Jeremy Parish

Segaiden #55: Alien Syndrome / Aztec Adventure (Patreon)

Published:

2023-09-20 13:11:45

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

Sanritsu alien syndrome arcade aztec adventure master system sega segaiden

Content

More Master System shenanigans this week with Alien Syndrome and Aztec Adventure. These games have more in common than simply starting with the same letter of the alphabet, despite one originating in the arcade and the other being an original home console creation. Both share a top-down viewpoint, both involve roaming around killing bosses in order to open the door to the next level, and both are designed in such as a way as to be intensely difficult due to their miserly combat mechanics. Some neat ideas here that don't quite gel.

Files

Admire its perfection: Alien Syndrome / Aztec Adventure | Segaiden #055

Another arcade conversion? On Master System? Yes, it's more likely than you think. This time, however, Sega appears to have run out of eligible Super Scaler creations, so we have something that feels much better-suited to the hardware than After Burner did: Alien Syndrome. And yet for some weird reason, Sega's own home port of their own arcade hit plays less like the original coin-op than any other home version of the game, dropping the cooperative play, the free-scrolling stage layouts, and some of the moment-to-moment play mechanics. It's not bad, but it is a little underwhelming and really quite bizarre. Also this episode, we have an original Master System creation in Aztec Adventure, a game with some interesting ideas hampered by some hostile game mechanics. Production notes: Why watch when you can read? All 420 full-color pages of SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I are now in print at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books). You can also grab the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works as well. Look for NES Works Gaiden Vol. I and Master System Works Vol. I in 2024-25. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running through a cart adapter on Sega Mark III hardware (with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification by iFixRetro) and MiSTer (thanks to MiSTerAddOns). Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister. RGB cables courtesy of StoneAgeGamer.com and Allie Bellrose.