Alien Soldier

Alien Soldier
Japanese cover art
Developer(s)	Treasure
Publisher(s)	Sega
Producer(s)	Hideyuki Suganami
Composer(s)	Norio Hanzawa
Platform(s)	Mega Drive
Release date(s)	JP February 24, 1995 NA 1995 (Sega Channel) PAL June 1, 1995
Genre(s)	Run and gun
Mode(s)	Single-player

Alien Soldier (エイリアンソルジャー, Eirian Sorujā) is a 1995 side-scrolling run and gun video game developed by Treasure for the Mega Drive. Retail copies were released in Japan and PAL territories while in North America it was only available exclusively via the Sega Channel cable service. The story follows a powerful being named Epsilon-Eagle, who after being nearly killed becomes determined to avenge his near death and save his planet. The character has a variety of weapons and moves that the player must master to complete the game. Many gameplay ideas are borrowed from Treasure's earlier Mega Drive release, Gunstar Heroes. However, Alien Soldier puts an emphasis on challenging boss fights with short and easy levels serving as downtime in-between.

Development lasted two years and was led by Hideyuki Suganami, who from the start wanted to make the entire game himself. He chose the Mega Drive over more powerful 32-bit hardware because he was captivated by the system's strong reputation for "action shooting" games. Critics have praised the game for its graphics, soundtrack, and overall intensity, recommending it for fans of Gunstar Heroes and the run and gun genre. Some negative critique was directed towards the hard difficulty, steep learning curve, and unorthodox gameplay. It was ported to the PlayStation 2 in Japan, and also re-released worldwide on Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console and Steam.

Gameplay

Epsilon-Eagle firing at enemies in the first stage

Alien Soldier is a side-scrolling run and gun video game in which the player controls the main character, Epsilon-Eagle, through 25 stages and 31 bosses.^[1][2] The gameplay has been compared heavily to Gunstar Heroes; however, putting a much larger emphasis on boss fights, and lacking any 2-player option.^[1] The stages are notably short, populated with weak enemies to service as downtime between the more difficult boss battles. There are two difficulties in the game, "supereasy" and "superhard". Enemies on the hard setting are only slightly more difficult; however, there are no passwords or unlimited continues as in the easy mode.^[3]

Epsilon-Eagle can run, double jump, hover in the air, and use six different types of weapons. Only four can be equipped at any given time, but the player may choose which weapons they would like to equip before the game starts. Each gun has its own ammunition bar which can be replenished, but if it's depleted the player will be left with a little firepower. The player can also perform a dash across the screen, which when at full health, will become a deadly move called "Phoenix Force" that will damage any enemies in its path. There is also a counter move, that if timed properly, will change enemy bullets into health.^[3] Epsilon-Eagle can attack in either fixed-fire or free-moving styles. The first makes him unmovable while firing a weapon, instead allowing for quick aiming, while the second allows walking and shooting simultaneously with the sacrifice of directional accuracy.^[1]

Synopsis

The premise of Alien Soldier is provided with a long text scroll at the start of the game. After the game has begun, it is not referred to again.^[1] In the year 2015, the "A-Humans" of "A-Earth" have created genetically engineered A-Humans, capable of super intelligence and strength, as well as parasitic co-existence with machinery and animals, particularly humans. A terrorist organization known as "Scarlet" rose up within this race and sought to dominate the rest of the A-Humans and A-Earth by locking the planet down and keeping anyone else out. During the height of Scarlet's power, an assassination attempt on the group's leader, Epsilon-Eagle, was carried out by a special forces group. Scarlet fought back with their powers, and the battle somehow breached the space-time continuum. Epsilon was gravely injured and cast somewhere into the continuum.

Seemingly gone forever, another Scarlet member known as Xi-Tiger took control of the organization. Under his rule, Scarlet became too brutal even for themselves, and they called for Epsilon to reclaim his position. More or less isolated from the rest of the group, Xi sought to find and assassinate Epsilon himself. He planned an attack on an A-Human research laboratory, where children with special abilities had been kidnapped and experimented on. Upon arriving, Xi-Tiger sensed the presence of Epsilon in one of the boys. However, he was unsure because he couldn't pinpoint the evil from Epsilon, who had entered the boy's body and was now living as a parasite. Xi-Tiger took a young girl hostage and threatened to kill her unless Epsilon revealed himself. The boy flew into a rage and morphed his body into Epsilon himself. Xi seemed to sense this strange power, and in fear, killed the girl and fled. Epsilon had completely split his dual personality apart; with both "good" and "evil" Epsilons now chasing after Xi-Tiger.^[4]

Development and release

Development of Alien Soldier lasted two years and was led by Hideyuki Suganami, who from the start wanted to make the entire game himself. Despite 32-bit fifth generation hardware already on the market, he chose to program the game for the 16-bit Mega Drive, claiming that he may have been too captivated by the idea of making an "action shooting" game. Suganami was deeply invested in the game and devoted a lot of time to developing it. After the game's release, he wished he continued working on the game, believing he could have improved on the story and graphics.^[5]

Alien Soldier was released in a physical cartridge format in Australia, Europe and Japan. In North America, the game was delivered exclusively through the Sega Channel cable service.^[1] The game's first re-release was in Japan for the PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Ages Treasure Box disc.^[6] Alien Soldier was released again worldwide in fall 2007 via Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console download service, and again for Steam on January 6, 2011.^[1][7]

Reception

For its original Mega Drive release, Famitsu provided Alien Soldier with a score of 24 out of 40.^[9] Frank Provo of GameSpot reviewed the Wii Virtual Console release in 2007, giving it an 8/10, citing the excellent graphics, sound, and general intensity of the game. He noted that the game "takes time to click", citing difficulty in adjusting to the controls and design of the game. When "things really do click," he said, "you start totally feeling what it must be like to be an army of one trading firepower with some of the universe's largest, most elaborate creatures. That's a great feeling." ^[3] Lucas M. Thomas of IGN noted the game's many similarities to Gunstar Heroes and recommended Alien Soldier to those who enjoyed it, providing a score of 8/10. "Alien Soldier is a long-lost piece of Treasure's action gaming legacy," said Thomas. "It's got the fast-firing, high-energy, overly-explosive intensity that fans of the company have come to expect."^[1] Darren Calvert of Nintendo Life rated the game an 8/10, calling the "graphics, and in particular the animation, [as] some of the best you will see on the Mega Drive." He found the game difficult, but still enjoyable for fans of the run and gun genre.^[10] Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer described the game as "manically-paced" and "bizarrely creative" while also providing a disclaimer that it's "really hectic and difficult if you're not into this sort of thing."^[2]

References