Air Combat

is a 1993 combat flight simulator arcade video game developed by Namco. The arcade game was released in 1993 for the polygon-powered Namco System 21 arcade hardware, and received praise for its 3D graphics and technological capabilities. The game was a commercial success at Japanese and American arcades in the 1990s, and inspired several later Namco games, including the arcade sequel Air Combat 22, the PlayStation game Air Combat, and the Ace Combat series. Gameplay The player is given the task of eliminating all 6 enemy aircraft within a minute. The only enemies in the game are bombers and fighter jets. Bombers are slower, and fighter jets are faster. The player is also given three options for difficulty: Cadet, Captain, and Ace. The differences between the modes are as follows: In Cadet mode, the player has to eliminate 3 bombers and 3 fighter jets In Captain mode, the player has to eliminate 2 bombers and 4 fighter jets In Ace mode, all of the enemy aircraft are fighter jets Release The game debuted at Japan's Amusement Machine Operators (AOU) show in February 1993, and released in North America on August 12, 1993. Reception The game was a commercial success in arcades. In Japan, Game Machine listed Air Combat on their August 15, 1993 issue as being the most-successful upright arcade cabinet of the month, and remained in the top spot the following month in September. In the United States, the RePlay arcade charts ranked Air Combat as the top-grossing new video game of October 1993, and then the top-grossing deluxe arcade cabinet in December 1993. In 1997, Air Combat was still among the top 20 attractions at several locations, according to Funworld Magazine.