Steel Talons

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • Arcade (JP)
  • Mega Drive

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SteelTalons Title.png

Steel Talons
System(s): Arcade, Sega Mega Drive
Publisher:
Arcade
Sega[1] (JP)
Sega Mega Drive
Tengen
Developer:
Distributor:
Sega Mega Drive
Domark (EU)
Licensor: Atari Games
Sound driver:
Sega Mega Drive
Lisa's Sound Driver[2]
Genre: Simulation[3], Shooting[4]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Arcade
JP
¥? ?





































Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥6,800 (7,004)6,800e[6] T-48103
Sega Mega Drive
US
301043-0150
Sega Mega Drive
EU
T-88046-50
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£39.9939.99[8] T-88046-50
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
KR
GM4101JT
Non-Sega versions

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Steel Talons (スティールタロンズ) is a helicopter combat game originally released in arcades by Atari Games. It was later brought to the Sega Mega Drive.

Sega also distributed the arcade version in Japan.

Gameplay

Steel Talons is an early 3D shoot-'em-up, in which players pilot a helicopter tasked with destroying a certain number of enemies on the map (combat missions) or enemy helicopters (head to head). As an arcade game (as opposed to contemporaries such as LHX Attack Chopper) the controls are greatly simplifed, and while a "real heli flight" option exists to bring more lifelike helicopter physics into play, by default the player can pick a height and expect to always remain at a fixed position above the ground.

A fires missiles, B fires the cannon, and C adjusts the height in Z. All of the weapons in the game automatically lock on to enemies if in short range.

Versions

Steel Talons was designed for much more powerful hardware than any home system available in 1991/1992, and so compromises were made for every platform the game was ported to; the Mega Drive, Super NES and Atari Lynx (with an Atari Falcon030 version appearing later in 1995). No home versions match the arcade game's performance, screen resolution or polygon count.

While the Mega Drive renders a true 3D world (versus the occaisonal simple polygon on a 2D gradient seen on the SNES), its version of Steel Talons was critically panned at release for its very low frame rates, often to the point of being unplayable. Conversely the Lynx version, designed for a much weaker handheld system, is a more accurate port with a smoother frame rate, and the Super NES, while looking very different to the arcade, also avoids many of the huge performance dips.

In complicated scenes, it is not uncommon to see the Mega Drive version drop below 5FPS.

Production credits

Arcade version

  • Ed Logg, Gonzo, Gunner Glenn, Sam, Chuck
Source:
In-game high score table

Mega Drive version

  • Produced by: Tengen
  • Programmed by: Polygames
  • Art by: Linnea Wigren
  • Sound by: Earl Vickers
  • Special Thanks to: Ed Logg, Ed Rotberg, Doug Coward
Source:
In-game credits
Steel Talons MD credits.png
[9]


Magazine articles

Main article: Steel Talons/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

SteelTalons MD US PrintAdvert.jpg
US print advert
SteelTalons MD US PrintAdvert.jpg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #10: "November/December 1992" (1992-xx-xx)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Mega Force (FR) #18: "Juin 1993" (1993-0x-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-07: "July 1993" (1993-06-08)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1993-09: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
55 №6, p26/27
Sega Mega Drive
55
Based on
1 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[14]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
48
[15]
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
78
[16]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
29
[17]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
45
[18]
GameFan (US)
86
[19]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
51
[20]
GamesMaster (UK)
57
[21]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
60
[22]
Joypad (FR) PAL
43
[23]
Mega (UK) NTSC-U
55
[24]
Mega Action (UK) NTSC-U
45
[25]
Mega Force (FR)
45
[26]
Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U
67
[27]
MegaTech (UK) NTSC
68
[28]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC
29
[29]
Play Time (DE)
45
[30]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC-U
27
[31]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
69
[32]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U
62
[33]
Sega Zone (UK) NTSC
74
[34]
Sega Force (UK) PAL
62
[35]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
56
[36]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
80
[37]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
54
[38]
Video Games (DE) PAL
25
[39]
Sega Mega Drive
54
Based on
26 reviews

Steel Talons

Mega Drive, JP
SteelTalons MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
SteelTalons MD JP CartTop.jpg
SteelTalons MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Steel Talons MD JP Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
SteelTalons MD US Box.jpg
Cover
SteelTalons MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Steel Talons MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US (cardboard)
SteelTalons MD US cb front.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, EU
SteelTalons MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
SteelTalons MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Steel Talons MD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega Drive, FR

Steel Talons MD FR Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, KR
SteelTalons MD KR Box.jpg
Cover
SteelTalons MD KR Cart Back.jpgSteelTalons MD KR Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Steel Talons/Technical information.

References

  1. Mega Drive Fan, "August 1992" (JP; 1992-07-xx), page 88
  2. http://vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=LSD_(GEN_Driver)
  3. File:SteelTalons MD KR Box.jpg
  4. 4.0 4.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  5. Sega Arcade History, Enterbrain, page 107
  6. Beep! MegaDrive, "July 1993" (JP; 1993-06-08), page 147
  7. Sega Pro, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-13), page 20
  8. Sega Force, "February 1993" (UK; 1993-01-14), page 83
  9. File:Steel Talons MD credits.png
  10. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 99
  11. Game Informer, "January/February 1993" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 68
  12. Electronic Games (1992-1995), "February 1993" (US; 1993-01-12), page 34
  13. Sega Visions, "February/March 1993" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 65
  14. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 289
  15. Beep! MegaDrive, "July 1993" (JP; 1993-06-08), page 22
  16. Electronic Games (1992-1995), "January 1993" (US; 1992-12-10), page 68
  17. Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 96
  18. Famitsu, "1993-07-02" (JP; 1993-06-18), page 39
  19. GameFan, "Volume 1, Issue 2: December 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 9
  20. GamesMaster, "February 1993" (UK; 1993-01-21), page 50
  21. GamesMaster (UK) "Series 2, episode 13" (1992-12-24, 24:00) (+6:05)
  22. Hippon Super, "July 1993" (JP; 1993-06-04), page 44
  23. Joypad, "Avril 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 67
  24. Mega, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-17), page 52
  25. Mega Action, "September 1993" (UK; 1993-08-12), page 12
  26. Mega Force, "Avril 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 104
  27. Mega Fun, "11/92" (DE; 1992-10-xx), page 35
  28. MegaTech, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-20), page 66
  29. Mean Machines Sega, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-28), page 74
  30. Play Time, "2/93" (DE; 1993-01-07), page 109
  31. Sega Power, "February 1993" (UK; 1993-01-07), page 54
  32. Sega Pro, "February 1993" (UK; 1993-01-14), page 36
  33. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 67
  34. Sega Zone, "February 1993" (UK; 1993-01-20), page 40
  35. Sega Force, "February 1993" (UK; 1993-01-14), page 82
  36. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  37. Sonic the Comic, "12th June 1993" (UK; 1993-06-12), page 12
  38. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 179
  39. Video Games, "10/93" (DE; 1993-09-29), page 104


Steel Talons

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Sega Mega Drive
Prototypes: Prototype