Aleste is more: Power Strike | Segaiden 069
978Talk about hiding your light under a bushel. Power Strike finally brings Compile's trademark vertical shooting style to Master System, leapfrogging the design of Zanac for NES, and Sega of America celebrates this powerfully impressive work by the Master System's most reliable external developer by... making it a mail-order game exclusively offered in a single issue of the company's newsletter. Friends, that is what you call A Choice.
Power Strike (that's Aleste, if you're nasty) merits discussion of more than just its tortured release. It's a great-looking game that runs smoothly on Master System despite throwing a ton of stuff around the screen at all times (though not SO smoothly that you can't hammer the attack buttons and cause some helpful slowdown to kick in), and it continues iterating on Compile's beloved eight-option secondary weapon mechanics previously seen in Gulkave and Zanac. Oh, and it's very difficult, which is why I recorded this episode with an infinite lives cheat active. I figured you'd want to see footage beyond the second stage.
Production notes:
Learn more about the Master System's history by preordering The NES Era Vol. III: NES and the Peak of 8-Bit, a comprehensive photographic atlas of every console game released for NES and its competitors—including the Intellivision—at the height of their power, from January 1988 through the advent of 16-bit systems in August 1989. Take a deep dive into the prehistory of NES with this limited-edition oversized (12x12"!) photo book: https://limitedrungames.com/products/the-nes-era-vol-3-hardcover
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Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running through a cart adapter on Japanese Master System hardware, Analogue Nt Mini, and MiSTer (thanks to MiSTerAddOns). Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4K. RGB cables courtesy of StoneAgeGamer.com and Allie Bellrose.