The Blaster Fighters, also known as Buster 1 and Buster 2, are the main protagonists of the 1990 shoot 'em up Air Buster: Trouble Specialty Raid Unit. They are a pair of specially-designed starfighters that were developed by Charles K. Takeda, which feature a unique weapon called the Buster System. The fighters are sent to fight off the Mega Load Master, who has launched an invasion of Earth and have decimated its military in the process.
History[]
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In the year 2030 A.D., Earth is suddenly attacked by a sinister extraterrestrial force. The culprit is a mechanical alien called the Mega Load Master, who has launched an invasion on Earth to wipe out humanity. All of Earth's military stood no match to these invaders, and were crushed in its wake. One man, Charles K. Takeda had foreseen this invasion, and prepared ahead of time by moving his family and several of his close friends to an island in the Pacific Ocean (Atlantic Ocean in the Japanese Version). Not willing to give up hope, he begins development on a state-of-the-art weapon that can counter the Mega Load Master’s forces called the "Buster System", a powerful weapon that can deconstruct matter by amplifying human mind waves. In addition, two starfighters were constructed to fight off the Mega Load Master and its forces: the Blaster Fighters; at the same time Takeda trained his two children Mike and Holly to pilot the crafts. Once the fighters were completed, Mike and Holly board each respective fighter and launched into battle against the Mega Load Masters.
The Blaster Fighters first traveled to a Seaside City, where they engaged in battle against the enemy above the skyline, but after destroying the bulk of the enemy's forces, the city is suddenly annihilated by an incoming attack, causing mass casualties. The two fighter confront the perpetrator: a giant airship called Evil Face and destroy it. Next the fighters enter a mechanized cave, where after navigating through numerous narrow passageways at high speeds, they confront Shell Flame and proceed to eliminate it.
Next, the fighters must locate the Mega Load Masters' stronghold in space. In order to accomplish this task, the two crafts leave Earth's Atmosphere, all the while battling through more of the Master's forces. Along the way, the two fighters encounter an incoming invasion force led by an mech called Murder Doll and crush them in the process, stalling the invasion for the time being.
Eventually, the fighters make it the enemy's stronghold, where they battle heavy resistance. After battling through the outer layer of the stronghold (as well as zero gravity), the two fighter eventually infiltrate the inner part of the stronghold, where they battle through the last of the Masters' forces in the form of giant mechanical worms whilst navigate through a labyrinth of shifting corridors. Once those obstacles are overcome, the fighters confront the Mega Load Master itself. As expected, the Mega Load Master proves to be a difficult adversary, who constantly launches lasers and energy shots at the fighters, but despite the odds, the fighters ultimately prevail in battle and destroy the Mega Load Master.
With the invasion of Earth averted, the two fighters escape the stronghold and return to Earth, having successfully completed their mission.
Weapons[]
The Blaster Fighters feature a wide assortment of weapons that can be fired simultaneously with its main shot. In order to obtain these secondary weapons, the fighter must shoot down a Gun Diche that periodically appears several times in each level, upon its destruction, the dice will release several power-ups that will scatter across the area before disappearing below the field of vision fast so players not only must move in quickly to obtain the item/weapons they need, players must strategically forethink where to pop up Gun Diche to have items drop down a bit longer moment to obtain necessary weapons on time. Finally, players must memorize the order of which items would disappear first and which items would disappear last. The main shot can be powered up by obtaining "P" power-ups that are dropped from said dishes, while the secondary weapons only have one tier level, but can be switched freely at anytime by picking up the corresponding power-up.
Main Shot - the default weapon of the Blaster Fighters, it is a standard rapid-fire cannon that is capable of destroying small enemies in its initial state. When upgraded, the number of shots increases to a max of five, further upgrades will transform the cannons into green mini wave shots that deal increased damage. Eventually the green wave shots will transform into red wave shots that deal even more damage. As the main shot increases in power, its fire rate however will slowly decrease.
Side Fighter - deploys two options that position themselves above and below the fighters, which will provide support fire. Its power is average and as a barrier it is not as effective as Bumper.
6-Direction Shot - fires six shots in a circle around the fighters. The weapon is versatile, but has a slow fire rate which can be problematic as Air Buster is a very fast-paced and frenetic game densely populated with enemies.
Guided Missiles (Red) - fires red homing missiles, which will travel forward it a straght line when launched and dealing moderate damage to any enemy they hit. Does not cover enemies that zero in a close proximity.
Guided Missiles (Green) - fires green homing missiles that will track down the nearest enemies with high accuracy and destroy them, causing moderate damage. This is the most commonly used weapon in the game.
Rear Shot - fires two diagonal shots from the back of the fighters. Good against enemies sneaking from the rear but does little to provide firepower for the front. Additionally, its firepower is moderate at best.
Revolving Gun Turret - deploys a drone/pod behind the fighters, which will proceed to fire counterclockwise around the ship. Unfortunately, the rotation of the turret cannot be fixated.
Bumper - deploys a pair of shields above and below the fighters, which protects the crafts from both enemy fire and collision. They can also destroy enemies that make contact with them. This item/weapon is especially useful in stage 2, where Blaster Fighters must fly through cavern with supersonic speed.
Buster Flash - the most essential feature to the Blaster Fighters, this weapon activates by holding down the secondary fire button, which gradually fills the Buster Meter, once the meter is full, the fire button can be released, which in turn unleashes a powerful flash that clears the field of vision of all enemy projectiles. The weapon has a cooldown period after every use, so it can't be used again until that time has elapses.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- Unlike most spacecrafts in shoot 'em ups, the Blaster Fighters appear to be affected by Zero Gravity, which causes them to constantly continue to move without stopping, this feature only appears in the fourth and fifth stages respectively.