I’ve seen the game SkyGunner referenced a few times as a hidden gem on the Sony PlayStation 2. It’s not my cup of tea genre-wise (I’m really not a fan of combat flight simulators) but it sounded charming enough. I figured that, even with the high price tag, I didn’t have much to lose. It also helps that I’m a big fan of the publisher Atlus, and generally love the quirky titles they used to pick up for localization. You know, the types of games most companies wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. Either way I’m fresh off of a playthrough for SkyGunner. It’s time to take a looksie!
SkyGunner takes place in a fictional anime world rife with steampunk trappings. You begin the game by choosing from one of three different pilots; Ciel, Copaine, and Femme. They have varying scenarios in the main story, but the main difference between them is that they’re each considered a separate difficulty mode. That’s kind of cool if you ask me. Either way, the three are tasked with protecting something called the Eternal Engine. This magical artifact is in a special device in perpetual motion without any outside force. The game begins as an evil guy named Ventre, and his army of small minions attack the exposition where the Eternal Engine is on display in hopes of saving it. It’s up to the three young pilots to save the day.
It’s obvious straightaway that a lot and love and care went into the design of this game. For starters, each of the three characters handles very differently from one another, has a unique special move, and even experiences different stages within the story. At some points all three are in the same stage but are given separate objectives. It genuinely feels like you’re experiencing a different perspective in the same battle when you play through as each of them. Few games have the replay value that SkyGunner does, and it’s all because of the attention to detail.
How do you play this game, exactly? Well that’s an easy one to answer. SkyGunner is a third person combat flight simulator. As one of the three pilots in the story you take to the skies fighting your way through 3D environments completing a myriad of different objectives. When you’re done you move to the next stage. Objectives range from things like destroying specific ships to protecting allies, beating an enemy within a time limit, etc. There’s a fair bit of diversity with it, but generally you’ll be doing the same type of thing over and over again. It sounds simple, and it can be just as much as you would like, but there’s a lot more meat to it.
Your ships in SkyGunner come equipped with two basic types of attacks. You have the machine guns which can be used infinitely, and the more powerful specials. The latter of these you can also use as often as you want, but they fill a temperature gauge on the left hand of the screen. When this is full you have to wait for the plane to cool down before you can continue with them. In terms of defense you have the classic ‘barrel roll’ that’s basically ripped right out of Star Fox. Your character has a life bar that depletes as you’re hit, and a wacky balance gauge as well. If you’re hit too many times you have to hit a bunch of different inputs to regain your composure. It’s kind of weird.
So how does the gameplay fare? It’s really easy for an aerial game to get awkward real fast, but luckily SkyGunner avoids the pitfalls so many others could not. For one thing the game uses a lock-on targeting system. The camera stays fixed on the enemy of your choice and never strays. This means you’ll often be flying into the camera and away from the foe to gain a better vantage point. You can switch your target at any time by pressing the triangle button which is nice. It might sound like the camera is awkward, and believe you me I was worried it would be, but it works.
The bread and butter of this game is in the scoring. Remember how I said SkyGunner is only as deep as you want it to be? Well, that’s because of the combo system. Basically, you can use your secondary attacks in different circumstances to set off chains of destruction. Nearby foes will get caught in explosions, but sometimes you’ll need to weaken the others in order to make it work. You’re awarded points of course and ranked on your performance at the end of each stage. At times you’ll be given different perks, such as a better engine for example, if you manage to get a certain score. It’s a pretty decent feature and enhances the arcade style appeal this game has.
SkyGunner clearly relies more on its sense of style than pushing the PS2 hardware in any significant way. The planes are decent in design, but can sometimes appear blocky. The protagonists can be seen piloting their ships, and they look plenty goofy. I’m really not a fan of the character designs what with their dead eyes and pastel colors. The game has a pretty great draw distance; you can see for what seems like miles in any direction. In story sequences the characters are displayed via little drawings and these are nice, but again, I’m not a fan of the art. The game looks decent but it’s certainly not indicative of what the hardware is capable of.
The music fares better. The game’s soundtrack has a fantastic whimsical approach to it. Each track is light hearted and really hits home the carefree sense of adventure that the atmosphere instills. The music is super good, and extremely relaxing. The voice acting is pretty standard fare. The English actors aren’t particularly memorable, but they get the job done, and in a way that isn’t distracting. Atlus proves that they care about their fanbase by including both the English and original Japanese voice acting track. That’s dedication. The audio is pretty great overall.
I went in with decent expectations but was still pleasantly surprised. SkyGunner is a real charmer. From screenshots it looks like the gameplay would be entirely too awkward to be enjoyable. That’s not the case. The lock on system prevents you from becoming too disoriented and also helps keep your eyes on the goal. The story is nothing to write home about, and the anime art style is off-putting, but the game is still fun and very memorable. Thank you Atlus for bringing this one over.
We at Infinity Retro liked this game so much we included it on our list of the best PS2 Hidden Gems!
