Title: Pilotwings
Developer:
Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Date Published: 1990 in
Japan, 1991 in
USA
Platforms:
Super Famicom,
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
ESRB Rating: Unknown
Pilotwings was one of 3 games (Super Mario World, F-Zero and Pilotwings) that was released at the same date of the japanese launch of the Super Famicom, or Super Nintendo Entertainment System (or SNES). Together with F-Zero, it was the first game to utilize the then revolutionary graphics chip, which enabled the developers to use a form of pseudo 3D graphics, called Mode 7. Apart from this fact, the actual game was rather crude, technologywise, featuring no built-in save function, opting instead to use a password system, which enabled you to play the later levels of the game, once you discovered the passwords. Using only a meager 4 mbit cartridge, the graphics were great for its time, but pales a bit compared to newer SNES games.
The game also has a special DSP chip, which made it difficult to emulate, but the makers of Zsnes apparently solved this problem, which means it now plays perfectly on the emulator called Zsnes.
The gameplay consisted of 8 lessons, divided into Normal and Expert mode, each increasing in difficulty. Each level had up to four different objectives, each with their own different kind of air disciplin to master. The four disciplins are as following: Light Plane, Skydiving, Rocketbelt and Hangglider. When you complete the first 4 lessons, a Secret Command is opened, in which you get to fly an Attack Helicopter (Apache by the looks of it), that fires missiles - yay! If the player completes this level, Expert mode is opened. Complete Expert mode, and you get to play the final level, again in the attack helicopter. Additionely, there are three bonus stages to unlock, which is done by landing on particular difficult spots.
Here follows the passwords for the different levels.
Normal mode:
- Lesson 2: 985206
- Lesson 3: 394391
- Lesson 4: 520771
- Secret Command 1: 108048
Expert mode:
- Lesson 5: 400718
- Lesson 6: 773224
- Lesson 7: 165411
- Lesson 8: 760357
- Secret Command 2: 882943
Futhermore, there is also a Nintendo 64 sequel to this game, called Pilotwings 64.
For more gameplay help:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/file/pilotwings_a.txt