Desert Fighter
Also known as: A.S.P Air Strike Patrol
Developer(s):
- Opus
Published by:
- JP/NA: SETA Corporation
- EU: System 3
Producer:
- Takayuki Suzuki
Designers:
- K. Tamura
- T. Kishine
Programmer:
- Y. Matsumoto
Artist:
- K. Tamura
Composer:
- Jun Enoki
Release dates:
- JP: 1994
- EU: 1994
- NA: 1995
Genre:
- Shoot 'em up
Modes
- Single player
Check pricing here:
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Box Synopsis
A vast warzone separates you from your ultimate goal of total victory. You must destory the enemy forces and military facilities including Scud missile sites, fuel pipelines, airfields and ultimately their command headquarters.
Experience thrilling and deadly aerial dogfights. Dice death as Rapier missiles streak and home-in on your plane. Blast away the elite ground forces before they bombard you with precision anti-aircraft fire.
Experience thrilling and deadly aerial dogfights. Dice death as Rapier missiles streak and home-in on your plane. Blast away the elite ground forces before they bombard you with precision anti-aircraft fire.
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Gameplay
Desert Fighter is a flight simulator shoot 'em up that is played by completing missions while working toward the ultimate goal of destroying the enemy head quarters. Between take off you can navigate between strategic information which will help you with planning your next attack.
The game is broken into missions that give the player a goal and a certain amount of time to achieve it. Once that mission begins the player can choose their preferred aircraft and load out, as well accessing critical information to help them succeed. You can study all the different areas for which you mission is in, locate targets or possible sites and identify the facility that must be destroyed.
This game is somewhat based on the Gulf War and as a pilot you must stop Zarak from invading Sweit. The player gains points for managing resources, attacking accuracy and political standing based on your actions. All points are summarized at the end of the game and offer the player an ending based on their overall performance.
Controls
*Default layout
Directional pad up - Moves air craft in that direction using angles
L - Accelerate air craft
R - Decelerate air craft
Y - Shoot gun
X - Afterburner
B - Fire Missile
A - Flare
Select - N/A
Start - Pause and display map
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Game Videos
Introduction Video
Gameplay Sample
Shanwow's Review
Story and Gameplay: 2 point
Desert Fighter is a flight sim shoot 'em up set during the Gulf War and puts you into the pilot set as you set out on dangerous missions to destroy key strategic points which will help you turn the tide and stop Zarak from invading Sweit. The game has a nice amount of large scale missions that will test both your flying and memory skills as you soar around in 8 separate mission zones.
The story elements begin with a swift introduction to the mission styled like a military brief. Everything you need to know is shared on a screen and when you are full prepared you take over playing in the war room. The story continues to be told by mission briefs and news updates that appear on the television located in the war room. I really enjoyed that the news updates appeared based on what my mission outcome was and then that continued until the final mission success. It wasn't always positive as you can start civil unrest by destroying the wrong targets or shooting at coalition forces.
The game falls into the shoot 'em up genre but has more depth and strategy than other titles on the Super Nes. The war room offers a real good look into each mission if you choose to use it properly which is recommended if you want to choose the right air craft. Air craft choice also helps keep the game fresh as you can choose a different air craft if you wish between each launch. This allowed me to differ my approach when I fell short of destroying enough targets within the time limit.
The game also progresses through times and dates as you are only given a certain amount of hours to beat the current mission. Each take off and equipment change chews into that allowance. Along with time the score system is also great because it judges your performance and then alters the story based on how you did. This kept the game interesting over the few times I played it until I beat it and recorded around 2 hours of gameplay.
The story elements begin with a swift introduction to the mission styled like a military brief. Everything you need to know is shared on a screen and when you are full prepared you take over playing in the war room. The story continues to be told by mission briefs and news updates that appear on the television located in the war room. I really enjoyed that the news updates appeared based on what my mission outcome was and then that continued until the final mission success. It wasn't always positive as you can start civil unrest by destroying the wrong targets or shooting at coalition forces.
The game falls into the shoot 'em up genre but has more depth and strategy than other titles on the Super Nes. The war room offers a real good look into each mission if you choose to use it properly which is recommended if you want to choose the right air craft. Air craft choice also helps keep the game fresh as you can choose a different air craft if you wish between each launch. This allowed me to differ my approach when I fell short of destroying enough targets within the time limit.
The game also progresses through times and dates as you are only given a certain amount of hours to beat the current mission. Each take off and equipment change chews into that allowance. Along with time the score system is also great because it judges your performance and then alters the story based on how you did. This kept the game interesting over the few times I played it until I beat it and recorded around 2 hours of gameplay.
Controls and Features: 2 point
This game is quite interesting for it's elements within this category and I really think that it's the controls and features that really make this game stand out in the shoot 'em up genre.
