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PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 8 of 8

Welcome to the final stage of Captain Skyhawk. If you can rescue the second scientist and destroy the alien mothership, you'll beat the game!

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In the eighth and final mission, you'll be rescuing the second scientist, and the look of this stage is ver much like that of the fourth mission...until.

Until you see the mines. The mines can be pretty bad, as they send shrapnel out in six directions when they explode.

The base at the end is just like the one in the fourth mission: shoot down the energy pyramids while staying on the move, then destroy the barrier around the scientist to get the scientist aboard.

Instead of a space station docking for the third section, you'll finally face the alien mothership. Shoot down all of the squares while avoiding the mothership's firepower, and remember to tap the direction you want to go instead of holding it, or else you'll go out of control. The controls for the plane here are the same as during the space station docking, as you will soon see.

When you shoot down all of the squares, the eye at the center will open. Avoid the missiles that it shoots as you center yourself in the middle of the screen and move back and forth while shooting at the eye. Eventually, the eye will be destroyed along with the mothership. You did it!

PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 7 of 8

Not much to mention here...

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In the seventh mission, you will destroy the fourth and last enemy base. The same strategies from fighting the first three bases will also work here. Just like the third mission, be ready to hold Select and press Down to slow down at the beginning of the stage.

PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 6 of 8

It's time to drop supplies again. Hope you remembered how to do it! After that, it's the usual Top Gun/After Burner section followed by the landing section. At this point, you should definitely be used to the rhythm of the game.

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In the sixth mission, you'll be dropping supplies just like in the second mission. Just like last time, go all the way down and drop supplies in the cross with the B button when you are lined up vertically two squares away from the drop zone.

You may have noticed at this point in the game that the sky gets darker and darker in the "Top Gun" sections as you go through the game and get closer to the end.

PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 5 of 8

Now that we've rescued one of the scientists, the last four missions will be the same as the first four. However, there will be some new things to overcome.

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Mission 5

Here, you'll be destroying the third of four enemy bases. Some of the helicopter-like enemy units will stay in place, while others will not. Don't forget that staying in the center right before you meet the boss makes getting rid of one of the four orbs easier.

You can hold Select and press Left or Right to do a barrel roll in the "Top Gun" segments, but I never use it, personally. 

Classic Game Room reviews Captain Skyhawk

And now, a review of Captain Skyhawk!

PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 4 of 8

With one scientist rescued, we are now halfway through the game.

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In the fourth mission, you'll be rescuing the first of two scientists.

Despite the ground being nothing but water this time around, the layout of the level is the same as every other level. You just have boats and ships and planes now. Not surprisingly, I shoot down a lot of enemies here.

For the boss, just move back and forth while shooting like you did with the enemy bases. If you stay in one spot while approaching the boss, you can easily take out an energy pyramid. Once all the energy pyramids are taken out, shoot down the pyramid to save the scientist and get half of the secret weapon installed.

In the "Top Gun" section, the enemies that come at you from behind from below will start shooting missiles at you. Prepare to be more evasive when necessary.

PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 3 of 8

In this entry, the enemies in the "Top Gun" sections start fighting back. Also, you have to slow down your fighter jet at the beginning of the mission!

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In the third mission, you'll be shooting down the second enemy base. Before you do that, keep one hand on Select and another hand on Down on the Control Pad. Hold Select and press Down when the mission begins so you can slow down and fight the enemies more effectively. You'll see fighter jets that weave back and forth; watch out for their silver diamonds and don't get so greedy for points trying to destroy them that you either get shot down or run smack into a wall.

For the base, just use the same strategy that you used for the first enemy base fight. You'll have a slightly easier time due to having a better cannon.

In the enemy fighter section, the enemies that fly at you from the background will now fire missiles at you in addition to the ones that come at you from below and behind.

PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 2 of 8

In this episode, we drop supplies - which can be tricky your first time through - and shoot down more planes. Enjoy this mission while you can; it's gonna get harder.

