Fairly obscure vertically-scrolling shoot'em'up arcade machine from
Toaplan (the same people were responsible for
Flying Shark and
Zero Wing). It was ferociously difficult and involved flying a helicopter slowly up the screen, shooting tanks, artillery pieces and small boats, all of which fired back at you. It was one of those games where survival time was usually measured in seconds
Cool things:
1. Power-ups took the form of little helicopters that attached to the sides of your 'Tiger Heli'. They increased your firepower but, because they took up a lot of space, they usually didn't last very long,
2. The graphics were small and precise and, yes, cute,
3. The music was quite jolly, and
4. You could strafe houses, cars, parked jets, all kinds of things.
It was extremely good fun, if hard. It was followed by a slicker sequel, Twin Heli, which lacks some of the charm.