Alpha Mission

Alpha Mission, known as ASO: Armored Scrum Object[lower-alpha 1] in Japan, is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by SNK and released as an arcade video game in 1985 by Namco in Japan and Tradewest in North America. It was later ported to the Famicom in 1986 and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987.

Alpha Mission
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)SNK
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Koji Obata
Artist(s)Rampty
Platform(s)Arcade, Famicom/NES
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: November 1985[1]
  • WW: Late 1985
Famicom/NES
  • JP: September 3, 1986
  • NA: October 1987
  • EU: 1987
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

The arcade game was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the seventh highest-grossing table arcade game of 1986. A sequel, Alpha Mission II, was released for the Neo Geo arcade system in 1991.

Gameplay

Alpha Mission is a one-player scrolling shooter game in its segregation of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. Missiles are used to destroy ground enemies, while laser-like weapons are used for aerial opponents. Throughout each of the levels, the player must fight off waves of enemies that threaten several space stations and a boss must be defeated at the end of each. Like most early games in this genre, when the player dies, all weapons are lost and the player is moved to a point slightly before the point of death. The player's craft can also be upgraded to have more powerful weapons by picking up various power-ups throughout the level.

Release

Alpha Mission was released on the PlayStation Portable as part of PSP Minis via PlayStation Store in 2011.[2][3][4] Alpha Mission was also released on the Nintendo Switch in the Nintendo eShop on 25 October 2018 and on the PlayStation 4 via PlayStation Store on 18 July 2019 by Hamster Corporation as part of their Arcade Archives series.[5][6] The game is also included on SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, the collection has both the original arcade and the NES version.[7] It includes both the Japanese version and the Western/international version.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed ASO on their December 1, 1985 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade cabinet of the month.[8] It was later listed by Game Machine as Japan's fifth highest-grossing table arcade game during the first half of 1986,[9] and it was the seventh overall highest-grossing table arcade game of 1986.[9][10]

Notes
  1. Japanese: エー・エス・オー - アーマード・スクラム・オブジェクト, Hepburn: Ē Esu Ō - Āmādo Sukuramu Obujekuto

References
  1. Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 18–9, 133–4. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  2. Says, Onmode-Ky. "Alpha Mission Review—Finding Pleasure in Pain | PSP Minis". Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  3. "Alpha Mission (PSP Minis) Review for PSP (2011) - Defunct Games". www.defunctgames.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  4. "Three SNK PSP Minis Reviewed". www.tech-gaming.com. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  5. Lane, Gavin (2020-03-13). "Guide: Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  6. "Arcade Archives Alpha Mission PS4 HAMSTER Corporation". www.hamster.co.jp. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  7. "SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION: ALPHA MISSION | OFFICIAL WEBSITE". snk40th.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  8. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 273. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1985. p. 23.
  9. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '86 上半期" [Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: First Half '86] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 288. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 July 1986. p. 28.
  10. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '86 下半期" [Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: Second Half '86] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 300. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1987. p. 16.
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