Tiger Heli for Atari 7800

[Jeneki]

Move over M2, unplug your switch or PS5, there's a new champion of arcade accuracy with Tiger Heli on Atari 7800.





https://atari.com/products/tiger-heli-7800

Overview

Defend the skies in a challenging, 7800 adaptation of an arcade classic. This vertically scrolling shooter game was first released in 1985 as an arcade game, and became a hit thanks to its fun, challenging gameplay and detailed graphics. Though Tiger-Heli has been ported to numerous other consoles, it never made its way onto an Atari console until now. Fly across 4 challenging stages and destroy 12 different enemy vehicles and infrastructure as you rack up your high score.

You have been given command of the Tiger-Heli chopper, one of the most advanced pieces of equipment available, with orders to take down a rogue nation plotting worldwide destruction. Maneuver your chopper over dangerous terrain with hostile fire trained on your position. Cripple their defensive capabilities with blasters and bombs to rack up as many points as possible. Recruit Mini-Helis to fly at your side to double your firepower. Your goal is to make it through four stages into the heavily fortified military base known as the Mega-Fortress.

Features & Specs

CONSOLE COMPATIBILITY: Atari 7800/7800+, Atari 2600+

CONTROLLER COMPATIBILITY: : New Atari CX78+ Gamepad or original 7800 Proline Joystick (2-button controller required)

PLAYERS: 1 Player

COLLECTIBLE PACKAGING: 40th Anniversary Edition. Full-color manual included.

Availability

Pre-Order Today! Ships July 2025.

Package Contents

- Game Cartridge
- Cartridge Sleeve
- Full-Color Gameplay Manual

[Jonpachi]

#boomershootersareshmups

[PC Engine Fan X!]

It's about damn time that Taito/Toaplan's Tiger Heli showed up on the 8-bit powered Atari 7800 ProSystem just 40 years too late -- better later than never, right?

Does it have both high score/high score initials saving functionality as well?

The asking MSRP of $29.99 usd is "right on the dot" and in line with the original MSRP's of typical 7800 games priced at retail brand new especially back in 1987 through 1990. The USA based Toys-R-Us chain last sold 7800 software in 1990 before dropping it entirely to concentrate on selling the Atari Lynx hardware & software and later on, the Atari Jaguar gaming console platform in 1994.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[it290]

Picked this game up. Pretty fun, but tough. I haven't played the original in a while, but don't recall it having as many enemies sneaking up from the bottom of the screen as this one does.

[Sengoku Strider]

You could totally see this having been released at the time too, great choice by the dev.

[thaIllsburyFlowboy]

I've played it literally twice, but so far, so good. It is not 1:1 with the arcade version, which is actually great given that it's a fresh flavor of Tiger Heli. Example: The jets on stage 3 kill you if you collide with them, some differences in level design, etc. It might be a clone of the NES port. I love the NES hardware, but in the particular case of this game the flickering in the graphics makes it annoying to play, so it'd be fine with me if that was the case.

The sound is very well done except for a glitch in the explosions when the little heli music is playing, which has a nails-on-chalkboard quality to it. The box did say something about maybe needing a software update which for all I know fixes the issue. I'm playing it on the 7800+ which I assume is a low-spec Linux-based emulation box, so it may be an artifact of that. I will try to update it later and see what that does.

tl;dr as the kids say - I feel like it's $30 well spent since it's a twist on a personal favorite, which is what I was after. We'll see how it holds up over time, though.

There is an interview tomorrow with the developers at this site (I have no affiliation): https://www.youtube.com/zeropagehomebrew

[it290]

FWIW, I haven't noticed any glitches at all on real hardware or my 2600+ with the most current firmware, so I think what you mention is indeed a firmware glitch.

It's definitely not a clone of the NES game — the 7800 version has wayyy more enemies on screen at once.

[Strider77]

The port ever?

[thaIllsburyFlowboy]

It's about damn time that Taito/Toaplan's Tiger Heli showed up on the 8-bit powered Atari 7800 ProSystem just 40 years too late -- better later than never, right?

Does it have both high score/high score initials saving functionality as well?

The asking MSRP of $29.99 usd is "right on the dot" and in line with the original MSRP's of typical 7800 games priced at retail brand new especially back in 1987 through 1990. The USA based Toys-R-Us chain last sold 7800 software in 1990 before dropping it entirely to concentrate on selling the Atari Lynx hardware & software and later on, the Atari Jaguar gaming console platform in 1994.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

No high score saving. I saw something on the website last night about a score saving cartridge being available. I will probably just use my phone to take a picture of the screen!

I encountered further bugs, so I attempted to update the firmware for the console, which errored out. I hope Atari customer support knows a fix, else I will probably have to return the plus and get an original console. The wireless controller is quite nice though.

The port ever? LOL! I mean...yes?

[it290]

If you update the firmware it will save high scores.

[CIT]

Got mine, and definitely like the quality of the port. Much better than the NES conversion for sure.

I noticed that sometimes the bombs will go off randomly. So I guess a firmware update is definitely needed?

[it290]

The bombs don't go off randomly. Your heli carries a bomb on either side and if these are hit by a bullet they will explode and save you from dying.

[CIT]

I know. But they definitely went off randomly, right after I took off from the helipad, no bullets there.

[it290]

Huh, haven't seen that. Are you playing on the 2600+/7800+? You need the newest firmware if so, I'd recommend the beta firmware from the AtariAge forums rather than the one that Atari distribute from their site.