Sonic Wings Special
Sonic Wings Special is a 1996 vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up that combines the features in Sonic Wings, Sonic Wings 2, and Sonic Wings 3. It was ported to arcade as Sonic Wings Limited. The home console version adds new characters and endings, new bosses, updated graphics and unlockable planes. There are also Time Attack and 2-player modes. The game uses a branching stage system, so it is impossible to see all levels in one sitting. There is a total of 14 playable characters and many different endings (some of which are reused from previous games in the series). Overall the game has a comic feel. As of Summer 2012, the Android version of Sonic Wings Special has only 4 playable characters with 4 endings and 9 stages. However, the publisher is planning to add further elements of the original version.
SCREENSHOTS
PHYSICAL
HISTORY
Sonic Wings Special is a 1996 vertical-scrolling shooter that combines the features in Sonic Wings, Sonic Wings 2, and Sonic Wings 3. It was ported to arcade as Sonic Wings Limited (Aero Fighters Special in North America). It runs on a Sony ZN-1 JAMMA board.
Gameplay
Fighters
There are 7 teams, 14 pilots, and 26 fighters in this game, with each team consisting of 2 members, and a choice of 2 fighters per pilot, except the secret team, which has 1 fighter per pilot.
Once a player has chosen a team, the other player can only choose a pilot and fighter of the respective team.
A pilot's secret fighter is unlocked by completing the game with the chosen pilot.
The NATO and Secret teams are unlocked by unlocking all secret fighters in the US, Japan, Russia, Sweden, and P.K.F. teams.
Stages
There are 17 stages in this game, but only 9 are playable at a time. After completing stage 1, 3 stages are randomly chosen out of 5. The game includes a branching system that allows players to choose 1 of 2 branches after completing stages 5, 7, or 8.
If a secret fighter is chosen, alternate versions of the stages appear instead.
PlayStation version
It allows saving the game for more than once per round, while the PAL version does not support the PS1 Memorycard at all.
On March 12 and March 13, 2026, this version got ported by Hamster as part of Console Archives series for the Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5.
Arcade version
There are 6 teams, 12 pilots, and 12 fighters in this version. There are 10 stages but only 7 are playable per game. After completing Stage 4, Stage 5 and 6 are chosen depending on the player's performance. After completing Stage 6, one of Fight in Orbit, Another Dimension, or Mars becomes Stage 7, depending on the player's performance. In Fight in Orbit, Another Dimension, 1 of 2 different final bosses appear in the end. If all lives are lost in Stage 7, continuing causes the game to start at the beginning of a stage. If one of the five last stage bosses is not defeated before it escapes, a boss-specific failure ending is shown. A character-specific ending is shown if the final Stage 7 boss is defeated, and a stage-specific ending is shown. After an item is revealed, the point value of the item increases the longer it stays on screen. The point value progresses at the sequence of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 10000 (maximum) points.
Reception
STORY
In the near future, an "organization" operates in the shadows of a seemingly peaceful world. The true nature of this "organization" is shrouded in mystery, and all that has been discovered through desperate investigations by various countries is that the "organization's" goal is the collapse of world order, that their weapons incorporate unknown scientific powers, and that the "organization" is called "Fata Morgana."
To oppose "Fata Morgana," a supranational organization called "Project Blue" was formed. On the surface, it is one of the United Nations' special forces, but in reality it is a group of combat experts from all over the world.
Project Blue's battle continued in secrecy, but the situation suddenly changed. "Fata Morgana," which had taken control of the core of the military forces of various countries around the world, launched a global coup d'état.
The world fell into chaos, and "Fata Morgana" expanded its territory one area after another.
But that was not the only threat. The analysis report of the section intelligence officer revealed that "Fata Morgana" was completing a secret weapon that could kill two-thirds of the Earth's population with a single weapon. At this point, the covert operations of Project Blue alone were no longer enough to deal with the situation. Therefore, an emergency call was made to all the team members around the world to recruit new members (even if it was by force).
The situation was urgent. Captain Lord River-n-White gave the order: "All weapons authorized for use. Launch a full-scale attack!"
The enemy was waiting for them all over the world.
1CC RUNS
One-credit clears we point to as the benchmark for this game.
