My Played Video Games Review: Alien vs Predator for the Super Nintendo

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Alien vs Predator is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released in 1993 for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom. It was developed by Jorudan and published in Japan by Information Global Service, while Activision handled its international release. It's important to note that this Super Nintendo version is distinct from an arcade game with the same title released by Capcom eight months later. These two games are not connected in terms of their gameplay and storylines.

An old friend fooled me during the mid-1990s that this was the hit arcade version made by Capcom. Imagine to my disapointment that it wasn't.

Japan only Super Famicom box cover art. (Image source)

The Story

You play as the alien Predator warrior in the 25th century. You're a formidable creature with a fearsome appearance, incredible strength, and advanced weaponry. Your training equips you with the technology to engage in combat, and your mission is to either destroy or be destroyed.

You arrive in New Shanghai, a city located on the planet Vega 4, with the intent of hunting humans. However, what you encounter are not humans, but Aliens - powerful and double-jawed creatures hell-bent on eradicating all life. While you might be outnumbered, you're certainly not outsmarted, and the hunt begins...

Box, manual and cartridge of the game. (Image source)

The Graphics and Sound

One of the game's strong points was its graphics, although they weren't exceptional. The Predator character was depicted quite well, but the Aliens didn't quite capture the same visual quality as in the movies. In this game, the Aliens appeared more scaly and lost some of the original artist's imagery. As for the background environments, they were generally average in quality, with only one level, featuring cocooned humans, standing out as particularly memorable.

The game's sound and music, with the exception of some cut scenes, didn't quite match the setting. Many of the levels had relatively upbeat music, even though they were supposed to depict desolate cities or tunnels filled with victimized colonists. While this could be forgiven, the sound effects were quite limited. Notably, there were no trademark "click clack" Predator noises, and the Aliens seemed to have been given only a couple of different squeal sounds. The combat sound effects were rather average, with bleeps for laser weaponry and thuds for the pounding of fists.

Gameplay video sample of Alien vs Predator. Watch in 360p for near TV resolution of that time.

The Gameplay

One of the major disappointments in this game is the combat system and the frustratingly cheap bosses. There weren't enough different types of Aliens to keep things interesting, and in some segments, the game throws about 20 different enemies at you before letting you proceed further into the level.

The Aliens had an excessive amount of health, which only extended the tedious process of bashing and sliding to defeat them.

Among the three power-up items available, the razor disc felt nearly useless, and the stealth camouflage often confused me more than it benefited my gameplay. This left the spear as the only useful weapon, and probably the only enjoyable way to deal with the numerous repetitive foes. The special attack in the game reminded me of Golden Axe, with lightning bolts or plasma streams raining down on the screen.

The bosses were even more problematic than the regular enemies, as they were often extremely fast and seemed to have nearly unbeatable attack patterns. This led to repetitive and spammy tactics when fighting them, and it took a long time to defeat even the first level boss.

The game's controls were near perfection, making for a smooth and responsive gaming experience. However, the fantastic controls were somewhat wasted on the boring and uninspired battles you had to go through.

My Verdict

As difficult as it is for me to give a bad rating to a beat-'em up game featuring two of my favorite creatures, honesty compels me to do so. If you find that playing Alien vs Predator doesn't leave you feeling half-asleep within 15 minutes, you're probably just waiting for the download of Capcom's superior arcade version to finish.

Play it on the great Super Nintendo/Super Famicom or play it on a very good emulator.

Let's keep on gaming in the free world!