The Port Report: Alien Syndrome (NES)

by Warren on December 23rd, 2006

Not every Sega Arcade game is availableÂ at homeÂ yet, so some times us Sega buffs have to find the best version available if we don’t want to turn to Emulation. Thus, the Port Report was born.Â Seganerds.com willÂ braveÂ the endless seaÂ ofÂ SegaÂ ports so you don’t have to!Â Keep in mind that the final score is not an overall game score, it’s a score comparing the game to it’s Arcade original.

The first ever Port Report is of the System-16 classic shooter, Alien Syndrome. Ported by Tengen, for none other then the Nintendo Entertainment System. Game fans that think Sega games first came to a Nintendo console with the Gameboy Advance or Gamecube will be surprised to know that it happened aboutÂ twenty years earlier.

The original Alien Syndrome is controlled with an 8-way joystick, which is thankfully emulated with the NES D-Pad. It’s a bit harder to get an angled shot, but it’s faithful. The player character, either Ricky or Mary, on this version is drastically slower then the original. This really dulls the gameplay, since walking around the ships hulls becomes a chore if you don’t remember where to go.

What helps you navigate on the Arcade version is a map pick-up that displays above the screen for a few seconds while you continue on your way. The NES version slows down things yet again and completely makes this pick-up useless. The Map displays on the top of the screen for a few seconds still, but the game pauses completely. They expect me to memorize the position of each comrade in 7 seconds, I guess.

A few more power-ups are missing, such as the Option (The little floating guys that appear next to you and shoot with you. That’s the proper name for those things in all games, seriously.) power-up. Options are a big help some times and they’re definitely missed in this version. Don’t get me started on the fact that you have to rescue every comrade to pass an area too. Slow walking, a paused map screen and I have to rescue each person!? Score!

At least the two-player on the same screen Multiplayer is in tact. With the differences in the games pacing, I can’t help but feel disappointed, however.

The graphics take a huge hit as well. The game sort of resembles the original, but with way less color, animation and sprites on screen. A bit of flicker here and there, but this plagues most NES games. The level graphics are a singe color and boss battles take place in a black abyss. If your a fan of minimalist art, you might enjoy the graphics. All though, shouldn’t you be at an Art Gallery or something else high-falutin?

The characters and enemies sprites are tiny, which makes it take even longer to walk around the stages. I guess due to memory constraints the number of sprites for your comradesÂ are reduced to one guy, who looks like he isn’t really having that bad of a time if you ask me. Cheerfully waving during an alien invasion isn’t the smartest move.

All digitized voice from the Arcade version has been removed and weapons sounds are pretty basic, but the Music is pretty good. A few nifty songs appear here and there that aren’t in the Arcade one, so this port isn’t a total loss. But, be prepared to eventually be driven nuts, since the same song repeats in every level. Still, they aren’t half bad.

I’m sure your thinking “Well of course it sucks, it’s the NES port of an Arcade game!” While it can be said ofÂ some NES ports, it’s not always true. Games like Ninja Gaiden, Rygar, Bionic Commando and Mighty Final Fight show that a NES version can be as good as, or better, then the Arcade original. Thats just not the case with Alien Syndrome for NES. Perhaps if you have never played the Arcade version, you couldÂ find value inÂ this version, butÂ Port ReportsÂ are basedÂ on how true aÂ version isÂ to the original. As a stand alone NES game, it’s not so bad.

Alien Syndrome fans need not fret, the 2005 remake for Playstation 2 is loads better then not only the NES version, but the Arcade version as well! It’s available in Sega Classics Collection, withÂ nine other top-notch remakes, for the mere price of 19.99.

If your looking for a more traditional port of Alien Syndrome, again, turn that Sega loving frown upside down; Alien Syndrome has been ported toÂ eight other platforms! One of them is bound to be faithful…I hope.