| Sky Shark | |
|---|---|
North American arcade flyer of Sky Shark |
|
| Developer(s) | Toaplan |
| Publisher(s) | Taito |
| Designer(s) | 1987 |
| Composer(s) | Tatsuya Uemura |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, FM Towns, Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Display | Vertical, Raster, standard resolution |
Sky Shark, known in Japan as Hishouzame (飛翔鮫) and known in Europe as Flying Shark, is a 1987 vertical scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Toaplan and published by Taito. It was later published in North America by Romstar, in the United Kingdom by Electrocoin and in Italy by Model Racing.
Piloting a biplane, the player takes out enemy land, air, and naval craft across various environments. Certain waves of enemy airplanes produce various bonuses when shot down, such as powerups, point bonuses, and extra lives. Each stage begins and ends at a runway, and every time the player lands at a runway beyond the first takeoff, the amount of bombs are multiplied by 3,000, and that total is added to your score; you return to 3 bombs at the start of each stage (or death).
According to the plot of Batsugun, the biplane pilot's name is "Rom Schneider"; he was apparently put into a cryofreeze at the end of Sky Shark.
Flying Shark was converted to the Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, FM Towns, and Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES version of the game was Tim Follin's first composed soundtrack on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Sky Shark received a sequel known as Fire Shark in 1989.