Software:U.N. Squadron

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Short description: 1989 video game

U.N. Squadron
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Capcom
Publisher(s)Capcom
U.S. Gold (computers)
Director(s)Yoshiki Okamoto
Composer(s)Manami Matsumae
Platform(s)Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Super NES, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseArcade
August 1989
SNES
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemCP System

U.N. Squadron, released in Japan as Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value)., is a 1989 side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It was based on the manga series of the same name, though the North American release omits all references to the manga. Their mission is to stop a terrorist group known as Project 4. It was ported to multiple platforms including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and was followed by a spiritual successor, Carrier Air Wing.

Gameplay

Pilot selection screen in U.N. Squadron

The game is a typical side scrolling shooter, going against the trend of other Capcom shooters, such as 1942 and 1943: The Battle of Midway, which are vertically scrolling shooters. Like other Capcom shooters, the player has an energy bar that is consumed over the course of a single life as the player sustains damage. This trait is highly uncommon among other comparable arcade-style shooters which normally use a system of reserve lives, where one of which is lost upon a single enemy hit. Before entering a level, the player can purchase special weapons or added defenses in the shop. The player earns money to buy weapons by destroying enemy planes and vehicles during levels and, when the level is finished, any unused weapons are converted back into money.

The player can choose between three mercenary pilots: Shin Kazama, Mickey Simon, and Greg Gates.[4] Each pilot flies a specific plane and has slightly different capabilities.

In the Super NES version, each pilot can use a range of planes. All pilots start out with $3000 and the basic F8 Crusader, and can buy other aircraft and weapons as they progress.

Development

Capcom director Yoshiki Okamoto commented that the game was part of a broader strategy of Capcom at the time to appeal to a wider audience by using established characters from other media, as their original characters could be too niche.[5] In addition to Area 88, he cited games based on Willow and Tenchi wo Kurau as part of this strategy.[5]

Release

Area 88 was ported to the home console Super NES and released in Japan on July 26, 1991.[2] In North America and Europe it was re-titled U.N. Squadron by Capcom.[6] The illustration for the U.N. Squadron poster was created by well known illustrator Marc Ericksen, the illustrator of the covers to Capcom's other games Mega Man 2 and Strider. A version for the Capcom Power System Changer was planned and previewed but never released.[7]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings87% (SNES)[8]

In Japan, Game Machine listed U.N. Squadron on their September 15, 1989 issue as being the sixth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[10] In North America, it was a major hit,[11] becoming the top-grossing software conversion kit on the RePlay arcade charts in February 1990.[12]

Upon its home console release, the Japanese gaming publication Weekly Famitsu gave the Super Famicom version a score of 28 out of 40.[2]

Entertainment Weekly gave the Super NES version of the game an A,[13] and picked the game as the #12 greatest game available in 1991.[14]

Super Gamer gave the SNES version an overall score of 93%, commending the graphics, aircraft selection, gameplay, and sound.[15]

Accolades

IGN ranked U.N. Squadron 37th on its "Top 100 Super NES Games" list,[16] which made it the highest ranking side scroller shooter game on that list. In 2018, Complex listed U.N. Squadron 23rd on its "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" list and called the game the best side scrolling shooter on the SNES.[17] In 1995, Total! rated the game 63rd on their Top 100 SNES Games list.[18]

Notes


References

  1. ↑ "Super NES Games". Nintendo. https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/snes_games.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "エリア88 [スーパーファミコン / ファミ通.com"]. https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=8265. 
  3. ↑ "U.N. Squadron Release Data". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/snes/588815-un-squadron/data. 
  4. ↑ Shintani, Kaoru (1991) (in Japanese) (PDF). U.N. Squadron Area 88 (エリア88) - Game Manual scan. DAIPRO / Shogakukan (小学館) / CAPCOM. pp. 12,13,14. https://archive.org/details/area-88-manual-scan-jp-sfc-snes/. Retrieved 2024-03-10. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Developer Interview Capcom Developer: Yoshiaki Okamoto, Noritaka Funamizu". Gamest (Shinseisha Ltd.) (38): 10–29.  (Translation)
  6. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (2014-02-05). "Daily Classic: U.N. Squadron's SNES Identity Change". https://www.vg247.com/daily-classic-un-squadrons-snes-identity-change. 
  7. ↑ "カプコン アーケードオリジナルボード CPSシリーズ+CPSチェンジャー 限定販売決定!!". Club Capcom (Capcom) 2: 90–91. Spring 1994. https://archive.org/stream/club-capcom-spring-1994_202202#page/n89/mode/2up. 
  8. ↑ "U.N. Squadron SNES Gamerankings review score". https://www.gamerankings.com/snes/588815-un-squadron/index.html. 
  9. ↑ Julian Rignall; Richard Leadbetter (September 1991). "U.N. Squadron". Mean Machines (12): 18–21. https://archive.org/details/mean-machines-12/page/18/mode/2up. Retrieved December 9, 2024. 
  10. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press) (364): 21. 15 September 1989. 
  11. ↑ "Cover Story: "This Is the Good Time" – Capcom's CPS system brings success to the firm... and offers direction for a troubled video market". RePlay 15 (7): 183–5. April 1990. https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-7-april-1990-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2014%2C%20Issue%20No.%207%20-%20April%201990/page/183. 
  12. ↑ "RePlay: The Players' Choice". RePlay 15 (5): 4. February 1990. https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-5-february-1990-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2014%2C%20Issue%20No.%205%20-%20February%201990/page/n3. 
  13. ↑ "The latest video games" (in en). EW.com. https://ew.com/article/1991/09/27/latest-video-games/. 
  14. ↑ "Video Games Guide" (in en). EW.com. https://ew.com/article/1991/11/22/video-games-guide/. 
  15. ↑ "U.N. Squadron Review". Super Gamer (United Kingdom: Paragon Publishing) (2): 124. May 1994. https://archive.org/details/super-gamer-02/page/124/mode/2up. Retrieved March 29, 2021. 
  16. ↑ "UN Squadron - #37 Top 100 SNES Games - IGN". http://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-snes-games/37. 
  17. ↑ Knight, Rich (April 30, 2018). "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" (in en). https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-100-best-super-nintendo-games/. 
  18. ↑ "Top 100 SNES Games". Total! (43): 46. July 1995. https://archive.org/details/total-43/page/n45/mode/2up. Retrieved February 28, 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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