Top Gun

Developer: Konami     Publisher: Konami     Released: 1987     Genre: Action

I’ve always liked the idea of flight simulators more than the reality of playing one.  Growing up I read the Electronics Boutique catalog and their description of games like Microsoft Flight Simulator and Falcon+ made them seem like the most incredible games in the world.  But PCs cost thousands of dollars back then so I had to make do with what was on the NES.  Unfortunately the NES offerings in the genre probably turned me off flight simulators for years.  Top Gun is the primary culprit, a game that banked on its license to sell millions of copies yet disappointed nearly everyone that played it.  This is not a good game.

Top Gun is rather infamous in the NES library.  The film was one of the biggest hits of that decade and left a lasting cultural impression.  So of course thousands of kids rushed to buy the game to relive even a fraction of the movie’s action.  What they were greeted with was a game that sort of captured some of that magic but then proceeded to kick you in the teeth with one of the most ridiculous landing sequences in video game history.  Landing the plane was the equivalent of the Turbo Tunnel in Battletoads.  It might be even worse since you have to do it within the first five minutes of the game.  Most failed at it repeatedly and never played the game again.  Having revisited Top Gun for this review and finally finished I can’t blame them.

Top Gun is essentially Konami’s version of After Burner.  The game is viewed from the cockpit unlike that game and has a minimalist cockpit.  Enemy waves fly in and you have a targeting reticle to line up shots and fire missiles.  You have a choice between three different kinds of missiles but in reality even though you get different amounts the only difference is the distance you need for a target lock.  Fuel is limited but you have the chance to refuel during a mission although the process is just as frustrating as the landing sequences.  More on that later.

At its core Top Gun is simple.  You sit with the reticle in the middle of the screen and watch the radar to see when enemies are approaching.  You can move to the sides a little and control altitude but that is it.  It makes dodging enemy fire very difficult, to the point you’ll have to get the first or trade damage almost every time.  The first person view also can’t hide the fact that the scenery isn’t very interesting either.  The action picks up by the second mission but you will still spend long periods starting at monochrome environments.  If you survive to the end of the mission you still have to land the plane successfully, which ends up being more action packed than anything else in the game.

You will dread this sequence every time.

Ah yes, the infamous landing sequence.  After each mission you must follow the game’s directions to safely land on the aircraft carrier.  In essence it should be simple; maintain a speed around 288mph and an altitude of 200 feet to land successfully.  In practice it is anything but.  The controls managing both your speed and altitude are awful.  If you can somehow manage to get a handle on that you’ll then have to deal with the game’s spastic directions to safely land.  The game can’t decide which direction it wants you to go and will keep switching up until you crash.  Oddly enough even if you fail the game continues.  But with a mere three lives you won’t reach the end this way.

Words cannot express how frustrating the landing sequences are.  Even now, after having gained some skill at it, it still feels like a happy accident when I land successfully.  They were a good idea in theory but in execution the game fails at it.  Unfortunately you have to do this after every mission.  This was the game’s biggest sticking point and the reason many simply walked away.  I encountered many kids who owned Top Gun but promptly gave up after the first mission even though you could continue.  That’s how bad it is.

Even divorced from its stupid landing sequences Top Gun is not an easy game.  Because of the first person viewpoint dodging enemy fire is near impossible.  There is no way to refill health outside of death either.  By the second mission enemy planes are aggressive and attack in groups of three.  You will also have to contend with ground targets as well.  Missiles mean instant death and they usually come three at a time.  While it is possible to move out of the way it isn’t reliable.  What it boils down to is if you aren’t attacking immediately chances are you will exchange hits or die.  It only gets worse in later missions as well.

In Closing

Top Gun was just as bad as I remember and not fun at all. The game deserves every bit of ridicule it has received and is not worth tracking down. Konami has a pretty stellar track record on the NES but they can’t all be winners.  This one is a hard pass.