Flying Shark

About Flying Shark

Flying Shark (1987), known as Sky Shark in North America, is Toaplan's vertically scrolling biplane shooter, inspired by Apocalypse Now, which became the studio's biggest hit.

Flying Shark in Depth

Flying the titular biplane over constantly scrolling scenery that only stops at a runway, players fight tanks, battleships, aeroplanes and artillery across five increasingly difficult levels. There are just two weapons: a standard shot that reaches the height of the screen and a stock of three bombs that destroy anything in their blast and clear bullets. Shooting down coloured waves of planes releases "S" power-ups, point bonuses and extra lives, while certain ground targets leave "B" icons that add bombs, and every landing after the first take-off multiplies the remaining bombs by 3,000 points.

Players start with three lives, earning more at 50,000 points and beyond; a downed player restarts at the last checkpoint with firepower reset, and finishing the last stage starts a harder second loop. Composer Masahiro Yuge said the bomb-and-shot structure was decided during Slap Fight and that a bomb relieved players' stress; the team aimed for a realistic portrayal of war with Apocalypse Now in mind, and after a company trip to Thailand tried to convey the country's scenery in backgrounds that scroll left and right to immerse players.

Making Flying Shark

Toaplan developed it, and Taito published it in Japan in 1987, with Romstar in North America and Electrocoin in Europe. Its history was recounted by composers Masahiro Yuge and Tatsuya Uemura, who collaborated on the soundtrack. Western critics were mostly positive: Commodore User's Nick Kelly gave the coin-op nine out of ten, and Sinclair User's Tim Rolf said Taito had made it "so awesomely playable" despite its difficulty, though the many home conversions by third-party developers received a mixed response.