Software:Aero Fighters

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Short description: 1993 video game
Aero Fighters
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Video System
Publisher(s)Arcade
Super NES
  • JP: Video System
  • NA: Mc O'River
Designer(s)Shin Nakamura
Composer(s)Naoki Itamura
SeriesAero Fighters
Platform(s)Arcade, Super NES
ReleaseArcade
Super NES
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Aero Fighters, known as Sonic Wings (ソニックウィングス, Sonikku Wingusu) in Japan, is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter originally released in arcades by Video System and ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It was the first in the Aero Fighters series, and a spiritual successor to the 1991 Turbo Force.

Gameplay

Arcade version screenshot

This game uses basic shooter mechanics of the SHMUP genre of video games. Pressing button 1 fires normal weapons; this can be upgraded by collecting P or the rare F items, though the maximum power level has a hidden ammo count, after which the player will return to the previous power level. Pressing button 2 launches a powerful special attack; uses are limited to how many B items the player has collected (every life starts with two). Some ground enemies will drop score items when destroyed; they appear as the currency of the selected character's nation. By default, players start with three lives, and can acquire one more at 200,000 points.

Aero Fighters is famous for its large cast of characters, unheard of in 1992. Each pair of characters represents one of four nations.[4] The two-player sides may only select the four characters given (one for each nation).[5] In a two-player game, only a single nation can be chosen.

Country Player 1 Player 2
United States Blaster Keaton (Boeing F/A-18 Hornet) Keith Bishop (Grumman F-14 Tomcat)
Japan Hien (Mitsubishi FSX) Mao Mao (Mitsubishi F-15 Eagle)
Sweden Kohful The Viking (Saab AJ-37 Viggen) Tee-Bee 10 (Saab JAS 39 Gripen)
United Kingdom Villiam Syd Pride (McDonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier II) Lord River N. White (Panavia Tornado IDS)

The game has seven stages divided into two parts.[4] The first three stages are selected randomly from a group of four, with one for each character's nation; however, a character will never go to its nation's stage. The other four stages are fixed. After beating all seven stages, the player sees the character's ending, then play much more difficult versions of those stages, after which the game truly ends.

In the Super Nintendo version, a special code can be used to play with the spaceship from Rabio Lepus.[6]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Aero Fighters as the second most successful table arcade unit of April 1992.[7] RePlay also reported it to be the second most popular arcade game at the time.[8] Despite being a solid entry, the arcade version had little to distinguish itself from the competition. One critic wrote: "Aero Fighters is a thoroughly solid game, let's get that out of the way. It is also a game that is easy to forget. At a time when shooters were a dime a dozen it didn't exactly stand out."[9]

GamePro gave the Super NES version a negative review, saying the weapons are imaginative but the game suffers from slowdown, mediocre graphics, weak sound effects, and "monotonous" music, concluding that "Aero Fighters' action won't stay with you - it's a temporary thrill that eventually retreats to the hanger."[10]

Legacy

An emulated version of the game was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 as part of the Japan-exclusive Oretachi Gēsen Zoku series. In 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically-oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.[11] Copies of the game are rare, with astronomical prices on auction sites.[12] In December 2023, the game was later released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of the Arcade Archives series.

Sequels

Main articles: Software:Aero Fighters 2, Aero Fighters 3, Sonic Wings Special, and Aero Fighters Assault
See also: Company:Psikyo

Shin Nakamura, the main designer of Aero Fighters and a number of other Video System games, disliked the company's plan to start developing on the Neo Geo. He wanted to make more vertical games like Aero Fighters, but found it difficult to do so on a horizontal monitor. He and other like-minded employees left to found Psikyo, with the similar Samurai Aces being their first game.

