In case you haven’t heard, today is Alien Day. It’s the one day of the year where having awful chest-pains doesn’t necessarily mean you’re having a heart attack. Today is the day to not only celebrate Ridley Scott’s seminal movie, but also the iconic designs of famed artist H.R. Giger. It’s a look and style that continues to both fascinate and haunt people to this very day, some 45 years after Alien first came out.
But instead of talking about that incredible movie, I instead want to talk about the many games that just blatantly ripped it off. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, you saw some of the biggest franchises pay homage to H.R. Giger’s incredible designs. Or maybe they just copied him. Either way, we’re going to look at some of the best examples of this happening. From fake face-huggers to wannabe Xenomorphs, this is a brief history of video games stealing from Alien.
0:00 – Introduction
1:08 – Space Invaders Pinball
1:42 – R-Type
2:16 – Alien Syndrome
2:34 – Contra
3:07 – Xenophobe
3:28 – Alien Crush
3:42 – Ninja Gaiden
4:06 – Mystic Defender
4:23 – Monster Party
4:37 – The Astyanax
5:05 – Space Gun
5:23 – Dark Seed
5:50 – Streets of Rage 2
6:14 – Splatterhouse 2
6:28 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
6:40 – Popeye 3: WrestleCrazy
6:57 – Ecco the Dolphin
7:11 – Super Metroid
7:47 – Mega Turrican
8:03 – Beyond Oasis
8:19 – Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
8:44 – Conker’s Bad Fur Day
9:56 – Question of the Day
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