Top Gun: The Second Mission

Last updated
Top Gun: The Second Mission
Top Gun, The Second Mission box art.jpeg
Developer(s) Konami
Publisher(s) Konami
Designer(s) J. Nakamoto
Yoichi Yoshimoto
Programmer(s) Shinji Kitamoto
Mitsuo Takemoto
Toru Hagihara
Nobuhiro Matsuoka
Artist(s) Kenji Shimoide
Hiroshi Matsuda
Composer(s) Hidenori Maezawa
Yuichi Sakakura
Harumi Ueko
Platform(s) NES
ReleaseDecember 15, 1989 (Japan)
January 1990 (North America)
October 24, 1991 (PAL Region)
Genre(s) Combat flight simulator
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Top Gun: The Second Mission, released in Japan as Top Gun: Dual Fighters, is the video game sequel to Top Gun , also produced by Konami for NES. It was released in Japan on December 15, 1989, in North America in January 1990, and in Europe and Australia on October 24, 1991.

Contents

Gameplay

A high-resolution graphic after player 1 wins Top Gun TSM jet, parachute, explosion.gif
A high-resolution graphic after player 1 wins

The player assumes the role of Maverick in an F-14 Tomcat as he is summoned for a new operation, divided into three missions. The enemy is not explicitly identified but boss characters are all highly advanced Soviet Union prototypes from the time, and the enemy aces have stereotypical Russian-styled names such as "Gorky", "Demitri", and "Stalin". The first mission is to destroy the enemy's Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack. The second mission is to destroy an advanced version of a Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopter, through an obstacle course through a forest. The third and final mission is to destroy an enemy "star wars space shuttle", with two obstacle courses of avoiding lightning bolts and laser beams. Aside from the mission mode, the player can select a one-on-one dogfight mode against seven aces or another player. [1]

The primary weapon of the player's F-14 is its auto-cannon with unlimited ammo; one of three types of missile payloads can be attached, named after their real-life counterparts of AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow, and AIM-54 Phoenix. In the first game, all missiles carried by F-14 are fictional models. In this game, "better" missiles like AIM-54s simply have a larger effective lock-on area. Missiles can be used to lock on and destroy ground targets in-game.

Compared to the previous Top Gun game, this features greatly improved graphics, in-game music (which appears in both the Japanese Famicom version and the arcade version of the first game), and an easier carrier landing sequence. A one or two player versus mode can dogfight.

Reception

The game was reviewed by several magazines in late 1991 and early 1992. [7] Gary Meredith of Game Players found The Second Mission better than Konami's previous entries in terms of graphics and control, particularly praising the ability to roll the F14 tomcat. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>After Burner</i> 1987 video game

After Burner is a rail shooter arcade video game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player controls an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by destroying incoming enemies. The plane is equipped with a machine gun and a limited supply of heat-seeking missiles. The game uses a third-person perspective, as in Sega's earlier Space Harrier (1985) and Out Run (1986). It runs on the Sega X Board arcade system which is capable of surface and sprite rotation. It is the fourth Sega game to use a hydraulic "taikan" motion simulator arcade cabinet, one that is more elaborate than their earlier "taikan" simulator games. The cabinet simulates an aircraft cockpit, with flight stick controls, a chair with seatbelt, and hydraulic motion technology that moves, tilts, rolls and rotates the cockpit in sync with the on-screen action.

<i>Contra</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Contra is a run and gun video game developed and published by Konami, originally developed as a coin-operated arcade video game in 1986 and released on February 20, 1987. A home version was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, along with ports for various home computer formats, including the MSX2. The arcade and computer versions were localized as Gryzor in Europe, and the NES version as Probotector in PAL regions.

<i>Rushn Attack</i> 1985 video game

Rush'n Attack, also known as Green Beret in Japan and Europe, is a run-and-gun and hack-and-slash video game developed and released by Konami for arcades in 1985, and later converted to the Nintendo Entertainment System and home computers. Its North American title is a play on the phrase "Russian attack" due to its Cold War setting. It was ported to home systems and became a critical and commercial success for arcades and home computers.

<i>Jackal</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Jackal, also distributed under the title of Top Gunner, is an overhead run and gun video game by Konami released for arcades in 1986. The player must maneuver an armed jeep in order to rescue prisoners of war (POWs) trapped in enemy territory.

Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and military flight training which consist of realistic physical recreations of the actual aircraft cockpit, often with a full-motion platform.

<i>Ace of Aces</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Ace of Aces is a combat flight simulation video game developed by Artech Digital Entertainment and published in 1986 by Accolade in North America and U.S. Gold in Europe. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit family, Atari 7800, Commodore 64, MSX, MS-DOS, Master System, and ZX Spectrum. Set in World War II, the player flies a RAF Mosquito long range fighter-bomber equipped with rockets, bombs and a cannon. Missions include destroying German fighter planes, bombers, V-1 flying bombs, U-boats, and trains. In 1988 Atari Corporation released a version on cartridge styled for the then-new Atari XEGS.

