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Air Fortress (Video Game)

 Air Fortress (Video Game)
type
TVTItem
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
label
Air Fortress (Video Game)
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
page
AirFortress
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
comment
Air Fortress is a game released in Japan in 1987 by HAL Laboratory, today best known for Kirby and Super Smash Bros. It came to American shores in 1989. Its basic plot will remind you of the climaxes of a few Star Wars films: The planet Farmel finds itself threatened by eight mysterious Air Fortresses (something of a misnomer, as they're attacking from space). The Federation of Intergalactic Powers has thrown all their defenses at the Fortress to no avail. Now, it's been decided that one man, Hal Bailman, will attempt to infiltrate and blow up the Fortresses from the inside.The gameplay of Air Fortress combines two genres, and can be said to be composed of three separate parts. The first part of a given level is a Shoot 'Em Up where you're trying to get inside the Fortress in question. On your way, you also want to gather as much Energy and Crash Beam Bullets... err, Bombs, as possible. These will all come in handy in the second part of the level.In the second part of the level, you're actually inside the Air Fortress in an Action-Adventure type of game. This second part of the level can effectively be broken down into two parts in itself: Find the Fortress's Power Reactor and blow it up. Get back to your ship - which will not be at the start of the level - before the Fortress explodes.
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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2023-05-29T10:29:32Z
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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2023-05-29T10:29:32Z
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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Dropped link to HealthMeter: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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Dropped link to ShootEmUp: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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HealthMeter
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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DBTropes
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_1563860d
type
Big Damn Fire Exit
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_1563860d
comment
Big Damn Fire Exit: Getting to your ship before the Fortress explodes.
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1.0
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Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_1563860d
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_1f92e4c6
type
Regenerating Health
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_1f92e4c6
comment
Regenerating Health: Hal's recovers energy lost due to actions taken when remaining still. Energy loss from damage isn't recovered. The core only requires 20 shots to destroy, but it has a fixed regeneration rate close to one shot per second. The regeneration is only noticed for players with no crash beams that aren't able to remain in a stable firing position (e.g. Stage 6 has limited movement range, where knockback will throw the player into magnets that pulls him down.)
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Ominous Floating Castle
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_207af763
comment
Ominous Floating Castle: Bedomed, floating cities are bad news. Haven't you ever played a game before?
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_207af763
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_21847ef5
type
Screen Shake
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_21847ef5
comment
Screen Shake: After destroying the Power Reactor, the screen starts to shake. The shaking intensifies as the time is run out.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_21847ef5
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_27b418da
type
A Winner Is You
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_27b418da
comment
A Winner Is You: The game has a pretty typical 1987 ending. Which is to say, the effort you go through to get it is not nearly worth the reward.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_27b418da
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_33fa230b
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Your Princess Is in Another Castle!
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_33fa230b
comment
Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: So you've gotten through the whole game, barely escaping from the last Fortress. You sigh in relief, get ready for the ending...and are greeted with approximately "ATTENTION! The Air Fortress has recovered its function. Hal Bailman must return to the Air Fortresses and disable them completely. You are approaching the 1st Air Fortress." At this point, you will either Rage Quit and never play the game again, or become determined to beat the second quest out of spite at the non-ending you just got handed. Note that the Japanese version actually gives you an ending at the end of the first quest, with an "Input these codes to play the second quest" after the fact.
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_4c96aa00
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Denial of Diagonal Attack
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_4c96aa00
comment
Denial of Diagonal Attack: The player can only fire left and right, which makes later levels (especially level 6) absolutely infuriating when enemies are directly below you and knocking you back up into the air with projectiles so you can't drop down within reach.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_4c96aa00
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_5c18d958
type
Video Game Flight
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_5c18d958
comment
Video Game Flight: Hal is capable of this inside the Air Fortresses. While he is technically capable of unlimited flight, going upward does still temporarily consume Energy like left/right movement does, until it is idled and recovered back.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_5c18d958
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_62259825
type
Nintendo Hard
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_62259825
comment
Nintendo Hard: The game stops playing around at about Level 4, but gets downright evil at Level 6. The main reason this game doesn't have the reputation of Battletoads or Ghosts 'n Goblins is simply that it's not as well known in general. This is without getting into the even more fiendish Japanese version, which sends you back to the beginning of the Approach segments every time you lose a life (the US version lets you respawn where you died providing you still have extra lives), and which generally starts you off with slightly less Energy than its US counterpart. How hard is this game? Frankomatic's Let's Play of the (Japanese version of the) game has him stating that he won't be abusing Save States. By Level 6, he throws this condition out the window... and still fails to beat the level. The next video opens with him saying "As you can see, the sixth Fortress got hit with a big 'Fuck You' bomb that fell out of the cartridge, so we can continue." For reference, this run shows one of a handful of routes known for the level. At the time, it was a different (and faster) route than was in any walkthrough on GameFAQs, although the use of speed running techniques also helped.
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Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_62259825
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_637ef67
type
New Game Plus
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_637ef67
comment
New Game Plus: A second immediately follows the first. The level layouts are exactly the same, but there are more and/or harder enemies. The level and fortress colors are also inverted (making some of the enemies in the fortresses much harder to see) and the destinations of most of the warp pipes are scrambled, radically altering your path through each fortress.
