Parachuting really was something of a way of life for NES heroes, huh? Not just Capt. Spencer of Bionic Commando and Fox Hound elite agent Solid Snake, but even for ninjas like Ryu Hayabusa. It’s an art that sadly seems to have been lost to time. The last time I saw an interesting parachute jump in a game was Metal Gear Solid 3, and that kind of doesn’t count since it was set 20 years before the NES was even invented.
Rambo, Acclaim, 1988
Look, John Rambo did it. That’s as good an endorsement from the ’80s as you can get.
Rush ‘N Attack, Konami, 1986
Yes, even bad guys liked to get in on the action.
Heck, pretty much everything in Bionic Commando parachuted in, not just the hero.
Even supply drops!
Commando, Capcom, 1986
Which no doubt was a terrible disappointment to Super Joe, who typically went into battle by simply jumping out of a helicopter to the ground below. And here he had to be rescued by some weakling who had to parachute? Pah.
Super Mario World, Nintendo, 1991
Then again, I suppose parachuting went away because next-gen power made it obsolete.
but but PILOTWINGS
i guess you dont play FPS multiplayer alot, but what about the battlefield games?
“The last time I saw an interesting parachute jump in a game was Metal Gear Solid 3, and that kind of doesn’t count since it was set 20 years before the NES was even invented.”
It’s not NES either but if you like parachutes then Jeremy, dude, you seriously need to play Just Cause 2. Not only does it feature parachutes, but the parachute itself is also a core gameplay mechanic in tandem with your magic hookshot that can latch into any surface.
Look, I can see their parachutes! They’re ok…
Oh, man. I have to second MetManMas’ suggestion. There is nothing more awesome than jumping out of an exploding helicopter/off a mountain/off a skyscraper/out of a plane, popping your parachute, cutting the parachute loose, and then popping ANOTHER parachute just before you slam into the ground. (You have an infinite supply, because of course you do!)
No, wait, I take it back; it’s even more awesome when you freefall until you’re about 50 feet from the ground, then use your magic hookshot to grapple STRAIGHT DOWN and land safely. (?!?)
Seriously, if you like ’80s action movies, Just Cause 2 takes all the genre tropes and turns them up to 11. Heck, the developers even included multiple quips for your character to use after he flubs a landing, rolls across the landscape ragdoll-style, and then gets up and dusts himself off.
Crysis 1 had a pretty macho parachute entry with Nomad losing his chute and surviving by falling into water with super armor.
Halo 3 OTSD didn’t exactly begin with a parachute but it sure had the good guys drop straight into the middle of the fight.
Another parachuting 2D hero: Marco Rossi from NGPC’s Metal Slug 1st Mission. His parachuting sequence is also an interactive timed event; pop the chute too soon and get shot out of the air, pop it too late and go splat.