Sonic Wings Special
review for the Sega Saturn
A classic shoot 'em up. Released on the Saturn in 1996 by Video System co.,ltd.
I remember playing Sonic Wings on my Super Famicom way back.
I was shocked to find out that at first sight it looked much like the SFC release, but in fairness the SFC release was very good.
But after a while you'll notice the differences.
The Saturn version, unlike the SFC/SNES version, has got a vertical arcade mode.
Check the How to.. section of this site for instructions on how to succesfully rotate your monitor.
The graphics & sound are much bigger & better than the SFC version, but in the first level of SWS it's difficult to notice. In later levels this title really begins to shine.
Furthermore SWS (Sonic Wings Special) is a compilation of:
-Sonic Wings 1
-Sonic Wings 2
-Sonic Wings 3
All put into one game.
No, you can't select which game you want to play. The levels are mixed into one game.
There is a Time Attack mode which is actually a Boss Attack mode. In this mode you'll get only one credit & you fight the bosses in the game one after another.
And it's a Saturn/PS release only. This compilation was never released in the arcades.
This game is a real gem. And wile it's not up to the standards set by Battle Garegga & Do Donpachi it's worth every penny you'll have to pay for it. Divide the asking price in three and ask yourself if you would pay that amount for them individually.
There will never be another vertical scrolling shoot 'em up with such an incredible FACT FILE.
FACT FILE
Vertical arcade mode
Yes
Unlimited continues
No
Levels
17 (9 levels per played game)
Aircraft
10, 16 more can be unlocked.
BGM Audio test mode
Yes
CD player audio
No
The aircraft have three main weapons: shot, rapid shot & bomb, each activated by a dedicated button.
Only with some characters you can (by charching with the shot button) charge up and fire an alternate attack.
There are 17 levels in total and you play 9 of them in one game.
Multiple routes can make each time you play this game a different experience.
In one game you are asked twice to choose between two paths (cool!).
The difficulty balance between the levels is a little off in this game but this is because different fighters play different levels & the levels are from 3 games.
This however is no bad thing since the overall difficulty is very hard.
After you reach a certain level one has to restart the level when a credit is depleted. Much like the Strikers/Gunbird series, only here your credits DO run out. So unlike the Gunbirds & Strikers you can only try those levels while you still have credits.
Most levels look like the levels found in Strikers while the level with the snow reminds me of Flying Shark (I played Flying Shark on the ZX Spectrum way back, monochrome but great conversion nevertheless).
The sprites and backgrounds are ok. They're solid and compliment each other very well.
Some people complain about the graphics, but fail to realize that the original Sonic Wings 1 was released in 1990.
I dare all of you, which shoot 'em up from 1990 or before has better graphics????????
And the levels from Sonic Wings 2 & 3 you'll play later on in the game look better than the first couple of levels.
This game has nice explosions.
Difficulty is very good.
There's no slowdown. A little flicker occurs sometimes when using Hien's massive laser smart-bomb. Hien, by the way is one of the better fighters to play with (ship moves fast & smart bomb does a lot of damage).
The music is nice.
Following is an overview of the fighters speeds.
These speed indications are 100% accurate.
When nothing is unlocked in 2 player mode only fighters from one and the same team can be selected.
For instance a 2 player game with "Blaster Keaton" & "Hien" is impossible because they are not in the same team.
When unlocking new fighters I found out that suddenly I could have a 2 player game with members from different teams.
I don't know when this mix-mode (tentative tittle) gets unlocked but it probably gets unlocked right after you complete the game and get a secret fighter.
Or perhaps when you complete the game with Blaster Keaton.
But even with this mix-mode unlocked when a second player enters the game while another player is playing that second player automatically gets the other member of the same team.
There 5 teams with 2 fighters to select from.
The N.A.T.O. team has to be unlocked.
after completing the game with the N.A.T.O. team two new characters Kotomi & The man are unlocked.
The fighters speeds
Normal fighter speed is presented in white colored letters.
Secret fighter speed is presented in orange colored letters.
