Sky Kid [Model NSK-3900]

Sky Kid © 1986 NAMCOT

Sky Kid is a cartoony looking side scrolling shooter and conversion of the arcade game of the same name originally released in 1985. Players take control of the notorious "Red Baron" and "Blue Max" fighter biplane pilots. Thematically, the action takes place in a setting loosely based on World War I - but it also embraces many fantasy related elements and stars an extravaganza cast of anthropomorphic birds. In the midst of a war against an evil crow army, the two ace pilots are given their most perilous missions - onboard their fighter biplanes, then must fly deep into enemy territory and destroy various ground targets. In each level, players go up against enemy ace squadrons as well as tanks, artillery and other submarines and war aircrafts. However, and this is what makes Sky Kid unique, bombs appear in each level and must be picked up by the player, then carried safely without being hit, and dropped onto a specific location (enemy fortress or battleship) for points. Although the first action button fires the plane's machine gun, the second button performs evasive loop maneuvers, allowing the player to escape deadly situations or to take out enemies on its tail. The pilots also possess the ability to save their planes in case of a spinning nose dive - when hit, each plane will suddenly make an uncontrollable dive to the ground, and repeatedly tapping the loop button can prevent the fatal crash. Obviously, this advanced technique becomes harder to pull off as the game progresses. Sky Kid features twenty six levels and a simultaneous two-player mode.