After Burner

The game allows the player to control an F-14 Tomcat jet airplane. At the start of the game, the player takes off from an aircraft carrier called the SEGA Enterprise on a mission to destroy enemy jets over 18 stages. In the arcade version, the jet employs a machine gun and a limited number of heat-seeking missiles (in the Master System version the player has unlimited missiles). These weapons are replenished by another aircraft, after beating a few stages.

The aircraft, cannon and missile buttons are controlled from an integrated flight stick . The game was released in two variations in the US: a standard upright cabinet and a closed, rotating-cockpit deluxe version. In the cockpit version, the seat tilted forward and backwards, and the cockpit rotated from side to side. It featured two speakers at head-level for stereo sound, and had a seatbelt to hold the player when the cockpit moved.

Both cabinets contained a grey monitor frame with flashing lights at the top that indicated an enemy's "lock" on the player's craft. Japan also received a commander cabinet that moved left and right. A third variation, called commander , released elsewhere, featured an open cabinet.