Is Aerobiz [SNES] Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Also covers Aerobiz Supersonic. These games are very good for what they are, and what they are is not for everyone. They still work as good gateway games to the management sim genre, just because the subject matter is a little more relatable. Also, important note: I tried desperately to work in a Pernell Roberts "San Francisco International" joke somewhere but it was not meant to be.
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The amount of hours I put into Aerobiz Supersonic as a kid....yikes. I also wrote their Japan office (I was a kid) and told them how much I liked the game and asked if they had any help for me. Like two months later I got this huge packet in the mail with the SNES and Genesis instruction guides, a hand written thank you note, stickers, and a coupon for Koei games. It meant so much to me as a kid!!
that's a really nice story
Sad to think that the likelihood of that happening nowadays is basically zero.
@@acomingextinction also I forgot -- they attached what I now think was like an in-office strategy guide they had made up, to get the best startup (use tokyo, buy these planes, etc). So cool.
That's awesome!
No you're crying
I sat down in my cubicle for the morning and opened youtube to listen to something during my morning routine. Then, I see my favorite channel has posted a video about my favorite video game. This game is the reason I went to business school. This game is why I'm sitting in this cubicle. Thank you, SD, I AM going to have a great rest of my day!
Have you played Stardew Valley?
I've been waiting for this game to show up on here since I started seeing the other SNES Koei games.
Loved this game. Lost so many hours to it.
@@bigduke5902 not yet.
Wish they'd come out with a New AEROBIZ
This comment made my day. Rad a.f.
On hot summer days in the mid 90s I'd play this game at a friends house in the basement while eating Italian Pizzelle cookies and listening to KISS on vinyl. It was a weird time man.
I hope it was at least cooler in the basement 🥵🔥
What Kiss record?
@@AleisterMeowley I think it was Love Gun haha
Sounds like a fun time!
@@76_SPZL hell yeah
I rented this as a kid, having no idea what it was. I was instantly hooked and played for hours, much to the irritation of my parents. One of the few games I beat as a kid.
I still go back and play it every now and then. Airbus A330 supremacy ✊
this is the reason I read coimments sometimes :)
Lmao. That's hilarious....
I definitely never rented these kind of games.
I rented Koei games any time I couldn't find them for sale, which was usually the case. I would often play them for hours and go back and rent them many more times.
Why would playing this irritate your parents? This seems like the kind of game that would lead to pursuit of a lucrative career path?
Me too. Rented this from Blockbuster, and fell in love. I played through it again a few years ago and it still holds up. I'd love to see a sequel.
Beating a KOEI strategy game should be considered a resume worthy qualification
Winning a game of RTK 11 is still among my proudest achievements.
Not really, PTO2 was pretty easy due to the brain dead AI.
Is before tecmo Koei still count? Like early warrior series and kessen
Warrior series with empires in the title have combination of rotk and warriors element
I played so much Aerobiz and Aerobiz Supersonic as a kid, it taught me 20th century history, it taught me geography (only reason why I knew it's 3500 miles from New York to London as a 5th grader), hell it's probably the reason why I make airplane parts for a living
I've weirdly had two former coworkers, neither a huge gamer but they have been casually into the hobby since childhood, that both were insanely into Aerobiz when they were kids and go on about how they're a classic series of the era. Both worked at separate locations for our company and never met.
it was your sacred duty to connect the with each other!
@@sergeib1233 It's never too late
Reskinned NPCs because _they_ aren't imaginative.
"... and schedule meetings that could've been emails!"
Realistic simulation indeed.
It was the 90's, they would have been faxes or memos.
Aerobiz was one of the most important games I played as a child. Proof that I'm very much a nerd but I really really enjoyed this game. Never owned, frequently rented.
When you repeatedly rent a game only to find out someone else had rented it in between and deleted your save.
@@TubeTAG If they rented for this long, likely they were the only customer that picked this game
@@gluttonousmaximus9048 I dunno. I know I've had that happen to me at least once back in yonder years when renting a video game cartridge was a thing that people did.
A risk that was always present. But sometimes, the save file would be farther along in the game and past a point you were stumped at.
Can you imagine waking up Christmas Day at 12 and unwrapping this gem?! Thanks Santa!
Who the hell slept til noon on Christmas day as a kid?
Bruh
Still better than Lee Carvello's Putting Challenge
@@listerofsmeg884D'oh! You're right!
@@listerofsmeg884 would you like to fly again?
