Alien Syndrome (set 1, Japan, old, System 16A, FD1089A 317-0033)

Arcade Video game published 37 years ago:

Alien Syndrome (c) 1987 Sega.

Alien Syndrome is a overhead-view run and gun game for one or two players in which a number of Mankind's space ships and bases have been overrun by an alien race, who have taken the human inhabitants hostage.

Players control two soldiers named Ricky and Mary and must fight their way through large eight-way scrolling levels to rescue their captured comrades. Once a set number of hostages have been rescued, an exit opens and players can pass through it to fight the end-of-level guardian. Once the guardian is defeated, play moves onto the next stage.

A time-bomb is automatically set at the start of each stage, which must then be completed before the bomb's timer runs down. Failure to finish the level in time results in the death of the player characters. Weapon upgrades and maps of the current level are available at certain points and are accessed via hatchways in the wall.

Alien Syndrome consists of 6 full stages plus a 7th final mini-stage, consisting solely of a fight to the death against the game's final, massive guardian.

- TECHNICAL -

Runs on the Sega "System 16A" hardware.
Game ID: 317-0033

Players: 2
Control: 8-way joystick
Buttons: 1

- TRIVIA -

Alien Syndrome was released in January 1987 in Japan.

Alien Syndrome was sold in a dedicated cabinet by Sega, but was also sold as a conversion kit by Sun Corporation (licensed from Sega) for the America market only.

Donn Nauert holds the record for this game with 2,269,200 points on February 2, 1988.

Soundtrack releases :
[JP] October 10, 1987 - After Burner [Sega Game Music Vol.3] [28XA-109]
Legend of Game Music 2 - Platinum Box [Scitron Digital Contents - SCDC-00473 to 00482 - January 18, 2006]

- TIPS AND TRICKS -

* Hint : Shoot and grab everything as quickly as possible. If you manage to finish a level before the timer reaches 100, you get a 60K bonus.

- SERIES -

1. Alien Syndrome (1987)
2. Alien Syndrome (2007, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP)

- STAFF -

Music by: Tohru Nakabayashi

- PORTS -

* CONSOLES:
[JP] Sega Mark III (oct.18, 1987) "Alien Syndrome [Model G-1339]"
[US] [EU] [AU] Sega Master System (1988) "Alien Syndrome [Model 7006]"
[BR] Sega Master System (1988) by Tec Toy.
[JP] Nintendo Famicom (1988) "Alien Syndrome [Model SAN-AZ]"
[US] Nintendo NES (1988)
Sony PlayStation 2 (jul.29, 2004) "Sega Ages 2500 Vol.14: Alien Syndrome [Model SLPM-62500]"
[US] Microsoft XBOX 360 (feb.10, 2009) "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection [Model 68034]": as an unlockable extra.
[KO] Sony PlayStation 3 (feb.10, 2009) "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" by SCEI: as an unlockable extra.
[US] Sony PlayStation 3 (feb.10, 2009) "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection [Model BLUS-30259]": as an unlockable extra.
[EU] Microsoft XBOX 360 (feb.20, 2009) "SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection [Model 384-40210]": as an unlockable extra.
[EU] [AU] Sony PlayStation 3 (feb.20, 2009) "SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection [Model BLES-00475]": as an unlockable extra.
[AU] Microsoft XBOX 360 (feb.26, 2009) "Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection": as an unlockable extra.

* HANDHELDS:
[US] Sega Game Gear (1992) "Alien Syndrome"
[EU] Sega Game Gear (1992) "Alien Syndrome [Model 2324]"
[JP] Sega Game Gear (mar.19, 1992) "Alien Syndrome [Model T-44037]"

* COMPUTERS:
[EU] Amstrad CPC (1988)
[EU] Atari ST (1988)
[US] [EU] Commodore Amiga (1988)
[US] [EU] Commodore C64 (1988)
[EU] MSX (1988)
[EU] Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1989)
[JP] Sharp X68000 (mar.25, 1992)