Air Fortress (NES)
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- This page is for the NES and Famicom versions. For the unreleased Famicom Disk System version, see Air Fortress (FDS).
Air Fortress is a sci-fi action game developed and published by HAL Laboratory. It was originally released in Japan in 1987 and subsequently released in North America and Europe in 1989. Interestingly, despite being released outside of Japan, the international versions still retain the kanji title on the title screen (空中要塞). This is also interesting, as the packaging of the Japanese version lists the game's name in katakana, エアー・フォートレス (Eā Fōtoresu).
In the game, you play as Hal Bailman. A set of Air Fortresses are threatening the planet of Farmel. It is up to Hal to penetrate into all of the Air Fortresses, destroy the core, and get out as soon as possible.
The game is divided into two gameplay styles. The first half of each Air Fortress is where you are just outside the Air Fortress. This part of the game plays like a traditional sidescroller like Gradius or Silver Surfer. Here, shooting the enemies can net you powerups such as health and bombs for when Hal is penetrating the inside of the Air Fortress. However, this segment is tricky because Hal dies in one hit in this part.
The second half takes place inside the Air Fortress, and the game plays like a normal action platformer. However, rather than run through the Air Fortress, Hal floats through, which is controlled with the D-pad. Here, Hal has health, but it decreases throughout the stage, so he must act fast. Most enemies can be killed with the laser or bombs, but some enemies are invulnerable, which means Hal must sneak past them.
Despite its hard difficulty, the game was praised by critics and gamers alike. This was due to the overall presentation of the game.
Screenshots
Music
Air Fortress has beautiful music. There is a theme for each major part of the game, as well as a couple 10-second jingles. The game's soundtrack was composed by HAL's then in-house composer, Hideki Kanazashi, known for his work on the Adventures of Lolo series and Mach Rider. Most of the music retains his usual style of orchestral, jazzy, and even Latin elements. Most people who have played the game most remember the track Evacuation due to its spooky atmosphere, strongly urging the player to escape the Air Fortress before it explodes. It actually has a similar tone to some of the songs found in Metroid; in particular, Mini Boss Room I and Silence. The song is a short loop, however, after a while, the rumbling from the noise channel grows progressively louder until after two minutes.
However, probably the most interesting thing about the game's soundtrack is that it was heavily altered between the Japan and international versions; most of the instrumentation was changed, and the Staff Roll track was completely redone from scratch, but still has the same overall victorious feel. It is unknown why these changes were made. The unreleased Famicom Disk System version has a unique title track, as well as a higher fidelity version of the Air Fotress Interior theme, due to its use of the RP2C33. The developers at HAL accounted the differences between NTSC and PAL, so the PAL version has an identical sound to the NTSC version, just slightly lower in pitch and different note articulations. However, the music in the PAL version plays at about the same speed as the NTSC versions.
Hideki used Music Maker to create the game's music, in particular, version 1.0. The program required its user to enter the music in Music Macro Language.
Track 2, 3, and 5 were featured in HAL Game Music CD titled Ihen (2 and 3), and Muma (5).
Recording
- - Japan
- - North America
- - Europe
| # | Title | Composer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Title Screen / Prologue | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:39 | Download | |
| 102 | Stage Intermission | Hideki Kanazashi | 0:09 | Download | |
| 103 | Air Fortress Exterior | Hideki Kanazashi | 1:01 | Download | |
| 104 | Air Fortress Interior | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:01 | Download | |
| 105 | Evacuation | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:18 | Download | |
| 106 | Escaping the Air Fortress | Hideki Kanazashi | 0:11 | Download | |
| 107 | Staff Roll | Hideki Kanazashi | 1:33 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | Title Screen / Prologue | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:39 | Download | |
| 202 | Stage Intermission | Hideki Kanazashi | 0:09 | Download | |
| 203 | Air Fortress Exterior | Hideki Kanazashi | 1:01 | Download | |
| 204 | Air Fortress Interior | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:01 | Download | |
| 205 | Evacuation | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:18 | Download | |
| 206 | Escaping the Air Fortress | Hideki Kanazashi | 0:11 | Download | |
| 207 | Staff Roll | Hideki Kanazashi | 1:27 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | Title Screen / Prologue | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:37 | Download | |
| 302 | Stage Intermission | Hideki Kanazashi | 0:09 | Download | |
| 303 | Air Fortress Exterior | Hideki Kanazashi | 1:01 | Download | |
| 304 | Air Fortress Interior | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:02 | Download | |
| 305 | Evacuation | Hideki Kanazashi | 2:44 | Download | |
| 306 | Escaping the Air Fortress | Hideki Kanazashi | 0:11 | Download | |
| 307 | Staff Roll | Hideki Kanazashi | 1:30 | Download |
Credits
- Ripper: MrNorbert1994
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- Sound Composer: Hideki Kanazashi credited as Escaper Kanagushi / Jumper Kanagushi
- Programmer: Hiroaki Suga credited as GSX Suga
The game's credits are displayed after beating the game. Interestingly, the only credit changed between versions is Hideki's alias. In the original Japanese version, he is credited as Jumper Kanagushi, while the North American and European releases credit him as Escaper Kanagushi.
Albums
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Game Rip
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Ripping NES music is an arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site. The music was recorded in the Synthesia Mod of NSFPlay.
Releases
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Links
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/587079-air-fortress - GameFAQs.
- mobygames.com/game/nes/air-fortress - MobyGames.
- Games Released In 1987
- Games Developed By HAL Laboratory
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- Air Fortress (NES)
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- Games By Hiroaki Suga
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