U.N. Squadron

"Only a madman would take on this game...Lucky they found me!"

U.N. Squadron on the Super Nintendo is a port of the 1989 arcade hit Area 88. The game is based on a Japanese manga/anime known as Area 88. It's a side-scrolling 2D plane shooter; you control a highly skilled pilot fighting against the enemy forces that come at you from land, sea, and air. (though usually not all 3 at once) Sounds like a generic game of the genre? You couldn't be more wrong.

Story-8/10 Destroy the enemy, get some cash, and save the world.

You are a member of an elite mercenary group known as U.N. Squadron. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to stop the ruthless army of mercenaries that have taken over the kingdom of Aslan. Led by the greedy and amoral arms dealers of Project 4, the mercenaries now control all areas of Aslan, except for one area, Area 88. The current location of the world's best pilots-U.N. Squadron. The time is right for a hero to stop the forces of evil, AKA Project 4. Since you're part of a mercenary group, saving the world isn't your only reward-cold hard cash is a side benefit as well. One man in a fighter jet can change the world-and that man is YOU. The chances of success are very slim, were it not for the fact that you have the superhuman ability to fully recover almost instantly from being inside an exploding plane, and the fact that no matter how many planes you destroy, your old friend at the hangar is still happy to outfit you with another one. It's a special offer, you're not paying for just one plane of that line, but a lifetime supply! Too bad the retailers didn't count on the fact that you have several lives.

Gameplay-9/10 The fighting in this area is ferocious.

Most games in the plane shooter genre operate on the principle that a good game consists of holding down the fire button and avoiding the bullets that spam the screen. Not so with U.N. Squadron. Some modicum of strategy and tactics is indeed present. Choosing your pilot is your first major decision, as each of the three pilots has their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Greg Gates has the most health, whereas Shin Kazama can power up the main Vulcan the fastest, and Mickey Scymon is able to carry more special weapons.

Before each mission, you have the opportunity to do some shopping, i.e. selecting your plane and special weapons. Each plane can carry different weapons and is stylized for certain types of combat. It's not simply a matter of choosing the best plane and loading up on all the available weapons since buying the weapons costs money, as does purchasing each plane. In addition, you receive your money back on unused special weapons only if you beat the mission. If you die, say goodbye to hard-earned cash. There's nothing more disastrous than breaking the bank on purchasing every weapon in the shop only to carelessly die in the first segment of the stage without even using so much as a simple bomb. (except of course dying after a long protracted battle with the end boss when you thought this time you would do it for sure) The default plane you start out with is of course less than optimal. Earning money is accomplished by shooting down enemies and completing missions. This lends a sense of realism to the game, since you probably won't get far if you blow all your money heedlessly.

The actual gameplay is top-notch. As mentioned earlier, most of the time survival is not simply a matter of having twitch reflexes to avoid bullets and missiles. It's true that if you're careless, many enemies and projectiles will come on screen. Yet, if you pick your targets well and choose the right times to launch special weapons, you will do well. Nevertheless, this is a shooter, and so dodging skill and coordination will be useful. The game offers a nice difficulty range; unskilled players will be able to clear the first few stages, and the elite will enjoy challenging themselves on the final levels. There's a nice balance between being a challenging but rewarding shooter without being so hard that entertainment turns into frustration.

You'll be using your main vulcan cannon throughout most of the stage. At times when you're overwhelmed with enemies, or need to take out a bothersome target, or when you're fighting the boss at the end of each mission, you will bust out your special weapons. In the horrific event that you are hit by a bullet or fly into an enemy, your ''Fuel Bar'' (basically your health) will drop a certain amount. Also your plane will flash red for a while; during this time if you take anymore hits you die. You lose a life and must start a mission over. When your health drops too low, you will either die in one hit, or stay in the red warning mode until the stage is over. (meaning if you take another hit before beating the stage, you die) Don't worry about not knowing whether or not you're in warning mode or not, since not only will your plane flash red, but it will be on fire, furthermore your fuel bar will read ''Warning'', and if this weren't enough, a soothing alarm sound is reverberating on the off-chance that you weren't aware you're about to die. Don't worry though, it is not very annoying and you will be paying more attention to surviving.

