After Burner (Sega)

Longplay Information

Author(s): MadMattyMadMatty
System: Commodore 64
Region:
Language:
Subtitle Language:
Additional Info: No information available
Publication Date: 18/03/2021
YouTube Release: 18/09/2021
Duration: 00:42:01
File Size: 86.93 MB (89016.00 KB)
Downloads: 142 downloads
File Links:


Archived Submission Thread

Screenshot

Player's Review

After Burner Arcade conversion to the Commodore 64 by Weebee Games, Published by Sega and released in 1989 for the US market.

"Come on. 'Ace' it. OK, supersonic jock. Get ready to go. Muster up all the skill, reflexes and guts you've got. Because inside your F-14 Thunder Cat, you're going to need all that-and more. Blast laser-directed, anti-aircraft fire at enemy planes. Dodge heat-seeking missiles with fancy flywork-like dips, turns and barrel rolls. Come head to head with the infamous Flying Fortresses - the toughest of all enemies - and dogfight your way through, to a nanosecond of safety. And if you make it far enough, a fuel tanker will be waiting for you. Dock successfully and you'll replenish valuable energy and ammunition. So get your adrenaline pumping - and grab your joystick. Then take to the skies. You're not going to believe what's up there!"

This is the US release of the game, based upon the original After Burner arcade game. The EU release was based on After Burner II. Both are called After Burner on the home releases and the two releases are notably different.

As a port of After Burner.. The C64 conversion is pretty good. The gfx are well done, its got all the gameplay elements including manual docking with the fuel plane, bonus stages and Flying Fortress boss fights. The gameplay doesn't change much between stages. You just have to stay a live as long possible avoiding kamikaze planes and missiles while trying to land a few shots. Lock-on is indicated by a flashing plane but it can be tricky to get the missile launched before the plane flies off screen. You can press space to fire or hold down the fire button. I don't go for space is I need all my attention on the screen as the on coming fire can get you without a chance to evade. The hit boxes are very hit n miss and can be frustrating. While the game starts off with a great title screen tune, a glaring omission is the complete lack of music while in game. The most important part of After Burner which helps drive the game along at is at least 50% of the game.

Overall I think the EU release of After Burner is the better game. It doesn't look as good but it does have multiple songs playing throughout which is a big part of the experience. It has a proper lock-on function, it has speed control and to me it plays better without having to worry about planes flying into you.