<s>
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
is	O
a	O
side-scrolling	O
run	O
and	O
gun	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Treasure	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Sega	O
for	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retail	O
copies	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
and	O
PAL	O
territories	O
while	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
it	O
was	O
only	O
available	O
exclusively	O
via	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Channel	I-Application
cable	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
gameplay	O
ideas	O
are	O
borrowed	O
from	O
Treasure	O
's	O
earlier	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
release	O
,	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
(	O
1993	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
puts	O
an	O
emphasis	O
on	O
challenging	O
boss	O
fights	O
with	O
short	O
and	O
easy	O
levels	O
serving	O
as	O
downtime	O
in-between	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Treasure	O
began	O
development	O
on	O
four	O
games	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
,	O
among	O
these	O
was	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
quickly	O
shrinking	O
to	O
make	O
headway	O
for	O
the	O
incoming	O
32-bit	O
fifth	B-Application
generation	I-Application
hardware	O
,	O
Suganami	O
received	O
support	O
from	O
other	O
Treasure	O
staff	O
and	O
released	O
the	O
game	O
with	O
only	O
about	O
half	O
of	O
his	O
original	O
ideas	O
realized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
designed	O
and	O
marketed	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
explicitly	O
for	O
"	O
hardcore	O
"	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
gamers	O
,	O
designing	O
its	O
difficulty	O
and	O
scoring	O
methods	O
for	O
those	O
that	O
enjoyed	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
strong	O
action	O
game	O
library	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
was	O
released	O
towards	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
's	O
lifecycle	O
in	O
February	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
negative	O
critique	O
was	O
directed	O
towards	O
the	O
hard	O
difficulty	O
,	O
steep	O
learning	O
curve	O
,	O
and	O
unorthodox	O
gameplay	O
,	O
but	O
many	O
still	O
recommend	O
it	O
to	O
fans	O
of	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
and	O
the	O
run	O
and	O
gun	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
first	O
re-release	O
was	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
in	O
Japan	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	O
Ages	O
2500	O
series	O
which	O
includes	O
different	O
regional	O
releases	O
and	O
extra	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
re-released	O
worldwide	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
in	O
2007	O
,	O
Steam	B-Application
in	O
2011	O
,	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
Online	I-Application
+	I-Application
Expansion	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
in	O
2022	O
and	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Genesis	I-Application
Mini	I-Application
2	I-Application
in	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
is	O
a	O
side-scrolling	O
run	O
and	O
gun	O
video	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
controls	O
the	O
main	O
character	O
,	O
Epsilon-Eagle	O
,	O
through	O
25	O
stages	O
and	O
26	O
bosses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
has	O
been	O
compared	O
heavily	O
to	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
;	O
however	O
,	O
putting	O
a	O
much	O
larger	O
emphasis	O
on	O
boss	O
fights	O
,	O
and	O
lacking	O
any	O
2-player	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
premise	O
of	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
is	O
provided	O
with	O
a	O
long	O
text	O
scroll	O
at	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
developing	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
,	O
Treasure	O
was	O
divided	O
into	O
four	O
teams	O
working	O
on	O
separate	O
projects	O
:	O
Dynamite	B-Application
Headdy	I-Application
,	O
Light	B-Application
Crusader	I-Application
,	O
Yū	B-Application
Yū	I-Application
Hakusho	I-Application
Makyō	I-Application
Tōitsusen	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
lasted	O
two	O
years	O
and	O
was	O
led	O
by	O
Hideyuki	O
Suganami	O
,	O
who	O
from	O
the	O
start	O
wanted	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
entire	O
game	O
himself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
32-bit	O
fifth	B-Application
generation	I-Application
hardware	O
already	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
,	O
he	O
chose	O
to	O
program	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
16-bit	B-Device
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
,	O
claiming	O
that	O
he	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
too	O
captivated	O
by	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
making	O
an	O
"	O
action	O
shooting	O
"	O
game	O
which	O
the	O
system	O
was	O
known	O
for	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Treasure	O
explicitly	O
targeted	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
"	O
hardcore	O
"	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
players	O
and	O
designed	O
its	O
difficulty	O
and	O
end-game	O
scoring	O
methods	O
with	O
this	O
in	O
mind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suganami	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
"	O
for	O
Mega	O
Drivers	O
custom	O
"	O
