Sega's After Burner series is one of the most iconic to ever grace an amusement arcade, thanks to its 'Super Scaler' visuals, intense action and amazing deluxe cabinet.
However, the franchise has been in hibernation for almost twenty years; 2006's sublime After Burner Climax is the last game to showcase the famous name.
If you've got an itchy trigger finger and yearn for the return of this amazing series, then you might want to head down to your local arcade soon and keep an eye out for Top Gun: Maverick, the latest venture from Eugene Jarvis' Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix.
"Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, are cleared for takeoff and prepared to buzz the tower with TOP GUN: MAVERICK - a gravity-defying flying experience based on the classic film franchise," says a statement on social media.
Here's some more PR:
As the newest recruit of the prestigious Top Gun program, players must race elite pilots, such as Rooster, Hangman and Phoenix, through the dangerous skies of six heart-pounding levels to be the first to destroy the menacing mission objectives. While navigating through perilous volcanoes, hurricanes and avalanches, players will shoot down waves of formidable enemy aircraft, vehicles and boats to earn valuable Destruction Boosts and increase their score. To become “the best of the best”, strategic power-ups like Afterburner, Heat-Seeking Missiles and Multi-Missiles will help players reach hypersonic speed and eliminate threatening bogies. Featuring iconic real-world fighter jets and nostalgia-inducing licensed music, Top Gun: Maverick allows players to soar across target-rich environments and dominate the competition with the legendary F-14 Tomcat, F-15E Strike Eagle and F/A-18 Super Hornet. Talk to me, Goose!
The Top Gun: Maverick cabinet - linkable up to four units for action-packed multiplayer gameplay with your squadron - immerses players in the heat of high-stakes air combat with a one-of-a-kind rotomold cockpit, a realistic flight stick and throttle control system and a flight-simulating motion platform. The cutting-edge machine also boasts breathtaking dual 65-inch displays, a jet engine infinity mirror, a player-facing camera and dazzling RGB LED accent lighting. Remember, aviators, there are no points for second place!
Top Gun: Maverick is now available to order worldwide with all authorized Raw Thrills distributors. The game will debut at Amusement Expo International in Las Vegas on March 19th and 20th. Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix will begin manufacturing and shipping Top Gun: Maverick in late May. Let’s turn and burn!
The game is based on the 2022 movie of the same name, starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly. It grossed a staggering $1.496 billion at the global box office.
It's not the first Top Gun video game by some margin, though; Ocean Software kicked things off all the way back in 1986, not long after the release of the original movie, and since then, we've seen Top Gun titles on the NES, PC, Game Boy, PS1, GBC, GBA, PS2, Nintendo DS and PS3.
2021's Top Gun: Hard Lock is the most recent entry in the series prior to this new arcade release.