U.N. Squadron

Infobox VG
title= U.N. Squadron


caption= Sales flyer for the arcade version.
developer= Capcom
publisher= Capcom
released= August 1989
genre= Scrolling shooter
modes= Up to 2 players, cooperative
platforms= Arcade, SNES
input= 8-way joystick, 2 buttons
cabinet= Upright
arcade system= CPS-1
display= Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

"U.N. Squadron" is a 1989 side scrolling shooting game released for the CPS arcade hardware by Capcom. The game was released in Japan as nihongo|"Area 88"|エリア88|Eria Hachi-Jū-Hachi and is based on the manga series of the same name, featuring the same main characters. Here, their mission is to stop a terrorist group known as Project 4. It was followed by the sequel "Carrier Air Wing".

Gameplay

The game is a typical side scrolling shooter, going against the trend of other Capcom shooters, such as "1942", and "", which are vertically scrolling shooters.

The player can choose between three mercenary pilots: Shin Kazama, Mickey Simon, and Greg Gates. Each pilot flies a specific plane and has slightly different capabilities.

Pilots

* "Shin Kazama": "Shin" flies an F-20 Tigershark; the weapons on his plane fire forward only but at a quick pace. "Shin" and his plane are the most balanced combination available.

* "Mickey Simon": "Mickey" flies an F-14 Tomcat; the weapons on his plane also fire forward only, but are also larger (albeit slower), inflicting more damage than "Shin"s plane.

* "Greg Gates": "Greg" flies an A-10 Thunderbolt; this plane has smaller forward fire than either "Shin" or "Mickey"'s planes, but it also fires a second stream downward at a 45° angle from the forward firing stream.

Weapons Shop

Before entering a level, the player has the opportunity to purchase special weapons or added defenses in the shop. The player earns money for this shop by destroying enemy planes and vehicles during levels and, when the level is finished, any unused weapons are converted back into money.

Weapons

Arcade version

Weapons

Depending on the level and which pilot they have chosen, players will encounter two of these eight different weapon enhancements in the weapons shop:

* Bulpup: Launches missiles forward at various angles.
* Bulpup II: A more powerful "Bulpup".

* Phoenix: Homing missiles that go after any enemies on the screen.
* Falcon: A more powerful "Phoenix".

* Super Shell: Shoots a large long shell at enemies that inflicts more damage than regular guns.
* Super Shell II: A more powerful and larger "Super Shell".

* Bomb II: Allows you to drop powerful bombs from above.
* Big Boy: Allows you to drop even more powerful bombs.

* Napalm: More powerful than "Bomb II" in that it ignites the ground when it lands.
* Napalm II: More powerful than "Napalm", with similar incendiary properties.

Defense

After selecting (or passing up) additional weapons, players are offered one of three defensive enhancements (these are the same on every level):

* Energy Tank: Adds more life to the lifebar when the level begins.
* Shield: Absorbs damage from enemy fire or collisions.
* Super Shield: Same as "Shield", but can absorb more damage.

NES version

Depending on which plane has been purchased, players can buy any combination of these weapons.
* Cluster Shot: Shoots a cluster of explosives which expand from the center of the plane.
* Bomb: Conventional bombs which must be dropped on their target.
* Phoenix: Homing missiles that go after any enemies on the screen.
* Napalm: Drops from the plane and causes a large explosion along the ground when it lands.
* Falcon: Drops like a bomb but skims over the ground until it hits a target.
* Gunpod: Shoots bullets upward at a 45 degree angle.
* Super Shell: Shoots a large plasma shell at a target.
* Sailing Missile: Fires a volley of missiles directly upward.
* Thunder Laser: A heavy laser weapon firing in three directions.
* Bulpup: Launches missiles forward in a fan pattern.
* MegaCrush: The game's "Smart Bomb" weapon, launches a satellite into space, which proceeds to rain lasers down striking all enemies onscreen. This weapon quickly kills most normal enemies, and deals massive damage to bosses.

During gameplay

Once a level has been entered, the game scrolls to the right with the enemies approaching from many directions. Land, sea, and air units are encountered in the various stages.

The player's main gun has infinite ammunition and can be upgraded by picking up accumulating "POW" points. "POW"s, which appear when the player destroys certain red enemies, can be found as green, blue or yellow glowing orbs inside a small box. Each color "POW" is worth a different amount of points:

* Blue POW: 1 point
* Green POW: 2 points
* Yellow POW: 4 points

The player's current number of "POW"s and the amount needed for the next gun upgrade is displayed in the upper left corner of the display. Each upgrade generally requires more "POW"s to get than the last upgrade, and so forth.

Special weapons, on the other hand, are limited in ammunition and have no ability to upgrade in level. The character's plane can take a number of enemy hits before being destroyed and has a brief period of invulnerability after each hit. This makes the game a little less frustrating.

Like many shooters, the game is very challenging. Levels frequently include large numbers of enemies attacking simultaneously, with subsequent vast amounts of firepower on screen. The player needs quick reflexes to navigate through all this fire while still attacking their enemies. Only a skilled player is capable of finishing the game with few (if any) continues.

