Sonic Wings Special
From Sega Retro
| Sonic Wings Special | ||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Saturn | ||||||||||
| Publisher: Media Quest | ||||||||||
| Developer: Video System | ||||||||||
| Sound driver: SCSP (1/3 track) | ||||||||||
| Genre: Shooting[1][2] | ||||||||||
| Number of players: 1-2 | ||||||||||
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Sonic Wings Special (ソニックウイングス・スペシャル) is a vertical shoot-'em-up released for the Sega Saturn. It came in a double CD case with a mini audio CD, and was only released in Japan.
Contents
Story
In the near future, a secret organization is plotting against an otherwise peaceful world. Much of this organization's plans are still unclear. Several countries have launched investigations, but all they have discovered is that its purpose is to destroy the world order, that it possesses unknown chemical weapons, and that it calls itself Fata Morgana.
To fight against Fata Morgana, a supra-national organization called Project Blue has been established. It is a group of combat experts from all over the world, and is officially part of the U.N. Security Force's special forces units.
Project Blue operated behind the scenes at first, but the worldwide coup d'etat by Fata Morgana, in which the nerve centers of multiple countries' militaries were seized, forced Project Blue to step up its operations.
Nevertheless, the world fell into chaos, and Fata Morgana quickly expanded the areas under its control.
Recently, an intelligence agent has reported that Fata Morgana is close to completing a secret weapon that can kill or wound two-thirds of the world's population.
Project Blue's secret operations are no longer enough to contain Fata Morgana, so to build a stronger force, all the experts in the world have been called up to participate, in some cases nearly conscripted.
There's no time to lose. Captain Lord River-n-White's orders: "Use of all weapons is allowed. Launch a full-scale attack!" The enemy awaits you in various parts of the world.
Gameplay
Pilots
All characters start the game with their modern+era fighters. Completing the once with the character unlocks secret WW2 era fighters.
| Buster Keaton / Mecha Keaton | |
|---|---|
| A 26-year-old US Navy pilot who once served during the Operation Desert Storm. He has a friendly nature who gets along with everyone and happens to be a bit of a ladies man even though his "charms" never seem to work. He is also hot-blooded and has a strong sense of justice, never allowing villans to have their way.
Mecha-Keaton is Keaton's alter ego, after being mortally wounded at the end of Sonic Fighters, Keaton goes through an operation to replace most of his body with cybernetics. His personality has not changed a bit, though.
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| Captain Silver | |
Silver is a 50-year-old former US Air Force pilot who lost his close friend Randy during the invasion of Fata Morgana. Taking his friends' pet parrot Flint with him, Silver fights to avenge his friend. Silver is quiet and not very sociable, preferring to spend time alone but he does respect fighting skills of the some members of the Project Blue. He often keeps his distance from more bubbly members of the unit such as Cindy.
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| Hien | |
A taciturn and loner ninja-pilot (?) who serves a mysterious man called "Shogun". Serious and duty-minded, he has little patience for the antics of his fellow pilots even though he and Mao Mao seem to share a special bond.
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| Mao Mao | |
Originally a popular idol singer, 20-year-old Mao Mao accidently finds herself in the middle of the war when Fata Morgana attacked the world during her photo-shoot. A reluctant pilot, Mao Mao later joined permamently after realizing that she actually enjoyed flying. Although very cheeful and active, Mao Mao can be really lazy and childish at times, often missing missions while spending her time in her room, sleeping. In the game, Mao Mao wears her military uniform (from the first game) and her traditional Japanese dress (from the third game).
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| Volk | |
A former member of Fata Morgana, this tough Russian defected to Project Blue after he was betrayed and almost killed by his former emplyoer. An introverted and scary man, Volk doesn't care about the ideals of the Project Blue and only interested in destroying the organization that betrayed him. He also seems to be a Cyborg, with several of his body parts were replaced with cybernetics. Pretty much nothing is known about his past but he is believed to be in his late thirties.
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| Chaika & Pooshika | |
17-year-old Twin sisters from a remote village in Russia, Chaika and Pooshika joined the Project Blue so they can save enough money to get treatment for their sick father. Pooshika is the more hot-blooded of the two, while Chaika often tries to keep her impulsive twin sister in check. They often end up being paired with Volk, who doesn't really care about either of the girls. Pooshika has a love-and-hate type feeling for Volk, while Chaika thinks he is insane and keeps her distance from him.
