After Burner II
1987 video game
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After Burner II is an combat flight simulator released as an arcade video game by Sega in 1987.[3] It is the second game in the After Burner series, and was released for the Sega X Board arcade system. In the game, players fly an F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, gunning down enemies while avoiding incoming fire. After Burner II came both a standard arcade cabinet and a servo actuated, sit-down motion simulator version which moved according to the motion of the plane onscreen. The cockpit would bank in the same direction the on-screen aircraft was banking. It is an updated version of After Burner, with the addition of throttle controls. It was a commercial success, becoming Japan's highest-grossing arcade game of 1988.
| After Burner II | |
|---|---|
European box art | |
| Developer | Sega AM2 |
| Publisher | Sega |
| Designer | Yu Suzuki |
| Programmer | Satoshi Mifune |
| Composers | Hiroshi Kawaguchi (Arcade) Noriyuki Iwadare (Mega Drive/Genesis) Naoki Kodaka (Famicom) |
| Platform | |
| Release | |
| Genre | Combat flight simulator |
| Mode | Single-player |
| Arcade system | Sega X Board |
Development
Development of After Burner II commenced after Out Run was finished. The game was mostly created by three men, Yu Suzuki, Satoshi Mifune, and Kawaguchi. During development, it was codenamed Studio 128 to specify the secrecy of the project.[4] The primary influence of After Burner II was Top Gun, although an art style in the vein of science fiction anime films like Laputa: Castle in the Sky was considered but scrapped due to team wanting to appeal to a western audience. After Burner II was considered to be a reissue of After Burner with minor improvements, such as a throttle that was absent in the original game.
Ports
After Burner II has been translated and ported to numerous home systems: PC Engine, X68000, Mega Drive/Genesis, Famicom, FM Towns Marty, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and Saturn.[5]
The game was rebuilt with stereoscopic 3D feature as one of 3D Classics for Nintendo 3DS.
Reception
In Japan, After Burner II was tied with After Burner as the highest-grossing arcade game of 1988.[17]
Mega placed the Mega Drive version at number 38 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time.[18] MegaTech magazine praised the smooth and fast gameplay, as well as the sound.
Legacy
In Japan, After Burner II was released on the PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Ages classic series.
M2 ported After Burner II in Sega's 3D Classics series to the Nintendo 3DS eShop in Japan on 2013 and worldwide in 2015. This version is faithful to the original arcade game with additions, including Touch Controls and screen layouts that resemble the Upright as well as the Commander and Deluxe cabinets. An unlockable new Special mode was also added, which used a time-slowing "Burst" system similar to After Burner Climax, and featured a different story and altered stages. This mode has no stage select or continues, and instead depends on frequent acquisition of extra lives over the course of the game in order to complete it.[19]