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エアロブラスターズ
©1990 Hudson Soft
©Inter State Kaneko
vol.33
Release: 1990-11-02 (¥6500)
Hucard (4 Mbits) HC90038
Shooter / Horizontal
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Released in America as
AERO BLASTERS
( TGX040051 )
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Aero Blasters is a horizontal shooter by Hudson Soft, and conversion of Kaneko's
coin-op Air Buster originally released in 1990.
The fighter ship comes equipped with a standard vulcan-gun and
numerous secondary weapons can be equipped throughout the game,
such as Side Shots, Missiles, six-way shots,
backward shots and so forth.
These power-ups are kept inside flying pods that throw their
content around the screen when destroyed - although most of them
equip a different secondary weapon, flashing power icons
upgrade the power of the Vulcan-gun. Interestingly,
one of the secondary weapon comes in the shape of
'paddles' that can protect the ship against
collisions which is especially useful in the second
stage, and its high-speed chase through narrow
corridors. Finally, the player can also charge up
a quick blast of energy that briefly damage all the
enemies on the screen
The game consist of six long levels, from
a Seaside front and its huge futuristic city (which doesn't last very long), to a
gigantic space station floating in space where the player ends up dodging
enemy bullets in zero gravity. Aero Blasters also features a
two-player simultaneous mode.
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The original arcade game was manufactured by Kaneko in 1990 (picture on the left).
Aero Blasters was the official Japanese name, and the American version
was renamed Air Buster (it is anyone's guess as to why the American
Turbografx-16 version is called Aero Blasters though).
As a side note, the game was also ported to the Sega Megadrive in 1991.
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Teaser text from the American version:
It's Blaster time! An invincible force of half-alien, half machine robo-monsters,
the Mega Load Masters, has blown our armies into the ozone.
But now you have Aero Blaster and the firepower to fight back! Smoke
the invaders back into space. Then counter-attack over enemy terrain
where battles rage at uncanny speeds and treacherous angles. Nail'em
with your mighty Blaster Flash. Hit'em with everything you've got in this
extra-terrestrial firefight over the fate of humanity!
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Game Story from the American version:
The year is 2040 AD, and the peaceful planet Earth is facing a tremendous
crisis. A group calling themselves the "Mega Load Masters" had
unexpectedly launched an invasion. Through scientific advances, the
M.L.M. had figures out a was to fortify their bodies with
inorganic mechanisms. It was this super power which enabled them to
destroy all of the nations' armies. Now they threaten to obliterate
all organic life forms on the planet's surface...
But one man, Charles K. Takeda, has not given up hope.
As if he had known this day was coming, Takeda and a few of his
friends had moved to a secluded insland in the Atlantic Ocean.
Bringing with them only a few necessities, their mission was to
develop one of Takeda's greatest inventions, the "Blaster System".
This Blaster System would enable its pilot to freely manipulate
the building blocks of matter by amplifying the distinctive
brain waves humans generate. This would make it possible for
humans to transcend reality by transforming matter and destroying
space.
At present, two super machines, Blaster 1 and Blaster 2, have been
completedand fitted with Blaster Systems. Takeda's son and
daughter, Mike and Holly, have been specially trained to fly
the Blaster Machines. Their mission is to defeat the M.L.M and to
ultimately assist their father in building the ultimate
aircraft carrier, "Blaster Base."
The struggle is about to begin.
The two machines blast off, propelled by hopes and dreams, seeking
peace through the avenue of war...
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Game Staff (Copied from the end credits) :
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Program
Tsuyoshi Koyama
Design
Keisuke Matsuoka
Saeki Kenichi
Naoto Obana
Hiroshi Yokoyama
Masako Yukumoto
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Sound
Tatsuya Watanabe
Tsutomu Ookuma
Management
Akihiko Utou
Arcade Advisor
Satoshi Igarashi
Hisanori Takeuchi
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Technical Advisor
Ueyamasan
Kadowakisan
Special Thanks
Osaaki Satou
Kunio Komatsu
Takashi Yamashita
Takashi Sugimoto
Minoru Yoshida
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Presented By
Hudson Soft
Inter State
Kaneko
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
O
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Aero Blasters is a great game. It is hard enough to keep any
hardcore shooter fan busy for a while. Some stages can be very frustrating like
the second level fast corridor race.
They soon become an especially unfair challenge unless you collect the
special paddles. Later stages are virtually impossible,
especially when zero gravity affects your ship's
motion and slows it down while you are desperately trying to avoid hundred of
bullets flying towards you! Or in level six where tinny
walls' only meaning in life is to crush you flat. Did I also forget to
mention the constant flow of dozens of homing missiles fired by nearby ships ?
This would be maybe the only reason
why I wouldn't give Aero Blasters five stars, it is hard,
really hard. Much too hard. You will curse all those deadly situations where
game designers somehow forgot to include a way out, just for the
sake of blowing-up another of your precious fighters. Nonetheless, it is still
an amazing and really enjoyable shooter.
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