Alien Soldier

Moby ID: 14130
Genesis Specs
Buy on Windows
$0.99 new on Steam

Description official descriptions

Alien Soldier is a side-scrolling action game in which the player takes the role of Epsilon-Eagle, the former leader of the Scarlet mutant group. The mutants are now lead by the evil Xi-Tiger who had turned them to terrorism, and one of their goals is to kill Epsilon-Eagle...

At the start of the game the player chooses four out of six weapons - each with special advantages or disadvantages against certain enemies. As mutant Epsilon-Eagle also has other special powers, e.g. teleporting across the screen or (with full health) morphing into a powerful phoenix destroying everything in his way.

The 25 levels consist of short side-scrolling sequences and a few boss fights. In fact the bosses take on the majority of the game and the side-scrolling sequences are mostly used to give the player opportunity to collect ammo boxes. Bosses have their own patterns and weaknesses.

Spellings

  • エイリアンソルジャー - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Genesis version)

13 People

Main Programmer
Programmer
Sound Programmer
Character Design
Background Arts
Background Design
Guest Designer
Music by
Sound Effects
Producer
Supervisor
Computer Designed by
  • Treasure
Presented by
  • ©SEGA 1995

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 86% (based on 26 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 24 ratings with 1 reviews)

"Alien Soldier" is a very unusual breed of game.

The Good
Sure, this game is a run-and-gun type affair, but it's not so much as what the game is, the originality is in howit does it.

Firstly, I've never seen a better-looking Megadrive game - this thing is polished. The art direction is consistent (and although a little dated), it remains one of it's best qualities. Facing off with the many different bosses will just reinforce in the player's mind the great detail and effort that was put into the characterisations.

The game mechanic is quite original too. Instead of the "one-hit-and-you're-dead" mechanism that so many of the games employ, we have a good amount of "Energy", that, when the player collects dropped items, can be re-charged. But not only is your health fractional, so is your weapons' charge.

The Bad
When beginning a game, the player can select four from a choice of six weapon styles. Essentially, your genetically engineered protagonist carries four guns. You can switch at any time (with a pretty annoying in-game sub-menu system) to any of your weapons. In fact, this will become essential, as each gun has it's own supply of charge, and overcharging the gun sends Epsilon-Eagle to, well, the high-score screen really. (Yes, you've only one life!).

Technically speaking, this game is just a huge onslaught of boss attacks, broken up by quasi "intermission" style regular platformer action. I found these small in-between parts quite a treat, and I couldn't help but think what sort of game it would of been had it toned down it's set-piece boss encounters. I think the game is slightly unappealing in that it requires you to ceaselessly go up against things that are bigger, more powerful, and more intimidating than you. (I hate boss fights in games, you see.)

The Bottom Line
Anyway, this game really is a run-and-gun stand-out, and the continuity throughout the game (one long level filled with many mini-bosses) is either something to embrace or resent. Stick with it though, it's a monumental challenge.

Wii · by So Hai (261) · 2008

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Mega Drive version of Alien Soldier appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Analytics

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Related Sites +

  • Alien Soldier Finally Sees US Cart Release
    an article about a home made US genesis release of the game, on GameSetWatch (17th June 2009)
  • Steam
    The game's Steam page, where the Windows version can be downloaded using the Steam client.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 14130
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kohler 86.

Windows added by Titan10. Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto. Wii added by Sciere. Macintosh, Linux added by Foxhack.

Additional contributors: Sciere, j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】, Titan10, FatherJack.

Game added July 24, 2004. Last modified February 4, 2024.