Play After Burner II Online

Summary

After Burner II drops you into the cockpit of an F‑14 Tomcat and thrusts you straight into a high‑octane sky‑racing shoot‑'em‑up. The arcade version even shook the floor with a servo‑actuated seat that banked exactly as you rolled on screen, while a simple throttle knob let you push the jet to the limit.

The project sprang to life right after Sega wrapped Out Run, with Yu Suzuki, Satoshi Mifune and Kawaguchi working under the secretive codename “Studio 128.” Their main muse was the movie Top Gun, and although a sci‑fi anime aesthetic was briefly toyed with, the team settled on a more Western‑friendly look, essentially polishing the original After Burner with a throttle and a few visual tweaks.

When the game landed on the PC Engine (TurboGrafx‑16), reviewers noted its relentless, almost mindless action: dodge missiles, blast everything with a vulcan cannon, and survive occasional canyon‑run bonus stages that pepper the flight path. Scores ranged from solid mid‑70s percentages to a perfect 90% in Retro Gamer, confirming that the arcade hit’s chaotic charm survived the home‑console jump.