Mission Cobra is a vertical-scrolling shooter developed by Joy Van, first released for the NES in 1989. It is also known as Sidewinder in Australia and Asia. Players pilot a fast, powerful helicopter through enemy-held airspace to defeat the enemy commander, with single-player and 2-player co-op modes available.
Health is tracked via the "Exx" counter (starts at 66), which doubles as both HP and fuel. It depletes gradually during flight and drops sharply when hit. Destroying enemies drops supplies, some of which restore the Exx counter. When it hits zero, you can still fly, but one more hit means instant death. The game has 3 levels, each ending in a boss fight, and loops back to Level 1 after completion for continued challenge.