Pilotwings

aka: Dragonfly
Moby ID: 6632
SNES Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/23 6:29 AM )

Description official descriptions

Fly a selection of aircraft (including training vehicles, fighter planes and helicopters) through a range of training programs and missions. The more training you complete, the better the chance that you will complete the even bigger missions. Try your hand at landing, taking off, party tricks, fly through bad weather and shoot down targets.

Spellings

  • パイロットウイングス - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (SNES version)

10 People

Executive Producer
Producer
Director
Programmer
Graphic Designer
Sound Composer

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 30 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 58 ratings with 4 reviews)

A lot of fun

The Good
A lot different than any other game I've ever played. The jetpack, the parachute, the fun flying challenges. It was challenging but not impossible to learn in my opinion.

The Bad
I got stuck for awhile at one of the licensing levels, but played it a lot and finally got past that level. I liked the airplane and the parachute, but I wasn't very good at the jetpack.

The Bottom Line
Terrific graphics, a great sense of flying and being in the air, just a lot of fun!

SNES · by r h (13) · 2007

Flight Club

The Good
One of the Super Nintendo’s three launch titles, Pilotwings absolutely reeks of SNES. I once heard it referred to as Mode 7: The Game, which I find is actually a pretty appropriate title. Mode 7 was a sprite scaling trick that allowed the SNES to stretch out a sprite layer to look like 3D terrain, and both Pilotwings and another launch title, F-Zero, made extensive use of it in entirely different ways. While F-Zero was a high-speed, futuristic racing game, Pilotwings is a laid-back, recreational flight simulator. At least, most of it is…

There’s not much background given to Pilotwings as you’re thrown into your first lesson. Land a biplane on a runway and skydive onto a bullseye. From there, challenges become slightly more complex, throwing in a hang glider and even a jetpack and having you fly through rings and in high wind. The goal is to do as well as possible in a number of different grading categories to receive your license and advance to the next level. It’s a pretty well done structure, as it forces you to become proficient at each of the various events while allowing a little slack for the odd poor performance. It felt great that even though I was pretty poor at hang gliding, I could make up the points by doing well in the rocket belt stages.

The mode 7 effect is put to good use to render the terrain and provide smooth gameplay. The scaling of the ground makes it easy to see just how close you are to landing and allows for a high degree of precision. Using the rocket belt, you’re also able to swap the camera to an overhead position to get a better view of where you’re landing. There were still moments where I had to utilize the altimeter to tell how close to the ground I was, but I find this to be necessary even in today’s world of 3D polygonal flight simulators.

Pilotwings is a lot more light-hearted and carefree than most flight simulators of the time, focusing on fun rather than accurately depicting flight. The result is a game that’s borderline relaxing, in spite of how challenging it gets in the later stages. I absolutely love the soundtrack, which features buzzy instrumental samples similar to other early SNES games. It’s a calming soundtrack that perfectly underlies the mellow gameplay. Combined with the drone of the plane’s engine or the rush of the wind, the game provides an almost meditative atmosphere.

The Bad
So Pilotwings may not be the most compelling of concepts out there, but the combination of its steady, slow-paced gameplay and smooth, jazzy soundtrack makes for a pretty relaxing experience.

And then…

Suddenly, all your flight instructors are captured by an evil organization and only you have a license grade high enough to fly an attack helicopter on a rescue mission. I’m dead serious; after four sets of licenses, the game throws you this curve ball, completely without warning. What kind of flying club did I sign up for here? I thought I was learning how to skydive and hang glide, not training to be part of an airbourne invasion. Why does this club even have an attack chopper? Why aren’t we calling the military or police force to rescue them?

But no, with no way to opt out of this armed assault, you’re coerced into the helicopter and sent into a nest of anti-aircraft guns. A single hit from any of the super-accurate guns will send you crashing to the ground, ending any dream you may have had of buying your own private plane and skydiving with your friends. It’s brutal. It seems incredibly out of place and jarring to suddenly find yourself going to war. It doesn’t feel like violence belongs in the context of the game. I’m all for variety, but this is just unwelcome.

Since first purchasing this game, I’ve picked it up three or four times and each time given up at this stage. I tried various strategies each time, such as flying at varying altitudes and engaging enemies in a variety of ways, but I’ve seen the burning wreckage of my helicopter too many times to count. I just wanted to go back to the mellow flight lessons that make up the bulk of the game, but I was stuck. I finally finished the mission by flying extremely low; below 25 feet. It was a less than ideal situation, all around. Worse yet is the fact that this mission appears twice, as if once wasn’t punishing enough.

The Bottom Line
Jarring shift of subject matter aside, I thoroughly enjoyed Pilotwings. The relaxing tunes, droning sounds, and stiff but fair challenge results in a pretty calming game. It isn’t a very deep or diverse game, but it ends rather quickly; just before it has a chance to get stale. Few flight simulators are as friendly and welcoming as Pilotwings, and it’s unfortunate that there aren’t more like it. A game that depicts flight in such a whimsical and leisurely manner is tough to come by. Of course, the developers still forced in a combat section for no reason, but if you omit that, Pilotwings is a GOOD game that I recommend to anyone looking for a more calming way to soar.

SNES · by Adzuken (836) · 2015

What other game at the time (or to date?) can you skydive??!

The Good
This game got to show off the new high-tech capabilities the SNES had. I think it was the 2nd game released for the SNES where I lived, so I had to buy it. It was definitely different than any game I had previously played. Beside from the fact that its kind of a crazy extreme sports obstacle course kinda game, the SNES was new and this game showed off the new abilities such as scaling that the NES couldn't do. The jetpack areas were pretty fun.

The Bad
If you weren't good enough to get a better class license, you couldn't advance to anything new. I wasn't that good so it took quite awhile to finally get to do something else...which wasn't fun.



The Bottom Line
A good game for it's time. Different kind of simulator most others.

SNES · by OlSkool_Gamer (88) · 2004

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The SNES version of Pilotwings appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development history

The working title of the game, in 1988, was Dragonfly, when Nintendo showed images of in many Japanese magazines at the time. This was well was before the official release of the Super Famicom (SNES). When the game was released, the name had been changed to Pilotwings, and the graphics and game structure was significantly different from the images shown previously.

Game Center CX

Pilotwings has been featured on the Japanese television show Game Center CX on three separate occasions. It was originally chosen as the challenge game for Season 9, Episode 9 (Feb. 16, 2010) but host Shinya Arino was unable to complete the game.

Arino challenged the game a second time for a special live broadcast celebrating his 40th birthday, which aired from 8 PM, Feb. 24 2012 until 6 AM the following day. After ten hours, he finally ran out of time, unable to complete the final stage, and had to give up again. This was the first time he'd failed to complete a game during a live broadcast.

Not wanting to disappoint his fans, Arino challenged the game for a third time at a live event in Iwate Prefecture before a live audience of hundreds of fans. With help from the ADs and several fans, he managed to clear the final stage just as the two-hour event was coming to an end. This event was the focus of Season 16, Episode 7 (July 5, 2012).

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 6632
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. New Nintendo 3DS added by Harmony♡. Wii added by samsam12.

Additional contributors: gamewarrior, j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】, Joao Pinheiro, FatherJack, firefang9212.

Game added June 14, 2002. Last modified February 12, 2024.