Cleared on June 17th, 2023 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 12/160)

This game is a very strong contender for my favorite Sega Genesis game. I won't say that it is until I've cleared my challenge, but I would be surprised if anything else could even top it.

You play as Epsilion and as you'd expect from a game like this, you run, you gun, you jump, and you maneuver against enemies. This game is brought to you by the same developers of Gunstar Heroes which is considered their own take on Contra. You might think they should've just made a Gunstar Heroes sequel, but Alien Soldier is a lot more different than just another Contra competitor, and dare I say, I don't think I've run into another game quite like it.

On top of the traditional abilities that you have, you can also dash across the screen which will give you a brief window of invincibility while letting you reposition against the enemies, and you will need it. The game was built with this mechanic in mind.
You can hover in the air which lets you get better precision against the enemies although you can't move unless you dash which then cancels the hover. Pressing the hover button again will let you double jump. You can move on ceilings, and when your health is full, you can dash to unleash a devastating Phoenix Force except it takes a small chunk of your health. It's really negligible and only applied so you can't use it repeatedly.
On top of that, you can use a "Counter" which lets you convert most projectiles into health orbs. While they also drop from enemies, they won't usually be present in bosses and thus learning this mechanic is crucial to survive.

And guess what? The Treasure developers actually corrected the issue Gunstar had that didn't let you switch between Free or Fixed mode on a whim, and here, they have a combination that lets you switch although it's more complicated than what Contra Hard Corps would simply have you do. In fact, the controls in this game are actually very complex for a Sega Genesis game.

Some things are simple enough to understand like Jump, Shoot, Run, Hover, and Weapon Switch. However, to switch between Free and Fixed mode, you need to press the Weapon Switch button + Down. To dash, you need to press Down + Jump at the same time. To counter, you need to tap the Shoot button twice.

Keep in mind that you need to factor all of this in, master the mechanics, all while managing the four weapons you have active at a time because they aren't unlimited, so switching between the weapons you got is mandatory, but what are the weapons?

Buster Force is the standard straight line shot that fires repeatedly. It's not a bad weapon to end up with although you may have trouble getting it to connect with some of the bosses in the game.
Ranger Force is the spread shot weapon that's damage is so lacking that you should definitely avoid using above all else, especially in the mid and late game.
Flame Force is the close ranged high damage dealing shot and pretty useful if you can afford to get up close.
Homing Force is a weapon that, as the name suggests, homes projectiles at nearby enemies making it quite possibly the most versatile weapon in the game and it's not bad at dealing with bosses as long as you aren't playing Superhard Difficulty.
Sword Force is a thin beam of light that is similar to the Flamethrower that getting up close deals more damage, but the difference is that it deals more damage up close while being weaker the farther you are. I never realized it in my playthrough.
Lancer Force is my favorite weapon as it just a beam of light that deals immense damage and a must have to be able to clear out bosses much easier although it has very low ammunition count, so it's more high risk high reward.

So there is a lot you need to understand and it's not just your character you need to understand, but the bosses as well because there are 25 stages and each of them has a boss at the end. Yes, there are 25 bosses in this game and that's what the game's primary focus is on since it doesn't usually take long for you to get from one boss to the next and during these intermission periods, you're just shooting up lesser enemies to collect health orbs and countering their projectiles for that same reason, all while finding these weapon capsules which can either let you swap weapons or, by shooting it, you can force rotate it to the weapon you shot with and upgrade the ammo count.

The bosses can range from fairly easy once you get it down, notably the earlier fights, to being really tough and in general, this game is just really hard. However, there is a mercy aspect to the game called "Supereasy mode". If you are put off with being forced back to the beginning after 3 game overs, I feel you. It can be quite tedious, but given this is developed by Treasure, they took a page from Gunstar Heroes unlimited continues and incorporate it here although they don't do so by default. In order to access Supereasy mode, you need to go into the settings. On top of that, they slightly nerfed the health of the bosses which is considered a boon given how bosses all have a time limit, yeah, I did not mention that part. Plus, you can even slow down the game to give you time to react to the boss mechanics or otherwise give some extra time to switch between weapons because it's not like Ratchet and Clank where the whole game pauses to let you switch weapons.

