MX 5000

MX 5000, also known as Flak Attack, is a military-themed vertical scrolling shoot ’em up released by Konami in 1987. Players pilot the advanced ‘MX 5000’ fighter jet on a revenge mission after their secret base is bombed by an enemy nation. The goal is to fight through waves of aircraft, helicopters, tanks, and static guns across five stages to destroy the enemy supercomputer, Zeta X. The game features a unique power-up system with separate gauges for air and ground enemies that, when filled, grant weapon upgrades like twin lasers and quintuple lasers. It supports solo play or alternating two-player co-op.

MX 5000: A Konami Deep Cut Lost in the Scramble

In the annals of video game history, 1987 stands as a monumental year. It was the year of Contra, Metal Gear, and Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest—titans that would define Konami’s legacy for decades. Yet, in that same prolific period, another title emerged from the storied developer, a vertical-scrolling shoot-’em-up that dared to innovate within a crowded genre. Known as Flak Attack in Japan and MX 5000 in the West, this game is a fascinating artifact: a technically ambitious, mechanically inventive, yet ultimately flawed gem that has been largely overshadowed by its blockbuster siblings. This review seeks to excavate and examine this curious entry, analyzing its unique systems, its place in Konami’s pantheon, and the reasons for its enigmatic status as a cult classic known only to a “selected few.”

Development History & Context

By 1987, Konami was operating at the peak of its arcade powers. The company had mastered the art of the side-scrolling action game and was a dominant force in the shoot-’em-up genre with the seminal Gradius series. The development of MX 5000 (codenamed GX669 internally) was likely a project born from this confidence—an attempt to push the vertical scroller beyond the established templates of games like Tōplan‘s Sky Shark.

The technological constraints of the era were both a limitation and a catalyst for creativity. The game’s PCB was noted for being surprisingly small, approximately six inches square, yet densely packed with Konami’s proprietary custom chips, similar to those used in Rush ‘n Attack. This hardware allowed for impressive features for the time, including detailed sprite work, large explosions, and, most notably, digitized speech—a hallmark of high-end Konami arcade titles. However, contemporary accounts from sources like the International Arcade Museum note a “jerky looking scrolling background,” a technical shortcoming that suggests the team may have been pushing their hardware to its absolute limit, perhaps prioritizing complex mechanics over flawless performance.

The gaming landscape was fiercely competitive. The shoot-’em-up genre was saturated, and for a new title to stand out, it needed a hook. MX 5000‘s developers seemed acutely aware of this, eschewing a simple power-up collection system for something far more nuanced and strategic, a gamble that would define the game’s entire identity.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The narrative of MX 5000 is pure, distilled 1980s arcade melodrama, delivered with the subtlety of a bunker buster. A war is raging between two nations: the Roufanis territory and the Desalis empire. The game begins in medias res with a catastrophic event: the Desalis empire has bombed your secret base. This opening is not merely a backdrop; it’s a call to arms. As the last hope of your nation, you pilot the most advanced fighter in the arsenal, the “MX 5000″—a modified F-15E—on a mission of vengeance.

The ultimate objective is to destroy Zeta X, the supercomputer coordinating the enemy attacks. This plot point places MX 5000 firmly in the techno-thriller tradition of the era, where a faceless, logical machine was the ultimate villain. The storytelling is environmental and implied through the action. The journey from your devastated base through enemy lines, over volcanic landscapes and fortified installations, tells a story of a desperate counter-offensive. The dialogue is minimal, limited to hard-to-understand digitized shouts and a congratulatory message upon success, placing the entire emotional weight of the narrative on the player’s performance and survival.

A delightful piece of trivia adds a layer of playful homage to the setting: the design of the secret base, with its pool draining to launch the fighter, was apparently inspired by the iconic reveal of Mazinger Z‘s hangar. This small detail reveals a development team steeped in anime and mecha culture, injecting a bit of Japanese superhero flair into a otherwise straightforward military fantasy.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

This is where MX 5000 truly separates itself from the pack. On the surface, it follows the standard formula: control a jet, scroll upward, shoot everything that moves, defeat a boss. But its core mechanics are anything but standard.

The Dual-Gauge Power-Up System: This is the game’s masterstroke. Instead of collecting floating icons, weapon upgrades are earned through a sophisticated meter-based system. Two separate gauges dominate the top of the HUD: “Plane” and “Tank.”

• The Plane Gauge fills as you destroy airborne enemies (fighters, helicopters). When full, it spawns a stationary power-up that upgrades your main gun. You start with a limited twin machine gun. The first upgrade transforms it into a powerful, focused laser that fires a dense stream of projectiles. The second and final upgrade is a twin laser, widening the coverage. Subsequent Plane power-ups after being fully upgraded merely add 1,000 points to your score.
• The Tank Gauge fills by destroying ground targets (tanks, artillery) and certain environmental hazards like volcanic boulders. Its power-ups enhance your bomb weapon. The initial volley is upgraded to three bombs, and then to five missiles, significantly increasing your area-of-effect damage. Like the air weapons, further pickups become mere point bonuses.