McO'River would never publish another title under that name. Back at Video System, meanwhile, other employees teamed up with the remaining Aero Fighters staff to begin work on sequels. Aero Fighters 2 and Aero Fighters 3 were released for the Neo Geo. Sonic Wings Special, a sort of "dream match" game based on the three previous entries, was released for the Sega Saturn and later for the PlayStation. Soon after, Special was reworked for the arcades into Sonic Wings Limited. In 1997, McO'River, Inc. changed its name to Video System U.S.A., Inc.[13] A year later, Paradigm Entertainment developed Aero Fighters Assault for Video System. Sonic Wings Special and Limited were both made for a vertical monitor like the first game. Similarly, Nakamura would make Strikers 1945 Plus for the Neo Geo a few years later.

In November 2024, a new game in the Aero Fighters series was announced, called Sonic Wings Reunion. The launch date is May 29, 2025 in Japan, and the supported platforms are PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and arcades.[14]

YouTuber and author John Green, having come across the game while at the Savannah Airport, mistakenly read the title as "Nerd Fighters" while filming a video addressing his brother Hank Green on the popular YouTube channel Vlogbrothers on February 17, 2007.[15] "Nerdfighters" and "Nerdfighteria" eventually became the collective title of the Vlogbrothers' fan community.[16] In September 2013, he was given an Aero Fighters arcade cabinet as a gift.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006) (in ja). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 49, 123. ISBN 978-4990251215. https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n50. 
  2. ↑ "Super NES Games". Nintendo of America. http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/snes_games.pdf. 
  3. ↑ "SUPER FAMICOM Software List 1993" (in ja). http://tk-nz.game.coocan.jp/gamedatabase/software/DB_NTC2_SFC1993.html. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Aero Fighters (1993) (McO'River) (SNS-AERE-USA). 1993. http://archive.org/details/aero-fighters-1993-mc-o-river-sns-aere-usa. 
  5. ↑ "Sonic Wings, Arcade Video game by Video System (1992)". https://www.arcade-history.com/?n=sonic-wings&page=detail&id=2502. 
  6. ↑ Consoles + (27 ed.). France. December 1993. p. 119. https://archive.org/details/consoles-027-decembre-1993/page/119/mode/1up?q=rabio+lepus. 
  7. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (425): 25. 1 May 1992. https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19920501p.pdf. Retrieved 2025-01-17. 
  8. ↑ "The Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Video Software". RePlay (RePlay Publishing, Inc.) 17 (10): 4. July 1992. 
  9. ↑ lordmrw (2020-03-27). "Aero Fighters review" (in en-US). https://www.classic-games.net/aero-fighters/. 
  10. ↑ "ProReview: Aero Fighters". GamePro (IDG) (61): 60. August 1994. https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_061_August_1994/page/n61/mode/1up. 
  11. ↑ McFerran, Damien (December 17, 2021). "Sega's Astro City Mini Is Getting A 'TATE' Version Packed With Shmup Goodness". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/12/segas-astro-city-mini-is-getting-a-tate-version-packed-with-shmup-goodness. 
  12. ↑ "The 10 Best SNES Shmups | Blog of Games" (in en-US). 2021-07-20. https://blogofgames.com/the-best-snes-shmups/. 
  13. ↑ IGN staff (August 6, 1997). "Mc O'River Renames Itself". http://ign64.ign.com/articles/061/061169p1.html. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 
  14. ↑ Romano, Sal (5 February 2025). "Sonic Wings Reunion adds PS4 version; debut trailer". https://www.gematsu.com/2025/02/sonic-wings-reunion-adds-ps4-version-debut-trailer. 
  15. ↑ Braun, Eric (2015). John Green: Star Author, Vlogbrother, and Nerdfighter - Gateway Biographies. Lerner Publications. pp. 23, 24. ISBN 978-1467772617. https://books.google.com/books?id=1ixTBgAAQBAJ. Retrieved 26 March 2016. 
  16. ↑ Dean, Michelle (March 13, 2013). "A Note on Nerdfighters". The New Yorker (Advance Publications). http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-note-on-nerdfighters. Retrieved October 25, 2014. 
  17. ↑ Green, John (10 September 2013). "Secrets of the Movies: Thoughts from The Fault in Our Stars Set". https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=523xQXeKWig. 
  • Official website
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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