After Burner is a 1987 rail shooter video game created by Studio 128 and released by Sega for arcade machines. Players control an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and must complete 18 levels by defeating enemies. The jet has a machine gun and a limited number of heat-seeking missiles. The game uses a third-person view, like Sega’s earlier games Space Harrier (1985) and Out Run (1986). It runs on the Sega X Board arcade system, which can rotate surfaces and sprites. After Burner is the fourth Sega game to use a hydraulic "taikan" motion simulator cabinet, which is more advanced than earlier versions. The cabinet looks like an airplane cockpit, with a flight stick, a seatbelt, and hydraulic technology that moves, tilts, and rotates the cockpit to match on-screen action.
Designed by Sega veteran Yu Suzuki, After Burner was meant to be Sega’s first major video game success. Development started in December 1986, after Out Run was finished, and the project was kept secret within the company. Suzuki was inspired by the 1986 movies Top Gun and Laputa: Castle in the Sky. He originally planned for the game to look like Laputa but chose a Top Gun style to make it more appealing to players worldwide. The game was developed outside Sega’s main office in a building called "Studio 128" because Sega allowed flexible work hours for game development. A later version, After Burner II, added throttle controls and was released the same year.
After Burner was very successful worldwide. It became Japan’s second-highest-grossing large arcade game in 1987 and the top arcade game of 1988. It also ranked among America’s top five highest-grossing arcade games in 1988. Critics praised its visuals, gameplay, and presentation, calling it important and influential. The game led to many sequels and versions for other platforms, such as the Master System, ZX Spectrum, and Famicom. Sega later made games like G-LOC: Air Battle. After Burner has also appeared in other Sega games, including Fighters Megamix, Shenmue, and Bayonetta.
Gameplay
The game lets the player control an F-14 Tomcat jet airplane. At the beginning, the player takes off from an aircraft carrier named the SEGA Enterprise to complete a mission of destroying enemy jets across 18 stages.
In the arcade version, the jet uses a machine gun and a limited number of heat-seeking missiles (in the Master System version, the player has unlimited missiles). After completing several stages, these weapons are restocked by another aircraft. The player controls the aircraft, cannon, and missile buttons using an integrated flight stick.
The game was released in two versions in the United States: a standard upright cabinet and a closed, rotating-cockpit deluxe version. The rotating-cockpit version had a seat that moved forward and backward, and the cockpit turned left and right. It included two speakers at head level for stereo sound and a seatbelt to keep the player secure during movement. Both versions had a grey monitor frame with flashing lights at the top to show when an enemy locked onto the player’s jet. Japan received a commander cabinet that moved left and right. Another version, called the commander, released in other regions, had an open cabinet design.
Development and release
After Burner was created by Yu Suzuki with help from programmer Satoshi Mifune and composer Hiroshi "Hiro" Kawaguchi. The game's development started in early December 1986, soon after Out Run was finished. Many of the team members who worked on Out Run also helped make After Burner. Sega wanted After Burner to be their first major success, and the project was kept secret during development. When the game was first planned, Sega used a work system that allowed employees to work outside the company. After Burner was one of the first games made under this system, with development taking place in a building called Studio 128.
Yu Suzuki was inspired by the movie Laputa: Castle in the Sky and wanted After Burner to look similar at first. However, this idea was changed early on to match the style of the movie Top Gun, as Suzuki believed this would make the game more appealing to players worldwide. The game was programmed and tested on a PC-98 system, making it the first Sega-published game developed using personal computers instead of special workstations.
The developers introduced new techniques, such as rotating sprites and surfaces and creating smoke trails from missiles. Unlike Out Run, which used real-world locations, Suzuki did not have time to visit specific places, so his team designed their own settings. Suzuki considered making the Soviet Union the enemy to increase sales in the West but decided against it because it did not fit well with the game's design. The refueling and landing parts of the game were added to make the experience more varied.
The After Burner arcade cabinet was more expensive than most of Sega's other machines at the time. The first prototype had a monitor attached to a steel frame. Mifune said it had "amazing power," but it was too dangerous to use and had its power reduced. Suzuki also thought about using a spinning cabinet, an idea that later became the R-360. A throttle control was briefly considered but abandoned because it made the game too hard to play. The game used the Sega X Board, which was also used in Thunder Blade (1987) and Super Monaco GP (1989). After Burner was released in Japan in July 1987 and in North America in October of the same year. In Europe, it was released in September 1987, with the hydraulic sit-in cabinet costing £4,000, or $6,500 (equivalent to $18,000 in 2025), in the United Kingdom.
After Burner II
After Burner II was released in 1987, the same year as its predecessor, After Burner. It was also made for the Sega X Board arcade system. Some people think this game is more like an updated version of its predecessor, rather than a completely new game. Sega later used a similar approach with Galaxy Force and Galaxy Force II. In After Burner II, players control an F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, shooting enemies while avoiding attacks. The game was available in two versions: a standard arcade cabinet and a motion simulator that moved like the plane on the screen. The cockpit in the simulator moved in the same direction as the plane shown on the screen. This version of the game includes new features, such as throttle controls, and changes to the music. For example, the song "After Burner" added rock guitar sounds and raised the pitch of the xylophone and chords by one octave. The game was very successful, becoming Japan's top-selling arcade game in 1988. Three people created the game: Yu Suzuki, Satoshi Mifune, and Kawaguchi. During development, the game was called Studio 128.
