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After Burner

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Inside After Burner

Arcade
Shooter
5· 0 votes

After Burner hit arcades in 1987 as a rail shooter developed by Studio 128 and published by Sega. It runs on the Sega X Board arcade system, capable of surface and sprite rotation, and was the fourth Sega title to use a hydraulic "taikan" motion simulator cabinet. The game was a big deal at the time - it was a follow-up to Sega's earlier hits Space Harrier and Out Run, and it brought that same sense of speed and spectacle to an aerial combat setting. The player takes the role of an American F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot, tasked with clearing all 18 stages by destroying enemy aircraft and ground targets. Your plane comes with a machine gun and a limited supply of heat-seeking missiles, which you have to manage carefully against the waves of foes. The camera sits behind the jet in third person, much like Space Harrier, and you steer your crosshair across the screen to lock on and blast enemies out of the sky. What makes After Burner worth revisiting is how it captures that pure arcade rush - it's simple, it's fast, and the motion cabinet version was an unforgettable experience. Compared to other shooters of the era, it was more about spectacle and reaction time than deep strategy. If you want a straightforward, high-energy blast from the past, this is one of the best examples of the genre.

GAME INFO

Platform: Arcade
Genre: Shooter
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Studio 128
Released: 1987
Players: 1
Region: Japan, USA, Europe

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How to play After Burner online

Getting Started When you start After Burner, you're immediately dropped into the cockpit of an F-14. The game moves forward automatically, and your job is to aim and shoot at enemy aircraft that swoop in from all angles. Use the crosshair (controlled with the D-Pad) to lock onto targets and press the attack button to fire your machine gun. Heat-seeking missiles are limited, so save them for tough enemies or when you're swarmed. The core loop is simple: survive each stage by destroying enough enemies before the timer runs out or your health depletes. You'll face fighter jets, helicopters, and larger bomber planes. There are 18 stages in total, with increasing difficulty. The arcade version also featured a hydraulic cabinet that would tilt and shake, but the emulated version keeps the gameplay intact. New players should focus on learning enemy patterns and not wasting missiles on easy foes. The game is generous with continues in the arcade original, so don't be afraid to keep plugging away. There's no save function - it's all about high scores and seeing how far you can get.

CONTROLS

Controls

Arrow Keys: Joystick / Movement
X: Button 1
S: Button 2
Z: Button 3
A: Button 4
Q: Button 5
E: Button 6
Enter: Start / 1P
V: Coin / Insert

After Burner FAQ

Does After Burner have a multiplayer or co-op mode?

After Burner is strictly a single-player experience. The arcade cabinet was designed for one player at a time, with no support for cooperative or competitive multiplayer of any kind.

Can players save progress in After Burner?

As an arcade game from 1987, After Burner does not include any save or progress system. Players are expected to complete the game in a single session, with high scores recorded on the machine but not retained between sessions.

Who developed After Burner?

Studio 128, an internal Sega development team, was responsible for creating After Burner. The game was published by Sega and released internationally in 1987.

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