PrinceWatercress plays Alien (Atari 2600) - The Longplay

...and now, a regular game of Alien minus the commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Alien for Atari 2600 is a Pac-Man clone based on the 1979 sci-fi movie of the same name. Playing the game is pretty simple: reset the game to start, then move the joystick to move your character while avoiding the three aliens (which barely look like Xenomorphs) that move around the maze and collect all the dots by walking over them to complete the level. Of course, given that this game is based on one of the most influential American sci-fi films of all time, what you're really doing when collecting the dots is - get ready for it - destroying alien eggs. Gotta figure those facehuggers into the story when they don't show up in the game at all. There's also the occasional pick-up just north of center of the maze that is worth a couple thousand points. You'll obviously want to grab these things without risking losing a life if you want to go for a high score.

Aside from being able to move around much like you do in Pac-Man, you can also fire a flamethrower at the aliens with the fire buttons. If you're about to run head-on into an alien coming at you, a well-time fire button press will deter that alien and get it away from you for a second. It only really works when you and the alien are facing each other, which never really happened for me that often, as I've come to find out after playing this. You can only fire the flamethrower to the left and to the right. The flamethrower also has limited ammo, and once you run out, you won't be able to use it again until you clear the screen and head on to the next one.

You also have a few other tools along the way. There are three pulsars, which look like red asterisks and only show up one at a time at the very top center, which work just like the Power Pills from the game that [i]Alien[/i] is based on: you grab one, the aliens turn blue, and if you touch any of them before they flash and change back to their normal colors, you get bonus points, and if you touch all three before that can happen, your score will get seemingly exponentially bigger. They only really work on the first two levels at best, as invincibility time goes down sharply the longer you go. By the time you reach the fourth screen on the first game variation, the Power Pills will stop working completely, and you won't even be able to use them to get those last few alien eggs that are being fiercely guarded.

You also have the tunnels on the sides of the maze. You can use them to wrap around the screen, but so can the aliens! Also, in another example of what the enemies can do here that they can't do in Pac-Man, the enemies here can also double back without warning! You could be right behind an alien only for the alien to suddenly turn around and get you. It's best to give them a wide berth if you can help it. 

When you complete a level, you'll enter a bonus area. Up and Down on the joystick will allow you to move up and down, which are the only two directions you can move in on these bonus stages. If you run into an alien, or if you take too long, the bonus level ends. If you can get to the object at the top of the screen, you'll get a couple thousand bonus points.

The left difficulty switch changes the direction in which the aliens travel. B/Novice has the aliens move in fixed patterns, which you can probably figure out if you sit there and watch them, while A/Expert has them move in random patterns.

The right difficulty switch changes the effects of the pulsars. On B/Novice, they work much like the Power Pills in Pac-Man. On A/Expert, they don't work at all, effectively making the right difficulty switch the on/off switch for the pulsars.

There are also four levels of play that can be selected with the Game Select Switch. Level 1 is the normal game, where you start with three lives and get a bonus life after clearing the second screen. Unfortunately, it will be the only bonus live you'll get, and this and Level 4 will give you only one bonus life to grab and no more, no matter what. You'll also get the prizes in the normal chart order from the manual: the rocket, the Saturn, the starship, and then the surprises. The fact that bonus lives are tied to progress and not score is interesting to me, since that's not something that I usually expect an Atari 2600 game to do.

Level 2 is the advanced game. It is the same as Level 1, but you start with two lives and you don't get any bonus lives at all. Level 3 is the expert game, which has the three lives from Level 1 and the lack of bonus lives from Level 2. Also, all the prizes are Saturns and are worth 1000 each.

Level 4 is the practice game. You'll start with six lives, and you'll earn a bonus life after clearing the first screen. Just like in Level 3, all of the prizes are Saturns.

Despite being loosely based on the movie of the same name, this is a pretty interesting clone of Pac-Man. The flamethrower adds a little bit of variety to the game if you can use it correctly, and the bonus stage between levels briefly breaks up the monotony. The graphics are pretty easy to see against the dark background, and I like that the eggs you're collecting/destroying cycle through the spectrum of colors that the Atari 2600 can display. There are plenty of Pac-Man clones on the Atari 2600, and this is one of the good ones.

PrinceWatercress plays Alien (Atari 2600)

Man, they made a pretty good Pac-Man clone out of the first movie in the Alien franchise, huh?