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| Kowful the Viking | |
This rough Swede, despite his boastful and rowdy personality is a brilliant scientist. He is responsible for creating Tee-Bee and Keaton's robotic body. Embracing his Viking heritage to the fullest, he dresses in full viking armor and helmet and often challenges other pilots to find out who is the best pilot in the unit. He is much younger than he looks.
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| Tee-Bee A-10 | |
Created by Kowful at the request of the Sweden's NDRE agency, Tee-Bee is a robotic pilot designed to fly fighter airplanes. Just like its creator, Tee-Bee is boastful, grumpy and argumentitive. He believes that he is the best robotic pilot in the world. He appearently loves video-games and volleyball.
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| Whity | |
An intelligent talking dolphin pilot (?) who grew up in an aquarium in Osaka. Usually cheerful and friendly, Whity can be quite temparemental if nature especially oceans, which he believes he is the guardian of, threatened. He seems to pilot his planes by flooding the specially-designed cockpits with water first.
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| Lord River N. White | |
This English nobleman seems to be the de-facto leader of the Project Blue, often barking orders to his fellow pilots. A WW2 veteran, Lord River still remains top of his game as he continues to fly airplanes despite his advanced age. He has a grand daughter who is also a pilot in the Project Blue. He seems to have an unhealty attraction to disguises and cosplay, especially bunny costumes.
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| Angela | |
Angela is an extremely vain, pompous but likeable French singer, who is also secretly a member of a French rescue team. Despite her cocky nature, Angela is a dedicated pilot with a strong sense of justice and always means well for people around her. Her vain and snobbish personality often causes problems for herself and her fellow pilots, however.
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| Cynthia and Ellen | |
Cynthia is a young, spoiled but friendly British girl who joins Project Blue for fun after her millionaire father gave her a fighter jet as a birthday present. She always flies with her private tutor, Ellen who is an extremely capable woman who is talented in everything ranging from housework to flying fighter planes. Even though Ellen often tries to rein in her impulsive charge, she nevertheless goes along with her plans anyway.
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| Kotomi Kitashirakawa | |
Younger grand daughter of Lord River, Kotomi is a princess of the Bunnyland. She spends most of her time trying to rescue her often-kidnapped elder sister.
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| The Man (Captain Waffle) | |
Captain Waffle is a character from one of Neo-Geo's earlier games: Spinal Breakers. A time-travelling soldier who is trying to stop a race of organic robots (?) called Hildroids, Waffle finds himself in the present time and assists the Project Blue. He is only avaiable for the single player game.
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| The Man (Gore) | |
Avaiable only in two player mode, Gore is a mysterious man who assists Kotomi to rescue her sister. But can he be trusted...?
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Aircraft
| F-117N Seahawk | |
|---|---|
Proposed navalized variant of F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft. Entered service in 1983 (Air Force Version)
An average plane in most aspects. Napalm bombs move across the screen and damage all enemies in their paths. Super weapon calls down laser beams down the screen. While it doesn't cause much damage it clears the screen of enemy projectiles. | |
| F4U Corsair | |
United States Navy and Marine Corps Fighter-Bomber. Entered service in December 1942.
Secondary weapon fires 4 rockets in a cone pattern. Charge weapon fires a silver ball that bounces over enemies, which is great for crowd control but useless for boss fights. Super weapon enlarges Mecha Keaton to a gigantic size. He can walk around and damage enemies and by pressing the attack button, he can punch enemies rapidly. | |
| A-10 Thunderbolt II | |
United States Air Force ground support aircraft. Entered service in October 1977.
A slow but extremely powerful aircraft. Secondary weapon fires powerful homing missiles. Super weapon makes the plane loop and drop two powerful bombs into the screen, causing immense damage. Arguably most powerful super weapon in the game. | |
| P-61 Black Widow | |
United States Army Air Force Twin Engine Night Fighter. Entered service in May 1942.
Another aircraft with considerable firepower. Secondary weapon sprays the direction of enemies with a burst from dorsal turret fire. Super weapon makes the plane flip over and fires short ranged but destructive missiles in a cone shaped pattern. | |
| FS-X (Later to be known as F-2A) | |
Japanese Air Self Defence Force Multi-Role Aircraft, derived from F-16 Fighting Falcon. Entered service in 2000.
