~ AFTER BURNER II ~NEC Avenue / Sega
HuCard
1990
This game seems to be a bit of a fan favorite. I like it well enough, but I'm not crazy about it. I think that it's very reminiscent of Space Harrier and that it doesn't stand up well in comparison. SH has a lot of cool enemies and its levels are pretty wacky and colorful. After Burner II's jets-and-fields theme just isn't as appealing to me.
More importantly, I need to utilize a little strategy in SH. ABII's gameplay, even outside of this comparison, is too facile: shoot and dodge and shoot and dodge and--SPEED BURST--and shoot and dodge. When I first beat SH, I felt like it was the ultimate result of the practice and planning I had put into the game. No, it wasn't especially difficult to do, but I did feel that the experience was a rewarding one. By contrast, when I first beat ABII, I felt like it was simply because I had bothered to start up the game enough times that making a successful (and perhaps lucky) run through all twenty-three stages was an inevitability. I didn't feel like I had pulled off anything particularly significant or that I had achieved something as a result of earnest effort.
ABII offers decent action but lacks cyclopean mammoths, unfortunately.
Nighttime scenes and neat explosions do help a bit.
Make pit stops and receive aid from friendly giant aircraft.
Bust shit up in the bonus stage and streak through the last few levels.
Enjoy the action for what it's worth, touch down safely, and go play a better Sega game... like Space Harrier.
More importantly, I need to utilize a little strategy in SH. ABII's gameplay, even outside of this comparison, is too facile: shoot and dodge and shoot and dodge and--SPEED BURST--and shoot and dodge. When I first beat SH, I felt like it was the ultimate result of the practice and planning I had put into the game. No, it wasn't especially difficult to do, but I did feel that the experience was a rewarding one. By contrast, when I first beat ABII, I felt like it was simply because I had bothered to start up the game enough times that making a successful (and perhaps lucky) run through all twenty-three stages was an inevitability. I didn't feel like I had pulled off anything particularly significant or that I had achieved something as a result of earnest effort.
Still, ABII certainly has its merits as a fairly exciting little pick-up-and-play title. And there's some really nice music in it, most notably the catchy bit that typically accompanies the transition from the second stage to the third.
ABII offers decent action but lacks cyclopean mammoths, unfortunately.
Nighttime scenes and neat explosions do help a bit.
Make pit stops and receive aid from friendly giant aircraft.
Bust shit up in the bonus stage and streak through the last few levels.
Enjoy the action for what it's worth, touch down safely, and go play a better Sega game... like Space Harrier. 
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