Longplay

Alien for Atari 2600 is a Pac-Man clone based on the 1979 sci-fi movie of the same name. Playing the game is pretty simple: reset the game to start, then move the joystick to move your character while avoiding the three aliens (which barely look like Xenomorphs) that move around the maze and collect all the dots by walking over them to complete the level. Of course, given that this game is based on one of the most influential American sci-fi films of all time, what you're really doing when collecting the dots is - get ready for it - destroying alien eggs. Gotta figure those facehuggers into the story when they don't show up in the game at all. There's also the occasional pick-up just north of center of the maze that is worth a couple thousand points. You'll obviously want to grab these things without risking losing a life if you want to go for a high score.

Aside from being able to move around much like you do in Pac-Man, you can also fire a flamethrower at the aliens with the fire buttons. If you're about to run head-on into an alien coming at you, a well-time fire button press will deter that alien and get it away from you for a second. It only really works when you and the alien are facing each other, which never really happened for me that often, as I've come to find out after playing this. You can only fire the flamethrower to the left and to the right. The flamethrower also has limited ammo, and once you run out, you won't be able to use it again until you clear the screen and head on to the next one.

You also have a few other tools along the way. There are three pulsars, which look like red asterisks and only show up one at a time at the very top center, which work just like the Power Pills from the game that [i]Alien[/i] is based on: you grab one, the aliens turn blue, and if you touch any of them before they flash and change back to their normal colors, you get bonus points, and if you touch all three before that can happen, your score will get seemingly exponentially bigger. They only really work on the first two levels at best, as invincibility time goes down sharply the longer you go. By the time you reach the fourth screen on the first game variation, the Power Pills will stop working completely, and you won't even be able to use them to get those last few alien eggs that are being fiercely guarded.

You also have the tunnels on the sides of the maze. You can use them to wrap around the screen, but so can the aliens! Also, in another example of what the enemies can do here that they can't do in Pac-Man, the enemies here can also double back without warning! You could be right behind an alien only for the alien to suddenly turn around and get you. It's best to give them a wide berth if you can help it. 

When you complete a level, you'll enter a bonus area. Up and Down on the joystick will allow you to move up and down, which are the only two directions you can move in on these bonus stages. If you run into an alien, or if you take too long, the bonus level ends. If you can get to the object at the top of the screen, you'll get a couple thousand bonus points.

The left difficulty switch changes the direction in which the aliens travel. B/Novice has the aliens move in fixed patterns, which you can probably figure out if you sit there and watch them, while A/Expert has them move in random patterns.

The right difficulty switch changes the effects of the pulsars. On B/Novice, they work much like the Power Pills in Pac-Man. On A/Expert, they don't work at all, effectively making the right difficulty switch the on/off switch for the pulsars.

There are also four levels of play that can be selected with the Game Select Switch. Level 1 is the normal game, where you start with three lives and get a bonus life after clearing the second screen. Unfortunately, it will be the only bonus live you'll get, and this and Level 4 will give you only one bonus life to grab and no more, no matter what. You'll also get the prizes in the normal chart order from the manual: the rocket, the Saturn, the starship, and then the surprises. The fact that bonus lives are tied to progress and not score is interesting to me, since that's not something that I usually expect an Atari 2600 game to do.

Level 2 is the advanced game. It is the same as Level 1, but you start with two lives and you don't get any bonus lives at all. Level 3 is the expert game, which has the three lives from Level 1 and the lack of bonus lives from Level 2. Also, all the prizes are Saturns and are worth 1000 each.

Level 4 is the practice game. You'll start with six lives, and you'll earn a bonus life after clearing the first screen. Just like in Level 3, all of the prizes are Saturns.

Despite being loosely based on the movie of the same name, this is a pretty interesting clone of Pac-Man. The flamethrower adds a little bit of variety to the game if you can use it correctly, and the bonus stage between levels briefly breaks up the monotony. The graphics are pretty easy to see against the dark background, and I like that the eggs you're collecting/destroying cycle through the spectrum of colors that the Atari 2600 can display. There are plenty of Pac-Man clones on the Atari 2600, and this is one of the good ones.

PrinceWatercress plays Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S (Game Gear) - The Longplay

...and now, the game in its entirety, minus commentary! Enjoy!

