Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Released: 1991 Genre: Shooter
With the advent of 16-bit consoles came a slew of arcade ports that were all but impossible on older hardware. Although I frequented the arcade on a regular basis it was still impossible to play everything released. While the Genesis and Turbo Grafx-16 received the lion’s share of shooters the SNES still got its fair share. U.N. Squadron is a near launch game that even up to the end of the system’s life was one of its best shooters and still remains a great game even today.
U.N. Squadron is based on the manga Area 88, which has a long history in the US. The manga was one of the first to be translated into English by Eclipse Comics in the 80s. This was followed by a three episode OVA and later full animated series, all released in the US. Despite that history it is still a bit obscure, which makes it all the more weird that Capcom would bring the arcade game and SNES port to the US. Despite the pointless name change we lucked out as both versions of the game are great.
There are three characters to choose from, all with significant differences, especially in the home version. Shin requires less power-ups to level up his Vulcan cannon. On the flip side the maximum power of his main weapon is lower than everyone else. Greg is the most resilient as his ship recovers from danger status the fastest. His main gun is weak but it also fires downward simultaneously, erasing the need to buy bombs. Mickey might be the best of the bunch. He can use special weapons at the same time as his regular gun. In addition in the SNES version he can equip multiple special weapons and switch them out.
These differences have a huge impact depending on the skill level of the player. For beginners Greg might be best since player health is different here. You have a life bar however taking a hit puts you in danger status. One more hit after that equals death. However if you can survive a few seconds your ship will repair at a small health cost. This change affects the balance of the game significantly. Shin powers up the fastest but plateaus early, making the later stage especially difficult. Greg’s extra survivability is a huge boon as the levels are longer than in the arcade.
The structure of the game differs from the arcade. After the initial mission you are brought to a world map. In total there are ten missions; like Mega Man the order is in your hands. At any given time you will have a choice of three to six stages. In addition repeatable side missions are available to earn extra cash. The mission variety is U.N. Squadron’s greatest asset. While most levels are straightforward dogfights others pit you against mercenary squadrons much like your own. Some are short sorties that challenge you to destroy ground targets as fast as possible. The levels are longer although that isn’t always a good thing. The mission briefings are more important now as you have greater options in terms of ships and weapons.
In the arcade cash was used to buy level specific weapons. Now however the shop is bigger. Six different ships are available to buy. Each ship specializes in different categories that need consideration for each mission. For instance, the initial Crusader is average and only has two special weapons. The Thunderbolt II specializes in ground attacks while the F-20 Tigershark isn’t that different from the Crusader but has more weapon options. The best of the bunch, the F-200 Efreet is the jack of all trades but is enormously expensive. Special weapons are limited by ship rather than level. Each ship can only equip certain ones, with the exception of the Efreet. Depending on the character you will have to make hard choices, making Mickey game breaking in this regard. You will need every advantage as U.N. Squadron is pretty difficult.
Having options is nice. The problem is most are exorbitantly expensive. The cheapest costs $250,000 and is only marginally better than the Crusader. You will have to save and use the Crusader for half the game to afford another. The late game missions are brutal and without upgrades frustrating. If you choose the wrong ship or aren’t ready with the right special weapons they are near impossible. Mission nine has a new special boss that requires vertical firing weapons. The problem is you won’t know this going in. You can at least switch items when you die but the stage is long as is and repeating it tedious. The extra ships were a nice extra but I feel more could have been done to balance the game around their addition. Once you upgrade U.N. Squadron becomes the game it should be. Too bad that requires some grinding.
In Closing
The grinding reduces an amazing game to just being great. Despite its early release U.N. Squadron is one of the best SNES shooters in my opinion, a great arcade port and a title worth seeking out.
