Play Super Aleste Online

Summary

Super Aleste, released outside Japan as Space Megaforce, is a fast‑paced vertical shooter that rewards precision and clever power‑up management. Eight distinct weapons can be upgraded by collecting orange chips, which require progressively more to level up, or green chips that boost instantly; swapping weapons is as simple as grabbing a numbered icon.

Your ship’s survivability is literally tied to its armament—each hit strips four weapon levels, and if you’re at level 0 the craft is destroyed. Special Lives, earned via a rare power‑up, let you resume exactly where you fell, while ordinary lives return you to the last checkpoint. The background scenery is harmless, but a sudden edge‑crush can end the run.

The Japanese version packs extra flair: super‑deformed art on menus, a lengthier ending that reveals the alien invasion’s mystery, altered boss names, and a different soundtrack—some tracks were swapped or removed to avoid New Order‑style similarities. A “Short Game” mode strips the stages into bite‑size segments, turning the experience into a pure score‑attack challenge.

Critics praised its inventive power‑ups and Mode 7 effects, earning scores in the 80‑90% range and a spot among the best console games of all time. A manga adaptation followed in 1993, cementing its cult status among retro shooters.

Storyline

In the year 2048 a massive mechanical sphere crashes to Earth and begins razing major cities worldwide. The sphere eventually settles over the South American jungle, etching giant Nazca‑like lines into the ground as it expands and siphons energy from the foliage. Its built‑in defense system repels every military strike, forcing humanity’s original Aleste fighter to fail.

To counter the threat, engineers create the Super Aleste – a space‑fighter equipped with extraordinary weaponry. Pilots are ordered to breach the sphere, destroy its core, and eliminate the alien reinforcements it summons from the far reaches of space.

The Japanese version adds a narrative twist: ace pilot Raz is joined by Thi, a mysterious alien prisoner aboard the sphere who can channel its strange powers. Together they weaken the sphere’s defenses and wrest its power source. Both characters and the original ending were removed from the Western release, known as Space Megaforce, and from the European version of Super Aleste.