Blue Wing Blitz

Lore & Background

Blue Wing Blitz begins in the Esk Republic, an agrarian nation threatened by the militaristic Ordia Empire. The player controls members of Esk's rebel force, each piloting a distinct aircraft. The main character is Keid, a sixteen-year-old pilot trainee from Tadaga Village, who meets Payer, a female senior pilot of the same age, and Havilan, a veteran piloting a flying gunboat. Other playable characters include Blore, a strategist from Mackai; his sister Rayetta, a bomber pilot; Roster, a secret leader of the Roggina Spirit resistance who opposes Ordia; and Poty, the fourth prince of Peag, with his guard Sersh.

Reader's Guide

Blue Wing Blitz was Square's second original title for the WonderSwan Color, developed by the same team behind the Front Mission series. Its gameplay combines turn-based tactical movement on a grid with separate dogfight screens where up to two ally and two enemy units engage using menu commands. Aircraft can be upgraded, customized, or remodeled after missions, with available upgrades depending on mission success. The game sold poorly, with around 20,000 units sold one year after release. Despite this, it received positive preview attention: GIA praised Nobuyuki Ikeda's character designs for adding style and charm, RPGamer noted its focus on aircraft as an interesting new take, and 1UP.com's Jeremy Parish cited it as an example of one of the WonderSwan's major games. A 95-page official strategy guide was published by DigiCube on the same date as the game.

Did You Know?

• The game's score was composed by Kumi Tanioka, her first full soundtrack composed entirely by herself.
• A trailer for the game was included in the bonus DVD of the Japanese release of Final Fantasy X.
• The game sold approximately 20,000 units one year after its release.