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''Power Strike II'' is a 1993
vertically scrolling shooter A vertically scrolling video game or vertical scroller is a video game in which the Player (game), player views the field of play principally from a top-down perspective, while the background Scrolling, scrolls from the top of the screen to the b ...
video game developed by
Compile In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
and published by
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
. Part of the '' Aleste'' series, the game takes place across the seas and skies near Italy during the 1930s, with the player assuming the role of a Pothunter piloting the Falcon Flyer aircraft to shoot down sky pirates, former pilots that turned to air piracy for survival as result of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
in 1929. It retains the same gameplay conventions as the original ''
Power Strike ''Power Strike'' is a series of vertically scrolling shooter video games, developed by Compile (publisher), Compile for the Master System and Game Gear. It consists of three titles, only one of which was designed from the ground up as a ''Power Str ...
'', with the player fighting endless waves of enemies while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. ''Power Strike II'' for the Master System was created by most of the same Compile personnel who worked on previous ''Aleste'' entries. Because of its late release during the console's lifecycle, it has become quite in demand and is considered a sought after item on the game collecting market. It was also never released in Japan until its inclusion on the ''Aleste Collection'' for
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
in 2020. The game garnered generally positive reception from critics, while retrospective commentary has been equally positive.


Gameplay

''Power Strike II'' is a vertical-scrolling
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
game. The plot takes place in the early 1930s, where people have lived in poverty since the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
in 1929 and caused many pilots to become sky pirates for survival after being laid off from their jobs. The player takes on the role of a Pothunter, pilot of the Falcon Flyer aircraft who earns a living by shooting down pirates.''Power Strike II'' manual (Master System, EU) Prior to starting, a configuration menu is presented where multiple option settings can be altered. Its gameplay follows the same conventions as the original ''
Power Strike ''Power Strike'' is a series of vertically scrolling shooter video games, developed by Compile (publisher), Compile for the Master System and Game Gear. It consists of three titles, only one of which was designed from the ground up as a ''Power Str ...
'', albeit with improvements carried from '' Aleste 2''; The player controls Falcon Flyer through eight increasingly difficult stages over a constantly scrolling background, populated with an assortment of enemy forces and obstacles, and the scenery never stops moving until a
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
is reached, which must be fought to progress further. The player has a main weapon that can be powered up by collecting "Power Chips". There are also seven different special weapons that can be picked up and upgraded if the same weapon is picked up that is currently being used. The Falcon Flyer is equipped with a speed setting, which can be increased or decreased across three levels by pressing its dedicated button. The player can also collect two spinning satellites, which affect the strength, speed, and spread of the ship's main weapon. New to the '' Aleste'' series is the addition of a charged attack, which is fired by letting go the fire button after a determined time period. If hit while a special weapon is equipped, the player will lose the special weapon but remain alive. Getting hit without a special weapon will result in losing a life, as well as a penalty of decreasing the Falcon Flyer's firepower to its original state and the game is over once all lives are lost, though the player has limited continues to keep playing.


Development and release

''Power Strike II'' for the
Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...
was created by most of the same personnel at
Compile In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
who worked on previous '' Aleste'' entries. It was directed by Takayuki "Kerol" Watanabe, with Masamitsu Niitani serving as producer. Zod Hoshijima acted as planner, with Takayuki Hirono taking over the role of main programmer. Hiroshi Ryūōin and members under the pseudonyms "Ajari" and "Great Samurai" were responsible for the pixel art, while the sound was handled by Tsuyoshi "PSG Factory" Matsushima. Other people also collaborated with its creation, including Gennosuke Yumi, "Winner", and Hiroshi "Tan" Konishi. Hirono recounted its development process in the 2020 book ''Aleste History'', stating that he took a storyline that came down from Compile, but didn't know the details aside from the fact that the Master System was still active in Europe at the time of production. Development lasted over four months, with staff members working for 20 hours a day and sleeping at the company. The fictional 1930s Italian setting was conceived by a Compile staffer known as "Sato", as the game was being released in Europe. The ship's main shot was strengthened due to being a weak weapon in '' Aleste 2'', while the weapon leveling system from '' Zanac'' was also altered for the title. Hirono claimed that the charged attack was introduced due to his previous experience with ''
R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful a ...
'', as he could not attack midway while charging the shot. Hirono adopted the idea after thinking what kind of attack would help him without breaking the game, telling Watanabe that it would be convenient to charge while shooting. ''Power Strike II'' was published by
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
in September 1993, and was housed in a 4-megabit cartridge. Because of its late release during the console's lifecycle, the title is harder to find and more expensive than earlier European Master System games, becoming a rare collector's item that commands high prices on the secondary game collecting market. As the European cartridge is encoded for
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
regions, it exhibits faster gameplay when played on a North American (
NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...
) Master System. It was also never released in Japan until its inclusion on the ''Aleste Collection'' for
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
in 2020, which marked the game's first appearance in the region. An album containing the game's original soundtrack and other games featured in the ''Aleste Collection'' was distributed in Japan by
Wave Master is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several multi-million-selling game franchises for arcades and consoles, including ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', '' Angry Birds'', '' Phan ...
on April 21, 2022.