Modern version of this game: "Oh no you bought a bunch of Boeing 737s"
Protip: move cursor to the bottom most option and tap 9 times down to access a secret menu: media management. Options included within are media lobbying, monetary talk-around, and "mute"... yes. The implications are horrible, like those Airbus planes and their aftermats
@@khaimk4r4sumute as in killing somebody? 😂
It'd be a good choice until the Max's show up.
737 Max, door blew off, kid loose shirt, girls hug that boy, they found a door on the tree,
Unlesh the might of Boeing - Experience the legend
BUY THE DLC NOW FOR 29.99
I'd like to hear an interview of 4 people that actually sat down and played this game against each other using the local multiplayer. I would have a LOT of questions for those people.
I know a group who did it online, but not local.
@@WillCooper1 ask away.
I don't recall if I ever played it with 4 people, but I played a lot of 3 player games with one AI with my brother and my father, beat the hell out of playing monopoly or whatever!
My wife and I played this together just 5 years ago or so.
sounds like an awesome idea for a double date
I love the Aerobiz series! Can’t get into any of the other Koei games, but found the gameplay here addicting “Just one more turn”. The music also helps me stay engaged.
@@thomask2416 completely agree! This is the only KOEI game I ever liked enough to spend time on. I rented it at least three times as a kid!
After this I played Nobunaga's Ambition and had fun trying to beat it, which I did. Some territories are easier than others at the start to take over Japan. I think the age of your starting Shogun matters too; I don't think you lose if your guy dies of old age, but there may be a time-out for succession.
I then got Genghis Khan which was similar but more involved in economics of rice farming and taking over China. It was similar but more complicated so I didn't get into it and gave it to my cousin.
I saw "Drunk" at the bottom of the screen & thought for a second it was your status effect.
It'd be a fun effect for pre-WWII aircraft
"Would *you* get into that thing sober?"
KOEI should pay minimum wage to play their games
Couldn't agree more.
Made for the tortured salaryman that just can't get enough beurocrating
You should pay us minimum wage to read your comments
I really liked this game as a kid.
Theme Hospital sounds like that though 😂 it's just got a huge learning curve. If it had a strong intro scenario/tutorial and wasnt so hard to get in to, I would like to try a lot of these. But I'm not spending hours to learn the basics. That issue has stopped me playing the fan remade XCom 1 even and I REALLY wanna play that 😢
I was OBSESSED with this and Aerobiz: Supersonic as a kid. Still one of my favorites to comes back to after all this time
It's now canon: John Stossel plays retro wrestling games in his off time. It's a guilty pleasure.
Anything to keep him away from the culture war he has so profited from…
100% would watch that twitch/TH-cam channel.
“Shawn Michaels, give me a break!”
@kaimcdragonfist4803 He'll also start putting out cover music videos like a vtuber.
he was probably using it as research into his followup to the infamous interview that he did in the 80s
Dr. David Schultz is his favorite wrester to choose.
They could do a modern update with Boeing, which would include an assassination missions
I chuckled, but shouldn’t.
Players would boycott buying planes that had as bad a reputation as Boeing and they would either be forced by the market to improve or face bankruptcy for their negligence...if only the real world worked like that
It's been 8 days since joshdrewpic made that comment. Has anyone seen him?
@@footballrestored171 Josh is fine. I have moved to a farm upstate. I spend my days thinking about how great Boeing is. Definitely not dead.
@@joshdrewpic Whew. That's a relief. Okay, carry on, people. Nothing to see here.
Without SNES Drunk, I wouldn’t know who John Stossel even was.
I tell my clients to have a great rest of their day at the end of every phone call, and I like to think I can credit SNES Drunk for instilling that in me.
Stossel has an amazing youtube channel worth watching, he covers topics and points of view the main stream media doesnt.
@ChrisVsRPG don’t know how I’d score on call quality but hey worth a shot! 🤣
@@samuelallen2831 Maybe your supervisor would start analysing your calls to work out what percentage of the call your SNNNNNNES DRUNK intro took up.
I sign off my emails to "Have a great rest of your day" and a lot of coworkers and clients comment that its a sweet gesture. I dunno hearing that outro to a SNES Drunk video makes me feel all warm inside.
As a teen I idolized John Stossel until I grew up and realized that he is just a dumb smug asshole. There's a video out there from the 80s where he harangues people for buying jApaNeSe Nintendo games instead of aMeriCaN ATARI games. So we're supposed to buy inferior Atari 5800 games just because they're American? Ay john, I thought the better product was supposed to win, but you'll throw out your usual fReE mARkET worship just to hate on the Japanese?! Absolutely absurd!
I spent hours and hours playing Aerobiz Supersonic with my dad growing up. It will forever hold a special place in my heart.
