Space Ace

Moby ID: 24930
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Description

Borf has kidnapped Dexter's girlfriend Kimberly and is threatening to turn earth's population into babies using his "Infanto Ray". Naturally, Dexter cannot let this happen and sets out to stop Borf and rescue Kimberly.

While following the same story as the Laserdisc conversions, the SNES version of Space Ace obviously lacks the long video sequences of the original, and also features different gameplay.

Instead of only pushing the right button at the right moment, the player has complete control over Dexter. Most of the time, he will be busy jumping over chasms and dodging alien attacks, but occasionally, an 'energize'-symbol will appear which, by pressing the correct button in time, will temporarily transform Dexter into his stronger alter ego and enable him to shoot at his enemies.

Once he boards his space ship, Dexter has to find his way out of a labyrinthine seen from a top-down perspective, destroying obstacles with the ship's laser and avoiding collisions.

In order to retain the atmosphere of the original, the SNES version features a large number of (short) death animations and the platformer levels always follow the exact same sequence, which results in a trial&error-style gameplay somewhat similar to the original.

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (SNES version)

19 People (11 developers, 8 thanks)

Game Design
Programming
Backgrounds and Sprites
Watch Animations
Logo Graphics
Music
Sound Coding
Utility Coding
Play Testing
Thanks to...
Hello to...
  • Mum
  • Dad
  • Jules
  • and all the boys

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 50% (based on 10 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.0 out of 5 (based on 3 ratings with 1 reviews)

So difficult and unfair it will drive you mad

The Good
It's an adequately nice attempt to transfer the spirit of the interactive movie in an arcade game where you can fully control your character.

Of course that doesn't mean that they made a different game! I believe it is very close to the original, both in scenery, spirit and gameplay. The scenario is not new, but follows closely the levels of the laserdisc game. Even if the process of the play is new and different, the locales, characters and monsters are there.

As for the gameplay, the original Space Ace concept is there: if it wasn't for trial-and-error and memorizing pre-defined movements and sequences it wouldn't be Space Ace, right? Well, this concept was nicely combined in the arcade freedom and was implemented as a 'rail arcade' (like 'rail shooter'): this means that you can walk and jump around, however you must also follow the camera and make timed moves to go on. There are also moments in which you can temporarily change into you adult self, Ace, in which case you will follow a different route, with some laser packed action.

The graphics and sounds are faithful to the original. The sceneries and sprites are cartoony and well-drawn, and as I said, with recognizable characters and creatures. The sound effects are taken from the original and same applies for the musical cues which compose the soundtrack, which however gets repetitive. All in all, you know you are playing Space Ace.

Dying, or ending a level, will show a short animation cue from the laserdisk, in extremely low resolution.

And there are some original elements and variety: As you walk, you can get some bonuses which will make your laser shots stronger, and there is a new stage between levels in which you steer your shuttle (or skates) in a space maze. Some levels are designed like space shooters.

The Bad
Now, you just read about the nice concepts this remake was based on, but now let's see how awfully these were implemented resulting in a really bad game.

The biggest problem is that at first the game looks totally random. You must rely mostly on trial-and-error until you manage to pass a sequence, and not reflexes or reason. Deaths happen too frequently, and each time you have to see some the death animation cue before pressing the "Start" button and returning to the BEGINNING of the level.

Another problem is the flawed controls. When you reach an edge, you can't stop there and jump towards a certain direction, since this will be interpreted by the game as 'jump up', and will ignore your direction key. In order to jump towards a direction, you must be already moving.

Sprite collision is unrealistically unfair in the pseudo-3d environment of the game. For example, when an enemy shoots a laser beam, and the beam happens to pass in front of where your foot happens to stand, this will mean that your 'sprite' mass has been hit!!

My biggest challenge was the Space Maze levels. I really can't imagine what genius thought about a 'level between levels' in which you must steer your ship in an impossibly massive maze (I guess you HAVE to memorize the routes), avoiding the walls, in order to find the exit to the next level. It look more like a punishment for advancing the game more than a challenge. The ship will move forever forward and you have to avoid obstacles as you are looking for the exit. There is no way to stop or slow down, and there is no map or 'space compass' or anything that would give you a hint on where you are.

I must mention that I was looking online for some walkthrough or help or maps for the maze, and there was none. I guess the maze is unmappable and the gamers didn't bother creating a resource for such an infamous game.

And I must also comment on the short, uninteresting and totally unrewarding ending animation.

The Bottom Line
Space Ace for SNES is a mixture of a freeform arcade and an interactive movie. The elements which made 'Space Ace' what we all know and love, are there faithfully. However many gamers will angrily agree that the game is infamous for its unplayability. The designers didn't think too much about it and created a game which is not challenging, but hostile.

If you MUST see this game, do yourself a favor and don't play on a console, but on an emulator where you can save and restore your position indefinitely. It will be at least enjoyable this way.

SNES · by Boston Low (85) · 2011

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Game added by Mobygamesisreanimated.

Game added November 20, 2006. Last modified February 22, 2023.