Choplifter!

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL GAME

Choplifter! is a thrilling side-scrolling action/arcade game that puts you in command of an attack helicopter on a high-stakes rescue mission deep behind enemy lines. Your goal: save as many as 64 hostages, though your chopper holds just 16 at a time—meaning you’ll need multiple daring trips under fire from tanks and enemy aircraft that never let up. Originally launched on the Apple II and later adapted for the arcade (a rare reverse-port), Choplifter! has earned its place as a beloved retro classic, blending tense aerial combat with heart-pounding rescue operations.

In its arcade incarnation, Choplifter! expands the battlefield to four distinctive settings—an overhauled desert level plus new sea, cave, and city rooftop environments—each harboring 24 captives (20 minimum to clear the stage) and featuring an 8-passenger limit per sortie. A clever fuel system refills with every safe return, while a fresh scoring challenge and stationary ground-to-air missiles ratchet up the tension. Console commanders on Famicom and Sega Master System enjoy six-level campaigns (with some stages repurposed in new skins), a reinstated 16-passenger capacity, adjusted rescue goals of 40 out of 48 hostages, and streamlined mechanics that eliminate the fuel gauge for nonstop rotor action.