Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum

"The thing that should not be..."

In the game industry, you have leaders and followers as you would in any society. You have games that are totally innovative when they come out, then you have many different games to copy the idea. Take Street Fighter, for example. After that came out, how many 2D fighting games poured out of the woodwork? Too many to count, for sure. Some were good, others were just Street Fighter in disguise, and others still were far worse. Well, this game, Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum, was an attempt at something somewhat different that didn't quite cut the mustard. You can almost feel the pretentious nature of the game just by hearing the name. By sticking Dash Galaxy's name so crudely into the title, Data East almost seemed to hint that this game would be good enough to have other Dash Galaxy games follow this one. This is where we can tell that innovation just wasn't enough to make a game a hit. Those who played it either now live in seclusion or a really tiny city in the middle of nowhere (like me), or have long since put guns in their mouths to end the enduring torment that this game has wrought on civilization.

In this game, you assume the role of Dash Galaxy who has been sent by Earth to investigate the Alien Asylum, a rocket ship that has landed and no one knows its true intent. To his horror, it turns out to be a maze of frustration and very weak gameplay concepts.. Dash could try banging his own head against a wall to end his misery, but unfortunately, death won't save him from such a disaster. One can only blame Data East. While the story does sound a bit like a strip down alien takeover plot, you can tell that the developers just didn't want to think to hard when coming up with one. I'm sure the question came up as to what the intents and purposes of the Alien Asylum were when developing the game. I'm almost certain they suggested to just screw it and leave it blank. Either way, the plot is just so lazily done that it almost doesn't need to exist.

The game's flow is a bit awkward, though it has a nice shade of difference to it. You start off in an overhead view on what is obviously “Floor 00” by the numerical indication on the floor. All about you are doorways which will take you to levels full of enemies and obstacles seemingly placed at random. There are also barriers all about the floor that will kill you should you walk into them, and blocks for you to push around. Right off the bat, you can pretty much just go through the elevator that ushers you into the level and move onto the next floor. At Floor 01, you cannot go through the elevator because of a barrier in the way. This is where levels actually come in. Yes, you actually have to enter the levels eventually, no matter how poorly developed they are.

You probably heard the thumping and droning. That was the music. It doesn't seem so bad until you've heard it repeatedly for the duration of the time that you play this game. Some would probably stop playing right away. As a kid, I kept playing it over and over again. This was my “new game” and I was determined for it to not suck. It was the music that finally got to me. The music you hear in the shaft reminds you of some old school sci-fi mystery game, with obvious intrigue planted into the sound. With glee, I would throw myself into one of the barriers just to make the game shut up. If that's not bad enough, you have the silly sound effects. The bomb blast sounds more like a cap gun, and collecting items, a key part of the game, brings up a sound like a badger dying. So, if you do play this game and intend to finish it, cover your ears or hit the mute button.

Entering each level, you go from an overhead view to a horizontal view. Here, you must gather some items to open the door to let you out. Why do you do these levels? This is the only place you can obtain bombs that will destroy the barriers. There are enemies and dangers all over these levels. If you try to drop a bomb to kill them, no matter where you are in relation to the bomb, you will kill yourself. Sounds relieving, doesn't it? The only way to survive a bomb blast in here is to be invincible, which you can achieve by obtaining enough stars. What the hell? I need to become invincible to actually use the basic weapon in the game? Whose idea was this? After you've collected bombs, stars, and enough switches to exit, you must go back to the shaft from which you came.

The levels are a complete wash. There is no action here; it's always the same thing over and over. You run through the perils and around- what the hell? Pterodactyls? What are pterodactyls doing on an alien vessel? At the same time, you have to jump from platform to platform incessantly collecting items. Is it a big surprise that the select button is used to make Dash Galaxy commit suicide? I don't think so. These levels make the game seem even more pointless than the lacking plot and the misleading gameplay description the developers gave.

What's worse about the levels, you ask? Yes, there is worse ahead: the game's clunky physics. Naturally, with a name like Dash Galaxy, you expect the guy's power to be the ability to run really fast and be incredibly agile, and he is. Unfortunately, his jumping is some of the most irritating since Pitfall. The guy will, during a fast run, break out into an uncontrollable leap of faith that can often times send you into disaster. When jumping from a still position, you don't get much air or controllability either. In fact, all I ever seemed to get was herpes. That's right, herpes. So, chalk another one up for poorly developed physics.

In the shaft, you pretty much keep ascending. After a while, you'll notice the elevator will disappear. This is a sign that you cannot go any higher. You see, there is a floor without indication in which you must push all the blocks together over the floor's number in order to make another elevator that will take you the real route up to another level beyond the dead end. There was no indication on this in the instruction booklet, nor was there any indication in the game. The developers expected you to get bored enough to actually guess that that's what you have to do. That's exactly how I found out. Afterwards, I went from wanting to shoot myself for buying this game to wanting to shoot Data East for developing it. Who the hell puts a progression style in a game that you pretty much have to guess at?

The all in all gameplay almost feels refreshing due to the fact that it's so unique, but at the same time smothering because it's so hideous. Only a dullard would dream up a game like this. The game is bereft of action, it's bereft of rationality, and it's all together way to freakin' random. Most of the game's physical aspects leave you having to guess at how the game works. You have to actually discover that your own weapon can kill you. You have to discover that you can only progress through the game by doing some bizarre ritual on just the right floor.

Okay, so there is a silver lining with the graphics. It's mainly the use of colors that seem to flow together so well. Even in the levels, the colors of the environments, from giant mushrooms (don't ask) to what appear to be huge boxes (don't ask- and no the innuendoes weren't intentional), not to mention nicely done backgrounds. There isn't much more to speak of with the graphics than, “Hey, nice colors!”

Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum was proof that a game can be innovative and still be awful. The only saving graces were the graphics and challenge factor. Everything else was a wash. Many people complain about games that are just clones of other successful games. I think I would rather play an effective clone than a horrible innovation. Innovation for its own sake is not what is needed in gaming. It's not the story you tell, but how you tell the story. Just look at God of War. It's essentially Devil May Cry, sure, but it's actually effectively done. Many, many RPG's are nothing more than knock offs of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and D&D, and yet they can still pull off effective gameplay simply because they did the formula correctly. Of course, this means you still have to think when developing a clone, but at least you don't stand the chance of saying, “Well, we're going to try something new and hope everyone likes it.” Dash Galaxy is rubbish, nothing more and nothing less, and should stand as a lesson in what it means to needlessly use innovation to sell a title.

FINAL JUDGMENT
Graphics: Not bad, but could've been better 7/10
Sound: Blech! 4/10
Control: Pretty stiff with bad jumping physics 3/10
Plot/Storyline: Was there one? 1/10
Gameplay: Simply horrid! 2/10
All Together: 4/10 (challenge was a savior for this game, redeeming it from getting a 1)

Perks
*Different
*Challenging
*Decent graphics

Downers
*Seemingly pointless and random gameplay ideas
*Bad controls and physics
*Horrid sound
*Lacks any kind of plot
*Just seems innovative for the sake of innovation
*Completely boring
*No indication given on how to progress through the game

Recommendations
If you're looking for something different, this game really isn't the best to pick, but it is something different, nonetheless. Honestly, if you want different, go after a game like Katamari Damacy or Incredible Crisis.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/01, Updated 05/25/06