The controls are simple when it comes to the menus in the war room and the only issue is that sometimes you can over press the button because it is a little slow to react. The real fun is when it comes to controlling your air craft as you fly through the sky trying to dodge incoming missiles and fire. The aircraft has a default layout of buttons which can be tweaked to your pleasing but not all air craft use the buttons.
Maneuvering the air craft is a little tricky and does require a bit of practice mainly because of the way you turn and change direction. The craft won't turn on a dime but it will turn to the direction your holding by altering it's course using small angles. This is really slow and caused a bit of frustration when I first started to bomb targets. You can alter the speed which does help adjust your turning arch but it is still slow.
There are several air craft to choose from with all different weapon loadouts and movement. This is a good addition to the game because they can be used for a strategic approach as they all have different specialties. Also as a reward for completing more missions, you can unlock more vehicles to choose from. The game also offers a continue system which allows you to drop in and out of the battle as you please.
The controls are simple when it comes to the menus in the war room and the only issue is that sometimes you can over press the button because it is a little slow to react. The real fun is when it comes to controlling your air craft as you fly through the sky trying to dodge incoming missiles and fire. The aircraft has a default layout of buttons which can be tweaked to your pleasing but not all air craft use the buttons.
Maneuvering the air craft is a little tricky and does require a bit of practice mainly because of the way you turn and change direction. The craft won't turn on a dime but it will turn to the direction your holding by altering it's course using small angles. This is really slow and caused a bit of frustration when I first started to bomb targets. You can alter the speed which does help adjust your turning arch but it is still slow.
There are several air craft to choose from with all different weapon loadouts and movement. This is a good addition to the game because they can be used for a strategic approach as they all have different specialties. Also as a reward for completing more missions, you can unlock more vehicles to choose from. The game also offers a continue system which allows you to drop in and out of the battle as you please.
Design and Difficulty: 3 point
I've never played a game like this until now and I really enjoyed how this game played out even though I had a bit of a rough time finishing it. The concept of playing through missions that resulted in changing my ending was really exciting and kept me onboard.
The war room doesn't look pretty to be honest because of it's really messy images and basic colors but when you launch, it does get much better. The air craft sprites look fantastic and look great as they move, shoot and take damage. The smaller enemy elements look quite tidy and identifiable with basic colors schemes to separate the factions. The facilities and non moving targets are a little bit of a cut and paste and appear the same but they look good when you soar past and blow them away.
The sound effects are really loud and that sometimes makes them a little distorted but that isn't that bad thanks to the music. The sound track changes between areas and there are a few great tracks to keep your ears appealed as you continue to fight.
It is a bit difficult to play Desert Strike because of all the great detail that they put into the game. I struggled locating the targets in some missions but you can help yourself out by pausing and reading the onscreen map. Once you figure out your location and use the map you can easily strike locations from there. The time limit will always test you unless you a fully prepared because I found myself failing to destroy the required amount per launch due to my haste in preparation. So it is best not to hurry and really plan it out.
It took me several restarts to complete the game but overall once I figured out the basics it got easier and wasn't overly hard to complete but really tested me on getting a great score because of all the little things that can happen when you are on a mission.
The war room doesn't look pretty to be honest because of it's really messy images and basic colors but when you launch, it does get much better. The air craft sprites look fantastic and look great as they move, shoot and take damage. The smaller enemy elements look quite tidy and identifiable with basic colors schemes to separate the factions. The facilities and non moving targets are a little bit of a cut and paste and appear the same but they look good when you soar past and blow them away.
The sound effects are really loud and that sometimes makes them a little distorted but that isn't that bad thanks to the music. The sound track changes between areas and there are a few great tracks to keep your ears appealed as you continue to fight.
It is a bit difficult to play Desert Strike because of all the great detail that they put into the game. I struggled locating the targets in some missions but you can help yourself out by pausing and reading the onscreen map. Once you figure out your location and use the map you can easily strike locations from there. The time limit will always test you unless you a fully prepared because I found myself failing to destroy the required amount per launch due to my haste in preparation. So it is best not to hurry and really plan it out.
It took me several restarts to complete the game but overall once I figured out the basics it got easier and wasn't overly hard to complete but really tested me on getting a great score because of all the little things that can happen when you are on a mission.
Fun and Summary: 👍+1
Desert Fighter is a fun tactical pilot shoot 'em up set in a evolving warzone. It's exciting from beginning to end and really tested both my physical and mental skills thanks to it's strategic approach.
I really enjoyed the length of the game and how that it was based all on the players performance. Each area is designed to a high standard and once you learn how to navigate them, you notice how they change based on your mission success.
The game delivers an action packed campaign that will test you as you have to destroy all the key objectives and then the enemy head quarters which is huge. If you are a fan of the shoot 'em up genre and want something with a little more this game is for you.
The game delivers an action packed campaign that will test you as you have to destroy all the key objectives and then the enemy head quarters which is huge. If you are a fan of the shoot 'em up genre and want something with a little more this game is for you.
RetroRating: 8 / 10
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