In this video—originally published in our Gaming Room channel in November 19, 2025—we have the attract-mode demos and a stress-free gameplay session I recorded spending an obscene amount of credits playing Ghost Pilots, a 1991 vertical-scrolling shoot ’em up by SNK. Originally released for arcades, this game puts you in control of seaplanes fighting World War II battles against Axis forces. This obscure title — which shares some similarities with Capcom’s 19xx shooters — is a follow-up to Sky Adventure (1989) and was also released for Neo-Geo, Neo-Geo CD, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Windows Apps, Antstream, and Windows.
This is a challenging shooter (at least in its arcade version) in which up to two players can control their hydroplanes in co-op against waves of enemy units: aerial, ground, and naval. Your plane has an unlimited standard shot that can be upgraded with power-ups, as well as powerful bombs — limited in quantity — that can be magnetic, conventional, gas flame, or aerial mines. You can choose your bomb type in both the first and final stages. After the opening level, players can choose whether to proceed to the maritime attack stage or the aerial attack stage. Every segment of the game features a boss, ranging from jumbo bombers to massive tanks and other large war machines — with the final boss being a tank the size of a small city.
Overall, Ghost Pilots received mixed reviews, both at the time of its original release and in modern re-releases. In fact, the game offers solid graphics, fast-paced action, co-op play, and strong visual and sound effects, but its unforgiving difficulty and lack of enemy variety are often cited as drawbacks. In any case, it was fun to record this little nostalgic run.
Now it’s your turn: watch the video to relive (or discover) Ghost Pilots, leave your thoughts in the comments and share it with your retrogaming friends!
Cheers!
More info and gameplay
Details
- Length: 18:00
- Channel: Gaming Room
- Categories: Gameplays, Videos
- Views: 1