A rather strange but fun to use aircraft. Main weapon fires slightly hard to aim shuriken shaped bullets (?), which will be replaced by Kunai shaped ones. Secondary weapon fires bunch of shuriken shaped mines that will home on enemies. Super weapon fires a large and powerful electrical discharge that envelops the plane. Plane can be moved while weapon is active. | |
| J1N Gekkou | |
Imperial Japanese Navy Twin Engine Reconnaissance and Night Fighter. Entered service in 1942.
Gekkou is a tricky aircraft to use. Its main weapon is the same one used by FS-X. Secondary weapon is a pair of remote controlled drones that will fire upwards if going down or downward if going up. Charge attack makes drones stay in front of the aircraft and releasing the fire button will make them stay in that location, firing independently. Super weapon releases a short range fire ball that will engulf the plane and damage enemies while giving brief invincibility. | |
| F-15J Eagle | |
Japanese Air Self Defence Force Air Superiority Fighter, based on USAF F-15 and locally produced by Japan under license. Entered service in 1981.
A very fast plane that is sometimes hard to control. Secondary weapons are thin laser fired from the sides of the plane which gives a larger fire range. Charge weapon fires a bunch of short laser beams in a rather inaccurate pattern. Super weapon stops the time. It kills minor enemies also allowing you to attack bosses and larger enemies without worrying about counter attack for a short time. | |
| M6A1 Seiran | |
Imperial Japanese Navy submarine launched dive bomber and torpedo bomber float plane. Entered service in 1945.
Fires bolt of electricity as main weapon. Secondary weapon is a very accurate homing laser stream that chases enemies. Super weapon creates an energy shield that give brief invulnerability. | |
| Ka-50 Hokum | |
Soviet/Russian Air Force/Navy Attack Helicopter. Entered service in 1982.
Only helicopter in the game. It has a rather unique main weapon whose direction can be controlled. Pressing the rapid fire button while using the direction pad will make the helicopter to fire diagonally upper left or upper right. Holding down the fire button will lock the gun in place allowing the players to strafe the screen like other fighters. Secondary weapon fires a pair of inaccurate but powerful homing missiles. Super Weapon is a bit strange: Normally, it calls down three Tu-160 bombers and saturate the screen with bombs. Occasionally however, it calls down four Tu-95 Bear bombers which cause more damage. It is unknown why this happens. | |
| MiG-3 | |
Soviet Air Force/Air Defence Force/Navy fighter aircraft. Entered service in 1941.
Main weapon has a very broad attack range. Secondary weapon fires a powerful lightning bolt that picks the closest enemy and fires towards it. Super weapon fires a volley of thin rockets in an inaccurate, cone shaped pattern. | |
| IL-102 | |
Soviet Air Force prototype ground attack aircraft. First Flight in 1982. Never entered production.
This airplane fires rockets as main weapon but they are somewhat inaccurate as they fire randomly in a cone shaped pattern. Secondary weapons are short ranged but powerful bombs. Super weapon fires a wave of fire that causes limited damage but covers the entire screen. | |
| IL-2 Shturmovik | |
Soviet Air Force/Navy ground attack aircraft. Entered service in 1941.
Quite possibly weirdest plane in the game. Main weapon fires in a V-shaped pattern that makes it hard to aim straight ahead. Secondary weapon fires a pair of large and powerful rockets that look like domes and later spires of St. Basil Cathedral. Special weapon is equally hilarious: A giant Matryoshka doll appears and yells a bunch of Russian letters around the screen, damaging everything they touch. Sometimes instead of one large doll, a large and a bunch of smaller ones appear and randomly hit targets across the screen. | |
| AJ-37 Viggen | |
Swedish Air Force Fighter-Bomber. Entered service in 1971.
A fighter plane with powerful main and secondary weapons but weak charge attack and super weapon. Main weapon is one of the strongest in the game. Secondary weapon fires small rockets for additional coverage. Charge weapon fires a large rocket that passes through multiple enemies but otherwise causes limited damage to bosses. Super weapon makes the plane flip over and fire 8 homing missiles, which are somewhat inaccurate and cause limited damage. | |
| Ju 87G Stuka | |
Nazi Germany Air Force Dive Bomber. Entered service in 1936.
An average aircraft. Secondary weapon fires a pair of unguided rockets which upgrade to a larger one. (which looks like a Ruhrstahl X-4 Missile) Super weapons maked the plane loop in the air and drop a bomb with a large explosion. | |
| F-104 Starfighter | |
United States Air Force Interceptor and Fighter-Bomber. Entered service in 1958.
Another unique aircraft. Main weapon fires straight laser that cause limited damage but pass through enemies. Secondary weapon fires floating mines to the direction players are moving towards to. These mines move in a rolling pattern which makes them hard to hit but cause heavy damage. Charge weapon is also unusual: Pressing and releasing the fire button will release a bunch of mines. If moved, mines will be dropped in a straight line and stay there, acting like a mine line. If dropped while remaining still, they will be spread around the plane. Super weapon fires a large mine, which will after reaching the upper edge of the screen or hitting an enemy, will explode and release a bunch of smaller mines around the screen. | |
| B-239 Buffalo | |
Export version of US Navy F2A Buffalo carrier based aircraft for Finnish Air Force. Entered service in April 1939.
A plane with a weird super weapon. Main weapon is quite strong while secondary weapon fires floating mines that lock on enemies. Super weapon lock the plane in place and creates a red crosshair, allowing the players to move the crosshair around the screen. After a second plane fires a rapid stream of bullets towards the location of the crosshair. Plane is invulnerable while crosshair is in the screen. Rather hard to use effectively but fun. | |
| YF-23 | |
United States Air Force protoype stealth fighter. Never entered service. First flight occured in 1990.
Both main and secondary weapons have a very large coverage but limited firepower. Super weapon fires 4 massive floating bombs that very slowly spread across the screen, passing through enemies and blocking enemy projectiles. If fired very close to the bosses, they can cause heavy damage. | |
| Hs 129 B-3 | |
Nazi Germany Air Force twin engine ground attack aircraft. Entered service in April 1942.
Main weapon is a very narrow but powerful 75mm cannon shot. Secondary weapons look like smaller version of YF-23's super weapon but these are faster and can also block enemy projectiles. Charge weapon fires a short wave as soon as charge is over, unlike other planes which allow players to wait until button is released. Super weapon releases a tidal wave, which doesn't cause much damage but clears the screen of enemy projectiles. | |
| AV-8B Harrier II Plus | |
United States Marine Corps version of the British/US VTOL attack aircraft. Entered service in 1969, Plus variant entered service in 1993.
Main weapon focuses on area coverage while secondary weapons hit for decent damage. Super weapons makes the plane float higher and drop bombs that cause massive explosion. A rather average plane. | |
| Boulton Paul Defiant | |
Royal Air Force Turret Armed Interceptor, Night Fighter. Entered service in 1939.
Another unique plane that is thankfully much better aircraft than its real life counterpart. Main weapon is one of a kind: it locks on enemies automatically when rapid fire button is pressed but accuracy and tracking is rather sub-par. Holding down the fire button will lock the gun in place, allowing players to fire regularly like other planes. Secondary weapon fires unguided rockets forwards, increasing coverage. Super Weapon is also very unique: It calls up several small fighter that keep firing as long as they are alive. Small fighters are invulnerable for a few seconds when they are called up but this doesn't last long. Fighters can be shot down by enemy fire but they also act as shields for Defiant. | |
| Rafale M | |
French Navy carrier based multi-role aircraft. Entered service in 2001.
One of the better planes in the game. Primary weapon fires narrow but powerful shots while secondary weapon fires several floating mines in a criss-cross pattern. They are hard to hit but cause decent damage. Super Weapon makes the plane loop and drop a powerful bomb which causes a black hole. It damages enemies and also blocks enemy shots while allowing your projectiles to pass through. Great weapon for bosses. | |
| Dewoitine D.520 | |
French Air Force single engine fighter. Entered service in January 1940.
Another unique plane. Main weapon is a rather weak spread weapon. Secondary weapon is a small satellite circles around your plane. If moving left, it moves in a clockwise pattern while moving right, it moves in a counter-clockwise pattern. While it can stop enemy projectiles, it is rather small. When fire button is pressed, satellite fires a powerful laser weapon. Special weapon creates a pair of stage lights that target every enemy in the screen but causes low damage and does not clear enemy projectiles. | |
| F-14 Tomcat | |
United States Navy carrier based multi-role aircraft. Entered service in 1974.
