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Area 88: Difference between revisions
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The story starts with the arrival of a Japanese photojournalist (Goh "Rocky" Mutsugi in the manga and OVA; Makoto Shinjo in the TV series) at the isolated base. He has been pursuing rumours of a Japanese mercenary pilot and finds him along with some great photographs. Shin's story is told as he remembers how he came to be trapped in this hell on earth.
Shin and his childhood best friend, Satoru Kanzaki, were trainee pilots for [[Bland
# Serve and survive the three years of his contract.
# Buy out the contract by earning $1.5 million from the bounties on the targets he destroys -- while having to pay for his fuel, ammunition, and the repairs to his fighter. And new fighters, more than once.
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A three-episode OVA was produced in 1985; the first two episodes were also released as a compilation movie in Japan. Central Park Media released the [[OVA|OVAs]] on VHS, but only released the first episode on DVD before their license expired. [[ADV Films]] finally released both the compilation movie and the final OVA on DVD in 2006. There was also a 12-episode TV series released in 2004. ADV also released this version.
A arcade [[Shoot
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* [[Adaptation Dye Job]]: Shin is a blonde in the manga, TV series, and video game, but brunette in the OVA. Ryoko's hair also turns from lavender to more pink.
* [[Airstrike Impossible]]: That base with the Fang and the canyon mission, among others. The mercenaries are often assigned such missions to keep regular air force casualties down.
* [[All That Glitters]]: One manga chapter (and an episode of the TV series) has the pilots excited over radio transmissions that mention an enemy convoy carrying gold. {{spoiler|It turns out to be a General Gold, the enemy's top tactician. [[What an Idiot!|Also, Greg burned half of the man's papers and blew his nose with the other half]].}} Saki is not amused.
* [[Alternate Character Reading]]: Shin and Makoto have names written with the same character in the TV series. Both men comment on it in the first episode.
* [[Alternate Continuity]]: The manga, OVA, and TV series all have different endings and plotlines. The video games have no continuity.
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* [[Birth Death Juxtaposition]]: In the final issue of the manga, {{spoiler|Kanzaki dies in an aerial duel with Shin as Julianna gives birth to Kanzaki's son.}}
* [[Bishonen]]: Saki and Shin to varying degrees across the adaptations, as well as Kim in the manga and TV series. And Saki's brother Risaal in the manga.
* [[Bland
* [[Blood From the Mouth]]: Used in the manga and OVA to denote serious injury among the pilots.
* [[Bolivian Army Ending]]: The OVA; {{spoiler|the Area 88 pilots refuse the chance to flee the conquering rebel forces in favor of one last battle.}}
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* [[Flash Back]]
* [[Germanic Depressive]]: Hoover Kippenburg in the manga, who blamed himself for the accidental deaths of several pilots during a training exercise back in Europe. Played with in that he can have a pleasant demeanor.
* [[Good Scars, Evil Scars]]: Saki has a large X-shaped scar on his forehead. He carved it himself as penance for certain actions early in the war. On the evil side, Nguyen has a face full of scars.
* [[Guy in Back]]: Mickey flies his F-14 solo because he never uses the long-range weapons and therefore doesn't need an RIO. Something similar might be in effect for the F-4s that fly out of Area 88.
** Mickey actually ''does'' carry and fire Sparrows in the 2003 series, so apparently his F-14A has been modified to allow it.
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* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Mickey and Shin develop this kind of dynamic. Most visible in the manga, when (after a Shin has a momentary [[Heroic BSOD]] during an encounter with an airliner carrying both Ryoko and Kanzaki) Mickey gives Saki (who is considering executing Shin) a very thinly veiled threat about the consequences of doing so -- i.e., friendly fire.
** Ryoko and Taeko as well.
* [[Highly
* [[High Speed Missile Dodge]]: Doesn't always work and the G forces involved wind up killing Mario.
* [[Honest
* [[Human Popsicle]]: {{spoiler|In manga issues that did not make it stateside, Soria (Saki's mother) was placed in a cryogenic chamber until a treatment for her blood cancer became available. The public was told that she died in childbirth.}}
* [[I Don't Know Mortal Kombat]]: From the flashback scenes with Ryoko. Shin screams like a little girl on roller coasters (Ryoko even calls him on it).
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** In the manga, Mario was an arrogant aerobatic pilot who constantly bragged about his skill. He died while performing an outer loop for which his aerobatic training failed to prepare him.