Backed up with amazing gameplay is the space anthropomorphic aesthetic that reminds me a lot of Star Fox, and many of the bosses have impressive and creative designs. There is one I really want to gush over, but it comes too late in the game, and I don't want to spoil it even though the game came out in 1995. But let's just say you'll want to look out for Level 23.

The music itself is also pretty good and really fits the badass feel of the overall game. Charging through the enemy lines and barraging aliens in your wake. There is also a Gunstar Heroes track that was used in this game which I thought was kinda cool.

And the thing that surprised me is that the majority of the game was done by one person. He eventually had to get help to meet the deadlines and they originally planned to have 100 bosses (if it did, then this would've really been the Dark Souls of the 90s), but for what they were able to get in the game, it's impressive. I'd say I'd recommend this game to anyone looking for something really exciting, but even with the unlimited continues, I understand that the complicated controls may be too much if you aren't familiar with the Contra style of games. My advice, in this case, is to play Gunstar Heroes first and then go into this game. Even if it seems too much still, just know that the game will let you get accustom to the controls as long as it takes before you even get to the first level.

What if we made a game that needs 7 buttons on a controller that only has 3? What if we had 26 different HUD options, but no rebinding or configuration at all? What if we made an action game where the greatest difficulty was battling the absolutely awful control scheme? What if instead of accurate hitboxes, and a variety of enemy attacks and hazards that require unique approaches, we just gave you a screen-wide dash with full i-frames that you spam non-stop? What if we made a boss rush game then filled it with worthless, harmless trash mobs that serve zero purpose beyond just to regen your energy between every fight?

The genius of Treasure knows no bounds...

Este juego exige buenos reflejos, buen timing y ser muy ágil, ya que alien soldier se caracteriza por su dificultad, que, a medida que vas avanzando, los jefes y los escenarios se vuelven más desafiantes (aunque para mí, los últimos niveles los sentí fácil, el jefe final me lo esperaba mas difícil). Puede ser frustrante para la mayoría, perderás en más de una ocasión (no puedes revivir después de morir xd), pero eso no impide que se pueda disfrutar de este juegazo. La presentación de la historia es mucho texto, debieron de usar sprites de fondos para ilustrar la historia, como lo hacen en una stage. Los controles no están mal, aunque a veces en la partida cuando realizaba un dash este se iba a la dirección opuesta donde apuntaba (sobre todo en la parte de agua y del espacio).

En mi opinión, este juego junto con contra hard corps los considero de los mejores para la genesis. 100% recomendable.

A pretty fun boss gauntlet game, known for it's clunky controls that require a bit of time/patience to get used to, when you do, it feels good. Timing is essential, as managing your ammo/force levels is a big part of the game, you have to keep an eye on them to change weapons quickly, maximize your damage and not get caught in a bad situation. The clock is always running and every second counts.
For the most part, I thought the bosses were pretty fun, there's a lot of cool level designs and they're are always working against you. I found some bosses mildly annoying and towards the end, kind of disappointing. Which upon reading on it, it reflects how much ambition this game had and it's craving for more that never made it into the final product.

Nonetheless, going into it blind and knowing nothing about it, i had a great time and i'd recommend it to anyone that is looking for a challenge as this game is quite unforgiving and ruthless at times, definitely one of the toughest on the Mega Drive.

This game gives some great tools for a run and gun game, such as a satisfying dash move, which deals explosive damage at full health, a "counter" which turns projectiles into health, or reflects them back to the enemies, and 6 weapons balanced around their power and ammo drain.

The problems I have with Alien Soldier are that the actual levels feel tacked on. It's effectively a boss rush game, but for some reason you spend about 30 seconds in small corridor sections getting past easy enemies. It's not that these sections are completely pointless, they essentially let you get health and ammo between bosses, but they're so easy and short that you wonder why they bother putting enemies there at all instead of just giving you the free stuff between short corridors.

The game needed to be able to automatically swap weapons when one runs out of ammo, or have weapon swapping be a single button press. Trying to change weapons in the middle of a boss battle is a guarantee hit because of how little breathing room there is.

Some weapons also just flat out don't work on some bosses and I wasn't sure why that was.

