Video Game / Wings

Wings is a World War I-themed Video Game for Game Boy Advance and for the Commodore Amiga. There is also a SNES game in the series called Wings 2: Aces High.

Wings is focused on the component of battles fought from the skies, and in at least the GBA version, allows you to play as an Allied OR German fighter pilot or even alternate between the two. (Playing as different characters, of course.)

The Other Wiki has an article on it here.

Tropes present:

• Antagonist in Mourning: Lampshaded from the Allies' side when Baron von Richtoffen dies. Truth in Television, as this mirrors the reaction the Allies actually had to the guy in real life.
• Anti-Air: Also known as Archie. The shells cause the plane to spin out of control, as opposed to just causing some damage.
• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: In the GBA version, fake propaganda posters displayed between mission sets demonstrate a creative approach to German syntax and vocabulary.
• Auto-Revive: Enemy planes that take enough damage have a trail of smoke, but if they don't hit the ground quickly enough, the trail disappears and they're back in the fight.
• Collision Damage: There's a chance to survive a mid-air collision, where you at least have some control over the plane. Otherwise, your pilot is killed while you watch your plane fly crash into the ground.
• Convenient Misfire: There's a chance for the guns to jam for a few minutes, during combat. They're unjammed more quickly for pilots with a mechanical aptitude.
• Do Not Do This Cool Thing: Subverted; although the game DOES use World War I for entertainment, it is stated to be dedicated to those who died in it, and also calls attention to the foolishness of various aspects of it.
• Epistolary Novel: The story is shown in a series of dated journal entries, written by the pilot. If the pilot is killed, the journal given to the replacement to continue the log (although it reads as if it's still the same person writing).
• Escort Mission: Typical for a flight simulator - you are sometimes required to escort bombers. There's also a Protection Mission where you prevent your base from being bombed or balloons from being burst. At a quick glance, it's not obvious which one is the bomber due to plane colors being the same for each side.
• Grey-and-Grey Morality: Play as the Allies, and the game will show you the era's Allied perspective on the war. Play as the Germans, and the game will show you the era's German perspective on the war. The game itself really doesn't seem to be taking sides.
• National Anthem: The GBA port plays the German national anthem if you choose to fly for the Kaiser.
• Point Build System: The Amiga version provides 120 points to distribute among four stats, affecting the pilot's ability in battle.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: After failing enough missions in a row, the player gets demoted to a lowly trooper in the trenches. Even considering the high casualty rate among fighter pilots, this sounds like a death sentence and definitely is one of few bad endings. However, getting one successful mission will reset the counter.
• Red-plica Baron: Wings 2: Aces High has the player will get to face off with the Red Baron.
• Standard Hollywood Strafing Procedure: Strafing is road-aligned, has muzzle-flashes and MG noises, can have a pattern of bullets approaching the target, only direct hits cause damage, and some missions require strafing infantry. Infantry may take cover or dodge, while vehicles make no reaction (other than AA-guns counter-firing). There's also only one pass of the plane.
• Video Game Cruelty Punishment: Attacking hospitals, churches or ambulances will result in mission failure and a reprimand from the squad commander. Shooting down squadmates likewise causes the reprimand.
• Worthy Opponent: Allied and German fighter pilots each develop increasing respect for enemy pilots as time goes on.
  I waved to the single approaching Fokker, partly in greeting, partly to say goodbye. There probably wasn't a reason to risk our lives, yet what better way to say goodbye than one final man-to-man dogfight?
  • This is applied especially strongly to the case of Baron von Richtoffen, who killed many Allied fighters yet was admired by them. Truth in Television, as this, again, mirrors the Allied perception of him in real life.