Air Fortress
Encyclopedia
Air Fortress is a video game published in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System
released in Japan in 1987 and later in North America in 1989. According to a publication by IGN.com only a total of 385 copies of the game were shipped to the United States in 1987, and it is believed that only 20 were shipped beforehand as a test run for the system.
storyline: the people of the planet Farmel, having recently gained the technology for space travel, eagerly explored the galaxy only to find a herd of monstrous "Air Fortresses" moving in their direction. Like the creatures in the later movie Independence Day
, the Fortresses behave like interstellar locusts, consuming all of the resources and living things in their path. The Space Federation sends their mightiest fleet, but they are quickly eliminated by the powerful Fortresses. In a final gambit, they send a single warrior (Hal Bailman), outfitted with a shielded spacesuit, powerful weapons, and small lightship to infiltrate the Fortresses and destroy them from the inside out.
In this mode of play, a single hit will destroy the player's ship. In the Japanese version, if Hal collides with an enemy while on his lightship, he must restart the approach sequence from the beginning. But in the American version, the player will automatically be respawned from the same point at which his ship was destroyed, provided he has extra lives.
. The player now has more control over where they go—in fact, some later Fortresses are massive internally, making navigation one of the major challenges of the game. The player must navigate through the maze, fighting off enemy robots, security devices, and spacemen with their beam weapon, find and destroy the central core of the Fortress, and find their ship to escape. The last is perhaps the most difficult part, since the Fortress explodes shortly after the core is destroyed, leaving the player with a small time window in which to find the exit, and the exit is never the same place as where the player entered the maze.
ese video game maker HAL Laboratory
. "SUGA," the password for the final air fortress, is a reference to Air Fortress director, game designer, and programmer Gsx Suga.
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
released in Japan in 1987 and later in North America in 1989. According to a publication by IGN.com only a total of 385 copies of the game were shipped to the United States in 1987, and it is believed that only 20 were shipped beforehand as a test run for the system.
Synopsis
Air Fortress has a fairly typical alien invasionAlien invasion
The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial life invades Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether.The...
storyline: the people of the planet Farmel, having recently gained the technology for space travel, eagerly explored the galaxy only to find a herd of monstrous "Air Fortresses" moving in their direction. Like the creatures in the later movie Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
, the Fortresses behave like interstellar locusts, consuming all of the resources and living things in their path. The Space Federation sends their mightiest fleet, but they are quickly eliminated by the powerful Fortresses. In a final gambit, they send a single warrior (Hal Bailman), outfitted with a shielded spacesuit, powerful weapons, and small lightship to infiltrate the Fortresses and destroy them from the inside out.
Gameplay
As Hal Bailman, the player infiltrates the progressively more challenging Air Fortresses. Each Air Fortress has two levels: the Air Base and the Fortress itself.Air Base
On approach to the Air Fortress, Hal Bailman battles the enemy from his lightship. The gameplay is that of a side-scrolling shooter. During this phase, the player has three attempts to successfully reach the Air Lock that grants access to the Air Fortress. Along the way, the player must dodge a variety of flying enemies and space station parts. The player also has a chance during this phase to collect energy and crash beam bullets--a more powerful ammunition, but one of limited supply—that can be used inside the Fortress.In this mode of play, a single hit will destroy the player's ship. In the Japanese version, if Hal collides with an enemy while on his lightship, he must restart the approach sequence from the beginning. But in the American version, the player will automatically be respawned from the same point at which his ship was destroyed, provided he has extra lives.
Air Fortress
Inside the Fortress, the game becomes an action-adventure gameAction-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
. The player now has more control over where they go—in fact, some later Fortresses are massive internally, making navigation one of the major challenges of the game. The player must navigate through the maze, fighting off enemy robots, security devices, and spacemen with their beam weapon, find and destroy the central core of the Fortress, and find their ship to escape. The last is perhaps the most difficult part, since the Fortress explodes shortly after the core is destroyed, leaving the player with a small time window in which to find the exit, and the exit is never the same place as where the player entered the maze.
Promotion
HAL America offered Air Fortress by mail order through a national advertising campaign. Players who purchased the game through HAL received a free Air Fortress T-Shirt.Credits
Air Fortress was developed by JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese video game maker HAL Laboratory
HAL Laboratory
is a Japanese video game developer that was founded on February 21, 1980. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its name comes from the HAL 9000 computer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The company is most famous for its character Kirby, the protagonist of the eponymous game series, as well as...
. "SUGA," the password for the final air fortress, is a reference to Air Fortress director, game designer, and programmer Gsx Suga.