065 · SKY KID
The world is at war and heavy action is in the air. You are the Red Baron and your good buddy and sometimes flying partner is Max, another ace pilot. But you have to be more than a flying ace. For more NEStalgia as well as show notes and links check out www.NEStalgiacast.com
Show notes
- Namco, published by Sunset
- 1985 Arcade, 87 for NES
- first game from Namco to allow two players to play simultaneously.
- Mission is bombing specific targets.
- The players take control of the Sky Kids, "Red Baron" and "Blue Max", which are references to Manfred von Richthofen, the famous World War I flying ace, and the prestigious order Pour le Mérite informally known as Blue Max.
- The "A" button is used to control the plane's machine gun and the "B" button is used to perform a loop.
- Occasionally, performing a loop over a billboard will reveal one of four hidden Namco characters: Pac-Man, Inky, the Special Flag from Rally-X (which, like the Galaxian flagship, has appeared in several other Namco games) or Pooka from Dig Dug.
- Sky Kid Deluxe was released only in Japan in 86
- Ace Combat Infinity went so far as to render fully playable 3D models of four aircraft from the arcade game.
- The PlayStation Portable versions of Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer 2, and Ridge Racer 6 all feature a Sky Kid-themed Fiera car (manufactured by the fictitious "Kamata" - and a parody of the Pontiac Fiero).
- The song "Taiko March" in the game Taiko Drum Master includes excerpts of music from several Namco games, including Sky Kid.
- There was even an online Sky Kid comic
- A medley of various tracks from Sky Kid appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The Red Baron appears as Pac-Man's taunt, "Namco Roulette".