Mr Heli

Mr. Heli (full Japanese title: Mr. HELI no Daibōken, meaning "Mr. Heli's Great Adventure"), known in North America as Battle Chopper, is a multidirectional scrolling shoot 'em up developed and published by Irem . The game takes place in the year 2999, where the villainous Mr. Muddy threatens the planet. You control a large, fully-armed combat helicopter flying through four side-view levels that scroll primarily left to right, each ending with a boss . As well as enemies, levels contain many destructible blocks that serve as the weapon upgrade system: most drop crystals that add to your credit total, while others reveal weapon pictures with prices – touch them while carrying enough credits to purchase the upgrade . Mr. Heli can shoot forward, fire missiles directly upwards, and drop bombs that roll across the ground before exploding . When your energy bar is depleted, you lose a life and all accumulated credits. Two players can play, alternating turns .

Arcade

Released in December 1987 in Japan by Irem, the arcade version is the original and definitive edition . The game runs on Irem's M-72 system hardware, featuring a V30 CPU at 8 MHz and a Z80 sound CPU paired with a Yamaha YM2151 sound chip and a DAC . Display resolution is 384 x 256 pixels with 512 colours in a horizontal raster orientation . Controls use an 8-way joystick and two buttons (fire and bomb/missile) . Music was composed by Masahiko Ishida . The arcade original was later re-released in the Irem Arcade Hits compilation for Mac and PC in 2013 . Mr. Heli also made cameo playable appearances in the Game Boy title Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter and in R-Type Final . A colourful "cute 'em up" with charming visuals and solid shooter mechanics .