Pilotwings

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).