The Master System version of Choplifter was developed and published by Sega in 1986, and it is closest to Sega‘s arcade version of the game. That said, it’s not as head-bangingly hard as the arcade version, but does have all the different stages, so could be argued is the best version of (the first) Choplifter around.

Controlling the helicopter is easy enough, and it tilts downward more prominently than in all the other versions of this game, which makes shooting stuff on the ground easier.

The first two stages (desert and sea) I thought were less difficult than the same levels in the Famicom version, but the third stage (the caves) is very difficult. The fourth stage is a futuristic moon stage, which made me chuckle (helicopters on the moon – LOL!), but I didn’t manage to get any further than that, so I don’t know if there are more.

The chopper can hold sixteen hostages at once, although the game does demand more be rescued, so repeat trips are still necessary. And – as in pretty much all other versions of Choplifter – you must first locate the places where the hostages are kept, then blast them, to allow the little men to pour out to be rescued.

A tune plays constantly while the game is in play, and I think it’s pretty much the same as in the arcade version. It suits the game well, though, and gives it a sense of urgency.

On balance, I’d have to say that the Master System version of Choplifter is arguably the best version of the game available. The graphics and sound are very good; the controls and gameplay are refined, and the difficulty curve is reasonably well-judged. That said, IMHO this game is still not a patch on Choplifter II and Choplifter III, the two sequels.

More: Choplifter on Wikipedia