Review P-47 II MD (Mega Drive) - 35 Years Later, Jaleco's Shmup Finally Takes To The Skies

When City Connection announced last year that it was dusting off the cancelled Jaleco title P-47 II: The Freedom Star for a physical release on Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, it generated an understandable amount of interest. After all, this was a famous canned title in a series of much-respected shmups; the fact that it would finally be playable 35 years after the plug was pulled on its development was cause for celebration.

While many assumed that the game was a straight port of P-47: The Freedom Fighter (also known as P-47 Thunderbolt), P-47 II MD is actually more of a sequel to that game in which you find yourself fighting both German and Japanese forces in World War II. It showcases revised visuals, different gameplay mechanics and an updated (and infectiously peppy) soundtrack, as well as a host of new boss encounters.

Your P-47 aircraft starts off in a somewhat weakened state, and various pick-ups are obtained by shooting down enemy helicopters. These include speed boosts (essential, as your plane is painfully slow to begin with) and a shot power upgrade, while special weapons include bombs, missiles, a twin shot and a shield which can be used to damage foes (these can be upgraded by picking up the same power-up item). You also have access to screen-clearing 'Hyper' bombs, but activating one of these will cost you one of your plane's three 'life' points, so they must be used tactically.

The action takes place across six stages, with each level containing a fearsome boss encounter at its conclusion—one of which is the famous Japanese battleship Yamato. The boss fights are one of the highlights of the game; they're well-designed and quite challenging. In fact, the entire game represents a stern test of your shmup skills, something that the entire P-47 series is famous for. A little of this is down to the fact that losing a life means a complete downgrade of your power and speed levels, which can result in a succession of deaths as you're too underpowered—a common issue with many shooters from this era, it has to be said.

While it's technically a 'new' Genesis / Mega Drive release, it's wise to temper your expectations before booting this up. P-47 II: The Freedom Star's development ended in 1990; this is a game that effectively pre-dates the likes of Thunder Force IV, Gleylancer, Eliminate Down, Steel Empire and Zero Wing—and to be honest, it shows. While the bosses look reasonably impressive and there's a good amount of parallax scrolling on almost all of the stages, the enemy sprites are somewhat basic and there's a distinct lack of variety. The two-player mode present in the original arcade version is also absent, which is a shame.

When compared to the best shmups Sega's 16-bit console has to offer, P-47 II MD can't really be described as a top-tier addition to the library; the Genesis / Mega Drive is absolutely drowning in this type of game, so titles really have to offer something remarkable in order to stand out. Even so, there's a fascinating history behind this, and there are certainly worse shooters on the system—just don't expect anything truly groundbreaking, and you won't be too disappointed.