Sky Assault

Sky Assault (スカイアサルト Sukaiasaruto) is an arcade flight action video game franchise developed by SkyPlay Entertainment and published by Ruby Studio since 1997.The franchise typically features accurate real-life military aircraft in addition to some unique fictional designs. The Sky Assault games are characterized by dramatic stories, fast-paced gameplay, and grandiose soundtracks.

it is also known as Strike Thunder in some regions of Europe.due to its name sounding similar to a German arcade game of the 1980s

Sky Assault is recognized as the most successful and longest-running arcade flight franchises in the video game industry,Second to Ace Combat

Origins
Since teenage years Akane Mihicko and Masaru Nobuyuki were passionate about aviation and the art of aerial combat, inspired by movies like Top Gun, Iron Eagle and Best Guy and video games such as Star Fox, they started seeking a company for their upcoming project.after many failures they were approached by a lesser known company called SkyPlay Entertaiment who along with his subsidiary Ruby Studio would set out in April 1994 to develop it, unfortunately with the release of Air Combat in 1995 the team felt nerveous that this would be a wasted work, but would continue with the project until November 1996 being released on May 17, 1997 with a mixed reception but on the positive aspects of story and characters.

because this game was aiming for a deeper story but not enough to disconnect itself from the gameplay being a major selling point at the time of its release

Setting
to avoid confusion with the upcoming Namco title, it was decided not only to change some aspects of the gameplay but also the world in which it was developed.there is no official name for this world, but some players have called it Kemono no kuni (or Land Of the Beasts) because both humans and anthropomorphic animals coexistence, although conflicts in the franchise have resulted due to certain groups opposing this type of lifestyle one of the franchise's most played themes, racism, and the extremes some groups can take in order to achieve theyre goals

GamePlay
Some of the games follow almost general gameplay format. Players are tasked with a consecutive series of missions. These missions start with briefing cutscenes that outline the main objectives and the enemy forces the player will face. After the briefing, the player can select one of their owned aircraft or purchase a new one, as well as a secondary weapon in addition to standard missiles.

along side it some cutscenes of the characters interacting before the mission starts giving us to understand motivations or even affiliations including the roles they will have in the plot.

The mission objectives, enemy types, and friendly supporting units greatly vary across the franchise. Players will sometimes shoot down a squadron of enemy bombers, destroy ground installations, face off against ace squadrons, or battle a massive superweapon. Gameplay remains the same throughout; the player controls their aircraft in a 360° field in the sky with freedom to fly anywhere within the mission boundaries. Missiles must lock on to an enemy target to be guided, but players can also use an assortment of non-guided weapons such as machine guns or rockets.

Some missions also feature a Mission Update, where the objectives and enemy types change halfway through. Once all objectives are cleared, most games follow to a debriefing screen that summarizes the player's performance in the mission. Players are also treated to additional story cutscenes during and between missions to provide context to current and past events affecting the conflict.

Games
The Franchise currently consists of 8 games which share the same universe and various conflicts that follow a cronological line

-Sky Assault (1997)

-Sky Assault 2 (1999)

-Sky Assault 3:Victory Wings (2002)

-Sky Assault 4:Operation Ghost (2004)

-Sky Assault 05:Royal Division (2007)

-Sky Assault:Silver Memories (2010)

-Sky Assault 6: WarGames (2016)

-Sky Assault 7: Wolves of War (2019)

Mangas
after the huge success of the first game, it was decided to release mangas to accompany the release of a new game.some of them even take place in parallel universes since it was wanted to introduce a concept that could not be used in a game.

-Sky Assault Side Story:Desert Jackals (1998)

-Sky Assault: Cross Network (2006)

-Sky Aces:Build Strikers (2014)

-Sky Assault:Arm Brothers (2017)

Anime
an anime based on the Sky Aces:Build Strikers manga was realeased in august of 2016,being an anime that would compete with Gundan Build Fighters and its sequel season Build Fighters Try having similar themes to the original,being the customization of plastic models and combat in simulated augmented reality environments.

a wide range of model kits would be produced to accompany the anime, which would be a moderate success.

Trivia
-the franchise makes reference to different real-life conflicts and events such as


 * The Gulf War
 * Desert Shield/Desert Storm
 * Gulf of Sidra Incident
 * The Falklands War
 * The Korean War
 * World War II