Ludography
Mr. Heli cover

1987 · Irem · Shooter · Arcade

Mr. Heli

Timed NEC exclusive

It is your mission, 'Mr. Heli' our hero, to unmask 'The Muddy' who is hiding deep underground and rescue the planet. Clear all the zones including floating green islands, moving rock beds, mysterious underground temples, and much more! The exhilarating air battle and stunning graphics capture the true character of the arcade machine. Play sharp, steer right, keep up with the fight!

Released
1 December 1987
Platforms
AmigaAmstrad CPCArcadeAtari ST/STECommodore C64/128/MAXTurboGrafx-16WiiZX Spectrum
Genres
ShooterArcade
Developers
Irem
Publishers
FirebirdKonamiIrem
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
ActionScience fictionComedy

About

Battle Chopper, released in Japan as Mr. Heli's Great Adventure, is a 1987 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Irem for arcades. It was released in Japan and North America in December 1987.

Keywords

  • wii virtual console

Media

Mr. Heli screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players control a wacky fighter chopper named Mr. Heli, while shooting enemies, collecting power-ups, and defeating bosses to advance levels. Defeating enemies or destroying terrain can yield cash that can be used to purchase power-ups.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Battle Chopper on their January 15, 1988 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

Ciarán Brennan of Your Sinclair magazine reviewed the arcade game, calling it "a lovely little game" that is "very imaginative and beautifully" paced. ACE magazine reviewed the PC Engine version in 1989, rating it 890 out of 1000 and listing it as one of the top five best games available for the console.

Legacy

Mr. Heli later appeared in the Japan-only Game Boy title Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter, along with other characters from the game, as well as characters from three other Irem franchises: R-Type, Ninja Spirit and Hammerin' Harry. The game was mentioned in one of the billboards seen in the final stage of Irem's Vigilante and also appeared in R-Type Final as a playable ship.

Battle Chopper has also been noted for inspiring Barunba.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Arcade1 December 1987Japan
TurboGrafx-161 December 1989Japan
Amiga31 December 1989Europe
Amstrad CPC31 December 1989Europe
Atari ST/STE31 December 1989Europe
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1989Europe
ZX Spectrum31 December 1989Europe
Wii18 March 2008Japan

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.