The MSX version of Choplifter was converted by Programmers-3, Inc. and initially published, as a ROM cartridge, by Sony in 1985.

The feel of the helicopter, and the controls, are good in this port, but the sprites are very flickery – especially when hostages are running up to board the chopper when it’s on the ground.

Like pretty much all the 8-bit versions of Dan Gorlin‘s game, gameplay in the MSX version is limited and repetitive, and the game ends unceremoniously when you complete the first stage (ie. there’s no second stage).

Choplifter on the MSX isn’t very good overall. While Choplifter is celebrated by some as a “cult classic” video game, the truth is that it never actually fulfilled its true potential. At least not until much later, when Choplifter II (for the Game Boy), and Choplifter III (for the Super Nintendo) came out.

More: Choplifter on Wikipedia