Super Space Invaders
From Sega Retro
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Super Space Invaders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
System(s): Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: Domark | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: The Kremlin, Tiertex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distributor: Tengen (US) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Licensor: Taito | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Original system(s): Arcade boards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer(s) of original games: Taito | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peripherals supported: Gear-to-Gear Cable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Shooting[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1-2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Super Space Invaders is an update to Space Invaders, released for a variety of consoles and computers including the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear. It is based off of the arcade sequel Super Space Invaders '91, known as Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV in Japan and in the USA.
Contents
Story
In the year 2034, Earth has been invaded by hostile aliens. The Maverick 6 is the last surviving unit of Earth's defense forces. It is mankind's last hope of repelling the invasion.
Gameplay
The game is a fixed shooter game. Rounds take place on a single screen with no scrolling. Most rounds consists of three waves of alien invaders (except the last round, which only has two waves), which arrange themselves in formations and move in predictable patterns. Aliens occasionally shoot projectiles at the player's ship. New to the series are colorful backdrops and boss fights against larger, stronger aliens. The player controls a starship that can only move horizontally. The ship has a cannon that can shoot down the alien invaders, and the player must shoot down all aliens before they can reach the bottom of the screen and invade Earth. The last aliens in the wave move much faster than the rest, requiring careful timing to eliminate.
The game can be played by one player alone or by two players simultaneously, with a second control pad on the Master System or with a Gear-to-Gear Cable on the Game Gear.
The player's ship moves with and
. It fires its standard weapon with
, which has unlimited ammunition and shoots directly upwards. This weapon can destroy enemies and also neutralizes enemy projectiles. Shooting down UFOs that fly across the top of the screen drops power-ups, which can equip the ship with powerful secondary weapons or provide other bonuses. Secondary weapons are fired with
. When a secondary weapon is acquired, the ship's "Power" meter charges up, then begins to discharge. Using a secondary weapon drains the meter some amount, depending on the weapon, and the weapon is unequipped when the meter is emptied.
The ship starts with three hit points (but can gain as many as four). It loses a hit point when it collides with an enemy or an enemy projectile. When the ship loses all of its hit points, the next hit it takes destroys it; if the player has an extra life left, the ship respawns from where it was destroyed and the round is continued. The player also loses an extra life if an alien makes it all the way to the bottom of the screen; if the player has an extra life left, the player replays the last part of the round again. The game ends if the player runs out of lives but can be continued from the start of the current round if the player has credits left.
There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard) and two game types (Normal, which features branching paths, and Advanced, where the player plays every round).
Items
UFOs occasionally move quickly across the top of the screen and can be shot down to drop an item. The appearance of the UFOs changes on each round. If an item falls to the bottom of the screen, it rests there for a time to be picked up.
Temporarily powers up the ship's weapon so that it can fire more quickly. | |
Restores one hit point to the ship's shield, up to a maximum of 4. | |
Summons a giant butterfly that flies around the screen and temporarily freezes all enemies and enemy projectiles in place. | |
Summons three defensive bunkers that can absorb multiple hits from enemies before they are destroyed. Shooting at a bunker pushes it up. This item mimics the bunkers from the original Space Invaders. | |
Equips the ship's secondary weapon with a laser that can spans the full length of the screen and penetrate entire columns in one shot. | |
Equips the ship's secondary weapon with a horizontal energy wave that blasts all enemies in a row. This weapon can be used up to 2 times. | |
Equips the ship's secondary weapon with a large circular blast that destroys everything in its radius. This weapon can be used up to 1 time. | |
Equips the ship's secondary weapon with a volley of three shots that ricochet around the screen. This weapon can be used up to 3 times. |
Rounds
In the Normal game mode, the player can choose which round to play; the previously completed round affects which rounds are available to select next. The player plays 5 rounds total.
In the Advanced game mode, all 12 rounds are played in the order below.
Round 1A | |
---|---|
Round 1B | |
Round 2A | |
Boss: Alien ZT532 Octo | |
Round 2B | |
Boss: Alien JK604 Mother | |
Round 2C | |
Boss: Alien MR745 Scicle | |
Round 3A | |
Round 3B | |
Round 3C | |
Round 3D | |
Round 4A | |
Boss: Alien ZT532 Octo | |
Round 4B | |
Boss: Alien JK604 Mother | |
Round 5 | |
Boss: Alien MR745 Armer | |
Bonus round
The "Cattle Mutilation Round" is played after the first and third rounds in the Normal game mode; it is not played in the Advanced game mode. In it, the player must protect a herd of cattle from being abducted by a fleet of fast-moving flying saucers. There are six cows.
If a cow is about to be abducted, it starts to shuffle left and right. If a saucer succeeds in snatching a cow, the player must shoot the saucer to free it but must be careful not to shoot the cow itself. Bonus points are awarded for saving the cow, with more points rewarded the higher the saucer takes the cow before it is shot down.
The round ends when the enemy saucers have all been destroyed or when the player has lost too many cows. The player receives bonus points for shooting down saucers and saving cows. The ship cannot be harmed in a bonus round.
