Space Invaders 90

From Sega Retro

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  • NTSC-U

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Space Invaders 90
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Taito
Developer:
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR)
Genre: Shooting[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥5,9005,900 T-11053
Sega Mega Drive
US
11036
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Non-Sega versions

Space Invaders 90 (スペースインベーダー90) is an update to Taito's classic arcade game Space Invaders, released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1990.

Story

Fearsome alien invaders have suddenly appeared over Earth. The invasion stretches to the Milky Way and the far reaches of the universe.

Gameplay

The game is a fixed shooter game. Rather than controlling a movable laser cannon protected by four stationary bunkers, as in the original game, the player controls a starship with multiple hit points. The ship moves horizontally and fires on rows of alien invaders, which move left and right as a group, changing direction and shifting downward when they reach a screen edge. The goal is to eliminate all of the aliens by shooting them. The aliens occasionally fire at the player. Aliens in later rounds have more complex attack patterns and more advanced weapons. Each round consists of two battles; once the first wave of aliens is destroyed, a second wave appears. The last aliens of a wave move faster than the others.

The player's ship moves with Left and Right. It shoots its standard weapon with A or C. The standard weapon has unlimited ammunition, and it is shot directly upwards, though some rounds have uneven terrain that cause the ship to shoot at diagonal angles. It destroys enemies and also intercepts enemy fire. The player can obtain special weapons through items, which are fired with B. These weapons have limited ammunition.

The ship has a shield that starts with five hit points but can gain as many as ten by collecting items. The number of hit points is carried over to the next round. The shield can be fully replenished by hitting the invader at the center of the formation at the start of a round. The ship is destroyed if it loses all of its hit points or if an invader reaches the bottom of the screen, and the player starts the round over again if there are extra ships left. The game ends if there are no extra ships remaining, but it can be continued if the player has credits remaining. The player earns an extra ship at 30,000, 60,000, 120,000, and 240,000 points.

Items

UFOs occasionally move quickly across the top of the screen. Shooting them down releases an item or sometimes awards bonus points. UFOs can also sometimes contain enemies.

Item effects are lost when the round ends or if the player's ship is destroyed.

Offensive

Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Hyper Laser (H-LASER)
Shoots a laser that, if it destroys an alien, also destroys all horizontally adjacent aliens. Lasts for 2 shots.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Homing Bomb (H-BOMB)
Fires a bomb that seeks out enemies automatically. The targeted enemy appears "locked on" with a crosshair around it. Lasts for 20 shots.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Buster Laser (B-LASER)
Fires a penetrating laser. Lasts until its energy runs out.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Power Beam (P-BEAM)
Shoots a wide beam that destroys all enemies in its path. Holding B increases the width of the beam. Lasts until its energy runs out. Wider beams cost more energy. Taking damage while charging the beam costs energy but does not emit the beam.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Super Crusher (S-CRUSHER)
Creates two mirror images that follow the ship and duplicate its fire. Lasts for 15 seconds.

Defensive

Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Speed Up (SPEED-UP)
Doubles the movement speed of the ship.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Recover Shield (RECOVER-S)
Adds 2 hit points to the ship's shield.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Time Stop (T-STOP)
Stops the movement of the invaders for 10 seconds.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Hyper Shield (H-SHIELD)
Renders the ship invulnerable to enemy fire for 20 seconds. The ship is still vulnerable to homing devices and lasers.
Space Invaders 90, Items.png
Psychic Shield (PSYCHIC-S)
Renders the ship invulnerable to all attacks for 20 seconds.

