Alpha Mission II

Alpha Mission II[lower-alpha 1] is a vertically scrolling full screen shoot 'em up released by SNK in 1991 for the Neo Geo arcade and home systems.[2][3] As the name suggests, it is the sequel to the 1985 arcade game Alpha Mission. It was later released for the Neo Geo CD in 1994 and for the PlayStation Portable in 2010.[4]

Alpha Mission II
European Arcade flyer with art by Shinkiro
Developer(s)SNK
M2 (PlayStation Network)
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Eikichi Kawasaki
Designer(s)Kazuto Kouno
Kazuhiro Shibata
Keisen Yamaguchi
Programmer(s)Sho Chan
Composer(s)Kazuhiro Nishida
Toshikazu Tanaka
Yoko Osaka
SeriesAlpha Mission
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Vertically scrolling shooter
Mode(s)
CabinetUpright
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS
CPUM68000 (@ 12 MHz),
Z80A (@ 4 MHz)
SoundYM2610 (@ 8 MHz)[1]
DisplayRaster, 304 × 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

The player controls a fighter spacecraft (Armored Scrum Object) and can shoot enemies in the air, bomb enemies on the ground, collect power-ups, and defeat bosses to advance levels.

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot showcasing the first boss.

The game controls uses 2 or 3 buttons used depending on the selected shuttle mode. The ship's armaments consist of air-to-air laser shots, air-to-ground missiles and any Power Weapons the player collects. The laser and missiles can be upgraded up to four times by collecting the powerups from drones that are shot. Power Weapons are available after the player collects three pieces of the same armour type or can be bought with credits acquired after each stage.[5][6]

The weapons have limited power indicated on an energy meter. Using the weapons or getting the ship damaged lowers the energy. The energy can be recharged by collecting E power ups. Once the energy expires, the ship returns to normal mode. Depending on which mode is selected varies whether Button C or B activates the Power Weapons. Various hidden items can do certain things like an R item can put the shuttle in Reverse for a certain distance. The shuttle is destroyed by one shot or by running into an enemy unit or hazard. Unless the player collects enough K power-ups beforehand, the missiles and laser shots will be lost to minimum power when the player loses a life.

There are seven stages in the game, with the last one consisting of a single boss battle. The player has to fight through them avoiding hazards in addition. Mid-bosses very occasionally appear in the game. When the player meets a mid-boss or end stage boss, the player must destroy weak points and various parts of the boss to destroy it.

Development and release

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(Switch) 65%[7]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame(Arcade) [8]
(Neo Geo) [9]
CVG(Neo Geo) 88 / 100[10]
GameFan(Neo Geo) 334 / 400[11]
Nintendo Life(Switch) 7 / 10[12]
Nintendo World Report(Switch) 6 / 10[13]
Consolemania(Neo Geo) 95 / 100[14]
Consoles +(Neo Geo) 90%[15]
Game Zone(Arcade) [16]
Génération 4(Neo Geo) 90%[17]
Hobby Hi-Tech(Neo Geo CD) 6 / 10[18]
Joypad(Neo Geo) 94%[19]
Joystick(Neo Geo) 97%[20]
Mega Fun(Neo Geo) 71%[21]
Micom BASIC Magazine(Neo Geo) [22]
Neo Geo Freak(Arcade) 9 / 20[23]
Player One(Neo Geo) 94%[24]
Pure Nintendo Magazine(Switch) 7.5 / 10[25]
Sinclair User(Arcade) 83%[26]

In Japan, Game Machine listed Alpha Mission II on their May 1, 1991 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the year, outperforming titles such as Street Fighter II: The World Warrior.[27] Since its initial release in arcades, the game has been met with generally positive reception from critics.[28]

Series

Notes
  1. Also known as ASO II: Last Guardian (Japanese: ASO II：ラスト ガーディアン, Hepburn: ASO II: Rasuto Gādian) in Japan.