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In the second mission, you'll be dropping supplies in the crosses. For best results, memorize where the crosses are, and when you see the sphinxes, descend all the way down and drop the supplies with the B button when you are two squares away from the cross. If you see colors flash, you've done it right. When you drop supplies in both crosses, you're done with the stage.

If you miss at any time, you'll have to loop through the stage. Be careful not to miss too many times, or else you'll run out of fuel and lose a life. If you know what you're doing, however, you can intentionally loop

In the second part of the mission, enemies that fly towards you will fire missiles at you. Only one enemy missile can be on-screen at any time, and you'll want to take great pains to avoid getting hit by it or else you're losing a life.

PrinceWatercress plays Captain Skyhawk - Part 1 of 8

Believe it or not, there is a plot. You are Captain Skyhawk, a fighter pilot working to fend off an alien invasion. The aliens have built four land bases to siphon Earth's energy into their mothership in order to power it. Meanwhile, two scientists creating a secret weapon have been captured and must be rescued. You must destroy the four main bases, rescue the scientists, get the secret weapon onto your fighter jet and defeat the alien menace by destroying the alien menace.

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It should be mentioned that the game got a PAL release in 1991, not 1994 like I originally thought.

Mission 1

In the first mission, you'll be destroying the first of four enemy bases.

Each mission is split up into three parts. The first is the isometric part.

Up and Down let you descend and ascend respectively, while Left and Right let you move left and right. A lets you fire your guns, while B lets you deploy your bombs depending on how you press the button. Lightly tap B to fire the air-to-ground Maverick missiles. Press B once to lock on and then again to fire to launch an air-to-air Phoenix Missile at an enemy. Press and hold B, then release the button to take out ground targets 

The way I play this game, bombs will not be used, I always hold the A button so I can shoot down anything when necessary, and I always fly at the highest possible altitude to decrease my chances of getting hit, especially by the spinning silver diamonds that act as the enemies' projectiles. Watch out for them; it can be hard to tell that you've taken damage until it is too late. Thankfully, walls are easier to dodge, and the layout of all the isometric stages are exactly the same; it is just the missions and the enemies that are different. 

At the bottom of the screen is your current altitude, the power meter is your current speed in certain missions, and to the right of that is your current air speed and the amount of lives you have left. To the right of all that is your current score, your current number of Phoenix Missiles, the number of credits you have to buy things between missions, your current number of Maverick Missiles and your current number of Hawk Bombs. At the far right is the current amount of fuel you have left, and if you run out of fuel, you'll lose a life. Thankfully, if you die for any reason, you don't get sent back very far, and you have three continues in case you lose all your lives.

At the end of the path, you'll reach the base. Move back and forth while pressing the A button to fire your guns, and always stay in that motion as you fire so you can take out the spheres protecting the bases without getting hit. Afterwards, the main boss will shoot at you. Keep moving back and forth while shooting the gun at it and you will eventually take it down.

You'll get extra bonus points for everything you shoot down before going on to the next section. If you manage to shoot down 64 or more enemies, you'll get an extra life before moving on.

The second section always has you destroying enemy fighter planes. Move around with the D-Pad much like you did in the first section, and fire with your guns and missiles. Shoot down all the planes that you can to get as many credits as possible for the store that you'll enter between missions. Different colored planes have different behaviors: white are the slowest, while red is the fastest. Be careful in later missions; the planes will eventually shoot back.

The third section will always have you docking with the space station. Carefully tap Up and Down on the D-Pad, as your movements will be a bit floaty, and press B when you're in place. Never move left or right in these sections; while the game allows you to, you'll doom yourself to failure as you are always lined up horizontally with the entrance to the space station at the start, so you just need to move up and down. If you hit anything other than the entrance, you'll crash and burn and you'll lose a life, and you'll have to try again.

Once you get in the space station, you can buy bombs and also improve the guns on your cannon. By improving your guns, the guns will fire faster when you hold down the A button than at Level 1. When you reach Levels 4 and 5, the guns will fire very fast, and you'll be able to take down even more enemies than usual without having to mash the button.