Rounds

Space Invaders 90, Stage 1.png

Earth
Space Invaders 90, Stage 1.png

Space Invaders 90, Stage 2.png

Milky Way
Space Invaders 90, Stage 2.png

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Merutas
Space Invaders 90, Stage 3.png

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Planet Dufa
Space Invaders 90, Stage 4.png

Space Invaders 90, Stage 5.png

Moon
Space Invaders 90, Stage 5.png

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Planet Venus
Space Invaders 90, Stage 6.png

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Planet Solaia
Space Invaders 90, Stage 7.png

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Planet Lisubi
Space Invaders 90, Stage 8.png

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Planet Guraivas
Space Invaders 90, Stage 9.png

Space Invaders 90, Stage 10.png

Planet Mars
Space Invaders 90, Stage 10.png

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Planet Mercury
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Planet Aluga
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Planet Laia
Space Invaders 90, Stage 13.png

Space Invaders 90, Stage 14.png

Planet Bailam
Space Invaders 90, Stage 14.png

Space Invaders 90, Stage 15.png

Planet Daruta
Space Invaders 90, Stage 15.png

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Planet Lamusa
Space Invaders 90, Stage 16.png

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Planet Ikuru
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Space Invaders 90, Stage 18-1 JP.png

Doriasta 1
Space Invaders 90, Stage 18-1 JP.png

Space Invaders 90, Stage 18-2 JP.png

Doriasta 2
Space Invaders 90, Stage 18-2 JP.png

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English (US) Space Invaders '91 Space Invaders '91
Japanese スペースインベーダー90 Space Invaders 90
Portuguese (Brazil) Space Invaders Space Invaders

Due to the delay in bringing the game to North America, the game was retitled Space Invaders '91 for this region. In Brazil, the wait was even longer, so the game was simply labeled Space Invaders when it reached Brazilian shores. The game was not released in Europe.

Production credits

  • Art Design: Yoshihiko Wakita, Keishi Itoh, Toru Kawaishi
  • Character Design: Yoshihiko Wakita
  • Program: Hideaki Tomioka
  • Game Design: Yoshiharu Satou
  • Special Thanks: The Other People
Source:
In-game credits
Space Invaders 90 MD credits.pdf
[3]


Exactly who "The Other People" are is unknown, however Noriyuki Iwadare of Cube created the sound driver (his standard "Cube/Noriyuki Iwadare" driver used in several other games, and in fact, this is the first game to use said driver).

Magazine articles

Main article: Space Invaders 90/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

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Print advert in Game Players Sega Guide! (US) #0203: "Vol. 2, No. 3: June/July 1991" (1991-0x-xx)
also published in:
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Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1992-01: "January 1992" (1991-12-07)
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Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1992-02: "February 1992" (1992-01-08)
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Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1992-03: "March 1992" (1992-02-08)
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Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1992-04: "April 1992" (1992-03-07)
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History

Legacy

Space Invaders 90 was available as one of the few Mega Drive games to play on B-Club[5]. The game was also re-released for the Nintendo Switch as a pre-order bonus for Space Invaders Invincible Collection, with emulation done by M2; being properly released on Japanese Nintendo eShop on June 2024[6]. The Nintendo Switch re-release is unlicensed by Sega, as the Sega logo screen is gone and no employees from the company are mentioned in the credits either.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[7]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
58
[8]
Game Power (IT)
76
[9]
Games-X (UK) NTSC-U
61
[10]
Famicom Hisshoubon (JP) NTSC-J
40
[11]
Joystick (FR)
80
[12]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) NTSC-J
64
[13]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
61
[14]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
63
[15]
Power Play (DE)
41
[16]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J
75
[17]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
79
[18]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
43
[19]
Supergame (BR)
85
[20]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
66
[21]
Sega Mega Drive
62
Based on
15 reviews

Space Invaders 90

Mega Drive, JP
SpaceInvaders90 MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
SpaceInvaders90 MD JP CartTop.jpg
SpaceInvaders90 MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
SpaceInvaders90 MD JP Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
SpaceInvaders90 MD US Box.jpg
Cover
SpaceInvaders90 MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Spaceinvaders91 md us manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, BR
Spaceinvaders md br cover.jpg
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Space Invaders 90/Technical information.

References


Space Invaders 90

SpaceInvaders90 Title.png

Main page | Comparisons | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information


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Space Invaders SG, Aliens.png
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)