MUSHA Aleste
LEARNING THE CRAFT
Darran loves shoot-’em-ups and he loves acronyms so MUSHA was always going to get more mag coverage
» MEGA DRIVE » 1990 » COMPILE
If there’s one thing I enjoy about shmups, it’s the shooting mechanics that often feature at their cores. I love an interesting power-up mechanic, whether it’s R-type’s Force pod or the revolving satellite featured in Prehistoric Isle, which gives you different powers depending on where it happens to be positioned on your craft. I cherish the elegance of Gradius’ selectable power-up system and I adore how Radiant Silvergun gives you access to everything from the off, without needing to pick up icons like in similar games.
I’ll spend hours delving into a good shooter, and the latest I’ve been enjoying is Compile’s MUSHA Aleste, a magnificent slice of shmup brilliance that shockingly never received a European release. ‘MUSHA’ is an acronym for ‘Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Armor’ but that’s not really important. What is important are the satisfying combat mechanics found at the heart of Compile’s blaster, and the longer I’ve played it, the more it has impressed me. Your core weapon can be continually upgraded by collecting power chips, but unlike other Aleste games, different carrier chips don’t exist so you can’t transform your main weapon like you can in Super Aleste. Instead, you have three special sub-weapons: Blazing Beam, which spews fourth electrical energy, the fire-based Vanishing Buster and the Defensive Detonator, which surrounds your robot with a swirling vortex of energy. All three weapons can be significantly powered up, but will lose power if your robot gets hit.
That’s more than enough for any budding fan to master, but Compile threw a third mechanic in the form of satellites which float by your craft and can be used in one of six distinct formations. Needless to say, you’ll be continually switching between these six positions as you tackle the game’s increasingly difficult stages. It’s something of a shame, then, that MUSHA Aleste’s meticulous combat mechanics are marred by a poorly placed speed-up mechanic that can only be manipulated by entering the pause menu. It’s always baffled me why so many shoot-’em-ups of the period featured this option… but that’s a gripe for another time.