This system fundamentally changes the player’s engagement. It encourages balanced play; a player who only focuses on air targets will find themselves woefully underpowered against hardened ground fortifications, and vice-versa. It adds a layer of strategic resource management rarely seen in the genre.

The Boss Encounter Paradigm: Another significant innovation occurs during boss fights. The screen stops scrolling, and your plane “swoops” into a wide-open arena. Here, you have full 8-way movement and can even fly behind the massive boss vehicles. Crucially, bosses and their auxiliary ground units can only be damaged by bombs, while your main gun must be used to fend off incoming rockets and support fighters. This creates a dynamic, multi-layered combat puzzle where managing your two weapon systems becomes simultaneously frantic and tactical.

Other Systems: A speed power-up (“S”) can be found by destroying ground targets, allowing for up to three mobility enhancements. The game is notoriously tough, a hallmark of arcade design intended to consume quarters. Furthermore, achieving the true ending requires completing a second loop of its five stages with increased difficulty, a brutal challenge for even the most dedicated players.

While innovative, the systems are not without flaw. The forced reset of both gauges after each boss—converting the remaining fill into points—can feel punishing, robbing the player of hard-earned progress and making the start of every new level a vulnerable grind.

World-Building, Art & Sound

MX 5000 presents a cohesive, if gritty, military world. The visual direction is realistic for its time, favoring gritty military browns and greens over the neon fantastical colors of other Konami shooters like TwinBee. The enemy roster is a believable assortment of military hardware: jets, helicopters, tanks, and anti-aircraft batteries. Environmental hazards like erupting volcanoes that lob rocks into the air and lava lakes that spew burning boulders add a layer of natural danger to the man-made carnage, creating a convincing world under total siege.

The sound design is pure Konami excellence. The digitized speech, while noted as difficult to understand, adds a layer of gritty authenticity. The explosions are satisfyingly chunky. But the true standout is the soundtrack, composed by Y. Uno and T. Ogura. The Stage 1 theme, “Counter Attack,” is a legendary track among Konami enthusiasts—a driving, melodic piece of military synth-rock that perfectly captures the game’s tone of desperate retaliation. Its quality was so recognized internally that it was reused in other Konami titles like Devastators and later remixed for the Parodius series. The boss theme, “Counter Work,” also received a remix in Otomedius Excellent, cementing the game’s auditory legacy far beyond its own commercial reach.

Reception & Legacy

Upon its release, MX 5000 was likely seen as a solid but technically flawed entry in a busy field. Contemporary sources note its visual appeal but also its “jerky” scrolling and extreme difficulty. It was not a smash hit on the level of Contra or Gradius. Its commercial performance ensured it remained a deep cut, a curious footnote in Konami’s 1987 lineup.

However, its legacy is one of quiet reverence and slow-burning influence. It found a second life through numerous re-releases: on Microsoft’s Game Room service for Xbox 360 and Windows in 2010, and, most significantly, as part of Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives series for PlayStation 4 (2016) and Nintendo Switch (2020). These digital re-releases introduced its unique mechanics to new generations of retro gaming enthusiasts.

Its most enduring legacy lies in its innovations. The dual-gauge system was a bold experiment in player incentive and strategic shooting. While not widely copied, it stands as a fascinating “what if” in shmup design. Furthermore, the game earned a place in Konami’s own canon through cameos; the MX5000 fighter appeared alongside the Vic Viper and TwinBee in Airforce Delta Strike, a nod from the company acknowledging its place in their storied history of aerial combat games.

Conclusion

MX 5000 (Flak Attack) is a game of fascinating contradictions. It is both innovative and flawed, ambitious and obscure. It represents a Konami that was not just iterating on proven formulas but was willing to experiment, even if the final product lacked the polish of their flagship titles. Its unique gauge-based power-up system and tactical boss battles mark it as a title ahead of its time in many ways, a hardcore shooter’s shooter that demanded more from the player than simple reflex.

It is not a perfect game. The jarring scrolling and brutal difficulty are significant barriers to entry. But for those willing to engage with its systems, it offers a deeply rewarding and distinct experience within the vertical shmup genre. It does not stand as a lost masterpiece on the level of Gradius or Salamander, but rather as a brilliant, flawed prototype—a testament to Konami’s creative ambition during its golden age. For historians and genre aficionados, it remains an essential play, a captivating deep cut that deserves more than a footnote in the history of both Konami and the shoot-’em-up.