Choplifter for the SMS
Set the wayback machine to the early ’80s. While we had recently gotten our first home computer, the Commodore VIC-20, my cousins had been enjoying the Apple II system that my uncle used for writing sermons and the like. One of the first home computer games that I ever played was on that sturdy Apple II system, with its monochrome green CRT: Dan Gorlin’s Choplifter. A straightforward premise, easy-to-pick-up gameplay, smooth animation, and those classic clicky sound effects all came together to create a memorable gaming experience that sticks with me to this day.
When we eventually upgraded to the Commodore 64 at home, one of the first games that I sought out was the C64 version of that classic game. This version was pretty much a direct port of the original Apple II game, using the same graphics, sound, and gameplay. It was exactly what I was looking for, and it remains one of my absolute favorite games for the venerable home micro.
Fast forward to the early ’90s. In college, instead of grabbing a used NES like many of my fellow students, I opted for a used Sega Master System. I was impressed by the games I had read about in gaming magazines and found it a lot of fun when I had a chance to try the system out at a local used games shop. While it didn’t have anywhere near the NES’s game library, the games I played looked great and were fun. That’s really all I was looking for at that point. Along with the obligatory Alex Kidd game and a surprisingly competent version of Out Run, I snagged the SMS version of Choplifter. This version had the basic gameplay I remembered from the C64, but the graphics had been kicked up a notch. What I didn’t realize at the time was the true provenance of this particular version.
Choplifter First Level
Rather than a straight port of the original Apple II version, Choplifter for the Sega Master System was a home port of Sega’s arcade version. Choplifter in the arcade was delivered on Sega’s System 2 board. Instead of the simple monochrome graphics of the original, Sega redesigned it for modern arcades, using colorful, detailed pixel graphics and multiple levels of parallax scrolling. The same gameplay cycle that saw the player taking off, releasing hostages from buildings along the play field, picking them up under enemy fire, and flying them safely back to the base was kept. But additional threats, such as gun placements, missiles, and rocket launchers, were there to hinder your progress, amping up the difficulty.
Additionally, while the original game was played on the same playfield level after level, Sega’s version takes place in different environments, which adds to the gameplay variety. The first level is basically the same as the computer version. But the next level takes place at sea, with hostages rescued from various ships along the way. The additional challenge here, of course, is that you can only land your chopper on one of the ships or back at your base. No floating on the water for you, that’ll lose you a sortie. The next level takes place in a cavern. Again, you are presented with stretches of land that you cannot set down on, for fear of destroying your aircraft on a protruding stalagmite. This time, you also have a literal ceiling that you cannot exceed, as you attempt to avoid hanging stalactites. Things can get pretty claustrophobic pretty fast as you attempt to avoid enemy fire while also avoiding the edges of the cave.
Choplifter Cave Level
All of this to say, the Master System version of Choplifter wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Fortunately, it turned out to be so much more. The System 2 board was, in many ways, a supersized Sega Master System. It utilized a Z80 processor clocked at 4 MHz, as opposed to the Master System’s Z80-compatible processor clocked at 3.58 MHz, and its sound hardware, while based on the same SN76496 processor as the SMS, doubled the number of chips and added a second Z80 for audio processing. The graphics also sported a higher number of on-screen colors. Fortunately, this all translated quite well to the home console. While the Master System takes a hit in color depth, graphical detail, and sound complexity, the core gameplay and look remain. The home conversion even amps up the difficulty a bit more than the arcade version by requiring the player to rescue more hostages to progress.
As much as I love the Master System version of this game, it is not without its flaws. The game suffers from a malady that many games on the system do: sprite flicker. By virtue of the way the game is structured, with many objects appearing at the same horizontal position on the screen, you will definitely run into sometimes significant sprite flicker, as the system attempts to display your chopper, all of the hostages wandering around awaiting rescue, and the tank that is bearing down on you all. While the programmers have done their best to minimize the impact on gameplay, it does suffer some slowdown during these flicker sessions. But it is not enough to mar the excellent overall gameplay experience.
Choplifter for the Sega Master System is a perfect example of a game you show off to your NES-loving friends, as you try to convince them there’s more than plumbers and princesses in the 8-bit gaming world. It’s the kind of arcade conversion that will make you a Master System believer: a beautiful home conversion of the arcade game that still bears the fingerprints of the iconic home-computer original.
The post Retro Review – Choplifter for the Sega Master System appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.
