P-47 Aces

P-47 Aces[lower-alpha 1] is a 1995 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by NMK and published by Jaleco. It is the sequel to P-47: The Phantom Fighter, which was released earlier in 1988 on multiple platforms. Taking place after the events of the first P-47, players assume the role from one of the four fighter pilots conforming an elite squadron sent by the United World Armies taking control of airplanes to make a dent against the enemy on battle. Its gameplay involves destroying waves of enemies, picking up power-ups and new weapons, and destroying bosses. It ran on the Mega System 32 hardware.

P-47 Aces
Developer(s)NMK
Publisher(s)Jaleco
Composer(s)Akira Hirokami (Uncredited)
Kazunori Hideya (Uncredited)
Manabu Namiki (Uncredited)
Sizlla Okamura (Uncredited)
SeriesP-47
Platform(s)Arcade
Release
  • JP: March 1995
  • NA: 1995
Genre(s)Horizontally scrolling shooter
Mode(s)
Arcade systemMega System 32

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot.
See also: P-47: The Phantom Fighter § Gameplay

P-47 Aces is a horizonal-scrolling shooter game similar to its predecessor, P-47: The Phantom Fighter, where players assume the role of one of the four pilots from an elite squadron sent by the United World Armies taking control of their respective airplanes with their own unique abilities through eight increasingly difficult levels that take place across multiple countries around the world, each with a boss at the end that must be defeated to progress, in an effort to make a dent against the enemy.[1][2][3][4][5]

Certain enemies carry icon-based power-up items that can be picked to increase the aircraft's firepower such as bombs and missiles. Getting hit by enemy fire or colliding against solid stage obstacles will result in losing a live, as well as a penalty of decreasing the aircraft's firepower and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing. A new addition to the sequel is the hyper system, which increases the plane's overall power to its maximum status after continuing.[1][6] In addition to the single-player mode, the game also features a two-player cooperative multiplayer mode.

Development and release

P-47 Aces' soundtrack was scored by then-NMK members Akira Hirokami, Kazunori "HIDE-KAZ" Hideya, Manabu Namiki and Sizlla Okamura.[7][8][9] In a 2011 interview, Namiki stated Hideya was the game's main composer and that he wrote three songs in MIDI but did not perform a data conversion.[8] Namiki also stated he liked the track for the night desert stage and planned to release the original version in the future.[8] The title was released in Japanese arcades by Jaleco in March 1995 for the Mega System 32 board.[10][11] The game was also showcased in North America by Jaleco during the 1995 ACME show.[12] On April 27, 2011, an album containing music from the title and its predecessor titled JALECO Retro Game Music Collection was co-published in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Team Entertainment.[7] Another album titled SUPER Rom Cassette Disc In JALECO was also released by City Connection under their Clarice Disk label on September 25, 2013, featuring music from the game and its prequel.[9]

P-47 Aces received a location test version prior to its 1995 launch in Tokyo and is notable for featuring one of the earliest instances of a hyper system in a shoot 'em up game prior to DoDonPachi DaiOuJou (2002).[6][13] In this version, the hyper system was built by collecting additional power-up items and when activated, players are rendered invincible to enemy attacks, deliver damage to enemies by bumping against them and the plane's firepower is increased exponentially.[6] However, the hyper system was replaced in the final version by a more standard bomb mechanic, which did not exist in the location test version.[1][6] An enhanced port, titled P-47 Aces Mk.II, will be released for exA-Arcadia arcade platforms in 2021.[14]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed P-47 Aces on their May 15, 1995 issue as being the sixth most popular arcade game at the time.[15]

Notes
  1. Japanese: P-47 エースズ, Hepburn: P-47 Ēsuzu

References
  1. MVP (15 May 1995). "紹介 - P-47 Aces". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 142. Shinseisha. pp. 196–198.
  2. MVP (15 June 1995). "攻略 - P-47 Aces (1 ～ 3 面)". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 144. Shinseisha. pp. 209–211.
  3. MVP (30 June 1995). "攻略 - P-47 Aces (4 ～ 5 面)". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 145. Shinseisha. pp. 210–213.
  4. MVP (15 July 1995). "攻略 - P-47 Aces (6 面)". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 146. Shinseisha. pp. 88–91.
  5. MVP; M.I (30 July 1995). "攻略 - P-47 Aces (7 ～ 8 面 [LAST])". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 147. Shinseisha. pp. 79–80.
  6. Kusakabe, Ayako (1995). "Tokyo Location Test Report: P-47 Aces (Jaleco/NMK)". Game Urara (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Core Magazine. p. 93.
  7. "KDSD-00442~3 | JALECO Retro Game Music Collection". vgmdb.net. VGMdb. Archived from the original on 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  8. Greening, Chris (May 10, 2011). "Manabu Namiki Interview: Redefining Shooting Soundtracks". vgmonline.net. Video Game Music Online. Archived from the original on 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  9. "Arcade Disc In JALECO -SHOOTING-". Clarice Shop (in Japanese). City Connection. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  10. Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). NMK (日本マイコン開発); ジャレコ （ジャパンレジャー） Jaleco. pp. 22, 33. ISBN 978-4990251215. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. McFerran, Damien (July 2, 2020). "Jaleco's P-47: Thunderbolt Joins The Arcade Archives Roster Today - Take down enemies on land, sea and in the air!". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  12. "Product Mania! - New Non-Ticket Games For Arcades & FECS: Video Games — Jaleco USA". RePlay. Vol. 20, no. 8. RePlay Publishing, Inc. May 1995. p. 138.
  13. "Japon: Arcade (Cave/Été) - Dodonpachi Daiojo". Consoles + (in French). No. 125. M.E.R.7. June 2002. p. 40. Archived from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  14. "ジャレコ＆NMKの「P-47 ACES」や弾幕×音ゲー「NOISZ」がexA-Arcadiaに登場。「サイヴァリアデルタ」は4月28日に稼働開始". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas Inc. April 25, 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  15. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 495. Amusement Press, Inc.. 15 May 1995. p. 25.
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