Speed = 6
Speed = 7
Speed = 3
Speed = 6
Speed = 6
Speed = 3
Speed = 2
Speed = 9
Speed = 4*
Speed = 3
Speed = 6
Speed = 6
Speed = 3
Speed = 4**
Speed = 1
Speed = 6
Speed = 6
Speed = 8
Speed = 5
Speed = 9
Speed = 2
Speed = 10
Speed = 8
Speed = 6
Speed = 3
Speed = 5
There is one little contradictory in the fighters' speeds.
This concerns Chaika & Pooshika's 4* speed and Whity's 4** speed.
You see Whity moves faster while moving left and right.
Chaika & Pooshika moves faster going up and down. (nothing funny meant here b.t.w.)
So i gave Whity 4**, two *'s, because moving left and right is more critical I guess.
So 4** is a little bit better than 4*.
In this game it offcourse doesn't only come down to fighter speed, but calculating the fire power is too immense for 26 fighters!
Phew this was a BIG hasttle to create, so I hope some of you'll actually use it. (print it)
To print it:
-Press F11 to make your Internet explorer window go full screen.
-Position it so you get all the speed data.
-Press ALT+PRINT SCRN
-Paste it into your favorite image program like paint or Photo Editor.
-Print!
***************SECRETS**************
I found a neat way to unlock all of the fighters. without playing on less than PRO difficulty to do it. As a mather of fact without playing at all.
there are TWENTY SIX FIGHTERS IN TOTAL!!!!!!
Is that more than Batrider?
They secret planes ARE GREAT.
They look like they flew out of a Psikyo Strikers game.
The normal planes in SWS are all modern fighter jets + 1 helicoptor.
All the secret planes are WWII-style fighters.
The secret planes have totally new weapons & smart bombs.
They have to be seen to be believed.
There are little fighters by your side type power ups and the most hilarious smart-bombs ever.
All different; not in another color like I expected.
Also when playing a secret fighter, the first level is different (remixed) and so is the boss.
When you finish the game with a character you unlock the secret plane for that character.
When you have unlocked all of the 10 characters you get two new NATO characters pictured above.
After you unlock their secret fighters again two new characters are available.
Kotomi and The man are the two characters' names.
To select them either press down while standing on Anjera/Ellen & Cincia or press up while standing on Blaster Keaton/Captain Silver on the player selection screen.
These two new characters however don't have additional secret planes, so for now 26 different fighters is the max.
The two new characters have strange looking fighters. Look like a cross between the Twinbee fighters and a car with small plane wings.
Using an Action replay type of cheat device. I hope most of you have them.
They are usually a 4 in 1 tyoe of cartridge. with the 4MB RAM included for those great Saturn fighting games.
(Samurai Showdown/Real Bout special/ Marvel VS Streeft Fighter rule!)
Check the code in the below link:
http://vgstrategies.about.com/library/gs/blssonicwingsspecial.htm
Do the master code plus the invincibility codes for player 1 & 2.
Start a two player game & put two toothpicks in your Saturn controllers, turn of your tv & come back in 20 minutes or so.
You'll have the secret planes unlocked for two characters.
Repeat the steps & enjoy.
It's not really cheating just giving yourself a better chance at completing the game on the PRO difficulty setting.
I mean what use is a new secret unlocked BETTER fighter when you've just completed the game with an enferior fighter. right?
I have not seen any screenshots of the secret fighters on the internet.
I gotta get me one of 'em digital cameras to show everybody.
Oh yeah before I forget.
When you complete the game with Blaster Keaton he gets transformed into Mecha Keaton:
As a reward for completing the game he gets bio-mechanical surgery for free.
His body is now upgraded into a seventies styled BAN-DAI humanoid-robot.
Can't imagine him controlling the fighters with his new paws.
Le verdict:
Playability 10
Graphics 8,9
Music 9,3
Lastability 9,5
Overall 9,5
*note that if you play this game right after you play another shooter you'll have to readjust a bit to the smaller sized bullets.
By now I've gotten used to it completely, but I still try to take out the machine guns (which fire small bullets) first when fighting a boss.
screenshots:
