Aerial Assault (Master System)

For the Sega Game Gear version, see Aerial Assault (Game Gear).

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Aerial Assault
System(s): Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sanritsu, Sega R&D 2
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1990 EU 1990-12 7041 FR 1990 299F299 7041 UK 1990-12 £29.9929.99 7041 SE (Rental) 199x GR 199x AU 199x BR 199x

Aerial Assault is a shoot-'em-up game developed by Sanritsu and published by Sega for the Sega Master System in 1990. The working title for the game was Freedom Fighter, and it was referred to as such in several magazine reviews.

Story

A militaristic organization named N.A.C. (whose acronym is never explained) has developed a huge laser emitter called "EL," which is capable of gradually destroying the ozone layer. In the year 1999, the N.A.C. begins an all-out offensive against every country in the world. It is hinted that N.A.C. is actually an alien civilization.

The armies of the world are overwhelmed. The player controls the mysterious "Freedom Fighter," an aircraft with no official connection to any government, which flies off to stop the N.A.C.

Gameplay

Aerial Assault is a horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up game. Players must shoot down enemies as the screen scrolls to the right. Each level has different enemies and bosses, which require different weapons and tactics to effectively counter.

fires the primary weapon, which has unlimited ammunition and can be held down to fire continuously. releases the secondary weapon, mostly types of bombs, which are limited but can be replenished through items. There are many types of both primary weapons and bombs that can be found through item pick-ups throughout the levels.

The Freedom Fighter is destroyed if it is hit by enemies or projectiles or touches any stationary object, such as the ground. There are no hit points but a Shield power-up appears in later levels that can absorb a few hits before it is gone.

Items

Primary Weapons

	Normal Shot
	The basic starting weapon. A single stream of quick shots.
	3-Way Shot
	Fires three shots in a conical spread. Covers a large area but fires relatively slowly.
	Increase Shot
	Fires six shots in a conical spread. Covers a large area but fires relatively slowly.
	Chaser Missile
	Fires long missiles from below the Freedom Fighter. Fast-firing and stronger than the Normal Shot.
	Explosion Shot
	Fires a large round that fragments into smaller shots after traveling a certain distance without hitting an enemy.
	Direction Shot
	Fires shots in the direction that the player is moving. For example, it fires directly above the craft by holding or directly below it by holding .
	8-Way Shot
	Fires eight shots in a full circle out from the Freedom Fighter. Fires slowly.
	Laser
	Shoots fast-moving lasers that can pierce through enemies and hit multiple targets.
	Wide Laser
	Shoots tall energy beams very quickly.

Bombs

	Bomb
	A basic bomb. Each pick-up contains 30.
	Triple Bomb
	Same as the regular bomb but drops three bombs with each volley. Each pick-up contains 15.
	Missile
	A missile that drops down and then shoots forwards, for taking out ground targets. Each pick-up contains 25.
	Napalm
	An incendiary that bursts into multiple explosions. Each pick-up contains 20.
	Hyper Ball
	Shoots several large fireballs from the Freedom Fighter. Each pick-up contains 8.

Other

	Speed-Up
	Increases the movement speed of the Freedom Fighter.
	Bonus
	Awards the player with 5,000 bonus points.
	1-Up
	Awards the player with an extra life.
	1-Down
	Instantly kills the player.
	Guard
	A shield that surrounds the Freedom Fighter and absorbs five hits before dissipating.

Levels

	Mission 1
	Attack the enemy's open seas fleet and sink the enemy battleship Vinsk.
	Mission 2
	Ascend into the stratosphere and intercept the enemy bomber fleet. The target is the massive bomber CB-53.
	Mission 3
	Location of N.A.C.'s headquarters detected. Destroy the cliff fortress to gain entrance.
	Mission 4
	Raid the N.A.C.'s headquarters and destroy "EL."
	Mission 5
	The war is not over. Fly into Earth orbit and destroy N.A.C.'s space cruiser and end the threat once and for all.

Production credits

• Planner: All Members
• Designer: Tommy, Yukino
• Programmer: Nonchan, T.Hagiwara
• Sound: Ippo
• Test Player: Kou
• Special Thanks: O.B
• Presented by: Sega

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Aerial Assault (Master System)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #2: "October/November 1990" (1990-xx-xx)
also published in:

• GamePro (US) #18: "January 1991" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #107: "October 1990" (1990-09-16)
also published in:

• Computer & Video Games (UK) #108: "November 1990" (1990-10-16)
• ACE (UK) #38: "November 1990" (1990-10-xx)

Print advert in Guida Video Giochi (IT) #15: "Ottobre 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in Sega Power (UK) #13: "December 1990" (1990-11-01)
also published in:

• Computer & Video Games (UK) #109: "December 1990" (1990-11-16)
• ACE (UK) #39: "December 1990" (1990-11-xx)
• Sega Power (UK) #14: "January 1991" (1990-12-06)
• Computer & Video Games (UK) #110: "January 1991" (1990-12-15)

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #4: "April/May 1991" (1991-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Sega Visions (US) #5: "Summer 1991" (1991-xx-xx)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #27: "October 1991" (1991-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score ACE (UK) 63 Ação Games (BR) 92 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 82 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) PAL 76 Console XS (UK) PAL 69 Computer & Video Games (UK) 83 Hobby Consolas (ES) 74 Joystick (FR) 75 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 45 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 50 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 82 Player One (FR) 85 S: The Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 82 Sega Power (UK) PAL 78 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 76 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 69 Tilt (FR) 40 Tilt (FR) 80 Zero (UK) 79

	73
Based on 20 reviews

Aerial Assault (Master System)

Master System, US
Cover
Manual

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, GR (Zegetron)
<div style="margin:auto; max-width:px"> 320x120px Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, SE (Rental)
Cover

Master System, AU
Cart Manual

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 ecf491cf MD5 0713f2e55a1eea0d9e2fb7044740261b SHA-1 2a9090ed365e7425ca7a59f87b942c16b376f0a3	256kB		Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 15576613 MD5 8b603c931418a3680b8723861f55a7b5 SHA-1 e57b1d4476ca33d18d9071e022ddc9cc702d6497	256kB		Cartridge (US)