Air Duel (US location test, M82 hardware)

Mastering Air Duel’s US location test build starts with choosing the right aircraft for your playstyle: if you’re a new player, opt for the helicopter first, as its wide spread fire covers 70% of the screen, making it far easier to take out the faster, more frequent enemy swarms present in this test version. More experienced players should pick the fighter jet, whose piercing straight shot deals 30% more damage to armored targets and bosses, cutting down fight times significantly. First, prioritize collecting the exclusive invincibility power-up that spawns only in the second stage’s desert area, right after you destroy the third convoy of armored tanks: this power-up is not present in the final retail release, and will let you survive the stage’s brutal mid-boss ambush of 12 kamikaze jets without losing a life. For the opening ocean stage, stay ¼ of the way from either the left or right edge of the screen instead of the center: kamikaze jets dive from the top corners 20% faster in this test build, and staying off-center lets you dodge them without getting trapped against the screen border. When fighting bosses, always target their weak points first: for the stage 1 battleship boss, aim for the central bridge turret, which takes 10 fighter shots or 14 helicopter shots to destroy, and will stop the boss from firing its high-damage mortar rounds. The stage 3 industrial plant features periodic fire bursts from overhead pipes: memorize the 3-second interval between bursts to weave through gaps without taking damage. For co-op play, pair one fighter and one helicopter: the helicopter clears out small enemy swarms, while the fighter focuses on heavy ground targets and boss weak points, creating a perfect synergy that makes even the test build’s highest difficulty manageable. You’ll earn your first extra life at 30,000 points, and additional lives every 100,000 points after that, so prioritize collecting point pickups from destroyed ground targets to build up your life sto