SPACE INVADERS FUKKATSU NO HI
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スペースインベーダーズ 復活の日
©Taito Corp. 1990
Release : 1990-03-02 (¥5900)
HuCard (2 Mbits) TP02008
Shooter / Static
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Space Invaders Fukkatsu no Hi is a shooter by Taito and based on
the arcade game Space Invaders (and Majestic Twelve, see
the info section bellow). Fukkatsu no Hi translates as
"the day of resurrection", and this edition of the game includes two
versions of Taito's seminal classic. The first one is a straight
port of the old school Space Invaders originally released in 1978,
where the player controls a cannon located at the bottom of the screen and
tries to stop a formation of descending alien invaders. The second game is
called Space Invaders Plus and features updated graphics, sounds and
gameplay heavily borrowed from Majestic Twelve (aka Super Space Invaders '91).
Just like with the original game, the player controls a AIT-50 cannon (or AIF-73CA
spaceship later in the game)
located at the bottom of the screen and must take down waves of alien invaders. But this
version adds a few little extras into the mix - alien mother ships now occasionally drop
temporary power-ups (extra lives, shields, homing missiles,
shower bombs, time freeze and so forth). Each area in the game features
graphical variations, such as a large variety of alien invaders and backgrounds. The
cannon is also equipped with shields and can absorb several hits before being knocked out.
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Space Invaders Plus, the second mode included with this PC Engine version of
Space Invaders, seems to be loosely inspired by the arcade game
Majestic Twelve - The Space Invaders part IV released in 1990
(known in the west as Super Space Invaders '91, picture on the left). But the PC Engine
version tested here is a totally different game and is lot simpler overall - although
it borrows some of the graphics (alien invaders and the player's cannon and space ship),
most of the Majestic Twelve strong points didn't make it to the final game, such
as the vertical/horizontal scrolling stages, different power-ups, the large bosses and
the incredibly fun Cattle Mutilation bonus stages. As a side note, Majestic Twelve
was technically the fourth Space Invaders game, after Space Invaders (1978),
Space Invaders Deluxe (1979) and Return of the Invaders (1985).
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O M A K E
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P O V s
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Space Invaders Fukkatsu no Hi features a neat updated version of
Taito's seminal classic. The cheery and funky soundtrack really sets
the tone and mood of the game long before the first formation of alien invaders
appears on the screen. Controls are responsive and the various power-ups really
add some spice to the game. But after a few levels, the game runs out of steam...
stages look very much alike and I wished Taito had included some of the
nifty elements featured in the Super Space Invaders '91 arcade game
(from which the game seems to be inspired) - such as different alien attack
patterns, boss battles and the awesome cattle mutilation bonus rounds. Levels just
seem to keep rolling in one after the other (except for a couple of nice ideas such
as the search-light that only reveals invaders right above you) - and then
the game abruptly ends after fifteen waves... I wished there was more to it. On another
hand, the difficulty ramps up to ridiculous levels fairly quickly, so you may not
complete the game in one sitting. All in all, Space Invaders Fukkatsu no Hi
is a fun and really decent game, but I think Taito could have done a much better
job with this remake than they did (in a way similar to how Namco did with the
excellent Galaga'88).
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