Sonic Wings (ソニックウィングス), known as Aero Fighters in the west, is a vertically scrolling shooter originally released in arcades in 1992 by Video System and ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It was the first game in the Sonic Wings series.
Overview[]
The original Sonic Wings is by far the most serious of the six games in the series. Although it does have its light moments, it lacks the wacky characters and silly situations featured in later games, in which the series becomes something of a parody of this first game. The game play consists of a scrolling screen with airplane sprites that shoot at various enemy targets to earn points and avoid being attacked. The artillery power of the player's craft can be increased through power-ups obtained by destroying certain large targets. Each craft also has a different special weapon which can be deployed a limited number of times; extra special weapons can also rarely be obtained from defeating enemies. Finally, extra points are available in the form of "money" left when the player destroys some stationary targets.
Eight pilots-- two each from the USA, Japan, Sweden, and England-- have the job of stopping the enemy's attacks around the world and beyond. There is a superficial storyline attached to each character, and each has their own reasons for fighting the enemy. Some characters were not playable in any of the following Sonic Wings games, while others appear in every game in the series.
Soundtracks[]
- Sonic Wings Soundtrack
- Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono 6: Sonic Wings Soundtrack
- Sonic Wings - Video System Arcade Sound Digital Collection Vol. 1
Secrets[]
Unlockables[]
SNES version[]
- Rabio and Lepus: at the character selection screen, hold down the R button on the second controller, and enter the following code on the first controller: Left, Down, Right, X, Y, A, B, Left, Down, Right, Down, X, Y, A, B.
- Timed dog fight with bosses: at the character selection screen, hold down the R button on the second controller, and enter the following code on the first controller: A, Left, Y, Right, X, Down, B, Up.
- Super Hard Mode: on the title screen where it says, "1 PLAYER, 2 PLAYERS, OPTION; hold down the R button, and enter the following code on the first or second controller: Up, Left, Down, Right, B, A, X, Y. Go to the option menu, and scroll the difficulty settings. The difficulty mode "SUPER" should appear. Please note that this mode can also be accessed by finishing the game on "HARD" mode as well.
- 18 continues: On the screen where it says "(C) 1993 VIDEO SYSTEM CO., LTD." with the "V" logo, hold down the L button on the second controller, and quickly enter the following code on the first controller: Left, Down, Right, X, Y, A, B, Left, Down, Right, Down, X, Y, A, B. You will hear a tone if the code is entered correctly. Go to the options menu, and scroll the continue settings. You will be able to have up to 18 continues during gameplay. This code only works with the Japanese version.
Characters[]
Playable[]
- Bishop, Keith
- Hien
- Keaton, Blaster
- Kowful
- Lepus
- Mao Mao
- Rabio
- River-n-White, Lord
- Sid Pride, William
- Tee-Bee A-10
Bosses[]
- Avro Bomber
- Holly Mountain
- MiG 31
- New Jersey, The
- Osaru
- Pandora
- Pomornik
- Station Core
- Super XX
- Vazeel
Game Versions[]
Arcade[]
Sonic Wings was released in arcades in Japan; it was released internationally as Aero Fighters. Judging from some ROM sets, at least one version was made that could run on the same hardware as the earlier Video System game Turbo Force. Used PCB/Jamma boards are readily available online, and there are frequent auctions for complete Aero Fighters cabinets.
- Sonic Wings/Aero Fighters Operator's Manual (Japan/US Coin-Op) (PDF)
- Aero Fighters Instruction Manual (US Coin-Op) (PDF)
- Japan instruction flyer (high resolution JPEG)
- Japan player select flyer (high resolution JPEG)
- Large Japanese flyer (high resolution JPEG)
- US player select flyer (high resolution JPEG)
- US player select decals (high resolution JPEG)
- US flyer (high resolution JPEG)
- US instructions poster (low quality JPEG)
- US marquee (JPEG)
- US cabinet decal (JPEG)
- Sprites
Super Famicom/Super Nintendo[]
Sonic Wings's release on the Super Famicom (Japan) and Super Nintendo (US) allowed for players to enjoy the game at home as well as at the arcade. It also included some special unlockables (see codes above) and the secret characters Rabio and Lepus, who first appeared in Rabio Lepus.
The Super Famicom Sonic Wings game
The Super Famicom game included box, game cartridge, manual, customer survey, and AC adapter instructions. The game is still readily available today, even on US game and auction sites.
The Super Nintendo game included at least the box, game cartridge, and manual. There were fewer copies released than for most SNES games, so the game is much harder to find today, and much more expensive, than its Japanese counterpart.
Playstation 2[]
The Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono series featured many classic arcade games rereleased for the Playstation 2, along with soundtracks and other extras. Sonic Wings was the sixth release in the series; they also released the earlier Video System game Rabio Lepus.
Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono 6: Sonic Wings game
The Oretachi game included case, game disc, manual, "Sonic Wings Official Guidebook Special Edition," replica of the arcade instruction flyer, trading card, soundtrack CD, and a DVD including a promo video, remix from the soundtrack, and playthrough of the game with Kowful in single-player mode.
- Manual (PDF)
- Sonic Wings Official Guidebook Special Edition (PDF)
- Flyer replica (JPEG)
- Trading card (JPEG)
Videos[]
External Links[]
- Wikipedia entry for Aero Fighters
- Moby Games Entry for Aero Fighters
- Gaming History Entry for Aero Fighters
- The Death Generator: Aero Fighters - site for generating custom pilot dialogue screens. (English)