History VideoGame / AlienSoldier

* LogicalWeakness: Flame Force is very effective against organic enemies. Sword and Lancer Force are potent against machinery. As a logical resistance, the machines are immune to Flame Force. (Homing Force works against everything but Sirene Force, and Buster/Ranger have varying effectiveness, though they're usually in the middle ground.)

!!''Alien Soldier'' contains examples of:

* SuperSpecialMove: Epsilon-2's ultimate attack, Phoenix Force, is a WreathedInFlames version of Counter Force, a DashAttack that can obliterate regular enemies. It's a LimitBreak that requires Epsilon-2 to have full health, as it [[CastFromHitPoints Casts From Hit Points]], and execute a Zero Teleport. Phoenix Force can be effective on bosses [[DifficultButAwesome if you know when and where to use it]]. It's also his SignatureMove and, therefore, heavily featured in cutscenes.

* NintendoHard: Even on the Supereasy difficulty, the game is [[NintendoHard incredibly hard]] in Treasure tradition. Mastering the controls is also more challenging than in most comparable titles.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: All weapons except for Lancer Force suffer range penalties as their ammo depletes.

This is where the game begins proper, and the plot becomes even more outlandish as you play on. The first surprise may come when [[PlayerCharacter Epsilon-2]] continues his conquest [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge even after killing Xi-Tiger]]. [[spoiler: From there, he will proceed to face familiar and unexpected foes, witness the death of his homeworld, and travel back in time to save it. The game culminates in a face-off against a gigantic cyborg lion - [[FinalBoss Z-Leo]], whose significance to the plot is unknown]].

Alien Soldier is a fairly tough game to pick up, mostly owing to the difficulty of getting used to the abilities at your disposal. These includes multiple weapons, mobility, defensive options and even an ultimate attack. [[NintendoHard For your sake]], they will be explained below.

''Alien Soldier'' is a 1995 RunAndGun game by Creator/{{Treasure}} for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, serving as a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes''. While it shares some similarities with other run-and-guns, the focus here, aside from depending on your reaction time and unique capabilities, involves lots and lots of boss fights. You play as Epsilon-2, a cybernetic birdman who fights against the rogue organization Scarlet, traveling throughout the galaxy and leaving large amounts of carnage in your wake.

** [[TurtlePower Shell]][[{{Samurai}} shogun]]: A bipedal samurai tortoise. Enough said.

** Shellshogun: A giant [[TurtlePower tortoise]] {{samurai}}.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/943531_20071112_790screen004.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[VideoGame/MischiefMakers Merco]] is under attack from [[VideoGame/ContraHardCorps Brad Fang]] riding [[WesternAnimation/{{Bravestarr}} Bravestarr's]] horse. [[WidgetSeries This is a Japanese game, isn't it?]]]]

* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: Superhard and Supereasy. Superheard is the default. The changes for Supereasy include frailer enemies, unlimited continues, weapon swapping between those continues, a slowdown function, and a reduced cost for Phoenix Force. It helps, but by no means trivliaizes the challenge.

Alien Soldier is a fairly tough game to to pick up, mostly owing to the difficulty of getting used to the abilities at your disposal. These includes multiple weapons, mobility, defensive options and even an ultimate attack. [[NintendoHard For your sake]], they will be explained below.

Compare ''Videogame/{{Contra}}'', specifically Hard Corps - the Genesis entry of the series with an overwhelming focus on boss fights. See also ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'', a far more recent run-and-gun game which drew inspiration from the above, Gunstar Heroes, and Alien Soldier itself, among others. As expected, it's absolutely loaded with bosses.

Compare ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'', another run-and-gun game with a heavy emphasis on challenging boss fights.