Each stage is well-tailored to the game and has a unique feel. Different strategies and combat tactics are employed for the different stages, ranging from ''press the fire button...keep pressing...I'll tell you when to stop...'' to ''Dodge you fool! No don't stop firing! Bomb him! Again! Go UP damn you! Where the hell did that bullet come from? This game is rigged!''. In one stage you are embroiled in an intense dogfight against a rival mercenary group; in another you must traverse through a treacherous forest crawling with enemies and reach the fortress to take it out single-handedly.

The enemies and their attacks are quite varied, ranging from slow-moving choppers to rocket ships. Some will kamikaze across the screen, others will do a loop and come back after reaching the end. Some will fire bullets, others will fire missiles, or homing missiles, or lasers, or a stream of bullets, etc. The unpredictability and action will keep you on your toes. In particular, the stage bosses are masterfully done. Each are distinctive and are fun (and in some cases extremely hard) to defeat.

Despite all these wonderful things, the game would be utterly destroyed were Capcom to make some
small but far-reaching oversight. For example, if your plane moved at the speed of molasses and
the enemies and their attacks at the speed of sound. Rejoice and rest assured that this is not so.

Capcom in their unfathomable wisdom did not see fit to include the two player mode which was present in the arcade version. One can only imagine the coolness and entertainment in two fighters taking on the boss; one ship clearing the boss's minions and fired missiles, his wingmate pumping volley after volley of fire into the evil boss. One fighter in a fierce dogfight surrounded by enemies, and his partner rushing in with blazing weapons to rescue him. Alas...

Also note there is no battery backup or password system and therefore you will have to start the game over every time. This can be aggravating when you want to play the later levels and are forced to beat every stage in order to reach them. On the other hand, there's something to be said for effortlessly blowing up the unskilled grunt pilots.

Lastly, the auto-fire only lasts for about 5 seconds after which you must depress the button again else the firing of your vulcan will cease. Perhaps this is meant to be more realistic, a normal plane would have to reload and also runs the risk of overheating. In practice this is simply annoying. Your choices are either to depress the fire button every few seconds, or to rapidly pump the button as fast as you can. I prefer the second method, but this may be tiring or not feasible for the uninitiated.

These minor drawbacks don't cripple the game-far from it. The lack of them merely prevent this great game from being the best it can be.

Graphics-10/10 The eye candy gave me a sugar high.

Looking back, the visual appeal and graphics of many games have not withstood the test of time. For example, Final Fantasy VII was considered to have cutting-edge graphics when it was released. By today's standards, it looks horrible. Other games are still aesthetically pleasing years after they are released. U.N. Squadron is one such game. Though it was one of the first games released for the Super Nintendo, the graphics are just as attractive as many of the games in the SNES's final era.

You can see loving detail in the planes you fly, the myriad types of enemy forces, the bullets, and of course your special weapons. Almost nothing looks cheesy or unrealistic, though it should be noted that some of the available weapons currently do not exist-or so the military assures us. The bosses, despite their size, look menacing and believable. Their animation and flow is beautifully rendered as well. The character portraits of yourself, and the other important characters in the game such as the shop owner are almost anime quality.

The foregrounds and backgrounds of the stages are superb and mesh nicely with the in-game activity. It is technically

Graphics don't make a game. But they can make a good game better. In this case-they do. The visuals for U.N. Squadron are the type that stay forever pleasing. As a side note, the graphics are improved from the arcade version.

Sound-9/10 The sound of aerial combat.

I personally rarely take notice of sound in a game unless something drastic is going on, like the music being so raucous my ears feel like they're violated. Having said that, the sound and music in U.N. Squadron is great. The sound effects when firing weapons are awesome and varied, and don't get repetitively annoying. The music is good, with a different tune for each level and an appropriately tense melody when at the stage boss. As far as I can tell, the music consists of musical instruments (notably the guitar and drums) in a sort of rock style. For example, you'll never get tired of the exhilarating guitar solo at the congratulations screen after clearing each mission. The sound in general is pleasant without being intrusive or overbearing. The sound definitely adds to the U.N. Squadron's overall quality.

Overall quality-9/10 Simply marvelous.

U.N. Squadron will give many hours of playing time, and unlike many modern games, you'll actually be playing and having fun the whole time! While the stages and the enemies within are the same every time, you can experiment with different difficulty levels and hone your skills. Challenge yourself to beat missions under certain conditions, such as not getting hit or only using your vulcan cannon. I heartily recommend searching for this gem in the world of video games; I was overjoyed to pick this up for a mere $12 CDN. (canadian) If you love shooters, you'll love U.N. Squadron.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/24/04, Updated 03/25/04