History VideoGame / Area88

* HyperspaceArsenal: In the arcade version, your ship can carry way more special weapon ammunition than it seems like it should be able to. One stage lets you buy a pack of 140 missiles, and the final stage allows you to buy a pack of 200 Super Shells. While the SNES version tones down the ammo limits, you can carry several different weapon types; the [=F200=] in particular can use all of them.

'''Area 88''', also known as '''U.N. Squadron.''' in the US, is a arcade ShootEmUp (HorizontalScrollingShooter) was made by Creator/{{Capcom}} and later ported to the SNES.

* AdaptationExpansion: The SNES port adds three more ships, a more nonlinear progression format, and the option to pick whatever ship-equippable weapons you want for each stage including a console-exclusive [[SmartBomb Mega Crush]] weapon rather than having to pick between two stage-specific weapons.

* BattleshipRaid: The final boss of the arcade version is a huge battleship, fought in a way somewhat similar to the Cerberus from ''VideoGame/ThunderForce III''. On a smaller scale, there's the naval battleship Minks and that land carrier in the desert.

* CompositeCharacter: The intro screen of American arcade version states that Greg trained NATO pilots back in Europe. This was not part of Greg's background in the manga, but it ''was'' part of Hoover's background.

* FlunkyBoss: The SNES version has the cave boss, a strange machine on the ceiling with a [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak spot on the bottom]]. Trouble is, it has a lot of flamethrowers and homing missile launchers traveling along the conveyor belts below, all of which will fire at you. It's ''definitely'' ThatOneBoss for many players.

* ForcedLevelGrinding: The game is rare shmup example; your chances of making it all the way through are highly dependent on how soon you can store up a million dollars for the F200 Efreet, so be prepared to kill a lot of convoys (the only infinite source of money).
* HarderThanHard: "Gamer" difficulty in the SNES version, only accessible through a code.

* HorizontalScrollingShooter
* HyperspaceArsenal: Your weapon armaments in the arcade version get pretty hilarious, especially if you're used to the SNES port. One stage lets you buy a pack of 140 missiles, and the final stage allows you to buy a pack of 200 Super Shells.
* InfinityPlusOneSword: The [=F200=] in the SNES port. The most expensive aircraft, it can use any special weapon and gets more shots of them. Oh, and its main gun can be powered up to level seven, while almost every other plane is capped at level five.
* JustPlaneWrong: In the SNES port the F-111 can carry the Phoenix missile, which the F-111 (primarily a ground-attack plane, the Phoenix being a dedicated long-range air-to-air missile) never carried. Strangely, the Phoenix is ''not'' available on the F-14, the only aircraft to ''ever'' utilize the missile in RealLife.
* LastChanceHitPoint: On the SNES version if you don't have enough life to take the hit it will put you into permanent DANGER mode instead of killing you instantly.

* {{Nerf}}: In the SNES version, your sub-weapons get less ammo, as a tradeoff for being able to buy any sub-weapons your plane is compatible with for any mission as well as being able to carry multiple sub-weapons at once.
* NintendoHard: You only get one life per credit in the arcade version.
* [[PrecisionFStrike Precision H Strike]]: One of the post-stage quotes in the arcade version is [[SeeYouInHell "Go to Hell!"]]
* NoGearLevel: The special mission in the Japanese arcade version forces you to play it without being able to buy special weapons.
* NotTheIntendedUse: Bombs can be used to destroy the annoying AV-8 Harrier enemy which enters from the left edge of the screen and cannot be attacked normally until it starts flying into the middle of the screen.

* [[RewardingVandalism Rewarding]] [[strike:Vandalism]] [[RewardingVandalism Deforestation]]: Destroying all of the destructible trees in the forest stage yields a shield powerup.
* SelfImposedChallenge: Try beating the SNES port using only the default plane.

* SmartBomb: The Mega Crush in the SNES port. Most ships can only carry one of it, except for the [=F200=], which can carry ''two.''
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The SNES version of the video game gives Mickey's surname as Scymon.

* VideoGameLives: You start with 3 in the SNES version.
** EveryTenThousandPoints: Reaching certain score intervals in the SNES version nets you extra lives!
* VulnerableConvoy: A source of easy money in the SNES version.

** The shields in the arcade version. While a bit costly, they can help improve survivability by letting you 3 or 5 extra hits.

** The Bomb sub-weapon. It doesn't do anything really fancy -- it just drops under your ship to deal some damage -- but its starting ammo is quite high (even in the SNES version, where you start missions with 50 Bombs), it's a useful anti-ground weapon, and in the SNES version almost every plane can equip it.

** The Bomb sub-weapon. It doesn't do anything really fancy -- it just drops under your ship to deal some damage -- but their starting ammo is quite high (even in the SNES version, where you start missions with 50 Bombs), it's a useful anti-ground weapon, and in the SNES version almost every plane can equip it.

* BoringButPractical: The shields in the arcade version. While a bit costly, they can help improve survivability by letting you 3 or 5 extra hits.

* HomingProjectile: Phoenix missiles for the player, launched two at a time, and certain enemy missiles.

** LastChanceHitPoint: On the SNES version if you don't have enough life to take the hit it will put you into permanent DANGER mode instead of killing you instantly.

* ShockAndAwe: In the arcade version, one of the hidden items you can get will replace your special weapon with a thunder laser that cannot be purchased in the shop. In the SNES version, it can be purchased and equipped on some ships.

* BattleshipRaid: The final boss of the arcade version is a huge battleship, fought in a way somewhat similar to the Cerberus from ''ThunderForce III''. On a smaller scale, there's the naval battleship Minks and that land carrier in the desert.

* EveryTenThousandPoints: Reaching certain score intervals in the SNES version nets you extra lives!

%%* NintendoHard

'''Area 88''', also known as '''U.N. Squadron.''' in the US, is a arcade ShootEmUp (HorizontalScrollingShooter) was made by {{Capcom}} and later ported to the SNES.