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_70d8269d
type
Excuse Plot
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_70d8269d
comment
Excuse Plot: Translation aside, the actual story of the game never really figures into the gameplay itself.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_70d8269d
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_77824082
type
Healing Boss
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_77824082
comment
Healing Boss: The Reactor Boss in each stage self-heals, requiring the player to rapidly fire shots to destroy it. Note that there's no visible boss health meter, the regeneration is just kept in the background.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_77824082
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_78e6bcf5
type
Action-Adventure
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_78e6bcf5
comment
Action-Adventure: The second part of each level, where you're actually inside the Air Fortresses.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_78e6bcf5
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_808cbaeb
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Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_808cbaeb
comment
Basically, most everything in the Japanese version takes more hits, you get less energy during the Approach segments, dying during said Approach segments kicks you right back to the beginning, and you have to manually enter the password every time you game over.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_808cbaeb
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_83308c12
type
Spikes of Doom
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_83308c12
comment
Spikes of Doom: A common hazard that makes its first appearance in the second fortress.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_83308c12
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1.0
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_83edb5ab
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Difficulty by Region
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_83edb5ab
comment
Difficulty by Region: The North American version is brutal. The Japanese version is even worse. Basically, most everything in the Japanese version takes more hits, you get less energy during the Approach segments, dying during said Approach segments kicks you right back to the beginning, and you have to manually enter the password every time you game over.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_83edb5ab
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_8b6a1576
type
Meaningless Lives
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_8b6a1576
comment
Meaningless Lives: The shmup sections in the Japanese version give the player three lives to complete it, but since the player restarts back at the beginning of the stage after each death, there's really no point (even moreso since dying in the infiltration section is an instant Game Over.)
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_8b6a1576
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_8df14c99
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One-Hit-Point Wonder
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_8df14c99
comment
One-Hit-Point Wonder: The player during the shmup segments.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_8df14c99
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_955f0c47
type
GottaKillEmAll
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_955f0c47
comment
Gotta Kill 'Em All: The network of Air Fortresses revives itself after Bailman destroys the eighth, so it's more like sixteen.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_955f0c47
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_a33efe7c
type
Recoil Boost
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_a33efe7c
comment
Recoil Boost: When Hal fires his weapon it gives him a slight push backward, and a bigger push backward if he is midair, the latter resulting in movement slightly quicker than his normal movement. While this is commonly viewed as a staple speedrunning technique, it can be utilized to gain ground against enemies that are otherwise able to keep up with Hal's movements, either as a means to set up a retaliatory attack or as a retreat. This technique can be used to easily get out of the reactor room of level 6. The "gravity spikes" at the bottom of the room may prevent Hal from leaving the area at his normal speed unless precise movements are made; propelling himself backward with his gun is the most consistent way to get out in a hurry.
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_b618409c
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Sentry Gun
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_b618409c
comment
Sentry Gun: The fortresses are littered with wall-mounted sentry guns that look like spheres.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_b618409c
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_bb48f8ba
type
Timed Mission
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_bb48f8ba
comment
Timed Mission: From the time you shoot out the Power Reactor you have just over two minutes to find the level's escape hatch, which contains your ship, and escape the Fortress before the whole place explodes. Exact Time to Failure is averted, but you can judge how much time you have left by the decreasing stability of the environment. Initially, the whole Fortress goes dark, and after about 30 seconds it begins to quake and rumble. When you are down to less than 30 seconds left the rumbling gets worse and the lights begin to flash on and off, and after two minutes have passed the rumbling intensifies again. The explosion occurs five seconds later, at which point you are completely engulfed in a white screen and the game ends. It is helpful to locate and determine the path to the escape hatch in advance, but not every level grants you this opportunity due to the reactor itself blocking the escape path.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_bb48f8ba
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_c3d4a04c
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Energy Ball
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_c3d4a04c
comment
Energy Ball: The preferred projectile for many enemies are yellow balls of energy.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_c3d4a04c
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_c69ae9b2
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Self-Destruct Mechanism
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_c69ae9b2
comment
Self-Destruct Mechanism: Destroying the Power Reactor causes the entire fortress to be blown up in the matter of minutes.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_c69ae9b2
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e6ce4b
type
The Maze
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e6ce4b
comment
The Maze: Technically speaking, every Air Fortress after the first is non-linear, but they don't get truly mazelike until Level 4. At this point, the teleporters first become asymmetric — taking a teleporter at Location A will take you to Location A', but even if there's a teleporter at A', which is far from a certainty, said teleporter at A' is almost guaranteed not to take you back to Location A. This especially applies to Level 6. Trying to determine the best path to the Reactor and then your ship becomes a huge part of the challenge in the later levels — no matter how much Energy you grab, just wandering around the Fortresses aimlessly is guaranteed to get you killed, either by enemies or by failing to find your ship in time. Level 8 takes things to a whole new level of complexity. If you haven't cleared yourself an escape route in advance, you almost need to use speed running techniques to make it back to your ship before the fortress explodes.
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e8902581
type
Side View
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e8902581
comment
Side View: The entire game.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e8902581
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e9bb0f2a
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Reactor Boss
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e9bb0f2a
comment
Reactor Boss: The "Power Reactor", natch.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_e9bb0f2a
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_eff26b2b
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Take Cover!
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_eff26b2b
comment
Take Cover!: The elevator shafts inside the fortresses serve as this, even though enemies will continue to try to attack. In the later fortresses, it becomes important to carefully time your exit from the elevator to avoid taking excessive damage just trying to enter the room.
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_eff26b2b
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 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_f1d38725
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Engrish
 Air Fortress (Video Game) / int_f1d38725
comment
Engrish: For some reason, the Japanese version of the game has what little text it does have in English. This leads to such jewels as "You have encounterd the 1st 'Air Fortress'" and "On the planet 'Farmel', they had the gloriest days for two centuries..." This may be because supposedly, a very limited number of copies of the original version came over to the States in 1987 as a "test run" for HAL Laboratories to release games in the US. Note that the proper US version has a much better translation.
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Air Fortress (Video Game)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Air Fortress
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Air Fortress (Video Game)
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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Big Damn Fire Exit / int_a2d5495
 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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Breather Level / int_a2d5495
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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 Air Fortress (Video Game)
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