<i>G-LOC: Air Battle</i> 1990 video game

G-LOC: Air Battle is a 1990 combat flight simulator arcade video game developed and published by Sega. It is a spin-off of the company's After Burner series. The title refers to "G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness". The game is known for its use of the R360 motion simulator arcade cabinet. The arcade game was a commercial and critical success upon release.

<i>Laser Invasion</i> 1991 video game

Laser Invasion, released as Gun Sight (ガンサイト) in Japan, is a multi-genre first-person action game released by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. The player takes control of a military operative who pilots an attack helicopter in order to infiltrate various enemy bases and fulfill his mission. The game supports the standard NES controller, as well as the NES Zapper light gun and the LaserScope, a voice-activated headset controller Konami released for the NES that was compatible with all light gun games released for the system. The American version of the game featured a rebate for the LaserScope in the instruction booklet.

<i>D-Force</i> 1991 video game

D-Force is a 1991 vertical scrolling shooter video game developed and published in Japan by Asmik for the Super Famicom and later localized and published in North America by Asmik Corporation of America for the Super NES. It involves an Apache helicopter set on defeating an evil Middle Eastern dictator. There are seven levels which feature six countries. Some of the levels involve switching altitudes in order to attack enemies from a different height, which uses Mode 7, one of the main features of the Super NES.

<i>Alpha Mission II</i> 1991 video game

Alpha Mission II is a vertically scrolling full screen shoot 'em up released by SNK in 1991 for the Neo Geo arcade and home systems. It is the sequel to the 1985 arcade game Alpha Mission. It was later released for the Neo Geo CD in 1994 and for the PlayStation Portable in 2010.

<i>Ultimate Air Combat</i> 1992 video game

Ultimate Air Combat is a semi-realistic combat flight simulator developed and published by Activision for the Nintendo Entertainment System/Family Computer. Having relatively good graphics for the console, Ultimate Air Combat differs from other similar games by having both a cockpit view and an isometric view throughout the missions.
The game seems to be set in the near future due to some of the highly advanced weapons systems but modern-day planes. In Japan, the game is known as Aces: Iron Eagle III and is barely based on the film of the same name.

<i>Triplane Turmoil</i> 2006 video game

Triplane Turmoil is a sidescrolling dogfighting flying game for MS-DOS by Finnish developer Dodekaedron Software. The game is based on the 1984 MS-DOS game by David Clark, Sopwith. Originally released as shareware, in 2009 Dodekaedron placed the source code, documentation, images and sounds under the GPLv3 on SourceForge, hosted later on github.com. The community continued the support and ported the game via SDL to other platforms including Linux and Windows.

<i>Top Gun</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

Top Gun is a shoot 'em up combat flight simulation game based on the 1986 hit film Top Gun. It was developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in the United States and Canada in November 1987, and then in Europe. It is an adaptation of VS. Top Gun, a 1987 Nintendo VS. System arcade game also by Konami. As the second game to establish the Top Gun game series, it was followed by Top Gun: The Second Mission. It is known for its extremely high difficulty.

<i>Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone</i> 1994 video game

Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone is a jet flight simulator from Absolute Entertainment for the Super NES, released in 1994. It is the sequel to Turn and Burn: The F-14 Dogfight Simulator, a Game Boy game which also featured the F-14 Tomcat aircraft. An enhanced port of this game was released as F-14 Tomcat on Game Boy Advance. A Sega Mega Drive version was planned but never released.

<i>Ace Combat: Assault Horizon</i> 2011 video game

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is a spin-off installment of the Ace Combat flight simulation video game series. It was developed by Project Aces and published by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms in October 2011. The game was later released on Microsoft Windows in January 2013 through Steam and Games for Windows – Live, with the latter notably being the final retail release for the platform shortly before its discontinuation.

<i>Super Air Diver</i> Jet fighter video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Super Air Diver (スーパーエアダイバー), also known as Lock On in North America, is a jet fighter video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the follow-up to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis-exclusive Air Diver.

F-1 Spirit is a series of Formula One-based racing video games developed and published by Konami starting on the MSX in 1987.

<i>Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown</i> 2019 video game

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a 2019 combat flight simulation game by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The first new entry in the Ace Combat series since 2014's Ace Combat Infinity, the game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2019, and for Windows in February. A Nintendo Switch port is set to be released in July 2024.

<i>Radar Lock</i> 1989 video game for the Atari 2600

Radar Lock is a 1989 video game developed and published by Atari for the Atari 2600.

References

  1. ↑ Konami (January 1990). Top Gun: The Second Mission (instruction manual). Nintendo of America . Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Im Fadenkreuz". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). February 1992. p. 124. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  3. ↑ Rustafoo (December 1991). "Top Gun: The Second Mission". Joystick (in French). No. 22. p. 124. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ Rad; Rich (November 1991). "Top Gun: The Second Mission". Mean Machines . No. 14. pp. 96–98. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  5. ↑ Steve (January 1992). "The Gun: The Second Mission". Total! . No. 1. pp. 36–37. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ Eggebrecht, Julian (April 1991). "Top Gun II". Video Games (in German). Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Joystick". Joystick . December 1991.
  8. ↑ Meredith, Gary (March 1990). "Top Gun: The Second Mission". Game Players . Vol. 2, no. 3. p. 87. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.