Top Gun is a fighter jet simulation video game developed and published by Konami of Japan based on the 1986 film Top Gun. It was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987 in North America.
Top Gun is the only flight simulator game I really liked playing before the coming of the Ace Combat games on the Playstation. The hit movie also made want to play it.
The Story
You are a Navy F-14 Tomcat jet fighter pilot.
The sun shines on the horizon as your heavily armed Navy jet fighter leaps from the aircraft carrier deck, flying into the danger zone. Your mission is to defend the Navy carrier task force from enemy attack.
Suddenly, enemy aircraft appear in your radar. They are everywhere, Now it is just you against them. And to survive you will need more than just speed and firepower. You will need guts and instinct to be a Navy "TOP GUN" pilot!
The Graphics and Sound
The graphics in this game are just a little bit above average. Whenever you fire a cannon or missile, the projectile looks red instead of being missiles in a cloud of black smoke. Backgrounds are a bit bland. Not much to complain about because it is the limitation of late 1980s' graphics.
The music is more likely the best thing about Top Gun. It has the same music as the movie. The sound effects kinda sound like a jet plane. Sometimes it is a bit annoying.
The Gameplay
Before a mission, you get to select one of 3 missile types but you start out with a lesser quantity of missiles.
Flying seems easy, move to target with the control pad, lock-on then fire a missile by pressing the B button twice, then fire rapid cannon with the A button. But eventually, it gets confusing as more and more enemy jets appear on the screen. Also, if you get targetted by an enemy jet, you can shoot their missiles, but they can fire from behind you as well. One hit is a lost life for you and you got only 3 lives.
The carrier landings part is the hardest but can be done with lots of practice. And also that you will have to refuel your jet every once in a while during missions.
Once you beat it, you may never want to play it again. The gameplay is repetitive.
My Verdict
Top Gun is not a bad game, but it definitely is not a great one. For fans of the movie and the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet like me, it may be worth getting. But there is always a better alternative.
Try to play this on the NES or on emulators. See if you'll like it.
@tipu curate
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