Air Buster: Trouble Specialty Raid Unit

Air Buster: Trouble Specialty Raid Unit
Genre(s): Shoot 'em up (Horizontally Scrolling) Platform(s): Arcade, Tubrografx-16, Mega Drive, Sharp X68000 (Unreleased) Release Date: 1990 (Arcade/PC-Engine), January 31st 1991 (Mega Drive) Developer(s): Kaneko Publisher(s): Kaneko (Namco/Sharp Image Electronics License), Kaneko USA

Air Buster: Trouble Specialty Raid Unit (Or Air Buster for short) is an arcade shoot 'em up game developed by Kaneko and was originally released for the arcades in 1990. It was later ported to the Turbografx-16 under the title Aero Blasters and the Mega Drive in which the US version is the same name as the arcade game a year later. The arcade game was licensed to Namco in Japan and Sharp Image Electronics in US and Mexico. It is not to be confused with the more infamous, & extremely rare game, Air Raid.

Why It Rocks

1. The graphics are absolutely vivid and colorful, even for a shoot 'em up. The PC-Engine version on the other hand has fairly water downed graphics compared to the Mega Drive and arcade version due to the limitations of the hardware, though nearly every stage has a ton of parallax scrolling.
2. Instead of restarting at the beginning of a level or having checkpoints, you always respawn where you left of. This makes it more forgiving than other shooters, though you lose everything that you have.
3. You can play with a friend at the same time, the console versions even retains this feature.
4. While it may not as catchy as other shoot'em ups, the soundtrack is still awesome and rocking. With tunes such as Seaside Front, Scramble!, Zero Gravity, and many others. The Mega Drive and PC-Engine versions aren't shabby either, with the PC-Engine version sound similar to the arcade except with wavetable synthesis.
   • In fact, there's an arranged version of Seaside Front which sounds even more awesome!
5. Intimidating and huge boss battles that can nearly take up a third of the screen, City Stalker is a good example of this where it destroys nearly the City in the first stage and it's gigantic compared to the other enemies in the game. They provide enough challenge and thought to the player without being too easy or hard.
6. There's some creativity in the stages that stands out to other shoot 'em ups. The notable example is the Zero gravity stages where if the player is moving, the planes don't stop in midair. Another example is the maze section in the final stage as yellow blocks are moving in different ways and items to freely collect. The variety in the stages is what makes it so exciting and prevents it from being boring.
7. The controls are pretty snappy and are easy to get use to, just like with nearly every over shoot 'em ups.
8. The Buster Flash is extremely beneficial as it destroys bullets and popcorn enemies (enemies that take only one hit). In order to optimize the player's power, it has a cooldown meter for a few seconds and when ready it'll blink with a message "Stand-By". This prevents the player from exploiting it, creating a emphasis on balancing the game entirely. It can be triggered by holding the attack button for a few seconds, and then let go of the button.
9. Speaking of the ports, the Turbografx-16 and Mega Drive are great ports of the arcade original.
   • The Turbografx-16 port has extended content than the Arcade and Mega Drive, as well as doubling the speed of the buster flash cooldown. This version also has an extended ending in which the Blaster Fighter's escape the collapsing stronghold and slowly head towards Earth.
   • The Mega Drive version is nearly close to the arcade graphically, and far more balanced in comparison to the PC-Engine Port (minus the funky hitboxes of the Blaster Fighters).
10. There's some nice references and shout-outs here and there. There's two large buildings in the first stage that looks like it's mimicking the Sharp X68000 and the FM Towns! Another one is a reference to a quote that's at the bottom of the Attract Mode screen with it saying "How High Can You Get?"

Bad Qualities

1. Aero Blasters on the PC-Engine is by far the most difficult out of all the versions. The enemies and boss attacks are far more aggressive and faster than any of the other versions. To compensate the harsh difficulty, the buster flash's cooldown speed has been doubled.
2. Due to Kaneko implementing a decompression code in the Mega Drive version, the loading times are insane. It can take up about ten seconds to enter a stage, compared to the PC-Engine which is basically loading free!
3. Speaking of the Mega Drive version, the wonky hitboxes of the Blaster Fighters may definitely irritate many players because it makes certain sections impossible not to get hit.
4. Despite being imaginative, first time players won't be having fun with the zero gravity sections. As said before, the player can't stop in midair which will make it annoying as some parts require you to dodge destroyed debris or a formation of bullets in certain areas. The PC-Engine version averts this, however as the player will stop in a few seconds in midair.

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly (Tubrografx-16): 7 / 9 / 9 / 9

Air Buster has received very positive reviews in all of the versions, with critics and general audiences praising it's wonderful graphics, addicting gameplay, and delightful sound.

Trivia

• A Sharp X68000 version was under development before 1994. It was listed in the Oh!X Magazine's upcoming software selection alongside with Kaneko's ports of Tatsujin and Same! Same! Same!. Sadly, all three ports never saw the light of day. However, there's gameplay footage in YouTube showing that a prototype may exist somewhere.

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