experience. Don’t get me wrong here, it isn’t like the side-scrolling adventure portion is as robust as Mega-Man or other similar games within the genre but it is fun to play and the amount of power-ups you get while on your ship can determine how long you survive in the adventure mode.
Upon being unique in its gameplay Air Fortress features some of the most amazing and memorable music in a video game that I can remember. This is a key category when discussing NES games as many of them are known for their amazing (nor not so amazing) score and Air Fortress excels with tunes that are heroic, groovy, and downright legendary in my book. I remember playing this game as a kid and thinking to myself that this could possibly be the best in-game music in a video game I’ve ever heard and for years I walked around whistling tracks from this game throughout my normal everyday life. Even long after I owned an NES I would often think about the music from many of its games, Air Fortress being one of them, that’s how big of an impact this category had on me. It's just so memorable and iconic. On top of having a tremendous score the game features decent graphics, nothing mind-blowing, but graphics similar to what was going on back in the late 80’s. Nothing really to note in the visual department, I mean, the game looked fine and was on par with other games in the same genre though there were some that did looked better from a side-scrolling perspective. In my opinion it’s worth noting that Air Fortress was released 2 years prior to when we got it in the U.S so it may have looked better had it been produced later on, but note that I can’t 100% verify that it mirrors the Japanese version or has been upgraded in graphics for the United States release. On top of the wonderful music and the adequate graphics the game sports very smooth controls that add to the fun and enjoyment of playing it. The ship steers nicely and moving around the main character around feels great, especially when floating through the bases and shooting the baddies while away from your spacecraft. It's one of those games that just felt so good to play thanks to the controls being crafted so nicely.
All in all Air Fortress ranks among some of my favorite games of all-time and is high on the list of my favorite NES games ever. Sometimes it’s all about the memories you have with a game and I’ve had countless memories with Air Fortress, including bringing it to a beach house in Cape Cod way back in 1991 when on vacation with my mother, aunt, and close friend. We hooked up the ol’ NES one night after digging for clams and catching some rays at the beach and had a blast making it through the levels and trading off the controller. Memories such as that really feel good to touch upon when writing up a review of a video game, sometimes they’re as important as the game itself. If you grew up in the days of the NES than you know what I’m talking about, and if you played this game than you probably understand why my love for it shines as bright as it does. For those who may just be discovering the NES and its extensive library I challenge you to give this game a shot and get back to me here on the blog in the comments section and let me know what you think. Until we meet again retro-fans, take care of yourselves!
Upon being unique in its gameplay Air Fortress features some of the most amazing and memorable music in a video game that I can remember. This is a key category when discussing NES games as many of them are known for their amazing (nor not so amazing) score and Air Fortress excels with tunes that are heroic, groovy, and downright legendary in my book. I remember playing this game as a kid and thinking to myself that this could possibly be the best in-game music in a video game I’ve ever heard and for years I walked around whistling tracks from this game throughout my normal everyday life. Even long after I owned an NES I would often think about the music from many of its games, Air Fortress being one of them, that’s how big of an impact this category had on me. It's just so memorable and iconic. On top of having a tremendous score the game features decent graphics, nothing mind-blowing, but graphics similar to what was going on back in the late 80’s. Nothing really to note in the visual department, I mean, the game looked fine and was on par with other games in the same genre though there were some that did looked better from a side-scrolling perspective. In my opinion it’s worth noting that Air Fortress was released 2 years prior to when we got it in the U.S so it may have looked better had it been produced later on, but note that I can’t 100% verify that it mirrors the Japanese version or has been upgraded in graphics for the United States release. On top of the wonderful music and the adequate graphics the game sports very smooth controls that add to the fun and enjoyment of playing it. The ship steers nicely and moving around the main character around feels great, especially when floating through the bases and shooting the baddies while away from your spacecraft. It's one of those games that just felt so good to play thanks to the controls being crafted so nicely.
All in all Air Fortress ranks among some of my favorite games of all-time and is high on the list of my favorite NES games ever. Sometimes it’s all about the memories you have with a game and I’ve had countless memories with Air Fortress, including bringing it to a beach house in Cape Cod way back in 1991 when on vacation with my mother, aunt, and close friend. We hooked up the ol’ NES one night after digging for clams and catching some rays at the beach and had a blast making it through the levels and trading off the controller. Memories such as that really feel good to touch upon when writing up a review of a video game, sometimes they’re as important as the game itself. If you grew up in the days of the NES than you know what I’m talking about, and if you played this game than you probably understand why my love for it shines as bright as it does. For those who may just be discovering the NES and its extensive library I challenge you to give this game a shot and get back to me here on the blog in the comments section and let me know what you think. Until we meet again retro-fans, take care of yourselves!
Graphics/Visuals - 8.0
Sound/Music - 9.25
Control/Handling - 9.25
Fun/Enjoyment - 8.75
OVERALL SCORE - 8.75
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This article is © & ™ 2015 by RTX Productions LLC.
Great retro game. Didn't play it until a few years back but I love it. It's long as hell though.
ReplyDeleteThis game was an odd mix if shooter and platformer. Not sure I'd say I loved it but I definitely thought it was interesting. Got your seal of approval I see. Good game, but for me it's forgettable.
ReplyDelete