Space Invaders '95: The Attack of the Lunar Loonies [あっかんべえだあー] Game Sample - Arcade
21Anyone who is even loosely affiliated with the gaming scene knows that Pacific Kougyou's (a subsidiary of Taito that stems from the early 60s) "Space Invaders" is one of the most iconic video game series ever created and a fun old-school shooter, but most people don't realize just how many different iterations of the game actually exists. Nevermind almost countless ports and bootlegs of the original, how many entries would you think exist? 10? 15? Maybe 20? If you guessed closer to "50", you'd be in the right direction, though numerically speaking, there aren't too many sequels to the game. However, today's entry, "Space Invaders '95" (aka "Akkanvader") is one of the quirkiest entries of them all and the one entry that truly jumps out to me as "uniquely" Japanese (unless you count "PD Ultraman Invader" or "Space Raiders").
It's got a Kiki Kaikai cameo in the form of Sayo-chan and her "pupil" Miyo-chan (who would, so far, never appear again, and is not to be confused with Miki / Becky from "Kiki KaiKai: Dotou Hen"). It's got "Darius" ships and "Space Invaders Capsules". It's got a giant metallic invader and a quirky giant crab girl. The game explodes with color and character and is often considered a combination of "Space Invaders", "Galaga" and "Parodius", which is a pretty fair comparison. It also looks and sounds pretty spiffy as it runs off of Taito's F3 Arcade board. The game has two known ports being released on the "Taito Legends 2 / Taito Memories Gekan" compilations (though the "Taito Memories" series is collectively superior) which makes them worth tracking down for Invaders fans. The only issue? The game is HARD on single player and was almost designed with co-op in mind... but how can you hate the zaniness of the game? You get to fly around as a literal piece of... poop. Okay, that's not the best selling point, but the game is fun.
This version of the game, at its core, is the same as the original, but with new characters, added mechanics and a major lift in the presentation. The game has five different crafts whose appearance differ between player one and player two, and each craft has a special shot that can be charged up for added mayhem. My favorite one is Sayo-chan's shot as it is luck-based but still balanced in terms of utility and power (delivering a big bang when at its best) but there are also specific power-ups that can make short work of the loonies when used properly. There are also bonus stages that are reminiscent to "Galaga" and varying segments that take advantage of vertical and horizontal movement (though the player remains fixed on the screen). There are also bosses now too, and they're an interesting bunch.
There's way more stuff going on now too as enemies have many different characteristics and, to give you a fighting chance, some projectiles can be cancelled out by your own fire. The game sports 32 short stages spread over five rounds and doesn't have much to offer after you've cleared it once. It's not the best SI game I've played, but it's still a fun time for score chasers, shooting enthusiasts and Invaders fans. This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.
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