Reception

''Power Strike II'' for the
Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...
received generally positive reception from critics. ''
Sega Power ''Sega Power'', initially known as ''S: The Sega Magazine'', was a Future publication aimed at the Sega range of consoles, including the Master System, Mega Drive, Game Gear and later on the Mega-CD, 32X and Saturn. The magazine was later relaunc ...
''s John Cantlie commended the game's variety of levels, graphics, and speed for showcasing the console's potential. However, he also criticized this aspect for making enemies difficult to distinguish, in addition to the "mouldy" gameplay and collision detection issues. ''Gamers'' Julian Eggebrecht found its plot to be absurd and criticized the music for being occasionally boring. Nevertheless, he regarded it as the best shooting game on the platform, praising the graphical presentation for its visual effects and level of detail, playability and technical performance for the number of sprites on-screen. ''
HobbyConsolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1991. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...
'' Antonio "Boke" Caravaca gave positive remarks to the introduction of numerous gameplay settings, improved visuals compared to the original ''
Power Strike ''Power Strike'' is a series of vertically scrolling shooter video games, developed by Compile (publisher), Compile for the Master System and Game Gear. It consists of three titles, only one of which was designed from the ground up as a ''Power Str ...
'', audio and large variety of enemies, but noted its excessive difficulty. Regardless, he called it one of the best titles for the system. ''
Sega Pro ''Sega Pro'' was the first publication from Paragon Publishing and catered for the Sega consoles: the Master System, Game Gear and the Mega Drive. Early editorial staff included Dominic Handy (editor), Les Ellis (games editor), Dave Perry (de ...
''s Mark Hill and Sam Hickman praised the colorful and detailed graphics, sound, frantic gameplay, fast action and controls, but found its ideas dated. ''
Mean Machines Sega ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. History In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...
''s Paul Davies and Richard Leadbetter also commended the overall presentation, lack of sprite flickering, sound department, playability and longevity. '' Micromanía''s Óscar Santos García wrote that "It is the best shooter made for the Master System." '' Sega Master Force''s three reviewers found ''Power Strike II'' to be a decent and challenging shoot 'em up, commending its audio and longevity but felt mixed regarding the graphics and playability. In a similar manner, '' Sega Zone''s Josse Bilson commended its addictive factor and playability but felt mixed towards the audiovisual presentation. In contrast to ''Sega Master Force''s three reviewers and Bilson, Spanish magazine ''TodoSega'' praised the variety of stages and enemies, speed and music but, like Caravaca, noted its high difficulty. French publication ''Joypad'' expressed preference towards ''
R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful a ...
'', recommending the title for younger players or those who want to complete every shoot 'em up on the Master System. ''Mega Force''s Jean-Marc Demoly gave the game a positive outlook, but ultimately regarded it as a "shoot 'em up full of implausibilities." ''Player One''s Véronique Boissarie criticized the difficulty, lack of originality and playability, as well as expressing mixed feelings towards its longevity. However, Boissarie gave praise to both visuals and audio, ultimately recommending it to shoot 'em up fans. ''Megablast''s Richard Löwenstein also recommended it for shooter fans, highlighting its technical performance, gameplay, controls, visuals and audio.


Retrospective coverage

Retrospective commentaries for ''Power Strike II'' have been equally positive. Alex Vormbrock of ''SHMUPS!'' (a classic network of ''
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
'') stated that its visuals were the best seen on Master System due to the number of sprites on-screen without flickering or slowdown, artstyle and detailed backgrounds. Vormbrock also praised the sound effects and gameplay similar to other games in the Aleste series, but criticized the ship's overall speed for being too fast and found the music above-average. ''
Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...
''s Nick Thorpe agreed with Vormbrock, stating that the graphics and sound are amongst the best on the console. However, Thorpe wrote that "In fact, you could argue that
Compile In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
maybe even pushed the machine a little too hard, as you can see sprite break-up and other telltale signs of a struggling console." He also gave positive remarks to its level design and power-up system. Concurring with Vormbrock and Thorpe, ''
Hardcore Gaming 101 ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' is an online video game magazine founded by Kurt Kalata in 2004. Kalata established the site after graduating college, when he noticed the overabundance of game strategy guides, and felt that someone should create more boo ...
''s Kurt Kalata found it to be an impressive 8-bit shoot 'em up, writing that "Outside of the premise and setting, there's not much that's particularly unique about ''Power Strike II'' compared to other titles in the '' Aleste'' series, but it's also better than pretty much every other shooter on the system (not that there were very many), including its predecessor."


References


External links


''Power Strike II''
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''Power Strike II''
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''Power Strike II''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Power Strike II (Master System game) 1993 video games Compile (company) games Master System games Sega video games Single-player video games Vertically scrolling shooters Video games developed in Japan Video games set in the 1930s Video games set in the 20th century