Bosses themselves generally vary too much in difficulty, and definitely not in a linear way. Some of the earlier bosses were way harder than some of the ones in the later ones. In fact stage 20 has by far the hardest boss in the game, not only because it's 5 phases, but because the last phase is some true bullshit where you need to hit very specific parts of the boss (and the homing weapon doesn't work here), while dodging mines AND the bosses limbs. And since you're floating the entire time you can only dash left and right, not up and down. By contrast the stage 21 boss was one of the easiest in the game, and even the final boss is a complete joke once you work out how to damage it.

This game has all the tools for a fantastic game in its genre, but instead kinda just does the bare minimum with it. At least the bosses are generally fun, with 1 or 2 exceptions.

I would rate this a full five, but I am certain I will never finish this on its default difficulty, which is hard, natch. Because Treasure back in the 90s and early 2000s loved doing things the hard way, the weird way, the VISUALSHOCK! SPEEDSHOCK! SOUNDSHOCK! way. I respect this game the same way I respect Ikaruga. They are both obviously highly polished games made by an immensely talented and imaginative dev team, but they can also both fuck off, respectfully. They're for that mythical gigachad (or gigastacy, or gigathad) who has seen and faced the challenges of all other action games of the era and found them wanting. They might be reading this, and if they are, hi! I regret to inform you that 30 minutes before you beat Deacons of the Deep, you left the oven on and the potatoes are about to catch fire in the frying pan. Watch out!

+ boss rush
+ a e s t h e t i c s
+ soundtrack
+ armas fodas
+ É DA FUCKING TREASURE
+ É RAPIDO PA CARAIO
- É DIFÍCIL ABSURDAMENTE KKKK FODASE OS CARA NEM LIGARAM PRA BALANCEAMENTO

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Alien Soldier since I started playing; or specifically, since the SECOND TIME I started playing.

The first time— in comparison to the sleek and simple Gunstar Heroes—I found it to feel cumbersome—the weapon-switching especially—and overly complicated. But, the beautiful graphics and positively manic music drew me back. And what I discovered subsequently, in many, many hours of play, was one of my favorite games of all time.

Note: I haven’t completed a true run of this. I used save states at the beginnings of levels and sometimes at the beginnings of bosses (never DURING a boss). Now, having beaten every boss, and feeling confident that I know each one’s secrets, the thought of a perfect run (without continues) is incredibly enticing. All I want to do is boot this thing up again and again and mow through these bosses that once perplexed and countless-times murdered me and see those credits swirl around that blue planet and know that I am a video-game god.

The mechanics here are unimpeachable. The weapon switching now feels like second nature—taking that split-second to switch once one weapon runs out feels incredibly dangerous and gratifying at the same time. The feel of each weapon is unique and weighty. The beam mechanic, by which you deflect enemy shots and at times gain health consequently, gives the player a well-balanced and much-needed edge. The zero jump, where you become invincible for a moment and slash across to the other side of the screen, is not optional. I bet I spent like a quarter of each boss’ life in mid-zero jump. This is all not to mention: like in Gunstar heroes, you can alter the way in which you shoot—strafe or spray—but unlike in Gunstar heroes, you can switch the modes IN GAME. (So many run and gun games—Cuphead in particular—rightly take much inspiration from Alien Soldier’s mechanics).

I know I already mentioned the visuals and the music, but I will mention them again: the VISUALS, and the MUSIC. Damn. If there is a Mega Drive game with better production value, I haven’t seen it.

This is a 25-course meal at a fancy restaurant: every boss is a course, a unique, delicious flavor, that pairs well with and flows into the next. You can consume each course in numerous ways—countless ways! You can pair different weapons with different bosses for different effects. There is rarely one, definitive answer.

The narrative preamble for the game—the English translation at least— is one of the most hilariously convoluted things I’ve ever read. It’s part of the charm, though.

I could write 3,000 words about this game, but I’ll leave it here. If you like run-and-gun-style shooters, just play it—it’s a masterpiece.

4 key words:
Pacing
Art style
Movement complexity
Difficulty
This game is incredible epsilon is such a cool character to control and a perfect match for the challenges that you will face on this unfinished masterpiece