Mr. Heli, fully titled in Japan as Mr. HELI no Daibōken (Mr.HELIの大冒険, "Mr. Heli's Great Adventure") is a multidirectional scrolling shooter developed and published in arcades in 1987 by Irem. It was released in North America as Battle Chopper.
Gameplay
Players control a wacky fighter chopper named Mr. Heli, while shooting enemies, collecting power-ups, and defeating bosses to advance levels.
In Japan, Game Machine listed Mr. Heli on their January 15, 1988 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[9]
Ciarán Brennan of Your Sinclair magazine reviewed the arcade game, calling it "a lovely little game" that is "very imaginative and beautifully" paced.[3]ACE magazine reviewed the PC Engine version in 1989, rating it 890 out of 1000 and listing it as one of the top five best games available for the console.[10]
Legacy
Mr. Heli later appeared in the Japan-only Game Boy title Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter, along with other characters from the game, as well as characters from three other Irem franchises: R-Type, Ninja Spirit and Hammerin' Harry. Mr. Heli was mentioned in one of the billboards seen in the final stage of Irem's Vigilante and also appeared in R-Type Final as a playable ship. Battle Chopper is also available on the Evercade retro games console as part of the Irem Arcade collection cartridge.