MiSTer FPGA – Carrier Air Wing (ユー・エス・ネイビー) / Capcom CPS-1 Arcade

Carrier Air Wing is great. A proper successor to U.N. Squadron/Area88, this game advances things a bit and refines the experience in some key areas. It’s a longer game with a very steady progression and some fun encounters. Missing from this one is the A-10 Warthog (Tank Killer) in the previous game, instead giving you a different « Air to Ground » option that seems to be pretty much the same at the other two ships for the most part. There isn’t a big difference that I can tell between any of the ships really in this one, but I have not read up on it yet to know for sure. I just go with the F-18 here mostly for the colors, where in the first one I would get the A-10 because of the dual shot. Whatever you pick, you’re in for a fun ride with this one.

NOTE: The refill hoses in the aerial refueling sections between stages do not have the right sprite priority, and is a known issue with the core currently. That is the only issue I noted with the current build.

The difficulty level is exceptionally fair, which is something Capcom excelled at around this time in their games. This is what made people want to play more and more- the fun factor and accessibility. They often wavered between different strategies for their default difficulty settings and other details, in their history making legendary arcade games. CPS-1 leading into CPS-2, along with the step-up « Dash » hardware, is where I think they really nailed the sweet spot that would get most casual players to hop in and enjoy their games, without frustration. Many other devs had a really hard time with this, and found more limited appeal with the hardcore audiences. Capcom struck a balance here that was very rare, and downright generous compared to their competitors. My run kinda fell apart in the second half from distractions, but I plan on revisiting this again for a 1cc in the future, after the aforementioned visual bug is fixed.

As if the beautiful artwork and sound design was not enough, they continued to impress with equally-excellent gameplay design decisions as well. That’s what makes them the best there ever was, when it comes to arcades. Their lasting legacy places them in the highest echelon of developers, alongside greats like Nintendo, who themselves saw this utmost focus on quality and often partnered with Capcom to develop things together.
Legendary giants who grew an entire industry by showing what could be done with capable hands and creative minds.

Previous playthrough of U.N. Squadron/Area88: https://youtu.be/sBmu56xHOgc

CPS 1 core by Jotego. Support his patreon for future arcade awesomeness, including CPS-2:
https://www.patreon.com/topapate

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CPS1 core 03-09-2021 build – Carrier Air Wing
A.K.A: ユー・エス・ネイビー , U.S. Navy

Filter: Scanlines(Bright)110_85_soft // Gamma: Poly 2.5

Played using a Hori Real Arcade Pro VX-SA arcade stick w/ Seimitsu LS-62 lever & 1000hz USB polling.

Video: Integer scaled to 1080p // HDMI to Datapath e1s capture card

Volume reduced 34%

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|:=-Timestamps-=:|
00:00​​ – Boot
00:17​​ – Title / Demo / Intro
02:57 – Full Game (F-18 Hornet)

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Live gameplay streams on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/WalrusFPGA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WalrusFPGA

=—————CONTRIBUTE—————=

None of this would be possible without the constant hard work of Sorgelig. It cannot be overstated how much he has done and continues to do for this project, since its beginning. You can support him either at his Patreon in the link below, or on Paypal, depending on your preference. MiSTer is a paradigm shift in how we can experience these classic games. This is a long-term preservation project that will continue to grow so that gamers today and in the future can experience these excellent systems as accurately and lag-free as possible. Donating what you can will help keep the updates coming. Thank you.

Patreon: https://patreon.com/FPGAMiSTer

PayPal: https://paypal.me/FPGAMiSTer

NOTE: I am not affiliated with Sorgelig and am only sharing these links as a fan of the project who wishes to see it continue to grow rapidly.

=—————–INFORM—————–=

Github link for this core: https://github.com/jotego/jtcps1

MiSTer Forum/Wiki/Github (source, guides and info): http://MiSTerFPGA.org

Official MiSTer Discord for live chat/help: https://discord.gg/4xKVg4XVYn
(Be respectful; this server is moderated. New users must !verify via Captcha.)

=——————BUILD——————=

Worldwide list of sellers for MiSTer expansion boards: https://misterfpga.org/viewforum.php?f=34&sid=74e1c5e7dae1b99284789d93194cfa0b

I have personally ordered all my parts from https://www.MiSTerAddons.com and have been 100% satisfied with the quality and service there. (North American seller. If in a different region, check list linked above for best local shipping rates.)

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