Super Space Invaders

n/a

Master System Game Gear
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
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code EU 1992 MK 27023-50 UK 1992-06-24 £29.9929.99 MK 27023-50 AU 199x US 1993-01 $37.9537.95 T-48078 EU 1993-02-25 T-88028-50 PT 1992 GG88028 UK 1993-02-25 £27.9927.99 T-88028-50
Non-Sega versions Amiga Amstrad CPC Arcade Atari ST Commodore 64 IBM PC ZX Spectrum

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.

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

Round select

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 new 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

Bonus stage

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

Source:

In-game credits

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

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Super Space Invaders/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) #47: "December 1992" (1992-1x-xx)

Master System print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #125: "April 1992" (1992-03-15)

Master System print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #130: "September 1992" (1992-08-15)

Print advert in Mean Machines Sega (UK) #5: "February 1993" (1993-01-28)

Game Gear print advert in Consoles + (FR) #17: "Février 1993" (1993-0x-xx)
also published in:

• Consoles + (FR) #18: "Mars 1993" (1993-0x-xx)

Game Gear print advert in Mega Force (ES) #12: "Abril 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Hobby Consolas (ES) #19: "Abril 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 67 Console XS (UK) PAL 82 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 82 Hobby Consolas (ES) 50 Joypad (FR) 60 Joystick (FR) 54 Mean Machines (UK) PAL 82 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 82 Player One (FR) 80 Power Up! (UK) 91 Sega Power (UK) PAL 90 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 84 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 82 Sega Force (SE) 60 Sega Force (UK) PAL 87 Video Games (DE) 65

	75
Based on 16 reviews

Super Space Invaders

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart

Master System, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 83 Bad Influence! (UK) PAL 50 Consoles + (FR) 78 Computer & Video Games (UK) 87 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 92 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 73 Game Power (IT) PAL 81 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 55 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 80 Joypad (FR) 65 Megablast (DE) 63 Mega Force (FR) 65 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 87 Player One (FR) 83 Power Up! (UK) 68 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 82 Sega Force (SE) 83 Sega Force (UK) PAL 72 Supersonic (FR) 82 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U 80 Video Games (DE) 65

	75
Based on 21 reviews

Super Space Invaders

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, PT

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 1d6244ee MD5 f36e9758390ed2b781e9a8a7a958e7e3 SHA-1 b28d2a9c0fe597892e21fb2611798765f5435885	256kB		Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 dfe38e24 MD5 6367666402c51229d283ac0cf5bf3ffb SHA-1 3864c399f76e67ae4ff40d32a60c36ad16578988	256kB		Cartridge (US/EU)