Mr Heli
IT’S HELI GOOD
ARCADE 1987 IREM
You have to hand it to Irem, it certainly knew how to make interesting and engaging arcade games back in the day. Take Mr Heli for example, or Battle Chopper as it was known in most western arcades. It took the cute elements of Sega’s earlier Fantasy Zone, but it still managed to be typically Irem in that it had a distinctive stylistic aesthetic, it was as hard as proverbial nails and had some neat game mechanics that kept you shovelling money into its coin slot like there was no tomorrow.
Returning to it today and the first thing that hits you is just how brutally difficult it is. Enemies come hard and fast, and you’re initially poorly equipped thanks to some weak ground bombs and a rocket that fires directly upwards. Break apart nearby rocks, however, and you’ll discover crystals of different sizes that can be collected for various amounts of cash. You’ll want to grab these gems before they come into contact with the ground, as they’ll shatter and be worth less points.
Numerous power-ups are also found throughout Mr Heli’s stages – which often scroll in multiple directions – but they are typically hidden behind blocks, meaning lots of frantic laser blasting is required to dislodge them. Even when you’ve freed them from their granite tombs, you’ll still need the required cash in order to unlock them and extend Mr Heli’s paltry arsenal – all while you keep an eye on your rapidly depleting health, which can also be topped up if you find the relevant power-up and have the spare cash to purchase it.
The end result is an endlessly frenetic juggling act as you attempt to manage your available resources while trying to work out if it’s worth your time to stay in an area and completely mine it of gems. While this tactic certainly allows you to amass large amounts of cash, it also makes you a sitting duck for the constantly respawning enemies. It’s a neat risk-and-reward mechanic in a game that’s full of neat ideas, and it’s another example of the hidden depths that hide under Mr Heli’s colourful visuals. Little wonder, then, that I’d always shovel money into it whenever I visited Quay Amusements.