Chocks Away!

A Namco rarity is becoming a member of the Arcade Archives this week, as Hamster reaches deep into its massive bag of obscurities and pulls out Japan-only shmup sequel Sky Child Deluxe, now accessible to obtain on PS4 and Nintendo Swap.

Launched to the arcade market in 1986, Sky Child Deluxe is was debuted on Namco’s all-new System 86 {hardware}. Like its predecessor, the simplistic shmup options dogfighting motion between a battalion of biplanes. The participant is armed with a machine gun for sky-to-sky motion, and bombs to take out battleships and different enemies lurking on land. Curiously for the style, the horizon scrolls from left-to-right, relatively than right-to-left, which is exclusive, however feels extraordinarily bizarre given the (literal) path the style would take. The Deluxe version additionally options alternate colours, climate results, and new enemies.

You’ll be able to try the motion within the video beneath, courtesy of YouTuber Were1974.

Sadly for Sky Child Deluxe, it launched at a time of a style renaissance, with the arrival of a plethora of nice, groundbreaking shmups similar to R-Sort, Gradius, 1942, Parodius, and plenty of others. As such, Sky Child Deluxe regarded, (and performed), just about archaic as compared and would solely carry out modestly in Japan. Namco would select to not port the sequel abroad, and it will not obtain an official launch within the west till its inclusion within the Namco Museum Digital Arcade launch in 2008.

Sky Child Deluxe is on the market to obtain now on PS4 and Nintendo Swap, priced at round $8. The unique Sky Child can be accessible as a part of the Arcade Archives vary.