1989 · UPL · Arcade · Shoot 'em up

Omega Fighter

Nintendo console exclusive

Omega Fighter is a vertical scrolling shooter developed for the arcades by UPL in 1989. While similar to most shooters, Omega Fighter was unique in its gameplay, level and enemy focus: rather than flying over multiple levels, the player faced up against an enormous space battle cruiser which contained every level.

Released: 1 February 1989
Platforms: Arcade Nintendo Switch
Genres: Arcade Shoot 'em up Shooter
Developers: UPL
Publishers: Sammy Corporation
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Science fiction
Country: Japan

About

Omega Fighter is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by UPL for arcades. It was released by American Sammy in North America. While similar to most other scrolling shooters, Omega Fighter was unique in its gameplay, level and enemy focus: rather than flying over multiple levels, the player faced up against an enormous space battle cruiser which contained every level. A Sega Genesis version was planned but never released.

Keywords

shoot 'em up

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Set in the future, an enormous alien battle cruiser—essentially a spacecraft carrier—has launched an attack on Earth. Humanity’s only defense lies in small, heavily armed fighter crafts tasked with dismantling the cruiser piece by piece before it reaches the planet’s surface.

Players were briefed before every mission to destroy specific parts of the enormous ship.Destroying parts of the ship not only influenced the game’s ending but also contributed to the player's overall score. The game featured a unique scoring system that rewarded players for eliminating enemies at point-blank range.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Omega Fighter on their August 15, 1989 issue as being the fifteenth most popular table arcade unit at the time.

At the time of the game's release, Computer + Video Games and Advanced Computer Entertainment generally found the game playable and fulfilling. Your Sinclair, on the other hand, felt the gameplay and graphics were uninspired.