Sonic Wings Special (ソニックウイングススペシャル) is a vertically scrolling shooter released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in Japan. It is the first game installment of the Sonic Wings series to be developed directly for home consoles without an arcade port.
Overview[]
Sonic Wings Special features the largest number of playable characters in the Sonic Wings series, with all other pilots from previous games making cameos as NPCs. Special also allows players to choose their route by choosing from among available stages, although it randomly selects which locations are used for the second, third, and fourth stages of the game. The system of power ups and extra points remains the same as in the previous games.
Special reuses many levels, enemies, and endings found in earlier games. However, parts of some levels have been altered from their original versions, and the new final boss Barubi is added. These changes, along with the new pilot Volk, updated graphics, and new music, make Special worth playing even for veteran Sonic Wings players.
Story[]
translated from the Japanese game manual
In the near future, a secret organization is plotting against an otherwise peaceful world. Much of this organization's plans are still unclear. Several countries have launched investigations, but all they have discovered is that its purpose is to destroy the world order, that it possesses unknown chemical weapons, and that it calls itself Fata Morgana.
To fight against Fata Morgana, a super-national organization called Project Blue has been established. It is a group of combat experts from all over the world, and is officially part of the U.N. Security Force's commando units.
Project Blue operated behind the scenes at first, but the worldwide coup d'etat by Fata Morgana, in which the nerve centers of multiple countries' militaries were seized, forced Project Blue to step up its operations.
Nevertheless, the world fell into chaos, and Fata Morgana quickly expanded the areas under its control.
Recently, an intelligence agent has reported that Fata Morgana is close to completing a secret weapon that can kill or wound two-thirds of the world's population.
Project Blue's secret operations are no longer enough to contain Fata Morgana, so to build a stronger force, all the experts in the world have been called up to participate, in some cases nearly conscripted.
There's no time to lose. Captain Lord River-n-White's orders: "Use of all weapons is allowed. Launch a full-scale attack!" The enemy awaits you in various parts of the world.
Pilots and Aircraft[]
Stages and Bosses[]
This image obtained from one of the game's files gives the complete cast list that is only partially shown in one of the two-player endings for Hien and Mao Mao.
Sonic Wings Special features branching routes among stages, with players being given a direct choice of their next destination upon clearing stages 5 and 7. Stages 2, 3 and 4 are picked randomly from a pool of five stages.
| Stage | Location | Boss |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo, Japan | Super X Kai Tokion |
| A | Dover, England | Avro Vulcan Bomber |
| B | Mato Grosso, Brazil | Leviathan |
| C | New York, USA | New Jersey, The |
| D | Paris, France | Black Star |
| E | Schwarz Wald, Germany | Le-Ostro |
| 5 | Syrian Desert, Middle East | Vazeel |
| 6A | Panama Canal, Panama | U9999 Sturm Waffe G |
| 6B | Bosporus Straits | Pomornik |
| 7A | Ural Mountains, Russia | Maxim Gorky III |
| 7B | Grand Canyon, USA | Super XX |
| 8A | Teotihuacan, Mexico | Gurabura |
| 8B | Red Square, Russia | MiG 31 Flame Fox |
| 8C | Hawaii | Spriggan |
| 9A | Another World | Mushi Lar Do-ni Kai |
| 9B | Battle in Orbit | Station Core Pandora Osaru |
| 9C | Bermuda Triangle | Pseudo-Bagarius Barubi Manbou |
Releases[]
Sega Saturn[]
Sonic Wings Special was only released for home consoles, with Sonic Wings Limited serving as the game's arcade-only version. Along with the game disc and manual, the Japanese Sega Saturn release included a mini CD with three music tracks.
PlayStation[]
Sonic Wings Special was released in Japan for the PlayStation. It was also available in PAL format for the United Kingdom and Australia, still under the title Sonic Wings Special. While the accompanying manual was translated into English, it lacked the artwork included in the Sega Saturn manual. Although the manual and packaging claim that the game features "70 different endings," all between-stage character dialogue and game endings were cut from the PAL version.
PlayStation 3/PlayStation Portable/PlayStation Vita[]
Sonic Wings Special was released for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita on November 16, 2010. For a time, it was available from the online PlayStation Store.
Soundtracks[]
- Sonic Wings Special Mini-CD
- Sonic Wings Limited Soundtrack
- Sonic Wings - Video System Arcade Sound Digital Collection Vol. 1
Secrets[]
Unlockables[]
- Alternative aircraft: Complete the game with a character, then continue the game to be able to select an alternative aircraft for that character.
- Mecha-Keaton: Complete the game with Blaster Keaton (any ending), then continue the game to be able to use Mecha-Keaton.
- Mao Mao alternative outfit: Complete Hien and Mao Mao in their alternative aircraft (Gekkou and Seiran) for Mao Mao to wear her alternative outfit on the high score board.
- Angela and Cincia & Ellen: Complete the game with all other pilots.
- Kotomi and "The Man" (Captain Waffle or Gore): Complete the game with all other pilots, including Angela and Cincia & Ellen. Kotomi and "The Man" will not be visible on the character select screen, but can be accessed by scrolling above Keaton/Silver or below Angela/Cincia & Ellen.
- Pair any pilots in two-player mode: Complete the game with all pilots, including Kotomi, "The Man," and everyone's alternate aircraft. However, there is no stage dialogue between the pilots, nor any additional endings.
Cheat Codes[]
Gameshark codes - PSX version[]
- Infinite credits: 800E6254 0009
- Finish with 00:00:00 time: 800E61B8 0000, 800E61BA 0000
- 1P invincible: 80126442 0001
- 1P infinite lives: 80126418 0002
- 1P infinite bombs: 8012643C 0502
- 1P with maximum points: D0126416 0000, 80126416 00FF
- 2P invincible: 801264AE 0001
- 2P infinite lives: 80126484 0002
- 2P infinite bombs: 801264A8 0502
- 2P with maximum points: D0126482 0000, 80126482 00FF
Gameshark codes - Sega Saturn version (untested)[]
- Master code (must be on for the other codes to work): F6000914 C305, B6002800 0000
- 1P invincible: 1607C452 0100
- 1P infinite lives: 1607C428 0004
- 1P full power: 1607C42E 0010
- 1P infinite bombs: 1607C44C 0006
- 2P invincible: 1607C4BA 0100
- 2P infinite lives: 1607C490 0004
- 2P full power: 1607C496 0010
- 2P infinite bombs: 1607C4B4 0006
| Games | |
|---|---|
| Sonic Wings Series | Sonic Wings · Sonic Wings 2 · Sonic Wings 3 · Sonic Wings Special · Sonic Wings Special for Android · Sonic Wings Limited · Sonic Wings Assault · Sonic Wings Reunion |
| Sonic Wings Related | Gapporin · Karate Blazers · Lethal Crash Race · The Mahjong Touhaiden · Ojanko High School · Power Spikes II · Rabio Lepus · Rabio Lepus Special · Spinal Breakers · SukuSuku Inufuku · SukuSuku Inufuku 2 · Tao Taido · Turbo Force |
| Other Video System Games | 3 On 3 Dunk Madness · F-1 Grand Prix · F-1 Grand Prix Part II · F-1 Grand Prix Part III · Hyper V-Ball · Pipe Dream · Power Spikes · Super Volleyball · Tail to Nose: Great Championship |
| Unreleased Games | Droppers · Metal Rabbit |