 If you were anything like me as a kid, anytime I played Pilotwings I didn't really give a crap about the missions or anything like that, I'd just put in the password to play as the helicopter and blow stuff up, or sorry, make stuff go boom. Well sure enough there's plenty of other mode 7 games where the entire game is just making stuff go boom and this ranges from all sorts of different presentation styles, from inside the cockpit in a game like Turn and Burn, to a futuristic rail shooter like Hyperzone. Here we've got Lock On, made in 1993, otherwise known as Super Air Diver elsewhere, and it's actually a follow up to a 1990 Sega Genesis game Air Diver, which unfortunately wasn't all that great. What we've got here with Lock On, however, is the mode 7ist mode 7 game in mode 7 land. But as far as combat flying games like this go, this one's pretty decent. So the world is facing danger from whatever, some bored evil guy I guess, and the United Nations decides to tab your character, veteran fighter pilot Jake Steele, to solve things. Well I mean of course his name is Jake Steele, you know there could be a guy out there who could potentially be a much better pilot than Jake Steele, but he'd never get a chance because his name is something like Bryce Kowalski. So listen up all you badass fighter pilots with names that have too many syllables, just change your name to Dirk Hardpeck, or Big Mac Large Huge, and you'll get the chance you deserve in no time. To start the game you have two different fighter jets to choose from, with two others you can unlock as you progress. You get three lives and three continues to get through eight total missions with two special missions you can obtain. The mission types are about exactly what you'd expect in a game like this, there's shoot all the bad guys, there's bomb the bad guys on the ground, and there's protect the base from the bad guys. What's cool about this game though is in how the four different jets differ. The F-14D for instance is the fastest plane with a really long range both with radar and weapons, while the FSX has much more maneuverability while being able to handle a larger weapons payload. The two bomber jets also have their strengths and weaknesses. You also not only get to choose your own weapons for each jet, but also the amount, and the choices here have surprisingly nuanced effects. Sure it's easy to just load up on tons of weapons, but you also want to make sure your plane can, you know, actually move without being bound by tons of weight. You've got heat seeking air to air missiles that follow the exhaust trail of an enemy jet engine, you've got radar homing missiles, there's also heavy armor piercing machine guns, napalm guns that burn entire areas below, it's pretty cool. But there are limits on what each plane can and can't equip however. The controls to execute all this carnage are very straightforward, your jet is always going forward so you don't need to worry about staying in the air necessarily, so you can keep an eye on the radar and just go after enemies. Y shoots your machine gun, B and A shoot the missiles you've chosen, and X fires a flare that's capable of attracting enemy homing missiles. There's also certain techniques to dodge enemy fire, the R button activates after burners, and the L button activates the air break. In addition you can press down on the D pad and tap the R button several times to do a loop, or you can do a barrel roll by tapping R with left and right. I should also mention that the music in this game is kinda awesome. This is always an important factor at least for me because all you're doing is staring at the back of a plane desperately trying to keep up with enemies while avoiding missiles, so the music plays a big part in your overall experience. Geez, what even is this music? Yeah man, crank up the bongos while I'm blowing stuff up in my fighter jet. Hey I'm not complaining at all, I just think it's a bit of an odd stylistic choice. So yeah, Lock On is pretty good. I mean granted there are folks out there that just aren't into games like this and get bored of them pretty quickly, and I get that. I do wish there was a bit more gameplay variety, but what's here is reasonably well done. If you do dig Lock On, you should know that there's a sequel on the Super Famicom that never made it to the US called Super Air Diver 2, and it's really just more of the same. But yeah, I wouldn't call Lock On a hidden gem or anything. But hey, at the very least you can try this out with the BSNES HD Mode 7 Edition. I mean just look how freaking awesome this looks. And if you don't mind playing this via emulation or playing Super Nintendo games at a computer or whatever, then this is the way to go. It's not perfect, but it not only looks fantastic, it makes tracking down enemies a little easier and a little more fun. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.