U.N. Squadron

Overview

U.N. Squadron is a title based on a manga series from Japan called Area 88, which is also the game's Japanese title. It was originally released on the CPS arcade hardware by Capcom in 1989 and later ported to the SNES. The game features the same characters as the manga, and their mission is to stop a terrorist group known as Project 4.

Carrier Air Wing is the spiritual sequel to U.N. Squadron and was released on the CP System arcade hardware by Capcom in 1990.

Characters

There are three different playable characters in both the arcade version and Super Nintendo version.

Shin Kazama

Pilots an F-20 Tigershark. His weapons fire forward only, but at a quicker pace than the others. Shin and his plane is also the most balanced out of the three. In the original Area 88 storyline, Shin is the central protagonist. In the SNES version, Shin upgrades his main gun at a faster rate than the other pilots.

Mickey Simon

Pilots an F-14 Tomcat. His weapons can also only fire forward, but are larger and do more damage. They are however a bit slower. In the SNES version his name is spelled Mickey Scymon; Mickey also is awarded double ammunition bonuses when picking up a hidden ammo cache.

Greg Gates

Pilots an A-10 Thunderbolt. His weapon has smaller forward fire than the others, but it also fires a second stream downward at a 45 degree angle. In the SNES version, Greg recovers from damage faster than the other pilots.

Weapons Shop

During gameplay, the player earns money for each destroyed enemy plane or vehicle wich can be used to buy special weapons or defenses to be used in the next level. After each level, any unused weapons are converted back into money.

In the Super Nintendo version, the player can also buy a different aircraft, of which there are 6 available.

• F-8E Crusader - Starter aircraft.
• F-20 Tigershark
• F-14D Tomcat
• A-10 Thunderbolt II
• YF-23 Stealth Ray
• F-200 Efreet

Weapons

Arcade version

• Bulpup
• Bulpup II
• Phoenix
• Falcon
• Super Shell
• Super Shell II
• Bomb II
• Big Boy
• Napalm
• Napalm II

After buying or dismissing additional weapons, players can also purchase one of three different defense enhancements.

• • Energy Tank - More life to the lifebar.
  • Shield - Absorbs some damage from enemy fire and collisions.
  • Super Shield - Same as shield, but absorbs more.

Super Nintendo version

• Cluster Shot
• Bomb
• Phoenix
• Napalm
• Falcon
• Gunpod
• Super Shell
• Sailing Missile
• Thunder Laser
• Bulpup
• MegaCrush

Stages and Bosses

Arcade version

1. Frontline base -- Missile Tank
2. Thunderstorm 1 -- Stealth Bomber
3. Forest -- Forest Fortress
4. Desert -- Ground Carrier
5. Canyon -- VTOL Bomber 'Bayson'
6. Cave -- Missile Launcher
7. Airbase/Clouds -- Giant Bomber 'Bullhead'
8. Ocean -- Sub-Boss: Submarine. Boss: Battleship 'Minks'
9. Military Base -- Arsenal
10. Thunderstorm 2 -- Project 4 Airborne Fortress

Super Nintendo version

1. Frontline Base -- Missile Tank
2. Thunderstorm -- Stealth Bomber
3. Forest -- Forest Fortress
4. Desert -- Ground Carrier
5. Clouds -- Stealth Fighters (Mercenaries)
6. Ocean 1 -- Nuclear Submarine 'Seavet'
7. Ocean 2 -- Battleship 'Minks'
8. Canyon -- SR-71 Blackbird
9. Cave -- Ceiling Machine
10. Project 4 Base -- Sub-Boss: VTOL aircraft -- Boss: Project 4 ship

Gameplay

The game scrolls to the right with enemies coming from all directions. Depending on the stage, the player encounters land, sea and air units. Some red enemies drop a POW, which is used to upgrade the main gun of the players aircraft. The POWs come in green, blue or yellow and each color is worth a different amount of points. Special weapons on the other hand cannot be upgraded.

The players aircraft can take some hits before it is destroyed and has a small period of time where it is invulnerable after each hit.

Trivia

It's a little known fact that U.N. Squadron was used in the comic strip Computer Warrior, in which a boy called Bobby Patterson found a secret code which let him play computer games 'for real'. The strip to some degree turned into a marketing tool for publisher U.S.Gold, now known as Eidos, as it became solely their published games that were used as the basis of the 'real game playing' story arcs. Other games included Black Tiger and Zak McCracken.

As such, the stories and characters from Area 88 may well be the only IP to be a manga adapted to video game, westernized with a new title to then be adapted into a comic book story. Perhaps ironically, the hero from Area 88 was recast as a traitorous villain in the U.N. Squadron Computer Warrior storyline.