Play Keio Flying Squadron Online

Summary

Keio Flying Squadron (often just called Keio Flying Squadron) is a quirky horizontally scrolling shooter that makes the Sega CD shine with its animated cut‑scenes and CD‑quality soundtrack. You pilot Rami Nanahikari, a kimono‑clad heroine who rides atop Spot, a lazy but loyal dragon, blasting fireballs at a parade of cartoonish foes while a pair of smaller companion dragons pop out to lend extra firepower. The companions can be sacrificed for a powerful kamikaze burst and then reappear when Spot stops shooting, adding a playful risk‑reward twist to the usual shoot‑‘em‑up formula.
The game’s power‑up system lets you boost Spot’s flames through six levels and swap in sub‑weapons such as ground bombs, exploding stars, or homing Spot Jrs., which you can fire forward with the C‑button. A hidden LCD‑style minigame, “LSI Game Neko,” is tucked away behind a cheat code, rewarding the curious explorer with a nostalgic parody. Early European copies even included a demo in Sega Pro magazine, and a level‑select cheat was needed to reach the later stages that many players initially missed.
Behind the scenes, Victor Entertainment tapped Studio Pierrot for the animated sequences and composer Tsukasa Tawada for a soundtrack built on Yamaha SY99 synths, giving the game a distinct blend of Japanese drum textures and FM‑PCM sparkle. Voice work was handled by a small cast, with Samantha Paris providing Rami’s English lines, while the original Japanese version featured Miho Kanno and Akiko Hiramatsu.
Retro‑gaming circles still cite Keio Flying Squadron as a standout Mega CD title, praising its humor, vibrant visuals, and the way it leverages the CD format for cut‑scenes and music. It’s often remembered as a charming, if commercially overlooked, alternative to Konami’s Parodius, earning a spot on several top‑ten Mega CD lists and cultivating a devoted cult following.

Storyline

Set during Japan’s brief Keiō era (1865‑1868) under the Tokugawa shogunate, Keio Flying Squadron follows a quirky slice of history mixed with sci‑fi. The heroine, Rami Nanahikari, has been groomed by her grandparents to become the Guardian of the Key to the Secret Treasure known as the "Ark," a relic tied to an ancient alien lineage she barely understands. When the Key is snatched from a local convenience store, Rami—still clueless about its true power—must race to recover it.

Clad in a playful bunny‑girl outfit, Rami mounts her loyal dragon Spot and sets off on a whirlwind adventure. Along the way she battles a menagerie of foes: mischievous tanuki, snarling dogs, prowling cats, cheeky monkeys, the Seven Lucky Gods, and even the might of the U.S. military and Russian army, not to mention a serpentine dragon that blocks her path.

The chase culminates on the floating ship of Dr. Pon Eho, a hyper‑intelligent tanuki boasting an IQ of 1400 and the mastermind behind the theft. With Spot at her side, Rami must outwit the cunning scientist to reclaim the Key and unlock the mystery of the Ark.