Halley Wars

Famicom Disk System

Famicom Disk System

It’s the middle of the 21st century. The armies of Lord Halley are launching attacks on planet Earth. You are the last chance for Earth, piloting a craft specially developed to engage these hordes. You must fight your way through their defenses to the final goal, the alien base. The final battle ...

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Developer
Taito

Released on
1989

Size
1 Player

Version
Famicom Disk System

Requirements
Nintendo Famicom Disk System

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

It’s the middle of the 21st century. The armies of Lord Halley are launching attacks on planet Earth. You are the last chance for Earth, piloting a craft specially developed to engage these hordes. You must fight your way through their defenses to the final goal, the alien base. The final battle is about to commence!

Halley Wars is a vertical scrolling shooter, and it’s a sequel to the arcade game Halley’s Comet. The game has 6 stages set in locations in space such as, above planets or in asteroid fields. There are end of levels bosses at the end of each stage each with their own weaknesses. There are power-ups, which can be picked up along the way when you shoot particular asteroids or satellites. These upgrade your weapon strength, speed, add explosive pods and shields.

Where the game stood out was, there are comets that need to be destroyed on your journey. Each comet and ship that you don’t shoot makes it to earth and does some damage there. Comets do more damage than the enemy ships do. If Earths damage level reaches 100% the game is over. For every 2000 points you score, 1% of Earths damage is repaired.

Halley Wars

Overview & History

Released exclusively in Japan in 1989 by Taito for the Famicom Disk System, Halley Wars serves as a fascinating chronological sequel to Taito's classic 1986 arcade hit, Halley's Comet. Riding the cultural wave of Halley's actual 1986 perihelion, this disk-based iteration shifts the perspective from a top-down vertical scudding shooter into a dynamic, behind-the-ship pseudo-3D rail shooter reminiscent of Sega's Space Harrier. Utilizing the rewritable magnetic medium of the Famicom Disk System, Taito delivered a title featuring remarkably fluid scaling sprites, a distinct techno-organic art style, and a haunting chiptune soundtrack that captured the apocalyptic tension of humanity's final stand. The storyline thrusts players into the cockpit of the advanced starfighter, the 1985-TF, tasked with intercepting a mutated, sentient Halley's Comet on a collision course with Earth, alongside hordes of biomechanical alien armadas intent on human extinction.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard 2D scrolling shooters, Halley Wars utilizes a forward-scrolling, behind-the-back perspective where spatial positioning across a 3D plane is vital for survival. The gameplay is split between two distinct phases: navigating the outer approach through asteroid belts and alien blockades, and descending directly onto the comet's volatile, undulating surface for claustrophobic trench runs. The 1985-TF is equipped with a dual-tier offensive loadout controlled by the player: a straight-firing energy cannon capable of clearing mid-air hostiles, and an alternate ground-targeting bomb utilized to obliterate heavily fortified surface installations, missile silos, and subterranean turret emplacements. Throughout the stages, players collect power-up crystals that upgrade the ship's firepower, expand its shield durability, and increase lateral thruster velocity. Boss encounters require precision targeting on glowing core weak points while weaving through dense bullet-hell patterns, making the game a rigorous test of reflex and depth perception.