SEGA AGES G-LOC: Air Battle Review

Insert obligatory Top Gun reference —— > HERE

Platform: Switch (reviewed)

Publisher: SEGA

Developer: M2

Release Date: April 30, 2020

Price: $6.99

SEGA AGES G-LOC: Air Battle is the latest offering in SEGA and M2’s line of retro releases for the Switch. First released as an arcade title in 1990, the game is part of Yu Suzuki’s popular After Burner series that puts players in the cockpit where they face waves of enemy fighters. The game received ports on the Sega Genesis, Game Gear, and several 8-bit computers, but they failed to hold a candle to the arcade coin-op, which offered impressive graphics well beyond the capabilities of console hardware of the day. Now, 30 years later we have an official, pixel-perfect version of the arcade classic, let’s take a good look at SEGA AGES G-LOC: Air Battle.

Notice: attempting to insert a coin into your Nintendo Switch voids your warranty.

Being an arcade game the premise is simple, destroy a set amount of targets to move to the next level. To do this you have a Vulcan cannon and heat seeking missiles each with and endless supply of ammunition. The Vulcan is for close in and the missiles are for longer ranges but require you to achieve missile lock by placing a target in your sights for a few seconds before launching. As you are doing this the clock is ticking down like its final Jeopardy. Clearing stages adds more time to your clock, much like checkpoints in a racing game. Because of the impressive weight of fire you can dish out with your unlimited ammo the real trick becomes prioritizing your targets so you can make your kill quota and progress to the next level. The time element is where G-LOC differs from After Burner, where the goal is to simply make it to the end of each stage alive. Like other SEGA AGES games, G-LOC: Air Battle offers a standard Arcade Mode and an updated SEGA AGES Mode. Arcade Mode is a straight port of the arcade game. Featuring three difficulties to choose from, which offer different stages and give you more freedom of control.. For example, in Beginner Mode, your speed is automatic, and your ability to roll is restricted, while you focus solely on firing your weapons. Medium Mode gives you control of your jet’s throttle so you can slow to outmaneuver enemies, or speed up to chase down targets as the clock runs out. Finally, Expert Mode allows you to roll, even fully inverted, which can make maneuvering through canyon stages a bit frantic as you struggle to keep your orientation and not crash. Expert also offers 16 stages, making it almost twice as long as beginner mode.

Time is running out like its Final Jeopardy

SEGA AGES Mode introduces a new, 16-stage route while and allowing much faster missile locks. You are going to need it because there are now dozens of enemies on-screen at all times, and there is no more “insert coin to continue,” you have to survive to see the next stage. SEGA AGES: G-LOC: Air Battle tries to replicate the arcade experience with a moving cabinet display that borders the screen. My ten year old found this distracting but I was unintentionally tilting my head back and forth as I rolled and strafe. It also reduces area considerably to fit the cabinet. G-Loc is frantic enough that this is an issue, you need all the screen acreage you can get just to keep track of that is going on. Still, I love the nostalgia of showing the kids what it was like “back in my day” and it’s great fun, even if it’s not the ideal way to experience the game.

SEGA AGES G-LOC: Air Battle is a satisfying score-chaser. But you burn through it pretty quickly once you get the hang of it, with your average play through on expert taking about 15 minutes to complete. After that, there isn’t much of a reason to come back. Bottom line, it’s an arcade game and brevity is par for the course. But if the game’s brief runtime and relative lack of re-playability don’t bother you, SEGA AGES G-LOC: Air Battle is a great way to experience one of SEGA’s classic title from the golden age of arcade games.

The Good:

Faithful Port
Action Packed
Quarters not needed

The Bad:

Quick play-through
Lack of replay value
Reminds me how old I am