My brother & I used to play the shit out of all the KOEI games together. Aerobiz & Aerobiz Supersonic were right up there with ROTTK, Nobunaga's Ambition & Genghis Khan. I was in my teens, and he was 10 years older than me, and these games were an awesome way for us to bond. We've been playing games together for 30 years now
Are you also play bandit king of the ancients and gemfire?
You have a great rest of your day too 😊
SNES was a Golden Age of console innovation. Thanks for sharing this gem, brother.
That is Bettman lmao. He was NHL commissioner when Aerobiz Supersonic released too. Over 30 years is a long tenure.
Aerobiz, the dry game about managing an airline business.
But it's the best game of its class. :)
Loved Aerobiz Supersonic as a kid. Was one of my favorite games on the SNES. I loved that music. Your sports references always go completely over my head.
Aerobiz is fun! Each region has their own theme song and while Asia’s theme is an absolute ear worm, North America’s is quite literally Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. lol.
This is one of my favorite snes games as a kid. I remember renting it and spending all weekend playing it
As someone who grew up with a lot of strategy and management games on the western home micros (Carrier Command, Sim City, UFO, Detroit), I'm enjoying this season of KOEI-drunk as it lets me see how the other half lived.
Our 90s local video store used to carry this. It was one of two titles I vividly remember never got checked out and was always on the shelf. The other was Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball.
Underrated game. Its oddly addicting. The music is a BIG part of it. It feels cozy!
05:30 Oh gosh, you can see how they struggled to fit "TRAVEL AGENCY" within that little rectangle with those pixels. It looks like it reads ACEMEY
I want a supercut of every "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSNESDRUNK" intro back to back to back.
But what you want, is not always what you need...
thats so many videos 😂
I'm really glad you re-mention John Stossel on the cover
@stossdrunk hard at work!
I have been waiting for this video for ages. The chill vibes, music and art make it an underrated trip to a better age.
I loved this game as a kid, I played it fairly recently, within the last couple years, still fun, but a bit easy. Supersonic is a far superior title.
Yes,Aerobiz is the one desperately need a remake alongside Gemfire
Absolutely!
It has a Playstation era remake that has a minimal patch, IIRC.
You have been following me haven't you?
I have been shoving "Gemfire" down KOEI's throat for years, yet they create other....games.
Gemfire is such an easy game I'd really like to see a much more complicated version?
who is your favourite wizard? mine is Empyron
Man, Gemfire. All that game needed to be perfect was AI that could think its way out of a paper bag.
The John Stossel reference was 😙🤌
Now that I'm looking at the package art, it could be thought of as a 9-11 game
Yikes
That’s called “predictive-programming”
TONS of examples of 9-11 predictive-programming in 1980’s-1990’s television, movies, and other kids media.
A few videos about it on TH-cam
I just looked up your review for this game like 2 weeks ago and saw it was one of the few snes games you havent reviewed, and i look today and this video is out! Lol wild
I'm fascinated by all the comments from people who played this as a kid and loved it, I never played any of the Koei games back then. There was something about them I found really intimidating, and watching these recent videos I think I probably wouldn't have had a good time if I'd picked them up. But it's fun to see them explained in a way that makes their density a little more comprehensible.
Good review! I vaguely remember seeing these Koei games as a kid. I think I was allergic to these types of games as a kid. I know they probably would have bored me to tears. They are an interesting idea and they definitely have their audience. Though, it is surprising that Koei would have localized these types of games as I wouldn't think they would have been popular with American kids.
1:51 I wanna hire Greg Gates from U.N. Squadron. My planes will keep flying no matter how battered - just rub some whisky in the wound and back up he goes!
My friends and I rented Aerobiz when it first came out. They were skeptical when I said to get it, but Nintendo Power or some other magazine had been talking it up. Yeah, we went 4-player, and everybody was super into it, spent most of he weekend playing it. Never did play Supersonic, though I have the Saturn release of '96 that I'll dig into one of these days.
Given that it’s in Japanese, wonder how easy it is to just meander through it based on the SNES version?
I myself hope to try the Sharp X68000 version one day, but given how rare it is to even SEE that console these days (at cons or otherwise), might be a tall order to do a comparison.
Might even be as good as the Cockpit…
Your KOEI reviews are great because you give them a fair shake. I feel like other reviewers would either skip these games or dismiss them out of hand. Nice job.
My wish for you to cover KOEI strategy games came true.
Thank you
Aerobiz is a game that I played 3 player with my brother and dad. Im serious to say this was one of my favorites growing up because of this. Hearing that citypop-ish music always takes me back.