Production credits
Master System version
- Written by: Andrew Taylor
- Graphics by: Jo Myers
- Music and SFX by: Andrew Taylor
- Developed by: The Kremlin
- Produced by: Domark Software
- On Behalf of: Sega
Game Gear version
- Conversion by: Tiertex Ltd
- Graphics by: Jo Myers
- Music by: Andrew Taylor
- Developed by: The Kremlin
- Produced by: Domark Software
- On Behalf of: Sega
Magazine articles
- Main article: Super Space Invaders/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
also published in:
- Consoles + (FR) #18: "Mars 1993" (1993-0x-xx)[12]
also published in:
- Hobby Consolas (ES) #19: "Abril 1993" (1993-xx-xx)[13]
Physical scans
Master System version
Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
75 | |
---|---|
Based on 16 reviews |
Game Gear version
Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
75 | |
---|---|
Based on 21 reviews |
Game Gear, PT |
---|
|
Technical information
ROM dump status
System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
? |
|
256kB | Cartridge (EU) | |||||||||||
? |
|
256kB | Cartridge (US/EU) |
References
- ↑ File:SuperSpaceInvaders GG EU Box Back.jpg
- ↑ Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1992-06-22), page 15
- ↑ Sega Force, "Februrary 1992" (UK; 1992-01-23), page 27
- ↑ Sega Power, "February 1992" (UK; 1992-01-02), page 21
- ↑ GamePro, "December 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 106
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "February 1993" (US; 1993-0x-xx), page 91
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 GamesMaster, "March 1993" (UK; 1993-02-18), page 16
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Computer & Video Games, "February 1993 (Go! Issue 16)" (UK; 1993-01-15), page 22
- ↑ Sega Zone, "November 1992" (UK; 1992-10-28), page 8
- ↑ File:Super Space Invaders SMS credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Super Space Invaders GG credits.pdf
- ↑ Consoles +, "Mars 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 85
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Abril 1993" (ES; 1993-xx-xx), page 10
- ↑ Aktueller Software Markt, "November 1992" (DE; 1992-10-09), page 151
- ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 145
- ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 159
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Septiembre 1992" (ES; 1992-0x-xx), page 104
- ↑ Joypad, "Août/Septembre 1992" (FR; 1992-07-1x), page 74
- ↑ Joystick, "Septembre 1992" (FR; 1992-0x-xx), page 184
- ↑ Mean Machines, "December 1991" (UK; 1991-11-28), page 150
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 136
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1992" (FR; 1992-12-10), page 134
- ↑ Power Up!, "Saturday, July 04, 1992" (UK; 1992-07-04), page 1
- ↑ Sega Power, "February 1992" (UK; 1992-01-02), page 20
- ↑ Sega Pro, "Christmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 69
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 72
- ↑ Sega Force, "1/92" (SE; 1992-xx-xx), page 21
- ↑ Sega Force, "Februrary 1992" (UK; 1992-01-23), page 26
- ↑ Video Games, "7/92" (DE; 1992-06-24), page 50
- ↑ Aktueller Software Markt, "Juli 1993" (DE; 1993-06-14), page 128
- ↑ Bad Influence!, "xxxx 1993" (UK; 1993-0x-xx), page 42
- ↑ Consoles +, "Novembre 1992" (FR; 1992-1x-xx), page 132
- ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "February 1993" (US; 1993-01-12), page 114
- ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 171
- ↑ Game Power, "Luigio/Agosto 1993" (IT; 1993-0x-xx), page 95
- ↑ GamesMaster, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-03), page 84
- ↑ Game Informer, "March/April 1993" (US; 1993-0x-xx), page 6
- ↑ Joypad, "Avril 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 102
- ↑ Megablast, "4/93" (DE; 1993-09-29), page 98
- ↑ Mega Force, "Avril 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 92
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-28), page 98
- ↑ Player One, "Avril/Mai 1993" (FR; 1993-04-10), page 106
- ↑ Power Up!, "Saturday, February 27, 1993" (UK; 1993-02-27), page 1
- ↑ Sega Zone, "December 1992" (UK; 1992-11-xx), page 42
- ↑ Sega Force, "1/93" (SE; 1993-01-14), page 21
- ↑ Sega Force, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-10), page 86
- ↑ Supersonic, "Novembre 1992" (FR; 1992-xx-xx), page 26
- ↑ Video Games, "1/93" (DE; 1992-12-16), page 120
Super Space Invaders | |
---|---|
Main page | Comparisons | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception |
Space Invaders games for Sega systems |
---|
Space Invaders (1985) | Space Invaders '90 (1990) | Super Space Invaders (1992) | Space Invaders (1996) |
Space Invaders (Dreamcast) (unreleased) |
Space Invaders VIC Dual Clones |
Alpha Fighter (19??) | Invinco (1979) | Space Attack (1979) | Super Space Attack (1979) |
- Gear-to-Gear Cable-compatible games
- 1-2 player games
- EU Master System games
- UK Master System games
- AU Master System games
- Master System games
- 1992 Master System games
- All 1992 games
- Master System shoot-'em-up games
- All shoot-'em-up games
- US Game Gear games
- EU Game Gear games
- PT Game Gear games
- UK Game Gear games
- Game Gear games
- 1992 Game Gear games
- Game Gear shoot-'em-up games
- All games
- Old technical information
- Super Space Invaders
- Space Invaders (franchise)