Sonic Wings Special [psx]

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 7:53 pm

Hello has anyone played this game on the psx? (yes I did try serching for a topic on this game before posting)

I'm a huge fan of of the sonic wing seires and I purchased this game on Ebay today for £8.50. Now I know this is a mix of the first two games in the seires but what is this game like to play? I read a few reviews and most say it's near arcade perfect, is that true?

anyway I'm looking forward to playing it I just want to know if anyone else has got this and if so what they think of it.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 7:58 pm

I have the Saturn version and it seems to play pretty good for the most part (as in, no enormous technical flaws or anything like that); from what I remember hearing the PS port is almost the same, though I can't say from firsthand experience with the latter.

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm

Alright cool as long as it's not been messed up in some huge way it should be OK, from what I read the psx verson is pretty much arcade perfect "in theory" it should be pretty good.

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 8:43 am

The PS1 and Saturn versions of SWS are mostly identical. The music on the Saturn one sounds less smooth/filtered than on the PS1 port, but no version can be said to sound "better" than the other, just slightly different. Both versions play flawlessly and are very enjoyable.

I remember D found some lines missing in the Saturn version or something like that, but those differences in the graphics are nothing you'd notice if you don't put them side to side and certainly nothing that alters the gameplay in any way. You really can consider the two versions as being identical, even though very nitpicky people can rightfully argue that they are not.

I'm not sure whether the PS1 version comes with the goofy audio CD, though, but not having it is no great loss anyway.

However, none of the versions is arcade perfect. They can't be, as there is no arcade game called Sonic Wings Special. There is a Sonic Wings Limited, but contrary to popular belief both are not the same game. Both are like remixes of the Sonic Wings series, but apart from that totally unrelated. And while I'm at it, your notion that SWS is a mix of the first two games in the series is also wrong. You will find some familiar things from all three of the original SW games, but nothing has been dragged over unchanged and there's lots of new stuff thrown in (stages, characters, planes, bosses). Think of SWS as a game that's a bit like a homage to the series, but can stand its ground as a game by itself well.

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:09 am

Alright thanks for clearing that up for me Harr. Well as long as it's a half decent port then I'm happy after all I only paid £8 for it so it's no great loss if it's not.

D · Post by D » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:15 am

Herr Schatten wrote:The PS1 and Saturn versions of SWS are mostly identical. The music on the Saturn one sounds less smooth/filtered than on the PS1 port, but no version can be said to sound "better" than the other, just slightly different. Both versions play flawlessly and are very enjoyable.

No, PS verison is little bit superior, no conent differences though

I remember D found some lines missing in the Saturn version or something like that, but those differences in the graphics are nothing you'd notice if you don't put them side to side

Putting them side to side will make this apparent immediatly.

This game has, yes, 26, different fighters to choose from.
I am the only person in the world who finds this great.
check D site for some (old) content.

Post by **Ghegs** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:36 am

I like it. I haven't played it since I cleared the normal round with the Viking, but it's nice to know I could still try to unlock every single character in there.

I wonder how the PAL port (assuming you got that one) fares though, there's no 60hz and I believe somebody mentioned they removed all the story sequences.

The first Sonic Wings is also getting a PS2 release in a few days.

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 11:24 am

well the guy I'm buying it from said the game has 70 or so differnt endings so I doubt it's been cut... saying that he could just be lying

Post by **Ghegs** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 12:07 pm

Danny wrote:well the guy I'm buying it from said the game has 70 or so differnt endings so I doubt it's been cut... saying that he could just be lying

Heh, that's what the last guy said, too.

I remember him saying the backcover mentions those 70 endings, but they are indeed cut from the game. That was on the old forums, so I can't provide a link. Schatten, you remember him?

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 12:38 pm

Ghegs wrote:
Danny wrote:well the guy I'm buying it from said the game has 70 or so differnt endings so I doubt it's been cut... saying that he could just be lying
Heh, that's what the last guy said, too. I remember him saying the backcover mentions those 70 endings, but they are indeed cut from the game. That was on the old forums, so I can't provide a link. Schatten, you remember him?

I do, indeed. Can't remember his name though. I know that when the PAL version of SWS was announced I considered buying it, because naturally I missed out on the funny dialogue in the Japanese versions I already owned, but I let go of that plan once I heard that all that was cut for no apparent reason.