First | Previous

Yep, Sailor Moon got a Game Gear game. It's obviously Japan-only, as is a lot of the Sailor Moon game, and there's not much to it due to being geared towards younger and/or casual female gamers, but it's something.

You can play as Sailor Moon or as Sailor Mini Moon. For this Let's Play, I'll be playing as Sailor Moon.

Stage 1-1

Left and Right let you move left and right, Button 1 attacks and Button 2 jumps. Holding Button 1 and releasing it after a few seconds lets you throw your tiara as a short-range projectile.

In the upper-left corner, you'll have your current amount of health (up to four hearts), your charge meter for the tiara attack, and the amount of scepters that you have. If you have at least one and you hold Button 1 long enough, you'll perform a full-screen attack at the cost of a scepter. You can find them out in the open or from enemies (good luck with either one), but you'll receive the majority of the ones you get from the mini-games.

The stages are pretty short, and it does not take long to get through them. There are enemies, and the attacks you'll use will depend on how close you are and whether you're standing or crouching. If you're holding forward on the D-Pad, you can do a punch. Crouching kicks will temporarily knock enemies down. You can throw enemies, but you need to be extremely close to the enemy, and I only did it once on accident. Enemies will go down in three hits, and they will only attack if you let them, and it's pretty easy to keep them from doing it.

You'll see your first platforms moving up and down. Pay attention to where platforms change direction before you jump and land on them.

You can shimmy on wires by jumping into them and then moving across with Left or Right. Moving off the wire will allow you to get back to the ground.

If you hear what sounds like a brief earthquake, something is falling down from above. You'll want to avoid the falling object to keep from losing one of your hearts. Hearts can be dropped by enemies every once in a while, although you can also find these in the open, too. A big heart will give you full health.

Bottomless pits are instant death and loss of a life, so don't fall into them.

The bouncing sphere enemies go down in one hit, but they can take you surprise and hit you if you're not paying attention.

When you complete the first level of a stage, you'll get a sword. This is the Space Sword that was Sailor Uranus' Pure Heart talisman. You'll need it to transform at the end of the stage.

Stage 1-2

The rose grants you temporary invincibility. You'll hear a chime when it runs out. 

You'll have a choice between the upper path and the lower path halfway through; I take the upper one because it's easier and you can see the falling objects before they fall.

Beating the second level of a stage will grant you a mirror. This is the Deep Aqua Mirror, Sailor Neptune's Pure Heart talisman and another transformation.

Stage 1-3

The third level of every stage is extremely short and has a bunch of block platforms that are out of place compared to the rest of the stage. Jumping across them will lead to the heart, which is the last transformation item. Grabbing it and heading to the end will transform you further.

You'll then enter the boss battle screen. The three enemies that pop in one after the other will now go down in one hit. As for the boss battle with Eudial, also known as Eugeal in the original English language dub by Cloverway. You'll want to hit her, then let her teleport to the other side of the screen and jump up to hit the projectile. Avoid the projectile as it comes down, and hit the boss again. You can easily hit this boss with your regular attacks, but the moon tiara can work, too. After enough hits, the boss goes down.

Password: 3633

Sailor Team Roulette

At the end of every stage is a mini-game. For this mini-game, you'll want to match the character at the roulette wheel on the bottom with the one in the center. You'll want to press Button 2 just when the character you need to match is just about to speed by. If you press it any earlier, you'll land on the character before the one you need. The more matches you make before the timer at the top turns completely gray, the more scepters (or Rods, as the game calls them) you'll be able to get, up to a maximum of nine. 

Stage 2-1

Pay attention for the rumbling sound again so you don't get hit by falling glass spheres. Also, you'll have to jump up the steps near the end.

Stage 2-2

Shimmy across the stage at the middle for an extra scepter. Also, watch out for the falling glass sphere at the stairs; one will fall near the end.

Stage 2-3

Jump up the blocks and shimmy to the left to get the heart near the start.

To beat Mimete, you'll need to hold down the B button briefly to throw the tiara at the boss, then avoid the notes that the boss shoots at you when she goes into the air. After four hits, it's over.

Password: 4141

Find Tuxedo Mask!

Use Left and Right to go between the doors and the elevator. Use Up and down on the elevator to switch floors. Press Button 1 or 2 to open a door and either get a hint as to where Tuxedo Mask is as well as to find Tuxedo Mask himself. Finding Tuxedo Mask will refill your health to four hearts. You have four chances to find Tuxedo Mask, and each extra chance you have after finding Tuxedo Mask gives you bonus points.