Fastest aircraft in the game, which might make it harder to control. Secondary weapons fire homing missiles with good accuracy. Holding down the fire botton will expand wings, which will make it slower and easier to control. Super weapon rains down multiple small missiles to the screen. While powerful, they can be a bit hard to aim. | |
| Swordfish | |
Royal Navy/Royal Air Force carrier based biplane torpedo bomber
This plane has good coverage but overall weak firepower. Main weapon has the best coverage but firepower is very weak. Secondary weapon has good cone shaped range and bounces off the ground. Charge weapon fires a couple rockets with average firepower. Super weapon fires a large torpedo that detonates and fires waves towards left and right. | |
| Aka-Usagi | |
Rabbit-shaped fighter plane from Rabio Lepus.
Arguably the most powerful aircraft in the game, Aka-Usagi has very strong frontal firepower and unlike other planes, never powers down unless the player loses a life. Its main weapon is narrow but powerful while its secondary weapon is equally destructive. Its charge weapon fires a small but powerful ball of energy that can penetrate enemies. Its super weapon makes Aka-Usagi invulnerable for a while, allowing the player to simply crash though enemies. | |
| Diabloon | |
Heavily armed flying battle car from Turbo Fighters
A very difficult aircraft to use. Biggest problem is unlike other fighters, who only lose maximum firepower after using full power for a while, Diabloon loses power during any power level. It has no secondary and charge weapons. Super weapon can cause significant damage but quirky main weapon will make finishing the game with Diabloon quite a challenge. |
Production credits
- Main Director: K.Matsunami, Pirowo
- Director: Hoso-Q, H.Furukawa
- Main programmer: Knt., Kaneda Yukio
- Programmer: GEN, Ag Mm2, M.Arano, Mami
- Graphic designer: Armored Cruiser, K.Yamamotoya, Kousi, KAZ, Manbow.Y, A.Sakamura, Sacon, Takasu, Akira
- Music Composer: Hoso-Q, N.Itamura
- Sound Designer: Pirowo, Norie
- Opening Movie: T.Tateishi, HZO
Magazine articles
- Main article: Sonic Wings Special/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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48 |
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| Based on 11 reviews | |
| Saturn, JP |
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  Cover
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 Spinecard  Disc  Audio Disc |
Technical information
- Main article: Sonic Wings Special/Technical information.
ROM dump status
| System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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81,546,192 | 1996-05-20 | CD-ROM (JP) | T-26402G V1.001 | |||||||||
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119,690,928 | Audio-CD (JP) | T-26402G (Disc 2) |
Track list
Disc 1
| 1. Data track |
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| 2. CD Warning message (0:08) |
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Audio disc
| 1. Onsoku Musume (3:16) |
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 音速娘
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| Vocals: Mao mao |
| 2. Tuki no Sakana (4:48) |
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| つきのさかな
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| Vocals: Mao mao |
| 3. Onsoku Musume (Karaoke) (3:15) |
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| 音速娘 (カラオケ)
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References
- ↑ File:SonicWingsSpecial Saturn JP Box Back.jpg
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/fb/segahard/ss/soft_licensee2.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-03-20 23:05)
- ↑ File:SonicWingsSpecial Saturn JP Spinecard.jpg
- ↑ File:SonicWings_Saturn_JP_SSOpening.pdf
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "September 1996" (UK; 1996-08-11), page 80
- ↑ Famitsu, "1996-07-12" (JP; 1996-06-28), page 1
- ↑ Fun Generation, "09/96" (DE; 1996-08-14), page 79
- ↑ Joypad, "Septembre 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 71
- ↑ MAN!AC, "09/96" (DE; 1996-08-14), page 46
- ↑ Mega Fun, "09/96" (DE; 1996-08-21), page 80
- ↑ Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 13" (JP; 1996-06-07), page 154
- ↑ Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 18" (JP; 1996-08-23), page 72
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "1996-10 (1996-06-28)" (JP; 1996-06-14), page 233
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 14
- ↑ Video Games, "8/96" (DE; 1996-07-31), page 108
| Sonic Wings Special | |
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Main page | Comparisons | Development | Magazine articles | Reception | |