and	O
proudly	O
placed	O
the	O
phrase	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
title	O
screen	O
alongside	O
a	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
advertising	O
slogan	O
:	O
"	O
Visualshock	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Suganami	O
was	O
deeply	O
invested	O
in	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
and	O
devoted	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
personal	O
time	O
to	O
developing	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
games	O
typically	O
required	O
two	O
designers	O
and	O
two	O
programmers	O
,	O
but	O
Suganami	O
wanted	O
to	O
challenge	O
himself	O
and	O
see	O
if	O
it	O
was	O
possible	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
game	O
himself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
deadline	O
approached	O
,	O
he	O
came	O
to	O
realize	O
he	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
complete	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
himself	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
additional	O
staff	O
were	O
added	O
to	O
provide	O
him	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
worked	O
overtime	O
during	O
the	O
New	O
Years	O
holidays	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
complete	O
the	O
game	O
while	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
was	O
quickly	O
shrinking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
bosses	O
that	O
was	O
included	O
,	O
"	O
Seven	O
Force	O
"	O
,	O
was	O
originally	O
featured	O
in	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
24	O
February	O
1995	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
a	O
physical	O
cartridge	O
format	O
in	O
Australia	O
,	O
Europe	O
and	O
Japan	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
delivered	O
exclusively	O
through	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Channel	I-Application
cable	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
late	O
in	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
's	O
lifecycle	O
and	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Sega	O
Saturn	O
,	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
pushed	O
the	O
system	O
to	O
its	O
technical	O
limits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Years	O
later	O
,	O
Yosuke	O
Okunari	O
of	O
Treasure	O
addressed	O
concerns	O
that	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
was	O
released	O
as	O
an	O
incomplete	O
game	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
the	O
notion	O
is	O
only	O
derived	O
from	O
Suganami	O
having	O
originally	O
had	O
large	O
ambitions	O
that	O
were	O
never	O
realized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
first	O
re-release	O
was	O
in	O
Japan	O
in	O
2006	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Sega	O
Ages	O
2500	O
:	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
Treasure	O
Box	O
compilation	O
together	O
with	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
and	O
Dynamite	B-Application
Headdy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
release	O
includes	O
both	O
PAL	O
and	O
Japanese	O
versions	O
,	O
video	O
filter	O
options	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
recorded	O
full	O
playthrough	O
done	O
by	O
an	O
expert	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
was	O
released	O
again	O
worldwide	O
in	O
fall	O
2007	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
via	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
download	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
again	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
Steam	B-Application
on	O
6	O
January	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
also	O
re-released	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
Online	I-Application
+	I-Application
Expansion	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
on	O
16	O
March	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
its	O
original	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
release	O
,	O
Famitsu	O
provided	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
with	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
24	O
out	O
of	O
40	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
noted	O
how	O
Treasure	O
was	O
beginning	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
pattern	O
of	O
good	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
called	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
a	O
modern	O
classic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Frank	O
Provo	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
reviewed	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
release	O
in	O
2007	O
,	O
citing	O
the	O
excellent	O
graphics	O
,	O
sound	O
,	O
and	O
general	O
intensity	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lucas	O
M	O
.	O
Thomas	O
of	O
IGN	O
noted	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
many	O
similarities	O
to	O
Gunstar	B-Application
Heroes	I-Application
and	O
recommended	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
to	O
those	O
who	O
enjoyed	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Alien	B-Application
Soldier	I-Application
is	O
a	O
long-lost	O
piece	O
of	O
Treasure	O
's	O
action	O
gaming	O
legacy	O
,	O
"	O
said	O
Thomas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darren	O
Calvert	O
of	O
Nintendo	O
Life	O
described	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
animation	O
as	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
on	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
