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ALIEN CRUSH (PCE)
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Publisher: NEC.
Developer: Compile. Released: August 1989 (US); September 1988 (JP). Genre: Pinball. Posted 9th November 2019. By Tom Clare © 2019 |
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Pinball, in gaming form, will likely forever remain a bit of a Marmite subject. Marginalised and appreciated in equal parts, the genre has always been a dream for those who love craft and detail, with fans willing to fork out for titles consisting of a single table, provided said table offered sufficient depth and decent physics. But if pinball games were never meant to be cool, this clearly didn't reach the ears of Alien Crush's designers. Compile’s edgy, science-fiction inspired title is an absolute cracker from the early days of the PC Engine.
To the untrained eye, this forerunner to the celebrated Devil’s Crush (known more popularly as Dragon’s Fury in the west) is your standard, one-table, high-score focused pinball game. Play for even a couple of minutes however, and it quickly becomes apparent that what PC Engine owners had on their hands was an incredibly distinctive experience, thanks in no small part to its awesome visual aesthetic.
Alien Crush delivers a dazzling sci-fi pinball experience that's a far cry from the normally more-reserved pinball fare that had gone before it.
Alien Crush is, it’s fair to say, overtly influenced by the Alien films, and shares a passing visual resemblence to legendary shoot ‘em up R-Type, which was released just a few months earlier. The two-tiered table has a neat, biomechanical theme, allowing for a number of novel features. Bumpers act as cocoons; bounce between them with enough frequency and they’ll break open to reveal a cluster of aliens. Creatures lurk around the table’s peripheries, some of whom can be destroyed for points and multiplier bonuses, whilst others will gobble up your ball, before launching it back into play. Hitting switches causes skeletal hands to wrap or unravel, offering the player a safety net from dropping out of the table. There are so many awesome little touches, it’s highly rewarding unearthing them all. Perhaps the most significant feature Alien Crush would introduce however is its bonus rooms.
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These sequences pit the player against an array of different foes in a small but notable selection of scenarios. Previously, pinball had never really exhibited a combative side, but Alien Crush has the player smashing floating skulls, suspiciously Slimer-esque ghouls and even a ducking-and-diving space worm, where hits to the head make life a lot easier. Though they can become a little repetitive (often repeating several times if you have a good run), they’re exciting and unpredictable, and beating them to receive a healthy clear bonus is really satisfying.
FOCAL POINT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF CRUSH PINBALL
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Devil's Crush (1990, PC Engine)
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Jaki Crush (1992, Super Nintendo)
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Between 1988 and 1992, Compile would develop a trio of Crush pinball games. Whilst Alien Crush would prove a noteworthy starting point, its sequel would go on to bigger and better things. Released in 1990, the second game upped the ante with a larger, scrolling table as well as considerably more sprites and bonus rooms. It goes by a number of different names: if you were to pick it up for PC Engine, it went by Devil Crash in Japan and Devil’s Crush in the US. The game is more widely known in the west for its 1992 Mega Drive release, under the moniker Dragon’s Fury – which itself spawned the Tengen-developed sequel Dragon’s Revenge a year later. Compile’s trio however would be rounded out by Jaki Crush, a 1992 SNES exclusive which centred around Japanese mythology and demonology. Sadly, perhaps due to the specificity of its themes, the game would release only in its native Japan.
Thankfully, the game is blessed with decent ball physics, and with its vibrant visuals and host of clever touches, it’s spectacularly good fun. The only Crush game not to feature scrolling, there are occasions when the pinball might bounce between the top and bottom tiers in quick succession, resulting in flicking between screens, and this can be a touch jarring. On the whole though, it won’t diminish your enjoyment a great deal.
Tom once managed to score more than 20,000,000 points in a run. He wanted you to know this, as he "lost" the screenshot evidence
Alien Crush is atmosphere personified, and that’s not something you usually say about a pinball game. Its moody vibe is helped considerably by superb soundtrack. You’ve the choice of two BMGs for the main table. There’s the pacey, exciting “Lunar Eclipse”, and the more brooding “Daemon’s Undulate”. They are backed ably by the bonus table music, which similarly has a way of inserting itself in your head, whilst the haunting Game Over lament completes a tight, effective audio element.
Perhaps its only weakness is the lack of variety that results from its lean design. Even with the bonus rooms, the table’s enjoyable but straightforward main table means things do start to get a little samey. This is an issue that can be levelled at a lot of pinball games. It must be said though, I played it to death for days on end, and that’s usually a good sign, whatever the game. Alien Crush is innovative, vibrant, distinctive and thoroughly playable. It’s pinball that oozes quality, and should be an early port-of-call for any aspiring PC Engine collector.
Perhaps its only weakness is the lack of variety that results from its lean design. Even with the bonus rooms, the table’s enjoyable but straightforward main table means things do start to get a little samey. This is an issue that can be levelled at a lot of pinball games. It must be said though, I played it to death for days on end, and that’s usually a good sign, whatever the game. Alien Crush is innovative, vibrant, distinctive and thoroughly playable. It’s pinball that oozes quality, and should be an early port-of-call for any aspiring PC Engine collector.
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VERDICT
"Alien Crush is atmosphere personified, and that’s not something usually said about a pinball game. A superb soundtrack and an awesome, combative design aesthetic make for a spectacularly cool title from Compile" OVERALL: 8/10 |