Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation

About Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation

Vapor Trail (1989), known in Japan as Kuuga, is Data East's two-player jet shooter in which a special forces air unit strikes the terrorist group DAGGER after it seizes New York and the world's nuclear silos.

Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation in Depth

In 1999 a terrorist organisation known only as DAGGER, called Ragnarok in Japan, occupies New York, hacks into military defences worldwide, sets up its own military command and gains control of nuclear missile silos, holding the world hostage until its governments surrender power. A Special Forces Air Unit is sent to cripple DAGGER's strongest defences and its New York headquarters. Two players fly jet fighters together across numerous levels, choosing from three: the balanced Silph, the heavily armed Valkyrie, modelled on the A-10 Thunderbolt II, and the agile Seylen, whose Vulcan upgrade can fire backwards.

Four standard pick-ups are available: the default Vulcan, which fires forward and flares out differently for each jet; Bombs, which fire straight and gain more launches when upgraded; the Defender, an explosive cluster shot that circles the jet; and homing Missiles fired in jet-specific directions. Every jet can roll to dodge projectiles and enemies, recharging after each use, and raise a shield manually. The S-Unit attachment strengthens the jet's firing whatever weapon it carries, differing for each jet, but locks out other weapons until it is detonated in a large explosion that harms enemies but not the player.

Making Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation

Data East developed and published it for arcades in 1989, and it was reviewed by Your Sinclair, Power Play and Zero in 1990. The Mega Drive/Genesis conversion was handled in-house by Data East, which was supposed to publish it, but for various reasons Telenet Japan released it instead.