Sky Mission
World War I aerial combat over France.
Sky Mission is a 1992 combat flight simulation video game developed by Malibu Interactive and published by Namco for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In North America it was rebranded as Wings 2: Aces High, while in Europe it was renamed to Blazing Skies. The game was produced by Ken Lobb, co-creator of the Killer Instinct series, with music by George Sanger.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Malibu Interactive
- Publisher
- Namco
- Programmer
- Steve Hughes
- Producer
- Ken Lobb
- Artist
- Jeremy Cantor; Steve Thomson
- Composer
- George Sanger
- Joe McDermott
- David Govett
- Kevin Phelan
- Platforms
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Released
- September 29, 1992 (JP)
- October 1992 (NA)
- January 21, 1993 (EU)
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The player leads a squadron of British warplanes tasked with bombing German buildings supporting Kaiser Wilhelm II's war effort over the fields of France. Five pilots are available, each earning status points to improve combat performance. A pilot who survives a mission but fails to complete it is demoted; repeated failures lead to dishonorable discharge. Death in combat results in a cemetery scene, with the year set to 1917 and earned medals displayed by the pilot's portrait. In standard flight missions, the player uses guns to shoot down German biplanes, eventually facing the Red Baron. A cheat code for radar, included in a small section of the manual, is historically anachronistic as radar was not operationally used for aircraft detection until World War II. Controls are arcade-friendly, and a password system allows advanced players to join at any stage.
Development
Wings 2: Aces High started as the Japanese game Sky Mission. The Wings name was used only for the American version, while Europe got the title Blazing Skies. While it looked similar to the first Wings game with dogfighting and bombing, it played more like an arcade title: if you failed a mission, you had to replay it. In Wings, the story moved forward whether you passed or failed, and even if your pilot died, the game continued with a new one. The manual features historical photographs from the San Diego Aerospace Museum, along with text explaining World War I's origins.
Reception
Sky Mission received mixed reviews. Critics often criticized its short length and lacking gameplay, but praised its graphics, soundtrack, and sense of thrill. It holds a 70% score on GameRankings. Famitsu found it lacked the freedom of other combat flight simulators and criticized its simplistic gameplay and monotonous shooting. Family Computer Magazine called the controls awkward. N-Force stated the game was too short and lacking, recommending it only to flight-sim fans. Power Play mockingly said its variety could only be seen with binoculars, and criticized its high difficulty and short length. GamePro claimed enemy planes cheated with unrealistic movements and disliked the music drowning out sound effects. However, Famitsu praised the graphics and soundtrack for creating an illusion of soaring through the skies, and liked the sense of thrill and cinematic presentation. Super Famicom Magazine applauded its Mode 7 3D effects and realistic visuals. GamePro called it some pilot's dream come true for its immersive 3D visuals and music, praising the hectic dogfights and thrill. Power Play found it visually impressive. SNES Force listed it among the ten best strategy console games of 1993, noting its realistic dogfighting and World War I setting.
More in Namco Games of the 1990s
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