celerystalker
02-04-2016, 12:47 AM
8457
Air Fortress for the NES kinda makes me mad at my friends. I'm quite fond of it, and have been recommending it for years and years to them. They finally get around to picking it up, as there are at least five copies for less than $5 a piece at every retro game store ever, and they always say the same thing.
"Oh, yeah, I tried it. It's just another shooter with crappy graphics."
That means they didn't spend the freaking minute to finish the first part of the first stage and just assumed they'd seen what Air Fortress has to offer. Every stage opens with a horizontally scrolling shooter segment in which you approach each fortress, evading its defenses and gathering energy and bombs for your eventual assault on the inside. That is where the really good stuff is.
Exploring the fortresses is like playing Metroid in severely reduced gravity. You propel yourself with a jet pack, which drains your energy. However, stop moving, and it will quickly recover to your current max. However, taking damage from enemies lowers your max energy, and starts from your current level, so you must move cautiously, which aids in the simulation of one man sneaking in to blow up a damn space station. Your goal is to locate the core, blow it up, and then escape within the time limit. Then, it's off to the next.
My favorite part of this game, though, is the escape. The game goes from cool space adventure to a haunting, atmospheric space funeral within seconds. The power becomes erratic. The lights dim and flicker. The music becomes distortion witha calm, faint melody. It's quiet. It's calm. It's death in space, and it's welcoming as you frantically search for the exit, cursing your slow movement as the screen begins to shake. No timer. Just a sense of calm dread, and it's done stunningly well within the system's limitations.
The graphics aren't great, and the difficulty ramps up pretty high around the sixth fortress, but there are short passwords to continue, and isn't taking pictures of passwords why we all have smartphones anyway? Anyway, if you haven't played it, try it with the lights out.
I freaking love Air Fortress, and someone else could justifiably hate it for objective reasons. How about you? Have you given it a chance?
Air Fortress for the NES kinda makes me mad at my friends. I'm quite fond of it, and have been recommending it for years and years to them. They finally get around to picking it up, as there are at least five copies for less than $5 a piece at every retro game store ever, and they always say the same thing.
"Oh, yeah, I tried it. It's just another shooter with crappy graphics."
That means they didn't spend the freaking minute to finish the first part of the first stage and just assumed they'd seen what Air Fortress has to offer. Every stage opens with a horizontally scrolling shooter segment in which you approach each fortress, evading its defenses and gathering energy and bombs for your eventual assault on the inside. That is where the really good stuff is.
Exploring the fortresses is like playing Metroid in severely reduced gravity. You propel yourself with a jet pack, which drains your energy. However, stop moving, and it will quickly recover to your current max. However, taking damage from enemies lowers your max energy, and starts from your current level, so you must move cautiously, which aids in the simulation of one man sneaking in to blow up a damn space station. Your goal is to locate the core, blow it up, and then escape within the time limit. Then, it's off to the next.
My favorite part of this game, though, is the escape. The game goes from cool space adventure to a haunting, atmospheric space funeral within seconds. The power becomes erratic. The lights dim and flicker. The music becomes distortion witha calm, faint melody. It's quiet. It's calm. It's death in space, and it's welcoming as you frantically search for the exit, cursing your slow movement as the screen begins to shake. No timer. Just a sense of calm dread, and it's done stunningly well within the system's limitations.
The graphics aren't great, and the difficulty ramps up pretty high around the sixth fortress, but there are short passwords to continue, and isn't taking pictures of passwords why we all have smartphones anyway? Anyway, if you haven't played it, try it with the lights out.
I freaking love Air Fortress, and someone else could justifiably hate it for objective reasons. How about you? Have you given it a chance?