''Mr. Heli'', fully titled in Japan as is a multidirectional

scrolling shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character m ...

developed and published in arcades in 1987 by

Irem is a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher and manufacturer of pachinkos. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Software Enginee ...

. It was released in North America as ''Battle Chopper''.

Gameplay

Players control a wacky fighter chopper named ''Mr. Heli'', while shooting enemies, collecting

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...

s, and defeating bosses to advance levels.

Ports

''Mr. Heli'' was ported to the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

, and

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

, as well as to the

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation, it launched ...

in Japan by Irem. This version was re-released for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

on March 18, 2008, only in Japan. It came back for the

Wii U Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past ...

on April 15, 2015 in Japan, and was then released for the first time in the United States and Europe on February 1, 2018.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Mr. Heli'' on their January 15, 1988 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. Ciarán Brennan of ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'' magazine reviewed the arcade game, calling it "a lovely little game" that is "very imaginative and beautifully" paced. ''

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

'' magazine reviewed the PC Engine version in 1989, rating it 890 out of 1000 and listing it as one of the top five best games available for the console.

Legacy

''Mr. Heli'' later appeared in the Japan-only

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

title ''

Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter is a 1993 strategy video game developed and published by Irem exclusively in Japan for the Nintendo Game Boy on July 30, 1993. It features characters from four of Irem's franchises: ''R-Type'', ''Mr. Heli'', ''Ninja Spirit ''Ninja Spirit'' ...

'', along with other characters from the game, as well as characters from three other Irem franchises: ''

R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful a ...

'', ''

Ninja Spirit ''Ninja Spirit'', known in Japan as , is a 1988 side-scrolling hack and slash game developed and released in arcades by Irem. Although praised by gamers for detailed graphics, serious themes, solid controls and gameplay, the game also was critic ...

'' and '' Hammerin' Harry''. ''Mr. Heli'' was mentioned in one of the

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s seen in the final stage of Irem's ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

'' and also appeared in ''

R-Type Final is a horizontal shooter video game by Irem for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was planned to be the last mainline game in the ''R-Type'' series. However, ''R-Type Tactics'' was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2007, and the di ...

'' as a playable ship. Battle Chopper is also available on the

Evercade The Evercade is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by British company Blaze Entertainment. It focuses on retrogaming with ROM cartridges that each contain a number of emulated games. The Evercade was released on 22 May 2020, and ...

retro games console as part of the Irem Arcade collection cartridge. ''Mr. Heli'' has also been noted for inspiring '' Barunba''.

References

External links

; Arcade version * * * *
Mr. Heli no Daibouken
' at Arcade History *
Battle Chopper
' at Arcade History ; Home versions * * *

at CPC Game Reviews 1987 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Helicopter video games Irem games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games Scrolling shooters TurboGrafx-16 games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games for Wii U Virtual Console games ZX Spectrum games {{scroll-shooter-videogame-stub