Treasure's Notoriously Tough Shooter, Made Easier to Approach
Alien Soldier is a 1995 Mega Drive run-and-gun from Treasure, often compared with the studio's Gunstar Heroes, and it is known for being both brilliant and punishing. Development took roughly two years and was led by Hideyuki Suganami, who set out to do much of the design and programming himself. By the January 1995 deadline extra staff had to be brought in, and a large part of his planned content, including a much longer roster of bosses, never made it into the game. It went on sale in Japan on 24 February 1995 and in PAL regions in May. In North America it was only available through the Sega Channel cable service.
At a glance
- Based on: Alien Soldier (Treasure / Sega, 1995)
- Created by: Treasure; this edition adds community-made quality-of-life changes
- Released: 1995 (original)
- Genre: Run-and-gun with a boss-rush structure
- What sets it apart: a hardcore classic with its steepest hurdles, the controls and passwords, smoothed out
The game itself
You play Epsilon-Eagle in the year 2015, a genetically engineered "A-Human" fighting the terrorist group Scarlet. The original has 25 short stages and 26 bosses, so the battles are the main event. You can run, double jump and hover, carry a choice of six weapons into each level, and use a Phoenix Force dash at full health. A counter move turns enemy bullets into health. Reviewers at the time praised the intensity, soundtrack and graphics, while noting the learning curve. One boss, Seven Force, was a returning character from Gunstar Heroes.
What the Director's Cut changes
The listed upgrades match a set of community patches that appeared in 2023: six-button controller support with a custom layout, a weapon-cycling option on the A button instead of the weapon wheel, a gradual ammo regeneration, and an improved password screen. Taken together they target the very things new players tend to struggle with, without removing the original's bite.