History VideoGame / WingCommander

* ''Wing Commander Secret Ops'' was originally [[UsefulNotes/DigitalDistribution released online]] as a free EpisodicGame, and may be the UrExample of that trope. It moves six ''Midway'' pilots to a new ship for another campaign against the "Nephilim" invaders as they strike at the heart of the [[TheFederation Confederation]]. ''Secret Ops'', running on a modified version of ''Prophecy''[='s=] VISION UsefulNotes/GameEngine, is something of a favorite in the GameMod community for its relative ease of modification.

* ''[[VideoGame/WingCommanderTheKilrathiSaga Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger]]'', in which the series moves to rendered 3D graphics and {{Live Action Cutscene}}s, involving several big-name stars; it was marketed as "The First Interactive Movie." Blair helps take the war to the Kilrathi one more time, but not without cost.

* ''Wing Commander Arena'' follows, with a TimeSkip, after ''Secret Ops'', but [[ExcusePlot doesn't really have a storyline as such]] other than some descriptions of the GreatOffscreenWar with the Nephilim [[AllThereInTheManual in the manual]], as its primary focus is multiplayer combat. It is an UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade exclusive game.

** In the first game, it's also entirely possible to come back from a mission (and it's inevitably the really hard ones where this will happen) only to have your wingman crash into the Tiger's Claw and die because they take formation flying a little too seriously. Very annoying if you're trying to keep everyone alive. You could usually avoid it if you told your wingman to return to base. It was really bad when your ''wingman'' sank the Claw more than the ''Kilrathi'' did- something the {{UsefulNotes/SNES}} version of the first game was particularly prone to.

* NonLinearSequel: ''Wing Commander II'' was set ten years after the end of the second [[ExpansionPack addon]], the UsefulNotes/XboxLive game ''Arena'' was set 20 years after the events of ''Prophecy'', and ''Privateer 2: The Darkening'' was... well, its own little world, for the most part, with subtle hints of a connection to the "main" games dropped throughout the game.

* PaletteSwap: Due to cartridge space limitations, the {{UsefulNotes/SNES}} ports of ''Wing Commander'' and ''Wing Commander: The Secret Missions'' use the Salthi model in a different color for the Jalthi heavy fighter, though it did have the correct (and painful, for their target) gun loadout and performance.

* {{Feelies}}: Origin in general was good about this: the first game came with a "ship-board magazine" written by crew members of the ''Tiger's Claw'' (i.e. Roberts, Creator/WarrenSpector and Creator/AaronAllston) and contained tidbits which were used to answer CopyProtection questions. When they created collection releases (''Kilrathi Saga'', for the first three "main" games", and ''Prophecy Gold'' for ''Prophecy'' and ''Secret Ops'') they didn't just slap together the original manuals, but created new ones that included extra information that the originals didn't have, as well as the information from the individual releases.
** The first game's feelies were legendary; the instruction manual was ''completely separate'' from the "shipboard magazine," the box also came with complete blueprints of each of the fighters in the game (including some somewhat pungent jokes like rating missile explosive power in [[EarthShatteringKaboom ESKs]]). Spinoff strategy game ''Wing Commander Armada'' one-upped the original by including an in-universe book written in parallel, telling the story of the war from both the Terran and the [[NobleDemon Kilrathi]] viewpoint.

* BlatantLies: [[spoiler:Hawk tries to manipulate your into attacking]] the Kilrathi after you save them from a Nephilim attack by telling a story about how him and Blair discovered your player-character's father, Michael "Iceman" Casey from Wing Commander 1 in an escape pod [[NightmareFuel sliced apart]]. [[spoiler:If the person played the prior Wing Commander games, he would know that Hawk wasn't aboard the Tiger's Claw with Maverick and Iceman, and Hawk was only introduced in Wing Commander 4 as a notable fighter pilot who flew in a different sector who Blair only knew by reputation.]]

* AllThereInTheManual: The in-universe briefing materials bundled with game include a decent a lot of cultural background on the Knathrak prophesy, and an explanation of why they decided to refer to the race as Nephilim in-universe. Amusingly enough the player character clearly never read it, leading to people treating him like an idiot before giving a brief summary.

''TCS Victory hits a Kilrathi supercarrier a dozen times its size and both vanish in an immense fireball.''

-->'''Halcyon:''' I thought so. Now, let's look at your patrol plan, Maverick. It's a simple three-point route, with a few asteroids near Nav 2. Keep alert. We really don't know what to expect out there, but we know we're in hairball territory. Just fly your route and get back with a report - and if Maniac gives you any static, you have my permission to shoot him to pieces.\\

* NotWhatISignedOnFor: Dallas in ''Prophecy'' signed up for a tour in the military, but it had been over a decade since the last war with no new enemies in sight, and he was only there because having military service his resume would help his future career prospects.

--> ''See you in hell! AAAAAAAA--''

** The first game's feelies were legendary; the instruction manual was ''completely separate'' from the "shipboard magazine," the box also came with complete blueprints of each of the fighters in the game (including some somewhat pungent jokes like rating missile explosive power in [[EarthShatteringKaboom ESKs]]). Spinoff strategy game ''WingCommanderArmada'' one-upped the original by including an in-universe book written in parallel, telling the story of the war from both the Terran and the [[NobleDemon Kilrathi]] viewpoint.

* InHarmsWay: Despite claiming to be happy [[CallToAgriculture retiring to a quiet farm]], Blair seems quite pleased to be recalled to active duty in ''Wing Commander IV''. In fact, the player has the chance to [[GoodSamaritanSyndrome come to someone's aid]] when a [[ChekhovsGunman nasty fellow with a knife]] is threatening him in the same scene.

* LiveActionCutscene: ''Wing Commander'' is noted for being one the few early examples of live-action cutscenes that actually did them well, using quality movie actors and solid writing, with ''VideoGame/WingCommanderIV'' being a particular standout (unlike ''[[VideoGame/WingCommanderIII III]]'', it was shot on film with actual sets, and had a stronger script than ''[[VideoGame/WingCommanderProphecy Prophecy]]'').

[[folder: Wing Commander: Prophecy and Secret Ops]]

[[folder:Wing Commander Arena]]