Stage 3-1

In this world, you'll have to jump over open manhole covers. What is going on with the road safety here? You'll also have to jump over stacks of boxes, but that's the easiest obstacle to deal with around here. Also, watch out for falling objects. Again.

This level is pretty short, honestly.

Stage 3-2

Now you'll have to jump over gaping pits in the road itself. While you're doing this, you'll need to be alert for falling objects, which will make performing this rather mundane task harder. It won't be long until you reach the end again.

Stage 3-3

You'll find the path to the heart above the crates at the start. Just watch where you're landing, as there is an open manhole cover nearby.

To beat Viluy (Byruit in the original English dub), just use your tiara attack and keep a fair distance away. The boss shoots projectiles upon taking damage, but they only have a limited range.

Password: 5151

Quiz World

Here, you'll need to answer five questions. They're going to be random every time you play. You have five seconds to answer each one, and each correct answer awards you a scepter for the super attack that I end up never using. Ironically, while I couldn't find a list of the quiz questions, I was able to find the names of the transformation items as well as the bosses.

Stage 4-1

Unlike the other stages we've been in, you'll be going upwards in addition to back and forth. You'll be able to see what's going to fall down in front of you a little more easily, and if you jump around, you can trigger a couple of falling objects early.

Be careful with the platforms and watch where they stop before you jump, or else you'll be taking a tumble.

Stage 4-2

You'll definitely want to be careful with the platforms here, especially when there is a bottomless pit at the bottom of this level.

Stage 4-3

You'll find the last transformative items just by jumping up the blocks. Jump to the left when you grab the last item so you don't risk falling into the bottomless pit.

To beat Tellu (Telulu in the dub), hit her with the tiara, then avoid the red balls that fall from the sky. After four hits, she goes down.

Password: 6060

Luna-P Ball's Picnic

Press Button 1 to move Luna-P left and Button 2 to move Luna-P right. You'll have to get to the end without bumping into Luna or Artemis, and if you can do that, you'll refill all of your health. You only get one shot, however, and it's all too easy to mess it up.

Stage 5-1

There are some pits in the game that will appear as the level terrain moves downward. Watch out for platforms as well as falling items, as you'll need to deal with both to get to the end.

Stage 5-2

While the terrain does not raise or lower, you'll still want to watch the platforms carefully to ensure you don't fall into a pit.

Stage 5-3

When you get on the moving platform above all the blocks you need to jump on, jump straight to the Garnet Orb.

The boss here is Cyprine and Ptilol (Petirol in the dob). You'll attack Cyrpine first, then she will jump away and Ptilol will jump in. You'll need to move back and forth in the center of the room to avoid colliding with them and eventually hit them. They'll both eventually go down.

You'll then face Kaolinite (Kaorinite in the dub). You'll need to move around and keep moving to ensure she doesn't show up on top of you, and then hit her before she can attack. Every time you hit her, she teleports; move around to ensure she doesn't show up right where you are, and attack her before she can attack you. After enough hits she finally goes down.

Password: 8888 (which gives you the credits)

After this, you'll be taunted by Professor Tomoe (Dr. Tomoe in the English dub), then you get the credits.

As for the Fortune Telling Mode, you just put in your date of birth, today's date and your blood type, and you'll get to see your fortune for the day regarding love and money as well as the lucky number and color of the day. It has no bearing on anything in the game and is just there for fun.

Nevertheless, you've just beaten Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon for the Game Gear!

PrinceWatercress plays Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S (Game Gear) - Stage 5 of 5

In this entry, we finally beat the game. Sadly, Game Gear would never get another Sailor Moon game.

First | Previous | End

Stage 5-1

There are some pits in the game that will appear as the level terrain moves downward. Watch out for platforms as well as falling items, as you'll need to deal with both to get to the end.

Stage 5-2

While the terrain does not raise or lower, you'll still want to watch the platforms carefully to ensure you don't fall into a pit.

Stage 5-3

When you get on the moving platform above all the blocks you need to jump on, jump straight to the Garnet Orb.

The boss here is Cyprine and Ptilol (Petirol in the dob). You'll attack Cyrpine first, then she will jump away and Ptilol will jump in. You'll need to move back and forth in the center of the room to avoid colliding with them and eventually hit them. They'll both eventually go down.

