Airwolf (video game)

Airwolf
NES box art
Developer(s)Kyugo (Arcade, Genesis)
Beam Software (NES)
Publisher(s)Kyugo (Arcade, Japan, Genesis, Japan/US)
United Artists Theatre Amusements (Arcade, US)
Acclaim (NES)
Platform(s)Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Famicom, NES, Genesis, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseArcade
September 1987[1]
Famicom
NES
  • PAL: August 1988
  • NA: June 1989
Genesis
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player
Arcade systemKyugo

Airwolf is a series of shooter video games based on the TV series of the same name. The first game based on the series was released for the ZX Spectrum by Elite Systems in 1984. The game also was released on the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and Atari 8-bit computers. A sequel, Airwolf II, was released in 1986.

An arcade game based on the series was developed by Kyugo and released in 1987. A Famicom port of this game was released in 1988.[4] Kyugo also developed a Sega Genesis game based on the series, called Super Airwolf. In the US, this game was released as CrossFire without the Airwolf license or theme song.[5] This was not the first CrossFire game from Kyugo. They had previously developed a CrossFire game for the Famicom, which was an action platformer.[6] This game was going to be released in the US, but the release was cancelled.[7]

The NES version was not a port of the arcade game, but was instead developed by Beam Software and released by Acclaim in 1988. The game places the player in the cockpit of the Airwolf helicopter attempting to shoot down enemy aircraft and rescue prisoners.

  1. ^ "Airwolf, Arcade Video game by Kyugo (1987)".
  2. ^ "Airwolf (1987) release dates".
  3. ^ "CrossFire Release Information for Genesis - GameFAQs".
  4. ^ Fox, Matt (2013). The Video Games Guide: 1,000+ Arcade, Console and Computer Games, 1962-2012. 6 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786472574.
  5. ^ "CrossFire Release Information for Genesis". Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  6. ^ "CrossFire Release Information for NES". Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  7. ^ "CrossFire NES Prototype". Retrieved 2020-03-22.