My Played Video Games Review: Space Megaforce for the Super Nintendo

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Space Megaforce is a shoot 'em up game that scrolls vertically, and it was created by Japanese video game developer company Compile as part of the Aleste series. It was published in 1992 by Toho for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom, and it's known as Super Aleste in Japan and Europe.

Despite the fact that the SNES wasn't well-suited for shoot 'em up game genre, this game stands out as one of the few exceptional shooters available for the console. It boasts incredible graphics, especially for a home console in 1992, and the gameplay is pretty good.

Super Famicom box cover art for Japan (Image source)

The Story

In 2048, a massive mechanical sphere intrudes from space and begins to attack cities worldwide. Despite many attempts to stop it, the sphere proves indestructible and begins to draw energy from the South American jungle. In response, a new space fighter, the Super Aleste, is developed and equipped with powerful weapons to take down the sphere and any additional enemies it summons from outer space. The fate of Earth rests on the success of the Super Aleste's mission to destroy the sphere and its minions.

Box, manual and cartridge of the game. (Image source)

The Graphics and Sound

The game's graphics are impressive for a SNES game, featuring nicely detailed sprites. One of the game's strong points is that it rarely experiences any slowdowns, even when multiple weak enemies are attacking the player in the first stage.

The music in the game is particularly enjoyable, especially in the first three stages, with orchestral arrangements that add to the game's appeal. The sound effects are also impressive, with excellent gunshots, explosions, and charge shots. However, it could benefit from more variety. The voice-over for power-ups is a nice touch, but it can be a bit difficult to hear at times.

Gameplay video sample of Space Megaforce. Watch in 360p for near TV resolution of that time.

The Gameplay

The gameplay is very good, with easy-to-master controls and the ability to set your speed during gameplay by pressing select. The game offers two modes: a short game that serves as more of a practice mode with only 5 stages, and a standard game which is a typical normal game.

One of the game's strengths is its power-up system, which allows you to level up and change the settings of your power-ups, such as the multiple shot, by pressing the "R" button. There are 8 power-ups, each with its own unique touch, but the only downside is that the player can become overpowered.

The game offers several difficulty settings, including Easy, Normal, Hyper, Tricky, and Wild, but the difficulty is consistent throughout the game. It is relatively easy as you cannot die easily, with one example being that if you get hit by a turret, you simply go back to level zero. Also, you cannot die from walls. Overall, the gameplay of Super Aleste is very good.

Replay value is poor. After completing the game, players can choose to replay it in a higher difficulty level, but there's not much to do once you finish the game.

My Verdict

Although it was released on a less-than-ideal console for its genre, Space Megaforce is, no doubt, one of the top shoot 'em up games of the 16-bit era. Therefore, it would be a mistake to ignore or dismiss it simply due to the limitations of the console it was developed for.

Play it on the wonderful Super Nintendo/Super Famicom or play it on a trusted emulator.

Let's keep on gaming in the free world!