I must make a bold statement: any American born in the 70s (like me) would find it challenging to NOT have some kind of positive feeling associated with the movie Top Gun, an 80s fighter flick directed by (at the time) young director Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Top Gun was a rather straightforward film about a hotshot F-14 pilot and his RIO buddy as they challenged similarly talented pilots and RIOs at a Naval flight school in Miramar, CA. Along the way, Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Goose (played by Anthony Edwards) would engage in dogfights, dangerous flying, and other macho escapades. Of course, tragedy strikes in the middle of the movie, from which Maverick must recover to overcome his own doubts and defeat some MiGs to boot. The movie then ends on an encouraging high note. I know I'm glossing over much of the movie, but that's the basic gist of it.
To cash in on the success of Top Gun, Konami developed the Top Gun videogame for the NES and released it in 1987. In the game, you are the pilot of an F-14 Tomcat, and you must complete four missions, each of which concludes with having to land on an aircraft carrier. All four missions are comprised of much dogfighting from the first-person perspective of sitting in the cockpit. At the beginning of each mission, you have your choice of one of three types of missiles: you can choose 40 of the weakest missiles, 20 of the medium-strength missiles, or 10 of the most powerful missiles. Depending on the mission, some missiles are better than others; for example, for the first two missions, choose the 40-missile option because you will engage in much dogfighting. However, for the fourth mission (if I recall correctly), go with the more powerful missiles. You get a briefing before each mission, so pay attention to the text.
To cash in on the success of Top Gun, Konami developed the Top Gun videogame for the NES and released it in 1987. In the game, you are the pilot of an F-14 Tomcat, and you must complete four missions, each of which concludes with having to land on an aircraft carrier. All four missions are comprised of much dogfighting from the first-person perspective of sitting in the cockpit. At the beginning of each mission, you have your choice of one of three types of missiles: you can choose 40 of the weakest missiles, 20 of the medium-strength missiles, or 10 of the most powerful missiles. Depending on the mission, some missiles are better than others; for example, for the first two missions, choose the 40-missile option because you will engage in much dogfighting. However, for the fourth mission (if I recall correctly), go with the more powerful missiles. You get a briefing before each mission, so pay attention to the text.
Top Gun has much nostalgia value for me, both because of the movie with which it is associated and because the gameplay is so simple and easy to grasp that anyone can play the moment they press Start. Now, even my sons have taken to the game, if only because it's uncomplicated. That said, Top Gun was a flawed game: dogfighting is terribly stiff and simplistic, you can shoot at missiles and destroy them (really, this isn't entirely bad), you can avoid the action all together (just by going up or down for the entire mission), and landing the F-14 can be extremely difficult for a first-time player. It takes some practice and steady fingers to land your plane; if you cannot land it, you waste a 1-UP but you move on to the next mission. As expected for an early NES game, the graphics are unspectacular and the point-of-view doesn't change much and is largely useless; just look at the unnecessary gauges in the lower-right corner of the cockpit, which have NO bearing on gameplay. Also, does one really need a horizon indicator when you can't roll the plane?
In any case, Top Gun is a fun little game to play for 20 to 30 minutes, but it becomes dull rather quickly. As a teenager, I had acquired this game from my friend Brian in a trade, though I don't remember what I traded. At the time, I enjoyed this game and could play it for a much longer duration than I can now, mostly because my time is too precious these days to spend with this game. Honestly, I'd rather play a Sonic or Mario game. This is not to say that the game is a "dud," especially for younger players; there are just better games to play. One thing, though: there is a music loop that plays before the start of every mission when you choose your missiles. I can't explain why, but I can listen to this loop for hours; there is something soothing and enthralling about it. Listen to it for yourself and let me know what you think:
