Big Box O' Pirated Booty: Game #2

 This out of schedule review is brought to us by the Big Box of Pirated games you might recall that recently came from Pirate Island (Thailand). In this the 2nd review from the BBO'PB (Big Box O' Pirated Booty..DUH) we'll be looking at another PIRATE of a classic .............TIGER-HELI

I would just like to point out that if you look on the back of the cart there is a warning against feeding it to alligators, Ive been noted as saying not to do this in some of my vids and articles but I swear I never noticed it on a cartridge before today, its a weird thing I always just happen to say.

Any way I cleaned this cart up before I played it as is standard for me but over the years Ive become less crazy mint collector and more history collector. What I mean by this is when i get a game now days I don't clean all the stickers off it or even look for good copies anymore just ones I find interesting. With cartridges you will find kids previously wrote their names on them or put stickers on them to personalize it and I find this more and more valuable & unique as it shows the personal history of the game as opposed to owning the mint-est copy I can find. So i clean the games now but leave price tags and stickers, names, etc...

Tiger-Heli was developed by Toaplan and the predecessor to Twin Cobra. It was released to Arcades in 1985 both in Japan & N. America. Acclaim Handled the localization port to the NES. It should be noted that Tiger-Heli sold One Million  copies in North America.  A feat not easily done in 1985. 

( Applause )

click me

click me

   
    On to the gaming.... As a kid I managed to own a US copy, I believe I squeezed it out of my dad in a KayBeeToys. I remember the ride home staring at the amazing box art that had sold me on a game I had never heard of.... ( In Ye olden days the only way to find out about a few of the new games was Nintendo power if your folks sprang for the subscription )

Get Ready!

My set-up

  As soon as you press start Tiger-Heli treats you to a powerful little music selection that rallies you forward in to the action. The games excellent music score continues to motivate you as you take control of the Tiger Helicopter with unlimited missiles that can be fired as quickly as your thumb can mash red plastic. The bomb clusters mounted on either side of the Tiger act as a defensive tactic as well as offensive, if the barrel on either side of tiger is stuck by enemy fire the bomb releases its load and spares the copter. The bomb/shield can come in handy as you can only take one hit and have 3 lives bonus lives are awarded at 20,000 & 80,000. The games designers were considerate enough to restart you after the object that killed you. There is a continue trick ill cover at the end with the other secrets I discovered way back when Mets were gearing up to win a World Series ..No Really, that Happened !

 Tiger-Heli offers a great challenge with out being impossible to beat, like most Shumps its about repetition playing it over in the tough spots to learn the patterns. The game introduced destructible environments like cars, planes, homes, etc which was a first for games in 1985. It should be noted that there are NO air support enemies like jets or copters in the entire game. Three types of Power-ups can be found through out the levels the first is a green cross that replenishes missing bombs. The second is a red cross that will bestow upon you a mini-heli attached to your side that fires perpendicular to you. The third is a white cross that also calls a mini-heli to your side but this one shoots straight ahead. You can carry up to two mini-helis at a time in whichever configuration of fire you can get your hands on and hang on to.

   

these jets dont attack

Whaoo lil friends

     
   










  Grabbing the Power-ups when you already have them will net you a bonus 5000 points. Tiger-Heli has been credited with introducing the Mega-Bomb as a secondary weapon in Shumps. There are only four levels but all start and end with Tiger taking off and landinfg on a Heli-Pad, when you reach the end of level 4 the game starts over but at level 2 with an increased difficulty. I had never beaten it as a kid so I pleased to do so now only.... sorry to report No Final Boss in this review.

Second Trick

First Trick

  As I mentioned above here are the SECRETS.. First when the game starts don't fire at anyone just make your way to the area pictured above on the left , if you haven't fired at all a trolley cart will travel across the railroad track shoot it for 10,000 points. Second make your way shortly after the tracks to large building in the second picture, shoot the red barrel looking thing on the roof repeatedly until a chime rings and you receive 10,000 more points which should net you your first bonus life. And finally at the GAME OVER screen press the A+B buttons to continue.

I hope you enjoyed this review and if your at all interested in Tiger-Heli please give it a try it can be found on Wii virtual console or the playstation TOPLAN shooting collection on PSN or in Classic gaming shops.