AWESOME! Can't wait for this to come to Europe. It's the only Treasure game I missed on Mega Drive. NEEDS IT NOW!!!!

this game is supposedly legenday. many call it one of the best run n' guns of all time. i really hope it comes to north america because i want to see what the hype is about...

can treasure do no wrong?

This game is one of the most sought after mega drive games ever. I remember it used to ebay for $100AU

I see it for 50 dollars at the least on Ebay. It might be one of the games I buy on the VC instead of a cartridge copy due to the hassle of buying both the expensive cart and a converter to play it on an American Genesis.

This is one of the best Megadrive games ever. Personally I like it even better than Gunstar Heroes. I once bought it used for about €11,- converted to current money, not knowing it was so good or rare. I played it to death, enjoying every minute of it. When I had to sell it made me €75,-

I have to admit I wasn't all that fussed when I read the review for this, but having taken it into consideration after watching the video clip, I might be changing my mind.. this looks really good!

That clip makes me feel like I'm back in Toys R Us in the mid nineties. I'll definitely consider buying that.

This game is so darn awesome! I'm so glad I'm finally able to play it, I'm a huge fan of Treasure, and this is them at their finest. Marvellous stuff =D

I got this game and it's great. Every action fan, play this!
At first select your weapons, and then go into action. The gameplay is easy but can be challenging.
I love the levels, they're damn short, three teleports and then a boss approaches. After you beat it you get a password and move on.
This isn't much of Gunstar Heroes, but there are some similiarities. But it's more "Teleportmove-to-the-next-boss-n-use-the-right-weapons-n-find-a-tactic-to-kill-it"-game. And how many stages has this? 24 or sumthing? As I get better and better and progress, the game also gets better with every stage. The bosses keep you motivated, because they're so different and so big and so cool animated, with many different moves. It's nearly a fighting game. And the learn curve of the smooth controls is just perfect.
Once again, a real treasure by Treasure! I'm on stage 6 or 7 but there's one highlight after another. Blasting awesomeness!

OK I'm now on stage 18. Was pretty easy most of the time (playing it on SUPEREASY, which isn't supereasy at all, but with passwords and unlimited continues and weapon select after each death. The levels got slightly bigger and more detailed and different but still are very short. It's always easy to move on after getting used to the controls, chosing the right weapons and beating the cool bosses. After a huge boss stage in level 17 it seemed like the game ended, but it was just a cutscene and now I'm on a completely different planet. Still 5 Stars.

Alien Soldier is indeed an awesome game from Treasure. Compared to Treasure's own Gunstar Heroes, Bangai-O, and Sin & Punishment, this game is a boss-fest and no doubts about it. The entire gameplay is nothing but the raw meat and a tough challenge to boot (even on Super Easy difficulty). For North American gamers, the emulation is basically the European Mega Drive version, but nonetheless a must download. VISUALSHOCK! SPEEDSHOCK! SOUNDSHOCK! NOW IS TIME TO THE 68000 HEART ON FIRE!

Awesomeness, pure unadulterated fun.
I have been waiting twelve years to exact my revenge on sevenforce and now its dead. Ha.

This game is SWEEAT.... The levels are short, but the endgame monsters are AWESOME. One of the best VC games ever

Buy it, if U like Shoot em up games... I love it...

King Pie said it well, Ill just add that the learning curve could've been a tad smoother. This game keeps you on your toes from the get-go.

I beat Gunstar Heroes in no time and yet I can't defeat the first boss in this game!

I have waited a VERY long time for this game. I downloaded it the second I got home on the day it was released. I played it all night and ever day that week. What an amazing game. This was the promise the VC held for me; a cheap way to distribute here-to-fore unreleased games in the US. I never thought it would happen so soon. This saved me a great deal of money!

Just downloaded this. It really is a beautiful game. My only point of critique is that the levels are a little short for me. It seems almost a waste that Treasure went through all this trouble to paint spectacular backgrounds when they don't give you a "standard" sized level to enjoy them. Really, the levels are just a point to take a breath before the next boss. In a lot of ways, this plays more like a fighting game than an adventure game, but thankfully, I enjoy both genres.

Had this downloaded since mid-February, and I'm still playing it. It's insane difficulty curves are strangely addicting and I just can't put it down.

Was a little disappointed with this. The weapon-switch system is overly fiddly and the difference between weapons is unclear. Also, most boss battles (at least half of em, which is as far as I've got) can be overcome by continuously zooming behind and sticking em in the back.

I'm also disappointed. The graphics and animations are great but the controll is overly complicated, the difficulty is EVIL and the game is just not as entertaining as Gunstar Heroes.

