Play Final Mission Online

Summary

S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team, known in the West as Final Mission, is a sci‑fi side‑view shooter that landed on the NES in the early ’90s. Natsume’s tight controls and bright graphics make it feel like a portable arcade classic.

Up to two players can jump in, with Arnold and Sigourney (or Silver Man and Sparks in the European version) piloting a hover‑craft that flies in eight directions. The craft fires left and right while two orbiting satellite modules fire in sync; pressing A locks the satellites into a chosen position. Power‑ups appear as letter icons, swapping the default laser for a wide beam, a bomb launcher, a speed boost, or a life recovery, and the game spans five stages with boss fights.

The Japanese release, titled Final Mission, swaps the selectable characters for two palette‑shifted soldiers (one Russian) and ramps up the difficulty—six lives, permanent upgrades after a hit, and automatically orbiting satellites. The American and European versions trim the lives to three, make upgrades fragile, and let players manually align the satellites; the European edition also renames the team to SAT and the heroes to Silver Man and Sparks.

Critics praised Kiyohiro Sada’s soundtrack and the solid gameplay, earning scores in the 70‑80 % range from several magazines. The title resurfaced on the Wii Virtual Console, later on 3DS, Wii U and finally the Switch via Nintendo Classics, keeping its retro charm alive for new generations.

Storyline

In the year 2029, an army of alien invaders led by the ruthless Vile Malmort has erected an Astrotube linking the shattered ruins of New York City to their orbiting space station. The tube serves as a massive conduit for troops and technology, turning the devastated metropolis into a launchpad for the extraterrestrial assault.

To counter the threat, the United Nations commissions a Special Cybernetic Attack Team—SCAT—composed of part‑human, part‑machine soldiers engineered for the harshest combat. These elite operatives are the only force capable of infiltrating the Astrotube and halting Malmort’s plans. The Japanese version of Final Mission opens with a starkly different prologue, depicting the annihilation of several world cities before the alien onslaught even begins.