Game Overview
【Title】Alpha Mission (The Japanese version is titled “ASO – Armored Scrum Object”)
【Platform】NES (Famicom)
【Genre】Vertical Scroll Shooting
【Manufacturer】SNK
【Release Date】1986/9/3
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How to operate
| ↑↓←→ | movement |
| A button | anti-aircraft laser |
| B button | anti-surface missile |
| START | pause |
| SELECT | Armor Selection |
Item
point
 | EP increased by 2 (up to 24) |
 | Speed-up (3 levels) |
 | Keep the speed up (don’t lose speed if you make a mistake) |
 | Enhanced anti-aircraft laser (3 levels) |
 | Enhanced anti-surface missiles (3 levels) |
 | Items on the ground will be opened (for about 15 seconds) |
 | Warp forward |
 | Warp backward |
 | EP reduced by 4 |
 | Speed, laser, and missile enhancement levels are reduced by one and keep effects are lost |
 | All enhancements to your aircraft will be lost |
Armor
| OCTO | 8-way attack | Consumes 2 EP per second |
| HOMING | Anti-surface missiles become guided missiles | Each shot consumes 2 EP |
| FIRE | Attacks with fire and can also eliminate enemy bullets | Consumes 3 EP per second |
| SHIELD | put up a barrier | Consumes 2 EP when hit by enemies or bullets |
| PARALYSER | Capable of stopping the enemy’s movement | Consumes 3 EP per second |
| CANON | Powerful laser attack in front | Consumes 1 EP per second |
| NUCLEAR | Can fire powerful nuclear warhead missiles | Each shot consumes 4 EP |
| THUNDER | Powerful overall attack | Each shot consumes 8 EP |
Story
“Mechanoclates” , a group of mysterious weapons created by biochemical components with the ability to self-think, self-repair, and self-replenish.
After waging a 200-year long battle against these unidentified weapons, the human race of the future world sought rescue from the past human race (players) as a last resort.
The method was to “use a communication system that realized connections between different dimensions, and to conduct combat by remote control through two-point communication between a dedicated machine (NES) and an automatic combat vessel SYD connected to the NES.
The entire fate of the world is entrusted to you to uncover the true identity of the invader, “Mecanocrate”, to end the war and save mankind from the danger of extinction.
Game Reviews
“ASO (Armored Scrum Object)” is a port of the arcade vertical scrolling shooter game from SNK in Japan that was released in 1985 for the Famicom (NES). Outside of Japan, the game was released under the title “Alpha Mission”.
The game consists of 12 areas, but the format is two rounds of six areas. The objective of the game is to rescue the human race by operating your own combat vessel, “Cid,” and defeating “mechanoclates,” weapons made of biochemical components that have self-thinking, self-repairing, and self-replenishing capabilities.
The title of the Japanese version, “ASO,” is an abbreviation of “Armored Scrum Object. It refers to the self-made machine SYD.
In “ASO,” the performance of the SYD changes drastically by switching its armor. There are eight types of armor in total: OCTO, SHEALD, CANON, HOMING, PARALYSER, NECLEAR, FIRE, and THUNDER, which appear as items in the game. In the arcade version, a single piece of armor is completed by matching the same type of “head,” “left wing,” and “right wing” parts, but in the NES version, the parts are not separated and only one armor can be taken and used.
One of the most strategic features of “ASO” in the history of shooting games. The game requires more strategy than simple technique, such as using different equipment for different situations and adjusting the items to be acquired, and the more you play through the game, the more you will find it interesting due to the high degree of freedom provided by the eight different types of armor.
The performance of “Cid,” the game’s ship, increases dramatically when equipped with armor, allowing the player to take aim and destroy enemies in one fell swoop for exhilaration. In particular, the Thunder Armor, which has the power to bury even bosses with a single blow and has flashy effects that spread across the entire screen, is the symbol of “ASO”.
The game’s high-quality graphics and BGM, and above all, its graceful style of competing on the fun and exhilaration of the system rather than on the worldview, have been accepted by many shooters.
The arcade version of “ASO” was selected as “The Best Game,” recognized as a “masterpiece, excellent work, and genius title” in the Gamestop Mook “The Best Game 2,” which was conducted in 1998 for all Japanese arcade games released until then. The book praised the game for its interesting strategy in selecting different types of armor by nature and function, and praised “not only the gameplay, but also the graphics, sound, and character design, including the bosses.
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