Ghost Pilots
| Ghost Pilots | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | SNK |
| Publisher(s) | SNK |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Neo-Geo |
| Release date(s) | July 1, 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Shooter game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, 2 player co-op |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | SNK Neo-Geo MVS hardware |
| Display | Raster, 320 x 224 pixels, 4096 colors |
Ghost Pilots is a vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released in 1991 by SNK.
Gameplay
The gameplay is straightforward with elements similar to that of Capcom's 19XX games, but it is difficult even on the easiest difficulty level. Unlike most scrolling shooters, the vehicle is a seaplane instead of spaceship or airplane. As the in-game instructions indicate, moving the joystick around maneuvers the seaplane. Pressing the A button fires bullets. The player can also hold the A button for semi-automatic fire. Pressing the B button launches bombs from the inventory. The player starts with three bombs.
Next the player has to choose the bomb types for the seaplane. In the first and last stages, the player has a choice to start with either the mega bomb or the magnetic warhead. In the sea strike stage, the player also has the choice of the gas flame bomb. In the air strike stage, the player also has the choice of air mines. In a two-player game, both players cannot choose the same bomb type.
The player has to battle airplanes, tanks, gunboats, jets and many other units. Along the way power-ups can be collected for stronger and more widespread firepower, star medals can be collected for bonus points and bombs can be added to the inventory. A player can have a maximum of nine bombs. Soon the player has to face a big boss, consisting of jumbo bombers, huge tanks and other large war machines. The player needs to aim for weak points to destroy the bosses. Some bosses fire dangerous fireballs that split when shot by the player, making the battle more difficult. The player is destroyed when shot once by enemy fire or rams into an enemy unit, then the player has to continue with the next seaplane left in the inventory. The first stage is in two parts which means there is no checkpoint in between. When the player reaches a checkpoint, the overall score is boosted. After the first stage the player can choose to do either the sea strike stage or the air strike stage next. The sea strike stage consists of mostly sea and land units while the air strike stage consists of a majority of air units. If the player makes it past both stages, the last stage is in two parts and then the player must face a tank boss the size of a city to win the game.
Reception
On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Neo Geo version of the game a 24 out of 40.[1]
References
- ↑ NEO GEO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ゴーストパイロット. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.332. Pg.25. 28 April 1995.
External links
- Ghost Pilots at Arcade History
- Ghost Pilots at the Killer List of Videogames
- Ghost Pilots: Summary at Gamespot