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 1:03 pm

Ah well at least the gameplay is there and from what I can tell on sonic wings 2 and 3 I'm not missing much in the way of storyline anyway lol (it was pretty bad stuff). They proberbly count not be arsed to translated into 5 differnt europian languages so they scrapped it.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:12 pm

D wrote:
Herr Schatten wrote:The PS1 and Saturn versions of SWS are mostly identical. The music on the Saturn one sounds less smooth/filtered than on the PS1 port, but no version can be said to sound "better" than the other, just slightly different. Both versions play flawlessly and are very enjoyable.
No, PS verison is little bit superior, no conent differences though

I remember D found some lines missing in the Saturn version or something like that, but those differences in the graphics are nothing you'd notice if you don't put them side to side
Putting them side to side will make this apparent immediatly.

This game has, yes, 26, different fighters to choose from.
I am the only person in the world who finds this great.
check D site for some (old) content.

Going completely off-topic, I would like to say that 26 fighters to choose for is incredibly impressive for sure.

But Gall-Force on MSX still takes the cake, with 140, yes 140 different ships, though you can only choose between 7 when starting the game.

D · Post by D » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:13 pm

Gall Force MSX, what? (lil jon shout) lol

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:29 pm

This just arrived this morning. It seems pretty good so far, very Psikyo'ish, but there's no save option. I believe that you need to play through the game to unlock the other characters, right? But if it doesn't save then this is going to be a major pain in the ass.

Post by **Ghegs** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:33 pm

theevilfunkster wrote:This just arrived this morning. It seems pretty good so far, very Psikyo'ish, but there's no save option. I believe that you need to play through the game to unlock the other characters, right? But if it doesn't save then this is going to be a major pain in the ass.

You got the PAL version, then? My JPN one saves quite happily.

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:36 pm

Ghegs wrote:
theevilfunkster wrote:This just arrived this morning. It seems pretty good so far, very Psikyo'ish, but there's no save option. I believe that you need to play through the game to unlock the other characters, right? But if it doesn't save then this is going to be a major pain in the ass.
You got the PAL version, then? My JPN one saves quite happily.

Yeah, 'fraid so. But hey, it was cheap.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:44 pm

theevilfunkster wrote:I believe that you need to play through the game to unlock the other characters, right? But if it doesn't save then this is going to be a major pain in the ass.

Hmm, I didn't even know there was a PAL release of this game. But if it doesn't save anything I wonder if you can even access all the extra planes...

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:50 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:
theevilfunkster wrote:I believe that you need to play through the game to unlock the other characters, right? But if it doesn't save then this is going to be a major pain in the ass.
Hmm, I didn't even know there was a PAL release of this game. But if it doesn't save anything I wonder if you can even access all the extra planes...

I don't know about all the planes but I credit fed my way through it and unlocked a new one. I do wonder about the 70 endings its suposed to have. There wasn't one when I finished it but then I was playing on easy. Maybe I should stop being a pussy and try it on normal.

Post by **Ghegs** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:57 pm

theevilfunkster wrote:I do wonder about the 70 endings its suposed to have. There wasn't one when I finished it but then I was playing on easy. Maybe I should stop being a pussy and try it on normal.

They ain't there. See above.

takohiko · Post by **takohiko** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 9:13 pm

Phoenix are worse than XS Games in that respect - XS may have cut things out, but they never blatantly lied about it. I have to wonder if anything is missing from their version of Buttsubushi.

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:52 pm

Perhaps the save option is in the option menu? (likewere the game settings are?) or perhaps it's got an auto save feature in the game some were? I would advise checking you memory card for a save file!

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:35 pm

Danny wrote:Perhaps the save option is in the option menu? (likewere the game settings are?) or perhaps it's got an auto save feature in the game some were? I would advise checking you memory card for a save file!

There's no save option in the options menu and it doesn't auto save. I've checked my memory card and nothing. Very good game but this kind of spoils it. I think I'll hunt down the Saturn version.