References
  1. "SNK NeoGeo MVS Hardware (SNK)". system16.com. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  2. "VG - ASO II：ラストガーディアン". Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). No. 17. SoftBank Creative. February 1991. p. 130.
  3. "Oh! Neo Geo Vol. 7 - ASO II". Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). No. 42. SoftBank Creative. March 1993. p. 126.
  4. "Neo•Geo CD: The Arcade In A Box - Alpha Mission II". GamePro. No. Premiere Supplement. IDG. Spring 1996. p. 104.
  5. "VG - ASO II：ラストガーディアン". Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). No. 21. SoftBank Creative. June 1991. pp. 128–129.
  6. Alpha Mission II user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)
  7. "ACA NeoGeo: Alpha Mission II for Nintendo Switch". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  8. Biondich, Paul (1998). "Alpha Mission II (Arcade) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. Knight, Kyle (1998). "Alpha Mission II (Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  10. Rand, Paul (October 1991). "Reviews - Neo Geo -- Alpha Mission II". Computer and Video Games. No. 119. Future Publishing. p. 61.
  11. Halverson, Dave; Brody; Stratton, Tom; Cockburn, Andrew (January 1993). "Viewpoint - Neo Geo - Alpha Mission 2". GameFan. Vol. 1 no. 3. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 13.
  12. McFerran, Damien (April 7, 2017). "Alpha Mission II Review (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  13. Gibson, Casey (May 9, 2017). "Alpha Mission II (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  14. Rosa, Piemarco (December 1992). "Alpha Mission II (Neo Geo)". Consolemania (in Italian). No. 14. Xenia Edizioni. pp. 54–55.
  15. Kun, Kaneda; Hermelin, François (September 1991). "Neo Geo Review - Alpha Mission II". Consoles + (in French). No. 1. M.E.R.7. pp. 66–67.
  16. Wilson, David (November 1991). "Kill Zone - Alpha Mission II". Game Zone. Vol. 1 no. 1. Dennis Publishing. p. 82.
  17. Ladoire, Frank (November 1991). "Console Test – Alpha Mission II – Neo-Geo". Génération 4 (in French). No. 38. Computec Media France. pp. 218–219.
  18. "Reportaje - Clásicos en CD -- Titulos disponibles para el nuevo formato de SNK: Alpha Mission II". Hobby Hi-Tech (in Spanish). No. 1. Axel Springer SE. March 1995. p. 28.
  19. Seb; Demoly, Jean-Marc (November 1991). "Test - Neo Geo - Alpha Mission II". Joypad (in French). No. 2. Yellow Media. pp. 126–127.
  20. Demoly, Jean-Marc (November 1991). "Tests - Neo Geo - Alpha Mission II". Joystick (in French). No. 21. Anuman Interactive. p. 133.
  21. Noak, Philipp; Hellert, Stefan (August 1993). "Special - Neo Geo - Alpha Mission 2". Mega Fun (in German). No. 11. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. pp. 28–30. Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  22. Yanma; Itabashi (July 1992). "Super Soft 大特集 - 今、『NEO・GEO』がおもしろい！: ASO II~ラスト ガーディアン~". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 121. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 209.
  23. "NF編集部にまる - ネオジオゲームㇱインレビュー: ASO II~ラスト ガーディアン~". Neo Geo Freak (in Japanese). No. 25. Geibunsha. June 1997. pp. 124–128.
  24. Drevet, Cyril (November 1991). "Dossier: La NÉO GÉO brille de tous ses feux - Alpha Mission II". Player One (in French). No. 14. Média Système Édition. p. 93.
  25. Daugherty, Kaelyn (June 19, 2017). "Review: ACA NEOGEO ALPHA MISSION II (Nintendo Switch)". Pure Nintendo Magazine. Pure Media, LLC. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  26. Cook, John (August 1991). "Coin Ops: Neo-Geo News". Sinclair User. No. 113. EMAP. p. 43.
  27. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 402. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 May 1991. p. 29.
  28. Knauf, Andreas (January 1992). "News - Neo Geo - ASO 2". Video Games (in German). No. 5. Future-Verlag. pp. 10–12.
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