Am I the only one who thinks the box art screams last photo taken in the Twin Towers before 9/11?
Looks like fun. I like Civilization and this seems like it's in the vein
Loving this little series of videos.. very fascinating games. Congrats on surpassing 300k 👌👏
These were really special games in my childhood. While I wasn't exactly new to simulation games at the time, it has amused me looking back on how much I fucking loves these games. I still remember my friend and I renting the game and pulling an all-nighter playing it at a sleep over. We never did that with any other game, but for whatever reason that game just clicked for us.
Come for the SNES. Stay for the Drunk.
I love Koei games! My friend and I would spend whole weekends playing Aerobiz Supersonic in high school. Also, I strongly agree with your comment about Uncharted Waters: New Horizons. One of the best underrated games ever made for the SNES!!
Aerobic and Aerobiz Supersonic are weirdly fun. Great games.
The North America theme in Aerobiz Supersonic is a clear riff on Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven. Looking forward to hearing it in a relaxing SNES compilation one day. 😉
Yeah, how did they get away with that?
This may be just me, but I find Aerobiz and especially Aerobiz Supersonic to be somewhat accessible. Heck, I actually played a full game and won a match in the sequel. There’s something appealing about growing a “worldwide empire” even if it is air travel (and especially as you improve the quality of life of struggling cities in the sequel).
I’d recommend these to any strategy fans that love tinkering to see how things tick. I think they can vibe with the game the most if they’re able to get over the less-than-exciting subject matter.
if you go in to buy a Boeing plane in the first Aerobiz, they say "Our safety record is unsurpassed" lol
Very interesting video, as usual. Thanks for bringing this reviews, it's great to get to know this games we missed back in the day.
I'm loving your KOEI era. My dad and I played a ton of Aerobiz and PTO when I was growing up.
Dam the music was pretty good lol
Supersonic is a cherished game of mine. That music hits my nostalgia buttons hard.
Still praying for ya. I thought I remember hearing one time you were dealing with depression.
1:50 OMG HE DOES LOOK LIKE BETTMAN I'M DYING
I had a childhood friend who LOVED this games. I didn't have a console, so I got a lot of SNES time over at his house. Played a lot of NBA jam and that WWF fighting game (can't recall the name) and those were a lot of fun of course. Then he gets this thing and wants met to play against him ... after about 30 minutes it was like no thanks 😂
Was it Royal Rumble 🤔
WrestleMania The Arcade Game probably
While testing every rom on Snes fullset, I reached a point where I skip every game as soon as I see the Koei logo. Those games are not for me, but I certaintly enjoy these vids.
Thank you bro
Understandable... wonder if that changes if and when you reach the PS2 fullset...
John Stossel is probably still looking to unlock Dr.D in hopes of enacting his revenge and no one thought to tell him he isn't in any game.
Hell yeah! 4 player Aerobiz deathmatch growing up was the epitome of summer vacation fun.
Back when I was in 8th and 9th grade me and two of my buddies would plan our weekends around this game and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I remember we used to play Aerobiz FOR HOURS. Like well into the night.
We would order a few pizzas, play Aerobiz until someone won, watch a movie, fall asleep in our sleeping bags, then someone would wake up in thr middle of the night, start up Romance and then we would play til morning 😅
My buddy and I first ran into this on SEGA Channel, we had no idea what it was but we got hooked immediately. Was weird because we really weren't into these kinds of games at the time but this and Gemfire ended up becoming obsessions for us for a long while.
Wow I never knew John Stossel was in Aerobiz Supersonic. What a time to be alive.
The fact that they released two of these games in America suggests the first one must have sold well, or at least been profitable. What sort of person buys these games? No shade, I’m just genuinely curious. I would assume it’s older dad types, but are there kids out there who just love games with lots of numbers and stats?
Check the rest of the comments
So I rented this game quite a bit when I was about 7. For me I was and am a sucker for anything out of the conventional box. Gaming back then was so genre heavy just like it is today. So a lot of games were just the same game as another game with a small change in gameplay, appearance, or setting. So the idea of a game where you're an airline CEO? You mean we can do that? Sign me up! It was the exact same reason I tried SimCity which became one of my favorite games ever. It also helped that I was very intelligent for my age and could figure out most of the concepts involved.
I loved these Koei games as a kid. I rented them and I might have bought it from the rental store when they were trying to get rid of them (Liberty or Death, Romance of the Three Kingdoms II, Aerobiz). I wasn't great at any of them, but I sure did love them
@@aznluvr7 Dude Liberty Or Death is such an underappreciated banger. I wish someone would do something with that game where they added modern conventions to it. That was always the main problem with the older Koei strategy games was just that the necessity to adapt them to the Super Nintendo made some of them kind of obtuse. Like the way different regions took their turns was always a little hard to get a grasp on in my opinion in any of them. Imagine if you could play Liberty Or Death using a keyboard and mouse today.