Reception
Game Machine listed After Burner as the most popular arcade game in Japan during August 1987. It became the second most profitable large arcade game in Japan in 1987, behind Out Run, and the top-selling arcade game in Japan in 1988. In the United States, After Burner was among the top five most profitable dedicated arcade games in 1988 and remained in the top ten highest-earning arcade games in various locations through 1990. In the United Kingdom, it was the top-selling arcade game when it was released in September 1987.
Critics praised After Burner for its gameplay and design. Clare Edgeley of Computer and Video Games described it as a "fabulous game" and noted that it included a feature similar to the Data East game Lock-On (1986). Top Score praised the game for its exciting action and detailed animation, calling it "one of the most beautiful and realistic shooting games ever produced." The review acknowledged that the gameplay was "somewhat shallow" but still recommended it, especially in the "cockpit simulator" cabinet.
Sinclair User gave After Burner a score of 8 out of 10. Ciarán Brennan of Your Sinclair encouraged players to try the game despite its higher price. Robin Hogg of The Games Machine called it the "hottest Sega release so far," praising its graphics and gameplay but noting that the £1 price in the United Kingdom was high.
At the 1987 Gamest Awards in Japan, After Burner won the Best Graphics award. It also received runner-up status for Game of the Year (2nd place) and was recognized for Best Ending (6th place), Best VGM (4th place), Best Sound Synthesis (8th place), and Most Popular Game (3rd place). After Burner won a Special Award at the 1988 Gamest Awards. In the United States, it received the "Most Innovative Game" award at the Amusement & Music Operators Association's 1988 AMOA Games Awards.
In Japan, After Burner II was tied with After Burner as the top-selling arcade game of 1988.
Mega magazine ranked the Mega Drive version of After Burner at number 38 in their list of Top Mega Drive Games of All Time. MegaTech praised the game for its smooth and fast gameplay and its sound quality.
Ports
The game was made available on the Amiga, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, X68000, FM Towns, Commodore 64, Master System, PC Engine, Sega Saturn, MSX, and ZX Spectrum. The Commodore 64 version has two editions: one released in Europe by U.S. Gold and another in the United States by Activision and Weebee Games. A version for the Famicom was released in Japan by Sunsoft, and a version for the NES was released in North America by Tengen. This NES version was not approved by Nintendo. A version for the 32X was created by Rutubo Games and was called After Burner Complete in Japan and Europe. A version for the Game Boy Advance was included in the collection Sega Arcade Gallery.
After Burner for the Master System was a top-selling game for Sega in the United States in 1988. Computer Gaming World reviewed the Master System version, noting that the planes in the game were shown in "remarkable detail," the scenery was "spectacular," and the explosions looked excellent. The ZX Spectrum version was praised, with Sinclair User calling it a "top-class coin-op conversion destined for the top of the charts" and giving it a score of 90%. Crash magazine gave the ZX Spectrum version 86% overall. However, Zzap!64 reviewers were not impressed with the Commodore 64 version, describing it as "incredibly disappointing" with "laughably bad" graphics and sound. It received an overall rating of 17%. A later Computer Gaming World review of the PC version was very critical, giving the game one star out of five and stating it was not as good as the original arcade version.
GamePro reviewed the 32X version and noted that the graphics, sound, and gameplay were strong. However, the reviewers said the 32X version was very similar to the Genesis version of After Burner II, with only small improvements in visuals and audio. They suggested the version was only worth playing for gamers who had never played an After Burner game before.
After Burner II was translated and released on many home systems, including the PC Engine, X68000, Mega Drive/Genesis, Famicom, FM Towns Marty, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and Sega Saturn.
The game was rebuilt with a stereoscopic 3D feature as part of the 3D Classics collection for the Nintendo 3DS.
Legacy
Although the After Burner brand was not active for a long time, Sega developed several aerial combat games focused on the F-14 Tomcat, which share many similar features and are often considered part of the same series. These games include G-LOC: Air Battle and its sequel Strike Fighter, which was later renamed After Burner III for its home release. Other games linked to the series are Sky Target, which kept gameplay and visuals similar to the original but added 3D graphics, and Sega Strike Fighter, an arcade flight combat game featuring free movement and music similar to the series, but using an F/A-18 Hornet as the main plane.
In 2006, Sega released a new sequel called After Burner Climax on Sega Lindbergh hardware. This was the first arcade game to use the After Burner name since After Burner II. After Burner Climax was later made available on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN. It was followed by a spin-off, After Burner: Black Falcon, released for the PSP in 2007. After Burner Climax was removed from sale in December 2014 but returned in March 2019 as a free download on mobile platforms under the Sega Forever brand.
In Japan, After Burner II was released on the PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Ages classic series. M2 later made After Burner II available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in Japan in 2013 and worldwide in 2015 as part of Sega’s 3D Classics series. This version closely matches the original arcade game, with added features such as Touch Controls and screen layouts that mimic the original arcade cabinets. It also includes an unlockable Special mode with a time-slowing "Burst" system, similar to After Burner Climax, along with a different story and altered stages. This mode requires collecting extra lives throughout the game to complete it, without stage selection or continues.
An emulated version of After Burner is playable in the in-game arcade of Shenmue 2. The plane from After Burner appears in Fighters Megamix, accessible through a cheat code. The music from After Burner is remixed in Chapter 8 of Bayonetta, titled "Route 666," and later reused in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Bayonetta stage, Umbra Clock Tower.
An area inspired by After Burner, called "Carrier Zone," appears as a tennis court in Sega Superstars Tennis and as a race track in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. The latter game also includes a playable racer named AGES, whose vehicle transforms into an F-14 Tomcat during flight segments. A remix of After Burner is included in Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA on both arcade and console versions, featuring Vocaloid vocals.