Port · JungleTac

Time Pilot

Port

Licensed port from Konami.

Released: —
Platforms: Apple IIGS Atari 2600 ColecoVision Handheld Electronic LCD MSX Nintendo Switch Xbox 360
Genres: —
Developers: JungleTac
Publishers: JungleTac

About

Time Pilot is a 1982 multidirectional shooter video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It was distributed in the United States by Centuri and by Atari in PAL regions. While engaging in aerial combat, the player-controlled jet flies across open airspace that scrolls indefinitely in all directions. Each level is themed to a different time period. Home ports for the Atari 2600, MSX, and ColecoVision were released in 1983 respectively by Konami and Coleco.

A top-down sequel, Time Pilot '84, was released in arcades in 1984. It eliminated the time-travel motif and instead took place over a futuristic landscape.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players assume the role of a pilot of a futuristic fighter jet trying to rescue fellow pilots trapped in different time eras. The player's jet remains in the center of the screen at all times, and the eight-direction joystick causes their jet to rotate to face in that direction, causing the screen to scroll in that direction to present forward motion.

In each level, players battle many enemy aircraft and the occasional stronger aircraft. After a fixed number of these aircraft are destroyed, as displayed on a bar at the bottom right of the screen, a mothership appears. Once the mothership is defeated, they move onto the next time period. Parachuting pilots will occasionally appear and award players points if collected.

Development

Designer Yoshiki Okamoto's proposal for Time Pilot was initially rejected by his boss at Konami, who assigned Okamoto to work on a driving game instead. Okamoto secretly gave instructions to his programmer to work on his idea while he pretended to work on a driving game in front of his boss.

Reception

In Japan, the annual Game Machine chart listed Time Pilot as the fifth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1982. Game Machine later listed Time Pilot on their June 1, 1983 issue as being the eighteenth most popular arcade title of the month.

In the United States, the game topped the Play Meter arcade earnings chart in February 1983. The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) later listed it among the thirteen highest-earning arcade games of 1983.

Legacy

A Time Pilot '95 bonus game is available in Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Douchuu: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake. for the Super Famicom. The arcade version was released on the PlayStation through Konami Arcade Classics in 1999. It was also re-released for the Xbox 360 as part of Xbox Live Arcade on August 30, 2006, Nintendo DS as part of Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits and i-mode mobile phones in Japan, 2004.

The game was ported to the Game Boy Advance as part of Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced on March 18, 2002. This version includes a hidden sixth era, 1,000,000 BC, with pterodactyl enemies.