Before I burn all good will and am exiled from this site as a pariah for my review of Gunstar Heroes, allow me to just say Alien Soldier is really good. Great even! See, we can be friends!
Alien Soldier's tagline ("VISUALSHOCK! SPEEDSHOCK! SOUNDSHOCK! NOW IS TIME TO THE 68000 HEART ON FIRE!") perfectly sets up this intense late-generation Genesis game by Treasure, creators of the critically acclaimed Dynamite Headdy, and Gunstar Heroes, which some would describe as being "perfectly average." The main attraction here is the bosses, with run-and-gun action stages acting as more of a brief interlude than anything else. In a sense, it's a lot like Cuphead. Bosses are big and showy and often associated with a fun setpiece to really amp up the encounter. Figuring them out requires some trial and error, and when you finally figure out their patterns and master the rhythm of battle, it feels very satisfying taking them down. Some late game bosses get especially brutal (I'd like to draw attention to Seven Force, who is a fiend and a bastard), but the difficulty is well managed through most of the game.
There's a decent amount of weapons and skills at your disposal, and you'll need to get real familiar with them. Thankfully, Treasure did not overload the game with superfluous abilities or power ups, which gives Alien Soldier a more focused feel and allows the player to adapt and learn the game without getting too bogged down. This is especially good as you're going to constantly be in combat against very aggressive foes, which doesn't give you much wiggle room to experiment.
The presentation of this game is top notch, which almost goes without saying for Treasure. Character designs are especially great, with some truly grotesque looking enemies and inventive boss designs. While I think I like the overall aesthetic of Dynamite Headdy more, Alien Soldier goes a long way to show off the strength of Treasure's design staff.
While not a commentary on the game itself, I also want to draw attention to the walkthroughs up on GameFaQs. They're great not because they're super informative, but because they're both great examples of the author's voice not just shining through but becoming all-encompassing. At the risk of veering off into a tangent, I really miss old game walkthroughs. The amount of snark, color commentary, and lore theorizing that would be casually dropped in them is something that's completely absent from modern guides.
Alien Soldier was only available stateside through the Sega Channel back in 95, which means not a lot of people played it back in the day. Thankfully it's available through the Switch's Genesis app, but that requires paying an exorbitant fee for their ~expansion pass~, and I think that's highway robbery. But as I've advocated many times in the past, you can always download a ROM.
Alien Soldier's tagline ("VISUALSHOCK! SPEEDSHOCK! SOUNDSHOCK! NOW IS TIME TO THE 68000 HEART ON FIRE!") perfectly sets up this intense late-generation Genesis game by Treasure, creators of the critically acclaimed Dynamite Headdy, and Gunstar Heroes, which some would describe as being "perfectly average." The main attraction here is the bosses, with run-and-gun action stages acting as more of a brief interlude than anything else. In a sense, it's a lot like Cuphead. Bosses are big and showy and often associated with a fun setpiece to really amp up the encounter. Figuring them out requires some trial and error, and when you finally figure out their patterns and master the rhythm of battle, it feels very satisfying taking them down. Some late game bosses get especially brutal (I'd like to draw attention to Seven Force, who is a fiend and a bastard), but the difficulty is well managed through most of the game.
There's a decent amount of weapons and skills at your disposal, and you'll need to get real familiar with them. Thankfully, Treasure did not overload the game with superfluous abilities or power ups, which gives Alien Soldier a more focused feel and allows the player to adapt and learn the game without getting too bogged down. This is especially good as you're going to constantly be in combat against very aggressive foes, which doesn't give you much wiggle room to experiment.
The presentation of this game is top notch, which almost goes without saying for Treasure. Character designs are especially great, with some truly grotesque looking enemies and inventive boss designs. While I think I like the overall aesthetic of Dynamite Headdy more, Alien Soldier goes a long way to show off the strength of Treasure's design staff.
While not a commentary on the game itself, I also want to draw attention to the walkthroughs up on GameFaQs. They're great not because they're super informative, but because they're both great examples of the author's voice not just shining through but becoming all-encompassing. At the risk of veering off into a tangent, I really miss old game walkthroughs. The amount of snark, color commentary, and lore theorizing that would be casually dropped in them is something that's completely absent from modern guides.
Alien Soldier was only available stateside through the Sega Channel back in 95, which means not a lot of people played it back in the day. Thankfully it's available through the Switch's Genesis app, but that requires paying an exorbitant fee for their ~expansion pass~, and I think that's highway robbery. But as I've advocated many times in the past, you can always download a ROM.