This is hands down my favorite Genesis game. The mechanics are brilliant, especially the blocking feature which turns enemy fire into health. Also, "difference between weapons isn't clear"!? The difference in weapons is the beauty of this game; Organic enemies are highly vulnerable to fire, and certain weapons don't even work on robotic enemies. That's where the strategy comes into play: you go into a level with a mixed variety of weapons and feel out which ones are useful and which aren't, then if you die and have to go back through the level, you can choose the weapons you know will do some damage. A highly intelligent shooter, Word Up!

Considering the games that got 5/5(eg landstalker, what a joke),this game should of got 5.It plays brillantly ,is so well designed and hasn't aged badly like most megadrive games.OK the controlls take some time to get used but that's because we've been playing simple modern games.This game requires you to think about which weapon to use when and saving ammo is vital.If your skills aren't up to much there's the password system.buy buy buy

I'm having a seriously hard time with this game, the difficulty seems extremely hard, but I'm sure it's the tried and tested 'practise makes perfect' method huh?

I actually want this one more than Gunstar Heroes, it sounds incredible! I keep on putting it off though, and it's driving me nuts! I really want to play this, but I wind up getting something else instead. I wish I had the time and money to play games like this, but I don't. I think the saddest part is that I won't let myself get this until I get Landstalker.

Mickeymac:
"I actually want this one more than Gunstar Heroes..."
I have both and both are excellent. The only thing that should make one contemplate between the two is the whether you'll be playing alone or with a friend. Gunstar is at its best with two people, whereas Alien Soldier is solo all the way.

" I wish I had the time and money to play games like this..."
While I can't comment on your money situation, the time problem is easily rectified. This is not an RPG title where you'll need to invest hours in following the storyline or some such. This is like Super R-Type crossed with Double Dragon. Its really fast action with pick up and play style gameplay. You can seriously play this game for 5 minutes every day; stop and come back to it whenever you like. The Wii's "save" for VC Games is one of its best features. Don't worry about time, just download the sucker and enjoy!

Not a bad game but I feel the controls are a hit and miss and the game timer ruins the action for me. Shame

To be honest, the controls are no more confusing than games like Astro Boy : Omega Factor or Gunstar Heroes. The real problem with this game is the same problem Treasure has with ALL their games - they don't teach you how to play, they just throw you in there and hope for the best. (Well, except Dynamite Heady)

The first time I played this game I hated it. I didn't understand anything and felt like there wasn't enough health or ammo to justify the difficulty at the onset of the game.

Now? This is one of my favorite games of all time, and it's because I stopped looking at it like a Shoot-em-up or a Fighting game or a Run-N-Gun and started looking at it with fresh eyes. This game requires you to play around with the controls and teach yourself how to play, almost like you're learning to play games for the first time ever. Once you do that, you'll start to notice things like every area having one ammo crate, shooting the ammo crate changes it to your current weapon (even if its out of ammo) and double tapping shoot creates a field that not only pushes you back, but converts enemy bullets into health. There's a lot to learn in this game, and I can list all the techniques if anyone wants, but I think you get my point.

The thing that makes this game so hard at the beginning is that you need to know all the game's techniques from stage one, and even after that you have do something no other Run-N-Gun will ever make you do - you have to think. If you take the time to figure it out, I can guarantee you'll be glad you bought this game. If you ever wanted a game that makes you feel like a total badass, this is it.

@Golgo:
I don't think you made it halfway through the game, because somewhere around stage 12 many bosses don't even let you get behind them. They hug the wall and some turtle half the fight, blocking all damage and wasting your ammo. There's also a large amount of bosses that are invulnerable everywhere except one spot, like below or in front. Still, knowing that you're invulnerable during your dash is an invaluable skill that you need to learn early on in order to survive.

@Marvel_Maniac

Yeah, I worded that sentence very badly. What I meant to say was that I wish I had the time and money to play all the games I want. I couldn't get this even if I wanted to, I'm too busy, either with school work, or with other games( really addicted to fighters at the moment). At the moment, I don't think I could fit in 2 minutes for this game, let alone 5. I'm just gonna have to wait for the perfect moment...

THIS is a good game. The 3rd best VC game I own.

@ Mickeymac

Thanks for the clarification. I know exactly what you mean. I too would love to download a TON more games, but I haven't finish every game I've downloaded yet either, so there has to be a sort of time management thing going on where you only buy what you can play. Its been said before, but this didn't seem to be such a problem when we were kids because our parents managed this for us. I'd be given a game for Christmas and be told that that would be "it" until the next birthday. So we played the crap out of these games. Now it seems like I download Mega Turrican, beat it, love it and quickly download Super Turrican 2 in order to get some more!

This looks pretty awesome. I'll check it out.

Actually looks really good. Should I?