Mr. Heli

Mr. Heli, fully titled in Japan as Mr. HELI no Daibōken (Ｍｒ．ＨＥＬＩの大冒険, "Mr. Heli's Great Adventure") and known in North America as Battle Chopper, is a 1987 multidirectional scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Irem.

Battle Chopper
Japanese arcade flyer
Developer(s)Irem
Publisher(s)Irem
Composer(s)Masahiko Ishida[1]
Platform(s)Arcade (original)
Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, PC-Engine, Virtual Console
ReleaseArcade:
  • JPN: December 1987
Ports:
1989
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single player, Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Arcade systemIrem M-72 system hardware
CPUV30
SoundSound CPU : Z80
Sound Chips : YM2151, DAC
DisplayRaster, 384 x 256 pixels, 512 colors

Gameplay
Arcade version screenshot.

Players control a wacky fighter chopper named Mr. Heli, while shooting enemies, collecting power-ups, and defeating bosses to advance levels.

Ports
Amiga cover

Mr. Heli was later ported for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and Atari ST by Firebird, as well as for the PC Engine in Japan by Irem. This version was also re-released for the Wii Virtual Console on March 18, 2008 only in Japan. It came back for the Wii U Virtual Console on April 15, 2015 in Japan and premiered in the United States and Europe on February 1, 2018.[2][3][4]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Mr. Heli on their January 15, 1988 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the year.[5]

Legacy

Mr. Heli later appeared in the Japan-only Game Boy title Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter, along with other characters from the game, as well as characters from three other Irem franchises: R-Type, Ninja Spirit and Hammerin' Harry. Mr. Heli was mentioned in one of the billboards seen in the final stage of Irem's Vigilante and also appeared in R-Type Final as a playable ship.

References
  1. Tanaka, Haruhisa; x68303 (25 March 2014). "R-Type Creator Interview (クリエイターインタビュー): Masahiko Ishida (石田雅彦)". Shooting Gameside (in Japanese). Vol. 9. Micro Magazine. pp. 58–65. ISBN 978-4896374551. (Translation by Shmuplations. Archived 2018-01-17 at the Wayback Machine).
  2. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/titles/20010000014007
  3. https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/battle-chopper-wii-u
  4. https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/TurboGrafx/Battle-Chopper-1334920.html#Overview
  5. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 324. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1988. p. 21.
Arcade version
Home versions
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