You'll then face Kaolinite (Kaorinite in the dub). You'll need to move around and keep moving to ensure she doesn't show up on top of you, and then hit her before she can attack. Every time you hit her, she teleports; move around to ensure she doesn't show up right where you are, and attack her before she can attack you. After enough hits she finally goes down.

Password: 8888 (which gives you the credits)

After this, you'll be taunted by Professor Tomoe (Dr. Tomoe in the English dub), then you get the credits.

As for the Fortune Telling Mode, you just put in your date of birth, today's date and your blood type, and you'll get to see your fortune for the day regarding love and money as well as the lucky number and color of the day. It has no bearing on anything in the game and is just there for fun.

Nevertheless, you've just beaten Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon for the Game Gear!

PrinceWatercress plays Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S (Game Gear) - Stage 4 of 5

This level takes place at a construction site. Not surprisingly, it's the most interesting level in the game.

First | Previous | Next | End

Stage 4-1

Unlike the other stages we've been in, you'll be going upwards in addition to back and forth. You'll be able to see what's going to fall down in front of you a little more easily, and if you jump around, you can trigger a couple of falling objects early.

Be careful with the platforms and watch where they stop before you jump, or else you'll be taking a tumble.

Stage 4-2

You'll definitely want to be careful with the platforms here, especially when there is a bottomless pit at the bottom of this level.

Stage 4-3

You'll find the last transformative items just by jumping up the blocks. Jump to the left when you grab the last item so you don't risk falling into the bottomless pit.

To beat Tellu (Telulu in the dub), hit her with the tiara, then avoid the red balls that fall from the sky. After four hits, she goes down.

Password: 6060

Luna-P Ball's Picnic

Press Button 1 to move Luna-P left and Button 2 to move Luna-P right. You'll have to get to the end without bumping into Luna or Artemis, and if you can do that, you'll refill all of your health. You only get one shot, however, and it's all too easy to mess it up.

PrinceWatercress plays Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S (Game Gear) - Stage 3 of 5

These roads are more dangerous than the enemies themselves.

First | Previous | Next | End

Stage 3-1

In this world, you'll have to jump over open manhole covers. What is going on with the road safety here? You'll also have to jump over stacks of boxes, but that's the easiest obstacle to deal with around here. Also, watch out for falling objects. Again.

This level is pretty short, honestly.

Stage 3-2

Now you'll have to jump over gaping pits in the road itself. While you're doing this, you'll need to be alert for falling objects, which will make performing this rather mundane task harder. It won't be long until you reach the end again.

Stage 3-3

You'll find the path to the heart above the crates at the start. Just watch where you're landing, as there is an open manhole cover nearby.

To beat Viluy (Byruit in the original English dub), just use your tiara attack and keep a fair distance away. The boss shoots projectiles upon taking damage, but they only have a limited range.

Password: 5151

Quiz World

Here, you'll need to answer five questions. They're going to be random every time you play. You have five seconds to answer each one, and each correct answer awards you a scepter for the super attack that I end up never using. Ironically, while I couldn't find a list of the quiz questions, I was able to find the names of the transformation items as well as the bosses.

PrinceWatercress plays Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S (Game Gear) - Stage 2 of 5

This stage is shorter than the first one, and you'll get through it just as easily.

First | Next | End

Stage 2-1

Pay attention for the rumbling sound again so you don't get hit by falling glass spheres. Also, you'll have to jump up the steps near the end.

Stage 2-2

Shimmy across the stage at the middle for an extra scepter. Also, watch out for the falling glass sphere at the stairs; one will fall near the end.

Stage 2-3

Jump up the blocks and shimmy to the left to get the heart near the start.

To beat Mimete, you'll need to hold down the B button briefly to throw the tiara at the boss, then avoid the notes that the boss shoots at you when she goes into the air. After four hits, it's over.

Password: 4141

Find Tuxedo Mask!

Use Left and Right to go between the doors and the elevator. Use Up and down on the elevator to switch floors. Press Button 1 or 2 to open a door and either get a hint as to where Tuxedo Mask is as well as to find Tuxedo Mask himself. Finding Tuxedo Mask will refill your health to four hearts. You have four chances to find Tuxedo Mask, and each extra chance you have after finding Tuxedo Mask gives you bonus points.