Aerial Assault (Master System)

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

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Master System Game Gear
Aerial Assault
System(s): Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sanritsu, Sega R&D 2
Peripherals supported: Gear-to-Gear Cable
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 JP 1992-06-05 ¥3,5003,500 G-3219 US 1992-06 2320 EU 1992 2320 UK 1992 £24.9924.99 2320 BR 199x 015820

Aerial Assault (エアリアル アサルト) is a shoot-'em-up game developed by Sanritsu and published by Sega for the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear in 1990 and 1992, respectively. 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, who flies off to stop the N.A.C.

Gameplay (Master System version)

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.

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.

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 fireball 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.

Gameplay (Game Gear version)

The Game Gear version is, like its Master System counterpart, a side-scrolling shoot-'em'up. However, it differs substantially from its predecessor with different graphics, music and sound, levels, and items. Additionally, it features a 2-player mode for cooperative play over a Gear-to-Gear link cable (with player one's plane identified with blue afterburners and player two's plane having orange afterburners). It is also significantly less difficult and has simplified mechanics.

Both and fire the player's weapon, which has unlimited ammunition and can be held down for rapid-fire. Unlike the Master System version, the player only has one weapon and does not have access to bombs. The player's weapon is upgraded along a linear progression by collecting Power items rather than there being multiple distinct weapons as in the original game.

The player loses a life if the Freedom Fighter collides with an enemy or object. In 2-player games, each player has separate lives. There is a Shield item that provides the player's plane with a barrier that protects it from frontal damage and lasts until the player loses a life.

Levels

	Skyship Adelaide
	Lightning Attack
	Underground Peril
	Deadly Dybbuk

Items

	Speed
	Increases the movement speed of the Freedom Fighter.
	Shield
	Equips the Freedom Fighter with a barrier that protects indefinitely against attacks to the front of the plane.
	Power
	Upgrades the weapon to the next level.
	Star
	Awards the player with an extra life.

Weapons

	Initial Weapon
	The basic starting weapon.
	Homing Bullets
	Similar to the starting weapon but automatically seeks and targets enemies.
	Shock Waves
	A larger projectile with a taller area of effect.
	Missiles
	A longer projectile that does more damage.
	Phasers
	Similar to the missiles but does more damage.
	3-Way
	A conical spread shot that fires three projectiles.
	6-Way
	Similar to the 3-way but fires six projectiles to cover a larger area. Not available in 2-player mode.

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

Master System version

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)

Game Gear version

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1992-07: "July 1992" (1992-06-08)

Print advert in Mega Force (ES) #11: "Marzo 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Hobby Consolas (ES) #18: "Marzo 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
• Todo Sega (ES) #1: "Abril 1993" (1993-03-15)

Physical scans

Master System version

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

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score

	N/A
Based on 0 reviews

Aerial Assault (Master System)

Game Gear, JP
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, FR (Blister pack)
Cover

Game Gear, 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)
?	CRC32 04fe6dde MD5 f1dee7875668c536f0434217a67ba2f4 SHA-1 2a91ab5817938dddf2724df2dfd95a3bc6f5156d	128kB		Cartridge (JP)
?	CRC32 3e549b7a MD5 b6fb54e60f8992daaa35e98a712ff2cb SHA-1 cbdbaaeb62a8483d9d5a8757b0f19233dfb9b416	128kB		Cartridge