Carrier Air Wing (video game)

Carrier Air Wing, released in Japan as U.S. Navy (ユー・エス・ネイビー, Yū Esu Neibī), is a 1990 side-scrolling shooting game released for the CP System arcade hardware by Capcom.[1][2] It is the spiritual successor to U.N. Squadron, which was released in the previous year. As with the original, players chose any one of three different jet fighters and battle their way through ten enemy-packed stages. Other ideas carried over from U.N. Squadron include the shop, which allows players to buy weapon and shield upgrades for their jet fighter between stages, and the energy bar, which is replaced by a "fuel bar" which starts full at the start of each stage and decreases as time passes with some fuel lost each time the plane is damaged.

Carrier Air Wing
Developer(s)Capcom
Publisher(s)Capcom
Designer(s)Noritaka Funamizu
Composer(s)Manami Matsumae
Platform(s)Arcade
ReleaseOctober 1990
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
CabinetUpright
Arcade systemCPS-1
DisplayRaster 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

Plot
Gameplay of Carrier Air Wing

During the decade of the nineties, many things in the world have changed. Growing cooperation between old rivals and friendships between the superpowers of the globe were examples of such occurring changes in political and economical scenarios of the world, but this fragile peace was not to last for long. In the year 1997, the fictional Middle Eastern country of Rabu has built several weapons of mass destruction, such as ICBMs, tactical nuclear bombs, and even a satellite-based tactical laser weapon, able to strike anywhere in the world.

With such weaponry in hand and benefiting from several terrorists over the world, Rabu was ready to declare war on mankind and aspire to their dream of global conquest.

An emergency call arrives to the U.S. government when in 1999, Rabu strikes Tokyo, Japan with its extensive weaponry. The Americans decide to fight back against Rabu, and the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) slips out to sea carrying three of the finest Navy fighter pilots in the world: Rick Ford, Mark Olson, and James Roy, launching them on a campaign to remove the threat of Rabu and bring peace and freedom back to the world.

The greatest air war in human history is about to begin...

Flyable aircraft
  • F-14 Tomcat – Piloted by New York-born Rick Ford, who placed first in his class at the Navy TOPGUN fighter combat school. Ford is virtually unmatchable in air-to-air combat. His F-14 is an unparalleled air superiority fighter of the Navy, which can be armed with devastating AIM-54 Phoenix long-range AA missiles, but its ground attacking capability is somewhat limited.
  • F/A-18 Hornet – Piloted by James Roy, from Louisiana. Roy is a member of the USN Blue Angels air acrobatic team whose adroit handling of a plane gives him an advantage against both air and ground foes. The F/A-18 is the most balanced aircraft in the game, being able to launch Standard Missiles in a five-shot salvo, and is able to handle both air and ground sorties with equal efficiency.
  • A-6E Intruder – Piloted by Mark Olson, a former USN squad leader from Michigan. Olson is known for being able to drop a bomb anywhere under any condition. The A-6E Intruder is a well-armed ground attack aircraft, which, in some missions, is authorized to carry tactical nukes. However, it is not well suited for air-to-air dogfight.

Reception
Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame[3]
Sinclair User82%[4]
Your Sinclair68°/100°[5]
Zero[6]

In Japan, Game Machine listed Carrier Air Wing on their December 1, 1990 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the year, outperforming titles such as Raiden and Columns II.[7] In the January 1991 issue of Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine, the game was ranked on the number eight spot in popularity.[8] On May 1991, UK magazine Zero ranked it on their number three spot in populatiry.[9] Martin Gaksch of German magazine Power Play gave the game a mixed outlook.[10]

References
  1. Yanma (November 1990). "Super Soft Hot Information: Video Game! - US NAVY". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 101. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 238.
  2. Yanma (December 1990). "Super Soft Hot Information: Video Game! - US NAVY". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 102. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 237.
  3. Baize, Anthony (1998). "Carrier Air Wing [European] - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  4. Cook, John (February 1991). "Coin Ops - Carrier Airwing (Capcom)". Sinclair User. No. 108. EMAP. pp. 58–59.
  5. Wilson, David (January 1991). "Slots Of Fun: Carrier Airwing - Capcom". Your Sinclair. No. 61. Dennis Publishing. p. 90.
  6. Wilson, David (January 1991). "Dosh Eaters: Carrier Airwing (Capcom/50p a go)". Zero. No. 15. Dennis Publishing. p. 81.
  7. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 393. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1990. p. 29.
  8. Yanma (January 1991). "Super Soft Hot Information: Video Game! (ビデオゲーム) - Hot 30". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 103. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 241.
  9. Wilson, David (May 1991). "Dosh Eaters: Slotties Chart". Zero. No. 19. Dennis Publishing. p. 40.
  10. Gaksch, Martin (July 1991). "Arcade / Tests: Arcade im Aufwind - Big Karnak". Power Play (in German). No. 39. Future Verlag. pp. 140–141.
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