In 2004 the GameFAQs FAQ Writing Community started a Master System Completion
Project for which I wrote fifteen different FAQs before I moved on to other
projects. My urge to cover more SMS FAQs however has never wavered and that is
why I'm back today in the newest SEGA Master System Completion Project which is
hosted on the FAQ Contributors - General Board. Game after game has gone by and
I no longer have any specific reasons to pick the games I pick. The game looked
fun and as such was an easy choice to write for. The game is fairly simple and
repetitive I'm not going to list a detailed walkthrough as it isn't mandatory
for this type of game. It is just meant to learn you how to play the game and
reach the end.
Since Space Invaders little has changed in the Space Invaders franchise, which
means the fast-paced but straightforward action is still present. The game now
has a couple of new features, including better graphics, power-ups and a new
simultaneous two-player mode. This makes for a fun twelve levels, each having
three different attack waves. As the last defense of the planet Earth, you must
defeat all 36 of them. After each round, a cattle mutilation round starts. Here
you need to become fast enough to save cows from being kidnapped so you can
earn a bonus.
The attack waves consist out of six rows of standard alien ships that can be
shot down with one shot most of the time. Later you will encounter space ships
that need more shots. For instance, in the third wave of the first level your
enemies will be flattened after one shot requiring a second to be destroyed.
Sometimes a bigger enemy UFO will fly by on great altitude, which will release
a power-up if shot down. Sometimes the attack wave will be replaced by a giant
enemy boss, but they aren't that different from other enemies. It is just key
to avoid their fire and shoot their weak spot.
The typical level however has only the eight by six arrangement of enemies that
start at the top of the screen and move slowly down at the start. By destroying
those ships the remaining enemies will start going faster and faster. The last
enemy will be flying really fast, making it important to time your shot so you
can hit him before he reaches the ground. At the start you can just place your
ship under one column of enemies and shoot up six times until they are all dead
after which you move left or right to the next column. Timing your shot only
becomes important once you have less than ten enemies left.
Most of the enemies can fire projectiles at you, but they fall straight down
and most of them can be just shot down, so it is not always worth the effort to
evade. Not that it is very difficult. You only use three buttons in the game.
You need the 1 button to shoot, and the left and right part on the D-Pad to
move. As expected from Space Invaders, you don't have much room to move.
