ACTION FIGHTER

ACTION FIGHTER Core Designs computer conversion of SEGAs top-down shootem up Action Fighter for the Sega Master System and Mega Drive. Actually quite a good conversion of this fun little game. In Action Fighter, you take to the skies in a plane to shoot down enemy jets and tanks and avoid ground-to-air missiles. You can shoot the tanks for bonus points, but you better watch out for those missiles!

Action Fighter is a top-down shoot ’em up action game for the Sega Master System and Mega Drive. It was originally released for the arcades in 1986, but this conversion was developed by Core Designs and released on the Sega Master System in 1991. This is actually quite a good conversion of this fun little game that was originally released on the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive) in 1990.

It’s not often that a good arcade game is also a good console game. The same fast-paced action and eye-catching visuals are not easy to replicate in a smaller format, but when it works, it delivers the same thrill of the arcade version in the comfort of your home.

You play as Ace, who must save his girlfriend Tina from the evil forces of Marduk. You’ll take on enemy forces on your way to their fortress, destroying them with your blaster and bombs, then dogfighting in an air battle against the enemy’s air force. In the air battle, you can collect powerups to strengthen your fighter.

The game is presented as if you are playing through an old television, complete with simulated scan lines. Not only is this fun nostalgia, it’s also useful—the enemies will sometimes launch homing missiles at you which you can shoot down with your blaster. If they slip past you and reach the bottom of the screen before you shoot them down, it’s mission over!