The Wannaburn (ワナバーン in Japanese) and the Wolfen (ウルフェン in Japanese) are the main protagonists of the 1994 arcade shoot 'em up Air Assault (also known as Fire Barrel). They are a pair of fighter jets built as part of the "Air Assault Operation" (or "Operation Fire Barrel") in order to quell the Fourth Empire, a secret arms organization that is supplying the Third World with illegal machines in order to defeat the First World and take over Earth.
History[]
At an indeterminant point in time, numerous skirmishes broke out across various points of the globe. Eventually through unknown means, these minor conflicts escalated and soon enough a worldwide war broke out between the First World and the Third World. Initially, many thought that due to the First World's superiority in technological and economic stability, they would prevail in the massive conflict and bring an end to it fairly quickly, but as the war dragged on, neither side budged, leading to an ongoing stalemate between the two belligerents. Soon enough, First World reconnaissance discovered that a third faction was involved in the conflict: a secret arms organization called the Fourth Empire, which has been supplying the Third World with their weaponry and munitions in order to prolong the war long enough so that they could crush the First World. Deeming the Fourth Empire to be a major threat, the First World launches the Wannaburn and the Wolfen into battle as part of the "Air Assault Operation" (or "Operation Fire Barrel" in some versions of the game).
The two aircraft travel across various landscapes, where they battle the combined forces of the Third World and the Fourth Empire. Along the way, they encounter numerous technologically advanced super weapons that are far more advanced than any weapon used by the First World. In each instance, the two aircraft must battle the super weapons and destroy them, before proceeding to the next area under siege by the two hostiles.
After clearing all areas, the Wannaburn and the Wolfen locate the Fourth Empire's main headquarters (which is hidden under a disused air base). Upon infiltration, they are met with heavy resistance by the Fourth Empire's remaining forces, before encountering the most powerful superweapon in its arsenal: a massive movable fortress. Upon its launch, the two aircraft give chase, where they battle the first boss a second time before confronting the massive flying fortress from behind. During the confrontation, the bomber sends out numerous smaller jet aircraft to attack the Wannaburn and the Wolfen, only to be destroyed in the process, gradually damaging the main body of the fortress in the process. Once destroyed, the fortress's fuselage separates from the main body, after which the Wannaburn and the Wolfen must battle it in the form of three separate flying bomber aircrafts, each with their own design and attack pattern. Eventually though, the two aircraft are able to endure to extended battle and shoot down all three sections of the fortress one by one, effectively destroying it in the process.
With the movable fortress destroyed, the "Air Assault Operation" / "Operation Fire Barrel" ends and world order is temporarily restored. But this is not the end of the ongoing conflict, as the Fourth Empire is still an active threat. In order to protect the world should they rise up again, the "Air Assault Operation" / "Operation Fire Barrel" will need to be eventually reactivated in the foreseeable future...
Weapons[]
Both the Wannaburn and the Wolfen are armed with the same weaponry, which consists of both primary and secondary weapons, as well as an exhaustible bomb. In order to obtain each weapon, the two aircraft must shoot down enemy assets: one and the most common is in the form of dual rotor VTOL aircrafts that frequently appear across in-game levels, two is occasionally by destroying enemy warship's conning towers, third by destroying enemy pillboxes, and fourth by destroying enemy aircrafts and have them crash into final boss' body parts - all of which in turn will release power-ups. Both the primary and the secondary weapon power-ups will change at consistent intervals (indicated by the color changing on the Primary weapon power-up, and the letter changing on the secondary weapon power-up respectively). Primary weapons will upgrade whenever a power-up is obtained regardless of whether or not it is the one that is active on the aircraft.
Primary[]
- Balkan Gun - The default weapon of both the Wannaburn and the Wolfen, it fires a broad vulcan gun that can destroy most small enemies with ease. When upgraded, the number of shots fired will increase, whilst widening in a straight line to improve its coverage.
- Wing Gun - fires several wave shots in a cone-shaped spread, giving it greater coverage than the Balkan Gun but less concentrated damage, with the central wave shot is notably bigger than the peripheral ones. When upgraded, the number of wave shots fired increases, eventually covering nearly everything in front of the aircraft.
- Graviton Laser - fires a narrow laser beam forwards. It deals the most damage out of all the primary weapons and can penetrate weaker enemies, but has the narrowest spread. When upgraded, the width and damage of the beam increases.
- Grenade - fires numerous streams of twin grenade shots, which explode upon impact with an enemy and fire in multiple directions. They have the greatest coverage of all the primary weapons, but deal the least amount of damage. When upgraded, the number of grenade shots and streams increases, with one stream firing straightforwards, two streams firing from the sides, and two streams firing diagonally to the left and right behind the aircraft respectively.
Secondary[]
- Megaton Missiles - fires a pair of missiles that fly straighforward, exploding upon impact with any enemy they make contact with.
- Homing Missiles - fires eight homing missiles which track down the nearest enemy(s) with medium speed and high accuracy.
Other[]
- Bomb - deploys a bomb which detonates almost immediately into a large radius, destroying all smaller enemies and projectiles in process whilst also heavily damaging larger enemies and bosses. The bomb has limited uses, so it must be restocked by means of collecting its respective power-up regularly.
Gallery[]
