Twin Hawk...

[fuko]

... is pretty much the hardest game I've ever played. The game is totally unforgiving. The hitbox is about a mile wide, by 1 minute in the screen is completely full of enemy fire that is too fast to do anything about, there is no suitable 'panic' bomb, and if you die you are back to using a pea shooter that does essentially zero damage. To top it off there is no continue. How the hell am I supposed to enjoy this game?

[Dragoforce]

How the hell am I supposed to enjoy this game?

Try harder

[ZacharyB]

If you press the summon plane button when the planes are already on the screen, they'll initiate a kamikaze-type of attack. Press it again before they dive to drop a traditional bomb. I can't remember; you might have to mash the attack button at the same time, or both of them at the same time.

This is in the Japanese version; I don't know if it was altered for Twin Hawk. The bomb itself isn't very strong but it may clear the screen of bullets.

[emphatic]

Twin Hawk is awesome. I 1CC:d it when I was 15 or so. Now I can only get to the last boss.

[drboom]

I'd love to see a quality playthrough of this. Never could seem to get into it, tought, the music is awesome.

[Kollision]

I don't like this game, it's probably my least favorite Toaplan title.

[TVG]

It's a game way ahead of it's time, with all the brown and dull.

Yeah, definitely amongst toaplan's worst IMO, can't really believe they made it after KKK tiger. Still somewhat hypnotising though.

[emphatic]

Yeah, definitely amongst toaplan's worst IMO, can't really believe they made it after KKK tiger. Still somewhat hypnotising though.

You are wrong. The bullet dodging in this game is very fun, and even though learning when and where the enemies appear, you can get pretty far on pure skill only. However, the use of autofire is recommended as no game I've played yet will wear down your finger like this one. The game gives very little breathers. The bomb/helper planes is a cool gameplay mechanic as well.

[saucykobold]

I'd love to see a quality playthrough of this. Never could seem to get into it, tought, the music is awesome.

The lazy man's guide to Twin Hawk / Daisenpu

[lgb]

This is in the Japanese version; I don't know if it was altered for Twin Hawk. The bomb itself isn't very strong but it may clear the screen of bullets.

nope! completely intact

the only regional changes were the difficulty (?) and the extend settings

hmm, actually I can't even remember if it had /that/

[FRO]

How the hell am I supposed to enjoy this game?

Try harder

LOL

Actually, I think Sky/Flying Shark is much harder. Fire Shark was so well balanced it was up there w/ Toaplan's best, but its predecessor was hard as nails, and not a ton of fun. At least the NES version wasn't. I never played the arcade version.

[toaplan_shmupfan]

The arcade version of Sky Shark is much better than the NES version. Here are just a few of the ways the arcade is better:

* The NES version didn't have screen panning side to side. The arcade does and that alone makes for an entirely different pacing of the game.
* The NES version had choppy animation with some flicker. The arcade is really smooth animation especially for the game's release year, though there are parts that have slowdown.
* The arcade version has an entirely different musical soundtrack, with a similar musical quality as Fire Shark. NES version is okay but nowhere near the same soundtrack. Stage 2, 3 and 4 soundtracks from Sky Shark are especially good, I think, in terms of how well they fit the action of the stage.
* The arcade version has a more accurate hitbox for the plane. In the NES version, sometimes a shot would register a collision even when it visually missed.
* The arcade version has faster shot patterns (however, some emulations such as Shark seem to make the shots too fast), but I still think the overall acceleration curve to the game was well paced.
* The arcade version has an IMHO unforgettable combined airplane and tank formation attack near the very end of stage 5 if the boss is destroyed before reaching land. It's still straightforward enough to defeat, but it's quite a surprise encountering that for the first time.

Definitely play the arcade before judging Sky Shark/Flying Shark.

[Leandro]

I love Twin Hawk, it's one of my favorites. I used to play the arcade co-op version with autofire and the 2 ships overlapping each other. Very fun game
But nowadays I prefer the Mega Drive version. The ship sprite changes to a helicopter on the 3rd loop. I never got to the fourth though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Arcade Flying Shark is amazing, everybody should play it. It feels even more cinematic than Flying Shark at times, especially the desert stage with all the background details (like the poor little stranded tank in the desert; more "serious" feeling than the slapstick plane crash at the beginning of stage 3 or so in Fire Shark).

[lgb]

At least the NES version wasn't. I never played the arcade version.

MAJOR problem. you go play the arcade version NOW. don't EVER give an 8-bit port of a late '80s arcade game any representation of the game itself whatsoever

that aside, the arcade game is still a bit tough. not as tough as Fire Shark though imo