Levels and Bosses

Arcade version

* 01. Frontline base — Missile Tank
* 02. Thunderstorm 1 - Stealth Bomber
* 03. Forest — Forest Fortress
* 04. Desert — Ground Carrier
* 05. Canyon — VTOL Bomber 'Bayson'
* 06. Cave — Missile Launcher
* 07. Airbase/Clouds — Giant Bomber 'Bullhead'
* 08. Ocean — Sub-Boss: Submarine. Boss: Battleship 'Minks'
* 09. Military Base — Arsenal
* 10. Thunderstorm 2 - Project 4 Airborne Fortress

NES version

* 01. Frontline Base — Missile Tank
* 02. Thunderstorm — Stealth Bomber
* 03. Forest — Forest Fortress
* 04. Desert — Ground Carrier
* 05. Clouds — Stealth Fighters (Mercenaries)
* 06. Ocean 1 - Nuclear Submarine 'Seavet'
* 07. Ocean 2 - Battleship 'Minks'
* 08. Canyon — SR-71 Blackbird
* 09. Cave — Ceiling Machine
* 10. Project 4 Base — Sub-Boss: Giant VTOL aircraft. Boss: Project 4 ship

Ports

"U.N. Squadron" (known as "Area 88" in Japan) was ported to the SNES in 1991. The principal difference between the SNES version and the arcade version is that in the SNES game each pilot can use a range of planes. All pilots start out with $3000 and the basic F8 Crusader and can buy other aircraft as they progress. Other differences include:

* Single player only.
* Unlike the arcade version, where the player only has one "life" per credit, the player now begins with 3 lives, and extra lives can be earned. Upon losing all lives, the player can continue -- but only three times.
* Different planes may be used by each pilot in contrast to the arcade version, where each pilot is tied to a particular aircraft.
* More weapons are available in the between-level shop, however, shields can no longer be purchased -- they must be found in the levels.
* Missions can be tackled in any order chosen by the player (as long as that mission has been reached on the overhead map shown before choosing the pilot's plane and weapons).
* "Shin increases his firepower the most quickly, Mick can shoot two special weapons at the same time, and Greg recovers from being damaged twice as fast as the others" is what the manual states. In actuality, this means that Shin requires the least power ups to increase the vulcan cannon level, Mick benefits the most from ammo pickups, and Greg's description is self-explanatory.
* Mickey Simon is known as Mickey Scymon.
* If a player takes damage, his/her plane will temporarily fall into critical condition --
"DANGER" flashes on the display. During this condition, any hit will destroy the player's aircraft. However, each plane is equipped with a "fire system" of sorts -- when the plane recovers, albeit with less energy, he/she is safe again. If the player allows his/her energy meter to drop too low, the player's aircraft will remain critically damaged, and will be destroyed with the next hit unless he/she finds an energy recovery item.
* In addition to not having the same levels as the original version, some of the levels on the SNES version were heavily modified. Certain bosses are replaced by new ones, and some bosses' weapons and attack patterns were modified.
* The SNES version had "Quartermaster Corps" sub-levels that appeared as green truck convoys on the map screen. Here, the objective is to simply destroy the enemy supply trucks, but there is a time limit. If all trucks are destroyed in time, the player earns $20,000.
* The stage and boss BGM is different than in the arcade version, though some of the arcade music was rewritten for the SNES version.

The SNES version also includes more aircraft than the arcade version:

*F-8E Crusader: This is the generic aircraft that players start with. The ceiling for the Crusader's gun power is average, and the aircraft can only carry three types of special weapon.

*F-20 Tigershark: The cheapest aircraft that can be purchased after completion of the third mission. This aircraft has mediocre weapons capability but it is well suited to both air and ground attack.

* F-14D Tomcat: The F-14D Tomcat is intended primarily for air-to-air combat and carries no real ordinance for attacking ground targets. It is the most maneuverable of all of the aircraft.

*A-10 Thunderbolt II: Intended for ground attack, the A10 fires two shots for every gun burst. One travels forward and the second (slightly weaker) shot travels at a downward 45-degree angle. However, the gun has a low power ceiling.

*YF-23 Stealth Ray: Capable of carrying a wide range of armaments, the YF23's primary attribute is that of Stealth. As such, the enemy's guided weapons, such as missiles, will not track the plane.

*F-200 Efreet: The best fighter available in the game. The Efreet has the highest weapon power ceiling, can carry all of the special weapons, can carry more special weapon ammo than any other fighter and is tough to destroy. As such, it is the most expensive fighter available in the game and it is easy to play the whole game without ever having enough money to purchase it. (The EF-200 Efreet is nearly identical in appearance to the MIG-31 Firefox from the movie of the same name.)

Reception

U.N. Squadron was named the number one 2D 'shooter' of all time by Handsome Tom and Stuttering Craig of ScrewAttack. [http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24813.html] Stuttering Craig even placed U.N. Squadron in a tie with Gradius III for the 17th Best Super Nintendo game ever. [http://www.gametrailers.com/player/31740.html]

External links

* [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=3012 "U.N. Squadron"] at "Arcade-History"
*KLOV game|id=6910|name=Area 88
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*KLOV game|id=10247
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* [http://www.meanmachinesmag.co.uk/review/184/un-squadron.php "UN Squadron" SNES review] from Mean Machines Archive
* [http://stevethefish.net/superfamicom/area88/area88.htm "Area 88"] review at the Anime Super Famciom Web Resource Center