Play After Burner Online

Summary

After Burner drops you into the cockpit of an F‑14 Tomcat and demands every ounce of reflex and daring you can muster. You blast laser‑guided fire at swarms of enemy aircraft, weave through heat‑seeking missiles with barrel rolls and sudden dips, and even dock with a fuel tanker mid‑flight to refill ammo and energy. The toughest foes are the infamous Flying Fortresses, which force you into high‑speed dogfights that feel like a scene straight out of Top Gun.

The arcade experience is a sensory overload: the deluxe cabinet tilts, rolls, and even rotates the entire cockpit while two head‑level speakers pump out crisp stereo sound. Flashing lock‑on lights on the monitor frame warn you when an enemy has you in its sights, and the seatbelt keeps you strapped in as the machine mimics real aerial maneuvers. A simpler upright version offers the same frantic action without the motion rig.

Designed by Yu Suzuki and his Studio 128 team, After Burner became a worldwide blockbuster, topping arcade earnings in Japan and cracking the top five in the United States. Its groundbreaking sprite‑rotation graphics and hydraulic motion set a new bar for arcade shooters, influencing countless titles that followed.

Storyline

In the arcade classic After Burner, you launch from the SEGA Enterprise aircraft carrier and dive into a high‑speed dogfight. Your objective is to blast through 18 stages, taking down waves of enemy jets.