Remasters and remakes have their place in this world, but there are few things better than an old formula getting an original opportunity to shine with new audiences–especially when a past master is overseeing the project.
Air Twister is the latest game to be directed and produced by former Sega AM2 boss Yu Suzuki, whose resumé includes Hang-On, OutRun, and Virtua Racing, plus the Virtua Fighter and Shenmue franchises. He’s also the key architect of Space Harrier, the iconic 1985 third-person rail shooter that Air Twister seeks to revitalize with a modern makeover.
To his credit, Suzuki does quite an impressive job of breathing new life into a near-40-year-old format. Air Twister is not a deep, complex game–it’s a mobile title that’s been an Apple Arcade and iOS exclusive for nearly 18 months–but it squeezes an incredible amount out of a straightforward genre to create one of the stranger but no less enjoyable games of 2023 (right after indie GOTY nominee Thirsty Suitors).
Air Twister sees you take the role of Princess Arch, whose homeworld of AIR–a series of floating islands–comes under attack from the evil Vanguard, which easily dispatches your nation’s defense force of swan-riding gunners because they have the firearm accuracy of Stormtroopers, and the birds themselves are both unarmed and absolutely massive targets.
Plus, there were only five of them to begin with. AIR brought it on itself with a lackluster investment in its strike forces, if we’re being honest.
Luckily, technology and precision are on the princess’ side–you’ve got a homing-missile-shooting crossbow, plus a four-strong cohort of ultimately superfluous but delightfully armored flying creatures to ride into bigger battles. Despite an incredible amount of unlockable lore, that’s the long and short of its story, not that the narrative really matters; at its core, Air Twister is a pure arcade game.
Across 12 stages (well, 10, with a couple of bonus levels), you fight waves of enemies before facing off against a boss. The art style is stunning, unique, and frankly ridiculous–with lush gardens, huge deserts, luminescent mushrooms, and unnecessary tubes–but its sparse areas lack polish and deeper detail, never quite shaking its mobile game roots.
Still, Air Twister overcomes these visual drawbacks to feel more grandiose than it should thanks to its soundtrack. The game has the hallmarks of a rock opera thanks to its superb score created by Dutch composer Valensia, which draws heavily on Freddie Mercury-era Queen right from the start. The first level kicks off with a song that has strong Killer Queen vibes–apt, given that Princess Arch sets about destroying organic and unnatural foes alike.
It’s the perfect match; worlds blend with songs to create an almost hallucinatory experience. Admittedly, Yu Suzuki’s vision for Air Twister often feels more like a fever dream, as you battle floating ammonites, mini-Cthulhus, obese toads with butterfly wings, and a clock-and-chandeliers boss that throws other clocks at you. These designs undoubtedly had deeper allegories on the drawing board, and you’ll never understand them, but Air Twister has that “cult Japanese arcade games of the 80s” weirdness, and I for one don’t object.
Initially, the game feels easy–each stage is short and regularly cleared in under three minutes; the main game takes 30 minutes if you have a good run. You’re given a healthy supply of hearts, which can recharge at the end of each level depending on your performance. However, while it starts quite calmly, it begins to unveil some peculiar difficulties.
It takes a lot of time to acclimatize to Air Twister’s third-person perspective. While you can shoot freely, it’s hard to gauge enemy distance, so most of your success hinges on lock-on homing attacks. Framing proves just as problematic in reverse; incoming projectiles can effectively take over the screen, and it’s difficult to interpret your safe space–especially as enemy attacks regularly blend in with the wild artwork of the stages you travel through. Until you learn patterns, it’s a game of luck as much as skill.
Bosses start out simple, but soon grow in perplexity, meaning you have to anticipate attacks and learn patterns while mitigating their screen-swamping offense. Chances are you’ll end your first run by the eighth or ninth stage, as your health and two continues are chipped away by unpredictable bosses and increasingly manic waves of enemies. You’re dumped back to the main menu, but all is not lost.
After your first run, you use stars you collect by destroying waves–usually 300 or more–on a huge progression map to get costumes, hairstyles, one-use specials, more lock-on targets, and much more. It’s like Sky Force Anniversary lite, as you make Princess Arch more competitive and powerful in the main game, helping you chase perfection by defeating every wave and trying to escape each stage unscathed.
Other game modes give you other chances to earn stars; a classic Turbo mode, a fun (and good for practice) Boss Rush, a weird number-grid thing, and a handful of other bonus games you’ll try once and not return to. There are also time-based challenges, giving you another few opportunities to pick up bonuses and in-game currency.
All in all, Air Twister isn’t really a modern game in format, visuals, or content, but it’s definitely something that arcade gaming fans will find a lot of reasons to keep playing, especially if they’re completionists, though trophy chasers will likely balk at the idea of playing the game for 50 and 100 hours to unlock two of its achievements. Air Twister is good fun, but it’s not 100 hours of good fun.
Still, its Queen-esque soundtrack, nonsensical story, weird level transition, and beguiling design decisions somehow merge into one of the more unique and entrancing games of 2023. For die-hard fans of Sega’s coin-op heyday, it’s a must-try; for intrigued casual gamers, it’s certainly worth a bash.
One thing’s for sure–there hasn’t been anything like this in a long while. Air Twister may not be worth $30 on its own, but the wider suite of modes, unlockables, and upgrades helps it earn its RRP, and a place in the hearts of the next generation of rail shooter enthusiasts.
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