Heiankyo Alien

"It's all up to you. If you don't stop those alien thingamabobs now, the whole WORLD will have to suffer through the frustration of this game next!"

Once I learned my GBA supported original GameBoy games I didn't know which to buy first. The decision was made for me when an eBay seller sent me Heiankyo Alien(HA) instead of Hexcite and then said I could keep this cartridge when promising to send Hexcite. I was prepared for something pretty old school but HA went well beyond that in some very disappointing fashions, much like a coach when asked about getting back to basics reminds a reporter that it's the team with the most points at the end of the day that wins. Although admittedly the game was easy to get into without a manual, mistakes were waiting to overshadow any indications of intriguing challenge. Lode Runner would be the game most similar to it in concept but not quality and depth and speaking of Lode Runner I think something like a level creator could really have jazzed this game up.

The trouble started with an included mini-game. HA has two modes: new and old. I guessed old would be easier, which demoralized me for a good half-hour as I tried to figure out the controls and made me wonder how tough new must be. This is a replica from something written in 1979, and it shows--completely black and white. You start play on the equivalent of five-by-four city blocks with some passages blocked in. Three monsters are running around at random. By holding down the A key you create a hole for them to fall in. If you don't hold the B-button around them(fill in the hole,) they can wiggle out after enough time or even get some help out from another monster running by. Not only does it take too long to create a hole, but the only real detail in the game is how many squares you can move to that aren't at an intersection, which forces you to line up exactly to overcome the tough control. So often you'll be saying 'I want to go to THIS square and dig HERE,' and either you have a hard time with the turn-off or a monster goes rushing by at the last minute. It's quite maddening, but the level maps change randomly for different challenges, monsters aren't replenished if you die, and at least you can constantly see your score and meager lives left to get a minimal game feel.

Despite its letting you focus on the game(not even the blanked pause screen shows your score) the new version of the game shows some progress after eleven years. You're now on a regular grid(9x10) and facing orange blobs which are allegedly aliens. The slower ones, more in evidence on the easy levels, have antlers that twitch. As you move on in the game, you'll find the second more prevalent. They still wiggle or help each other out of holes, but since the game always places you in the center of a grid square after you've moved, you don't have to worry about lining yourself up, and digging successfully takes about half the time of the old game. There are of course traps but in addition to regular wall and open squares you have a square that's a wall half the time, green squares you can't dig, houses or trees making barriers, and even a boat later on that transports you between opposite sides. This gives you an idea that, in fact, there is a world to defend. However, there's not much of one; after ten levels(there are four layouts really, but the monsters just get tougher and more numerous) and a nonsense interlude, you get the final scene, and after the 'I can't take it any more, I want to see the end/It'd be a ripoff if it ended here' paradox is resolved there's not much reason to replay the game.

That's not to say some of the strategy isn't fun, especially with the last monster left doubling its speed, and it's also independent of the cheap but amusing tunes your GBA cycles through as you plod around. For instance, having a system of holes and slowly expanding your space, eliminating and rebuilding holes is fun, as is learning to avoid dead ends or waiting in a sometimes-wall as one of that swarm of monsters must fall in a pi. Getting a couple of aliens to fall luckily into a hole boosts morale, too, and there's always the worry two in a row may gang up randomly and bust your bunker or the Pac-Man style thrill of outrunning them or looking trapped from either side just before one veers inexplicably(they basically move randomly.) But I found the only impediments to my not solving the game in under two hours(this includes figuring the rules by myself) were general late-night laziness and fatigue and impatience('Eh? What's that? I know how to...here, let me save some time...oh darn') or just bad luck at the start, which maddened me enough to go into a gaming tailspin. But once I focused, the game was out of luck. And once I solved it, the inexplicable ending scene stayed put on the computer no matter which button I pushed. Not that I was eager to replay it right away. But with more square variations, a bigger board, and more levels, you might have a respectable puzzler. Maybe they already did some of this; after all, HA made decent enough progress over the first eleven years.

Heiankyou kindly!
--good use of minimal colors
--easy minimalist concept but still forces strategy
--fun to build de facto bunkers
--more evidence I'm not a slavish old school fanboy in general

Heian(ky)ous!
--pointless 'old' mini game
--levels start a bit randomly
--somewhat on short side
--no continue or level skip feature
--stupid skits
--major challenge is learning to concentrate
--no further evidence the old school games I really like are due to other factors than nostalgia

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/02, Updated 11/21/02