Fire Shark^[a] is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe, and by Romstar in North America. It is the sequel to Flying Shark, a game released in 1987 on multiple platforms. Set in the year 1991, the game focuses on a mysterious armada launching a worldwide attack from a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. Players take control of the titular biplane to counterattack the enemy forces.

Though first launched for the arcades, Fire Shark was ported in-house to the Mega Drive/Genesis and published worldwide by DreamWorks, Toaplan and Sega between 1990 and 1991. The console launch featured various changes compared with the original release.

A conversion for the Sharp X68000 was developed but never released. The game was well received in arcades across Western regions where reviewers commended its graphics, sound and gameplay, however it proved to be less popular in Japan due to the high difficulty level. The Mega Drive/Genesis version was also met with mostly positive reviews from critics across multiple regions.

Gameplay – Fire Shark

Fire Shark is a military-themed vertically scrolling shoot ’em up game reminiscent of 1942, where players take control of the titular biplane through ten increasingly difficult levels in order to defeat an assortment of enemy forces like tanks, battleships, kamikaze monoplanes and artillery from the mysterious Strange Fleet armada. This is the main objective of the game.^[1][2][3][4] 

The game plays similarly like its predecessor, as players control their craft over a constantly scrolling background and the scenery never stops moving until an airport is reached. Players have two weapons at their disposal: the standard shot that travels a max distance of half the screen’s height and bombs capable of obliterating any enemy caught within its blast radius.^[1][4]

Fire Shark

Give me your Heart

Voice in Tokyo

Sadness in your Eyes

From the sun to me