<s>
The	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
can	O
change	O
its	O
altitude	O
to	O
allow	O
it	O
to	O
either	O
rise	O
higher	O
in	O
the	O
air	O
or	O
lower	O
towards	O
the	O
ground	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
games	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
under	O
Namco	O
's	O
then-new	O
research	O
and	O
development	O
(	O
R&D	O
)	O
video	O
game	O
division	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
staff	O
focused	O
on	O
creating	O
a	O
game	O
that	O
was	O
both	O
fun	O
to	O
play	O
and	O
exhilarating	O
,	O
and	O
one	O
with	O
powerful	O
,	O
impressive	O
hardware	O
capabilities	O
,	O
specifically	O
in	O
its	O
motion	B-General_Concept
simulator	I-General_Concept
arcade	O
cabinet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
was	O
produced	O
in	O
limited	O
quantities	O
due	O
to	O
production	O
costs	O
regarding	O
the	O
cabinet	O
;	O
despite	O
this	O
,	O
it	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
commercial	O
success	O
,	O
and	O
remained	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
arcade	O
games	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
have	O
also	O
compared	O
the	O
game	O
heavily	O
to	O
Sega	O
's	O
Thunder	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
,	O
with	O
many	O
finding	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
to	O
be	O
superior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
home	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
was	O
rumored	O
to	O
be	O
in	O
development	O
but	O
later	O
cancelled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
is	O
a	O
multi-directional	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
cross	O
between	O
Namco	O
's	O
own	O
Assault	B-Application
and	O
Sega	O
's	O
Thunder	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
is	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
machine	O
gun	O
for	O
destroying	O
air-based	O
enemies	O
and	O
air-to-surface	O
missiles	O
for	O
destroying	O
ground-based	O
enemies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
can	O
change	O
its	O
altitude	O
via	O
a	O
throttle	O
lever	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
arcade	O
cabinet	O
,	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
either	O
rise	O
higher	O
into	O
the	O
air	O
or	O
lower	O
towards	O
the	O
ground	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
destroying	O
air	O
and	O
ground-based	O
enemies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
map	O
rotates	O
around	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
who	O
remains	O
in	O
the	O
center	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
at	O
all	O
times	O
,	O
a	O
concept	O
previously	O
used	O
in	O
Assault	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
Japanese	O
video	O
game	O
developer	O
Namco	O
quickly	O
rose	O
to	O
become	O
one	O
of	O
Japan	O
's	O
leading	O
video	O
game	O
developers	O
,	O
creating	O
hit	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Tower	I-Application
of	I-Application
Druaga	I-Application
(	O
1984	O
)	O
,	O
Pac-Land	B-Application
(	O
1984	O
)	O
,	O
Metro-Cross	B-Application
(	O
1985	O
)	O
and	O
Rolling	B-Application
Thunder	I-Application
(	O
1986	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
games	O
produced	O
under	O
this	O
new	O
division	O
,	O
alongside	O
Assault	B-Application
(	O
1988	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
produced	O
for	O
the	O
Namco	O
System	O
2	O
arcade	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
powered	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
Burning	B-Application
Force	I-Application
,	O
Valkyrie	B-Application
no	I-Application
Densetsu	I-Application
,	O
Finest	B-Application
Hour	I-Application
and	O
Cosmo	B-Application
Gang	I-Application
the	I-Application
Video	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shinji	O
Hosoe	O
composed	O
the	O
soundtrack	O
for	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
,	O
with	O
assistance	O
from	O
fellow	O
composer	O
Kazuo	O
Noguchi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hosoe	O
sees	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
as	O
one	O
of	O
his	O
defining	O
games	O
for	O
his	O
time	O
at	O
the	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
October	O
1988	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Namco	O
showed	O
off	O
the	O
game	O
at	O
the	O
1988	O
Amusement	O
Machine	O
exposition	O
in	O
December	O
,	O
presented	O
alongside	O
other	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Splatterhouse	B-Application
,	O
Ordyne	B-Application
,	O
Mirai	B-Application
Ninja	I-Application
and	O
Pro	B-Application
Tennis	I-Application
:	I-Application
World	I-Application
Court	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
itself	O
was	O
produced	O
in	O
limited	O
quantities	O
,	O
a	O
fact	O
attributed	O
to	O
the	O
high	O
production	O
costs	O
of	O
the	O
cabinet	O
;	O
as	O
such	O
,	O
original	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
arcade	O
units	O
and	O
boards	O
are	O
very	O
rare	O
and	O
considered	O
prized	O
collector	O
's	O
items	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
home	O
conversion	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
was	O
believed	O
to	O
be	O
in	O
production	O
but	O
later	O
cancelled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
a	O
low	O
production	O
run	O
,	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
commercial	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
September	O
1990	O
issue	O
of	O
Leisure	O
Line	O
magazine	O
reported	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
seventh	O
most-popular	O
coin-op	O
game	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
,	O
outdoing	O
both	O
Out	B-Application
Run	I-Application
and	O
After	B-Application
Burner	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
+	O
Video	O
Games	O
claimed	O
that	O
"	O
lots	O
of	O
excitement	O
and	O
a	O
thrilling	O
ride	O
are	O
guaranteed	O
if	O
you	O
're	O
man	O
enough	O
to	O
ride	O
the	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
publications	O
heavily	O
compared	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
to	O
the	O
game	O
Thunder	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
(	O
1987	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
most	O
feeling	O
it	O
was	O
superior	O
than	O
Sega	O
's	O
offering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
also	O
commended	O
the	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
arcade	O
cabinet	O
for	O
its	O
impressive	O
,	O
immersive	O
design	O
and	O
motion-based	O
features	O
adding	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
fast-paced	O
and	O
intense	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retrospectively	O
in	O
2008	O
,	O
Sega-16	O
compared	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
graphics	O
to	O
Konami	O
's	O
Ajax	B-Application
and	O
its	O
gameplay	O
to	O
Namco	O
's	O
own	O
Assault	B-Application
,	O
alongside	O
the	O
Namco	O
System	O
2	O
hardware	O
for	O
its	O
impressive	O
sprite	O
and	O
background	O
scaling	O
techniques	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
expressed	O
disappointment	O
towards	O
the	O
cancellation	O
of	O
the	O
rumored	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
version	O
,	O
writing	O
"	O
Metal	B-Application
Hawk	I-Application
’s	O
scaling	O
makes	O
it	O
a	O
perfect	O
fit	O
(	O
and	O
a	O
perfect	O
showcase	O
)	O
for	O
what	O
the	O
CD	O
hardware	O
can	O
do	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
sadly	O
give	O
us	O
yet	O
another	O
game	O
to	O
ponder	O
"	O
and	O
noting	O
that	O
it	O
and	O
Namco	O
's	O
other	O
arcade	O
titles	O
could	O
have	O
potentially	O
sparked	O
additional	O
interest	O
and	O
hope	O
into	O
the	O
add-on	O
.	O
</s>
