A good soundtrack unfortunately doesn't save Fighting Hawk from being basic and janky as hell. Taito did successfully capture the Toaplan-style of vertical shooter here (although horizontal panning is oddly absent) but there's nothing special about it besides maybe the snow theme and final stage.

It's a bit of a shame because with its basic enemy formations, mostly doable recoveries and plentiful extends, Fighting Hawk could be a good shmup for beginners looking to get into the retro arcade side of the genre, but the jankiness of enemy collisions here would rightfully put them off.