Aleste

MSX cover

***Aleste*** (アレスタ) is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Compile in 1988. It was first released onto the SEGA Master System. It later got released on the MSX2 and the Wii Virtual Console only in Japan. It also got a release on the Java Midlet only in Europe. It is a vertical-scrolling shooter like the rest of the games in the *Aleste* series. The game takes many inspirations from Compile's earlier work, *Zanac*, from themes to gameplay elements. On the US and EU Master System versions, the game was re-titled to ***Power Strike***.

## Story

The story varies slightly between the SMS and MSX versions of the game, though both involve the supercomputer DIA51 going haywire. While the SMS version is set on the far future in another planet, the MSX version is set on modern day Earth. The MSX version also introduces an actual protagonist, Raymond Waizen, as the pilot of the AF-68030 Aleste.

### MSX version

One month after the big earthquake…

At that time, Ray Waizen, an Earth Defense Organization pilot, was enjoying a short break with Yuri Lennox, who was from the same base.

“Ray!! Come quickly!!”
“Just a second!”

At that moment, all sound faded and everything went white. A deafening roar filled the room, followed by screaming. The explosion flung people around like rag dolls. Monstrous plants appeared after they had destroyed the building.

“Yuri!!”

People were wounded by falling debris. Children were crying, and the concrete was covered in blood. Ray ran to Yuri and lifted her up.

“Ray, where are you... Ray…”

Yuri’s voice sounded as though she was about to lose consciousness.

“Can’t you see me?”

Ray gripped Yuri’s hands tightly. Ambulance sirens were to be heard in the distance.

The earth trembled and burst. Monstrous plants emerged from the cracks and started to grow with terrible speed. They wound themselves tightly around anything in their path, as though they were planning to eat it all. In a few moments, the town had turned into a pandemonium. Green sap was flying everywhere. Tentacle-like branches started to pierce the humans, causing them to shake and scream before new branches appear from their mouths and ears. Police officers fired their weapons wildly as they were being grasped by the plants. People ran frantically, trying to escape…

The earthquake, one month before the attack, had corrupted the data stored in DIA 51, the environmental control computer. As a result, DIA 51, which had been used in a genetic manipulation program with the aim of producing new plants for oxygen synthesis, started to spawn the monstrous plants. These horrifying plants absorbed the immense amount of energy stored inside DIA 51, allowing them to grow to enormous sizes. The plants took control of their victim’s brains, and lead the infected people to the base that was built to protect DIA 51.

Ray Waizen boards the Aleste, the small state-of-the-art fighter of the Joint Earth Defense Organization. The attack of the monstrous plants, an entire defense army base going mad – what’s wriggling inside DIA 51’s core and causing all this mayhem? The final battle starts now!

### SMS version

On Space Year 6180, the planet Rimar entrusts all of it's environmental maintenance to the giant super computer DIA51. One day, when DIA51 was doing genetic engineering to generate new plants for oxygen synthesis, a large earthquake suddenly occurred. The vibration at that time caused a deviation in the data of DIA51 and changed the DNA sequence of the gene. However, everyone was distracted by the earthquake, and no one noticed any data outrage. And it seemed as if nothing had changed for a while...

Some time after the great earthquake, an observer suddenly reported an abnormal signal from DIA51, signifying that DIA51's operations were going haywire. It was observed that the surface temperature was rising rapidly, and that communication with the defense bases in the area where DIA51 was located was also interrupted.

The planetary government immediately asked the Emergency Investigation Bureau to investigate the cause. In order to answer to the sudden threat, the Bureau decided to dispatch the latest Aleste Fighter. However, on it's way there were Mu Plants which evolved due to computer anomalies. Moreover, the plants had intelligence, being able to infest the human brain and manipulate the host freely. As it turned out, the plants were coming from DIA51. It was evolving the plants and making various weapons of destruction. The only way to control the Mu Plants was to invade their fortress and destroy DIA51.

## Gameplay

The game is a vertical shoot 'em up. The player can move all around the screen but is manually pulled vertically over the scrolling background. The player has both a primary, forward-firing weapon powered up by P-chips dropped by specific enemies and secondary weapons which can be equipped by picking their corresponding numbered icon, being powered up by picking the same number multiple times. It features the same dynamic difficulty found in Zanac, with enemy formations depending on the player's skill.

## Stages and Bosses

\*Stages exclusive to the MSX version.

\*\*The Special Stage can be accessed after beating the game and choosing to continue.

## Enemies

* Box Master
* Turnne
* S'trei
* T-Angle
* Fau
* E-Fau
* Rugg
* Brever
* Tokite
* Traiter
* Vadar
* Cubat
* Theomi

## Gallery

SMS JP coverSMS US coverSMS EU coverKey artAd posterPower Strike SMS ArtWorkPower Strike Visual MaterialPower Strike SMS Visual Material 2Aleste Cut-InPower Strike Cut-In