U.N. Squadron

"One of Gamedom's Best Kept Secret"

I remember playing U.N. Squadron in the arcades. Not a lot of fun since it crunched my quarters and I never really could get a firm handle on that arcade title. However, that all changed with the SNES title.

U.N. Squadron is probably the SNES's most underappreciated title. It's a game that seems like an ordinary shooter, but a closer look reveals more in the gameplay engine than just shooting everything out of the sky (though the action in this title is intense and perfectly paced). ''How?'' you ask? Well, for each enemy plane you shoot down and each tank you bomb and each boss you blow to smitherines, you get money from the mission. However, U.N. Squadron throws an excellent curveball at the player with the ability to upgrade your planes for future missions and the other planes you may purchase. Which one is the correct one? Well, it varies from mission to mission and sometimes you end up buying the wrong plane which may grow frustrating.

However, this creates a very RPG-esque atmosphere, a rarity for a shooter and one that makes the player think before they part with hard fought money. This turns a standard shooter into a game that redefines (if only partially) it's genre. And for you shooting fanatics, the action is fast and intense as you try to drive out Middle Eastern adversaries from a country.

The gameplay is very good. However, this is a long, complex, time consuming game that will require a couple hours of your time and you MUST finish it in one setting since there is no battery backup (the game's only flaw which could have been corrected with a password system). Yet, U.N. Squadron is such a good game that it engrosses the player so fully that it never has to hurry. You can pick your pilot from three mercenaries all with different abilities (Mickey Simon is my favorite). Although all pilots and ships do essentially the same thing, some pilots have slight advantages in some areas such as ship handling with damage. After chosing your pilot, off you go into the Wild Blue Yonder! but not before you go to the weapons shop for some serious upgrades to your arsenal. The aresenal is one of U.N. Squadron's best features. Ranging from conventional bombs to lightning blasts, the special weapons a player can amass are very unique and creative and help differentiate U.N. Squadron from similar games.

Yes, this game is a side-scroller shooter, but old school can equal tons of fun. In a day and age of first-person, cockpit view shooters, it's refreshing to turn on a game where the action is so intense that it perfectly fits with the surroundings. U.N. Squadron simply couldn't be done and be as fun any other way. The basic formula is so simple (set sail through a stage, destroy little enemies, then exterminate the big boss). However, the way U.N. Squadron does it with imaginative stages, cool enemies, and magnificent backgrounds are how it differentiates itself. So, the gameplay is old school. So what? It's still a lot of fun.

The story just has you as a U.N. mercenary trying to stop a mad Mid-East dictator. As with any shooting game, that's all you need to know about the story though it is much more original than aliens trying to take over earth for the millionth time.

The graphics have stood the test of time. The ships all vary graphically and Capcom but great visual detail into the game. All of the stages have unique backgrounds and, although there are some standardized villains for the game, there are also unique enemies as well (outside the big bosses that is). The animation also moves fast during bombing runs of the Quarters Masters and is always impressive with its consistency and the detail is so fine that you can see trees exploding during the forest stage. In short, quite possibly the SNES's best game graphically.

The sound is standard issue fair yet it somehow manages to be roussing during the action. It perfectly fits each stage, yet oddly doesn't get in the way and sounds menacing during the final boss. The sonic explosions ring true.

U.N. Squadron is one of the best SNES, shooter, and just general games ever. In short, one you want to pick up. Just because few people know about it makes it one of gamedom's best kept secrets.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/12/01, Updated 11/12/01