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:17 am

Meh!! Their are two versons of this, apreantly you can buy this for the PS2 as well from pheniox's site although judging from what you just told me it's bound to be another crappy port. Also the saturn verson is at least twice as exspensive as the psx verson... ah well I guess it's for the quility

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 6:37 am

Just bought SWS (Saturn version, mint) for $20, sounds like a fair price to me. I was under the impression that this was a collection, though, of the first two Aero Fighters games?

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 7:28 am

LoneSage wrote:I was under the impression that this was a collection, though, of the first two Aero Fighters games?

No it's not. Where do people always get this particular impression from?

It's a game of its own, which takes some bits from all three Sonic Wings games, rearranges them and mixes them with completely new levels and bosses. And has 26 player crafts to choose from, which actually all play differently.

There's also the arcade game Sonic Wings Limited which does quite the same (although it has fewer player characters), but, again, is an independent game and completely different from Sonic Wings Special.

D · Post by D » Fri Jul 22, 2005 7:58 am

Wait a minute, are you guys saying that you can't ssave the ships you have unlocked?

That's crazy.
Not being able to save high scores is one thing, but what about the 14 extra ships?

Can we sue? There should be a law for this.

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:10 am

Yeah just got the game yesterday and there is NO SAVE OPTION!

But luckly for me I have a PC powerful enough to run the ePSXe emulator so I can use the saved state function on that game... it may not be a full save option but at least I won't lose the ships I unlocked!

p.s: I now consider it a PC game since I will only be playing this on my emu lol.

whity · Post by **whity** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:39 pm

Greetings friends!
I happen to be one of the 2 great "Sonic Wing Sages", I know eveything about the series.
in fact just last week, I procured the final piece of my collection, the obscure arcade relic "Sonic Wings Limited".

I have much knowledge which may be of use to you when it comes to the rare PSX version of Sonic Wings Special. After scouring the web for a PAL version and successfully procuring it from an online auctionhouse, I was severely disappointed with the abysmal quality of the port, and, as has been previously mentioned, the blatant lying on the game cover, promising endings, over 70 glorious endings, and delivering less than a simple argument between our beloved robotic TEEBEE and his Viking pal Kohful over which of the two was victorious (While TEEBEE is technically a superior pilot, Kohful's almighty AJ-37 Viggen is a sublimely powerful fighing aircraft).

I was so frustrated and OUTRAGED by the lack of a save function, which it seems phoenix went OUT OF THEIR WAY TO DELETE, that I wrote a letter to the (probably non existent) technical support department of the company. After predictably receiving no response, I resumed a search for the NTSC version, and naturally was successful. This was the true Special, this was the Sonic Wings I was raised on, where witty reparte greeted you at the end of each level, and the endings were bountiful. Unfortunately, it was all in Japanese......

To sum it all up, chum - Sonic Wings Special (NTSC) is the holy grail of the 'Wings series, the best on Playstation, but it is not without its flaws. Many planes, characters, levels and endings, but all in Japanese. That said, if I could speak Japanese this would be the best game ever. The PAL version is simply shit. Fuck you Phoenix games for destroying what should be an invincible gaming experience.

Feel free to ask me anything about the series, I am sure i can help you out. Here is a geeky list of the Sonic Wings games I have played:

Aerofighters - SNES / Neo Geo
Sonic Wings 2 - Neo Geo
Sonic Wings 3 - Neo Geo
Sonic Wings Limited - Emulated through ZinC
Sonic Wings Special (PAL PSX & NTSC)
Aerofighters Assault (N64)

I have also played Rabio Lepus and Tao Taiden which feature familiar characters to the Sonic Wings series.

FINALLY: here is a picture i created a while back of our old friend Spanky aka Whity (THE DOLPHIN PILOT!!!)

http://www.deviantart.com/view/6786088/

enjoy.

D · Post by D » Thu Jul 28, 2005 8:37 am

Aerofighters Assault (N64) is not a shmup.
Also check out that 3 player car vertical shoot em up game from video system. Never can remember the name though.

What flaws does SWS have then? I don't see nothing wrong with it.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:15 am

Isn't Sonic Wings Special on the PSX/Saturn just a collection of the 3 Sonic Wings Arcade/NEOGEO games, same as Capcom Generations, Gunbird & 1945 Strikers Collections on the PS-2?

Or is the the "Sonic Wings Collection" a completly different collection Disc on the PS-1 & Saturn?