#aleste — Public Fediverse posts

After some absolute sweaty gameplay, I have finally beaten #Aleste 2 on the #MSX

Playing this game on Oni difficulty is not recommended in the slightest. Even on Hito difficulty the game is a challenge. Perhaps for those who are quite experienced with SHMUPs will find this would be reasonable breeze, but I often found myself in ridiculous death spirals at times and leaking lives because having no power-ups forces you to play aggressively evasive until you recover.

Thankfully, your dying explosion functions a bit like a bomb, allowing you to thin out some of the enemies and bullets on screen.

I swear, if it wasn't for weapon 6, which is a grenade style weapon that could neutralise certain enemy bullets your normal weapons couldn't, I probably would have not gotten anywhere near the end of this one.

The funniest part of the game, is that after beating the final boss, you given 50,000,000 points, which gives you about 60 lives!

#SHMUPtember #SHMUP

But how's the game Ishambard?!

Solid, but brutal.
Some of the hardness is an emulation issue, certain controls requiring a keyboard.

Similar to the original game, you have your main gun and special weapon that can fire independently. The special has limited ammo which can be restocked by picking up the same special weapon, and it will also power-up. High level special weapons cause massive devastation, but dying once will reset them back to level one.

Unlike the original Aleste, special weapon pick-ups travel down the screen, as opposed to up them. This is a god send when the majority of these spawn in mid-way up the play field.

Thank goodness for infinite continues because it is super easy to get into a bit of a death loop in this game. Being low powered in some sections can turn the game into a bullet hell, and even cause the game to slow down.

So far, all stages in the game have given me hell, beating this one will be an absolutely crowning achievement.

#Aleste #SHMUP

What better way to start the month with the latest #SHMUP that has been relentlessly beating me over the head

Years ago, I played the console #Aleste games, and they are all good. But I had neglected the #MSX games until now.
Aleste 1 is similar enough to the Master System version, but Aleste 2... Oh boy. This game is a contender.

It took some messing about with, as the original game was on multiple disks, and someone made a version which removes the disk swapping.

Aleste 2 is a direct sequel to Aleste 1 and sees Ellinor Waizen, daughter of Aleste 1 protagonist, fighting to avenge the death of her father and saving earth from the Vegant. A race of humanoids who evolved from plants and consume the life force from planets.

There is almost a weird horror tone in this game, as stages progress more of the Earth is overrun and corrupted by the Vegant forces.
Thank god we're flying over the landscapes, because I can't imagine what body horrors are down on the ground.

(1/2)

#SHMUPtember

So, whilst I try to figure out something to play next, I decided to revisit a game I hadn't quite finished fully yet.

Super Aleste or Space Megaforce's advanced difficulties were always quite daunting especially Wild/Lunatic difficulty, where enemies move faster, take more damage and when they die, launch a death bullet at you. Even certain obstacles launch a wave of bullets at you and it can get overwhelming pretty quickly.

Thankfully these bullets can be shot down with specific weapons (Laser and Power shots charge-up and beam), but it's not a perfect counter measure.

The real saving grace is infinite continues, allowing you to restart from a checkpoint or the start of the stage. It does become a bit of an exercise in patience, but the journey has been quite satisfying. I should probably revisit GG Aleste 2 and 3, as those games are also absolutely fantastic.

#SNES #Aleste #SHMUP