** In the last issue of the manga, {{spoiler|Shin kills Kanzaki in an aerial duel in his capacity as a mercenary pilot. This was fitting, since Kanzaki tricked Shin into signing a mercenary contract in the first place.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Kill
* [[Legion of Lost Souls]]: If the series was not inspired by the French Foreign Legion, [[Tropers/Winter|This Troper]] will eat his comics. And some of these souls are seriously lost. Naturally, Shin was in Paris when he was tricked into signing his contract.
* [[Liberty Over Prosperity]]: In the OVA, Saki tells Shin that his grandfather was a progressive, but objected to using foreign capital to develop Asran.
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* [[Noble Fugitive]]: {{spoiler|King Zak at the end of the OVA.}}
* [[Noodle People]]: Most noticeable in the manga, though some of it also carries over to the OVA. Shintani did start as an assistant to [[Leiji Matsumoto]], after all.
* [[Nuke
* [[Occupiers Out of Our Country]]: {{spoiler|In later manga issues that did not make it stateside, pro-monarchy and anti-government forces both drive Project 4 out of Asran.}}
* [[Obligatory War Crime Scene]]: In the manga and OVA, Nguyen kills an enemy pilot who has ejected from his jet. In the manga, Rocky witnesses anti-government forces slaughter an entire Bedoin camp. When Shin and Mickey fly over the desert carnage afterwards, they're both horrified.
* [[The Ojou]]: Ryoko, of course.
* [[Parental Abandonment]]: Shin and Kanzaki are both orphans and Ryoko's mother passed away some time ago. So did Saki's mother.
* [[Peek
* [[Private Military Contractors]]: The Wolf Pack. Everyone at Area 88 to some degree in the 2004 series. Also Mickey's ex-student.
* [[Product Placement]]: In the manga and OVA, Rocky uses a Nikon camera, whose name is prominently shown a few times. Also, in the OVA, the base cafeteria has a Coke machine complete with red and white logo...which sells 7-UP for some reason<ref> 7-UP is a owned by the company that makes Dr. Pepper</ref>.
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*** In fact the French Navy operated F-8 Crusaders up until 1999, when they replaced them with Rafales. The planes were extensively upgraded and modified (F-8Ps, with p as in "Prolong?-prolonged-; featuring RWR, ILS, new avionics etc...). They used it in actual combat operations (Beirut, Persian Gulf, Kosovo...).
** A few Draken can also be seen in the TV series, flown by nameless [[Red Shirts]]. Somehow, Kim's able to fly and maintain a ''Harrier''.
* [[Reality Is Unrealistic]]: The F-8 Crusader can and has flown with its wings folded. In fact, it can take off, fly, and land with the wings folded. The first time this happened, it was because the pilot [[What an Idiot!|forgot to unfold the wings.]]
* [[Red Shirt]]: Pilots flying A-4 Skyhawks doesn't always return from missions.
* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]: Saki {{spoiler|and his relatives on the other side}}. Subverted for the 2004 series.
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* [[Horizontal Scrolling Shooter]]
* [[Hyperspace Arsenal]]: Your weapon armaments in the arcade version get pretty hilarious, especially if you're used to the SNES port. One stage lets you buy a pack of 140 missiles, and the final stage allows you to buy a pack of 200 Super Shells.
* [[Infinity
* [[Life Meter]]: The arcade version has a more traditional life meter. In the SNES version, taking damage will lower your life, but not before shortly putting you into "DANGER" mode in which taking a hit will destroy you instantly. If your life drops too low, you will permanently remain in DANGER mode until you die, clear the stage, or restore your life.
* [[Market
* [[Nintendo Hard]]
* [[No Problem With Licensed Games]]
* [[Precision F
* [[Rewarding Vandalism|Rewarding]] <s>Vandalism</s> Deforestation: In the arcade version, destroying all of the destructible trees in the forest stage yields a shield powerup.
* [[Smart Bomb]]: The Mega Crush in the SNES port. Most ships can only carry one of it, except for the F200, which can carry ''two.''
* [[Spell My Name With an "S"]]: The SNES version of the video game gives Mickey's surname as Scymon.
* [[Subsystem Damage]]: A number of bosses have weapons that can be disabled by shooting them.
* [[Vulnerable Convoy]]: A source of easy money in the SNES version.
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