@@jackcoleman1784 Yep would be sweet, but it's the only way I ever played it. I learned tons of historical stuff about the Revolutionary War thanks to that game. The manual even had a small section on the history of the war.
0:03 Almost Hitler, that dude in the lower right corner.
Pretty cool concept! Awesome video Drunk!
Oh this reminds me of playing Airline Tycoon and the german game „Der Reeder“ (Ocean Trader) back in the day on PC. I spend hundreds of hours in tycoon games as a child. All those Koei titles never came out in Europe, but I‘m pretty sure i would have enjoyed them. These days I‘m completely over the genre, but maybe I‘ll try Aerobiz, just for the funzies.
Don't forget about Zeppelin and merchant prince
I have play bot in DOS version
Btw, ocean trader have spiritual successor in transocean
I have play first transocean and it's fun to play
Looks a good template for a British developer to add humour and more fun, that game could have become a popular 90s PC sim game. Bullfrog's Aerobiz would be a classic ❤
I met John Stossel back in college when he came to speak at my school about his then new book "Give Me a Break." I bought a copy of the book after the presentation and went up to him to have it signed. I told him how his ideas were really thought-provoking and unlike anything else I had seen in the media at that time. He didn't say anything and just looked at me as if I were the biggest idiot in the world. 😅
He was expecting you to slap him and was disappointed when he didn't get that hand on cheek action.
Aerobiz 2 is one of the most addictive management sims I've ever played. Tried it on a whim one weekend and was instantly hooked. Absolute gem of a game!
As with many commenters here I loved this game as a child and still think fondly of it from time to time. The music was great and is burned into my mind forevermore, and the skills I casually honed while playing have translated into my career.
Mastermind:World Conqueror cuts a really fast pace but is also much less dense than even the lightest Koei game. I'd say that's more like an arcade style management game with entertaining cutscenes.
I freaking love these games
Would be cool to have it updated with how 2020 actually went.
I love this game, despite all it's flaws. I wish they'd make a new one. I never would have played it if it wasn't on my friends Sega Channel. FYI Drunk there's a Japanese-only PlayStation release that is different, but not as good imho.
Your Koei journey must be exhausting. I appreciate the effort you put into taking an honest look at each of these games, what a task!
I sure don't want to play these games, but I'm glad they exist for tactical sickos.
If I were the DEA and I heard about some friends gathering for an Aerobiz four players session, I'd raid it as a probable front for a drugs ring.
Judge: "They are playing _what?_ Let me sign that warrant."
Love the topical (and otherwise) gaming references. 😅
Shoutout to WWF Wrestlefest!
An updated version would be the online retail wars (e-commerce).
Dang, now you've given me yet another idea for my list. An airport management sim where you occasionally fly a plane yourself. Idea number 1542.
I played the 2 played mode with my cousin for hours and hours when I was a kid. We were obsessed with Aerobiz. I'm sure I didn't understand half of what I was doing, but I was having fun.
I love this channel. Great vid, thx.
As a kid, my brother loved renting this game. I didn't understand it at all. Maybe I'll give it a shot now that I'm an adult... Wall Street Kid, too.
Aerobiz Supersonic deciding to stop their airline simulator at 2020 is actually pretty funny.
If they made this game in 2024, Boeing whistleblowers would be an industry-shattering RNG event 😅
Still a banger of a game, especially the sequel. Bought one of those sketchy '10,000 games in one!' Raspberry Pis recently, and went straight to this.
MS teams Simulator... neat... now I can keep doing that after work!!
Heck yeah! Some juicy work after work.
I played this game a ton as a kid, and now I have spent 20 years working in the airline industry. Thanks Aerobiz :)
Aerobiz Supersonic is in my top 3 Mega Drive games of all time ❤️. i also bought the pc9801 version of the game
Wow.
The slams on Bettman to Stossel preceded you and any game here.
Well done.
Well done.
This game was my jam as a kid. I rented it all the time on Genesis from the local video store along with the Dune RTS. When said video store closed down I was actually able to buy the game from them.
I gave Aerobiz a play not too long ago now that I know more. I did great for a few turns before I still didn't know what to do and it all fell apart lol. I will have to try the sequel since it seems a lil better. Thanks for all the awesome videos for all different systems!
I didn't discover this game until only a few years ago, but I loved it. I really would like a modern version of this game on PC.