Hey Arcaders!
When we last saw our Time Pilot, He defeated the UFO army in 1999. But- during the battle, his Time Fighter jet was severely damaged and beyond repair. But- he was able to fix one of the lesser damaged UFOs from the battle and add the time circuits from the fighter into it. Taking flight- he left the earth’s atmosphere, then activated the time circuits to head home. But the time circuits did something very unexpected- instead going only through time- It went to another dimension! So- our Time Pilot fights through the alien worlds- trying to find a way home… Going farther… Into the Unknown World.
is a scrolling multidirectional shooter released in arcades in 1984 by Konami. The different time periods of 1982’s Time Pilot are replaced by a top-down view of a science fiction landscape that varies in color and type of enemies. It adds the ability for the player to launch guided missiles. Time Pilot ’84 was primarily sold as a conversion kit for older games. Unlike it’s predecessor, Time Pilot ’84 has both guns and missiles! The first button is used to fire a standard shot, which can destroy green-colored enemies. The second button is used to fire missiles, which can destroy the silver-colored enemies. The player needs to lock on to a silver enemy to fire missiles at it. Destroying enough green enemies brings out a large, silver boss enemy that must be dispatched before advancing to the next level.
Now- the next few years are what I like to call the “Konami Kit” era. Since the disillusion of Centuri, and Konami’s offices weren’t ready to mass produce cabinets in the US-
Every game the did was a conversion kit.
If done right- not too shabby!
Enough of the jibber jabber- let’s hop in our dimension hopping time UFO and shoot the baddies!
The only port this sadly overlooked and awesome game got- is Space Pilot II on the C64.
Just last year- we did get the game for modern systems from the Arcade Archives. No relation.
And- it’s on the Frogger Arcade1up cab! (And.. I took some liberties… You’re welcome.)
Let’s get one thing straight- as much as I loved Time Pilot- I loved Time Pilot 80 even more. More enemies with stronger firepower, the ship you pilot having lock on missiles, the alien landscapes you traverse- this was the original game- amped up to 1000. Most people didn’t like the repetitive gameplay in arcade games- and at this point, the arcade crash was in full swing. But- this is a game that should have gotten more love when it was first released. I’m just happy more people get to experience this hidden jem of Konami’s library on modern platforms- it’s a fast, tough as nails shooter that will have you coming back again and again.
Did you ever play Time Pilot ’84? What’s the highest score you ever got?
Let me know in the comments!
Keep Playin’ Like it’s 1981!
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