P-47: The Phantom Fighter (Arcade) Co-op Playthrough / Mediocre "shmup" during World War II period.

P-47: The Phantom Fighter (1988) by NMK is a simple horizontal shmup published by Jaleco and set against the backdrop of World War II. We take control of the famous Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and spend the entire game doing exactly what you would expect: shooting down aircraft, bombing ground targets and destroying everything large enough to qualify as a boss. There is nothing especially revolutionary here, but that is not necessarily a problem. P-47 knows what kind of game it wants to be and does the basics well. The controls are responsive, the action moves at a good pace and the screen is constantly filled with enough enemies to keep you occupied without turning the whole thing into unreadable bullet hell. The game is divided into eight stages, effectively arranged as four larger missions split into two parts. The scenery moves through areas inspired by Northern France, North Africa and the Ardennes, with battles taking place over fields, mountains, deserts, clouds and open sea. That variety helps considerably because the basic gameplay itself does not change very much. One thing I particularly like is the choice of bosses. Instead of giant monsters or completely fictional machines, P-47 mostly throws oversized war machinery at us. Huge bombers, tanks, rail guns and battleships serve as the main confrontations, which fits the World War II setting extremely well. Fighting a massive tank from the air or bombing a battleship while avoiding anti-aircraft fire gives the game much more character than another generic spaceship boss would have done. The weapon system is equally straightforward. Our standard guns are always available, while helicopters drop various upgrades such as bombs, missiles and other special weapons. Nothing here requires an instruction manual the size of a phone book. You collect stronger firepower, learn which weapon works best against a particular target and continue moving forward. P-47 can also be played by two players simultaneously, which naturally makes the whole experience more entertaining. Two Thunderbolts filling the screen with bullets and bombs also makes some of the tougher encounters considerably easier to manage. Graphically, I think the game still looks decent. The backgrounds are not spectacular by later arcade standards, but they are varied enough and the larger enemy machines look impressive. The World War II setting also gives the game a slightly different identity from the endless science-fiction shooters that dominated the genre. Overall, however, I would not call P-47 some forgotten masterpiece. It is simply a solid and enjoyable shooter. What works in its favor is the length. The game is short enough that the relatively simple mechanics never have much time to become monotonous. Many shmups make the mistake of stretching the same basic idea for too long, while P-47 ends at roughly the right moment. Well... technically it does not really end. After completing the final stage, the game simply starts again from the beginning with a harder second loop. There is no elaborate finale waiting for you and no real sense of closure. From that point onward, the main objective is basically survival and pushing the score as high as possible, which is pure old-school arcade design. And honestly, that is perfectly fine for what this game is. P-47: The Phantom Fighter is not spectacular, innovative or unforgettable, but it is easy to pick up, enjoyable to play and does not overstay its welcome. The historical machinery gives the bosses some personality, the stage variety keeps things moving and the relatively short first loop prevents boredom from setting in. Nothing extraordinary. Just a good, honest arcade shmup that is absolutely worth playing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- #P47 #PhantomFighter #Arcade #ShootEmUp #SHMUP #Jaleco #CoOpGaming #RetroGaming #RetroMatter #Playthrough #Longplay #NoCommentary In the video I used animations made by "RoyaltyFreeTube", which were modified by me to fit the whole. Links below to original unedited animations: Outrun Grid Animation Loop - Creative Commons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvomD... A music track created by "ULTRAWAVE" is also used, modified to fit the whole thing. Link below to original unedited track. Oceandrive 🌴 Synthwave (No Copyright Music): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7jU0...