Manual Stimulation: Alien Syndrome (Game Gear)

I don't know if I've made this clear here, on Twitter, on Facebook, or elsewhere on the internet, but I adore Alien and Aliens. 

I'm specifically talking about the classic horror and sci-fi films, of course; not the, uh, beings from outer space in general.

I mention that because it should go a long way toward explaining my attraction not only to the 1986 arcade version of this game, but the boiled-down Game Gear port from 1992 I'm highlighting in this post.

After all, there's little denying Alien Syndrome was heavily inspired by James Cameron's classic 1986 sci-fi action film, Aliens.

This isn't to imply Alien Syndrome offers nothing new or unique. The enemies and especially bosses it throws at players are a world away from the ones found in the aforementioned flick.

To be honest, the low-level aliens you fend off in this Gauntlet-esque, run-and-gun shooter tend toward the lackluster. Thankfully, the end-of-stage guardians more than make up for it.

This version of Alien Syndrome isn't a straight port of the quarter-munching original, by the way. According to the intro, the Game Gear version a follow-up set five years in the future.

I can't say that's immediately noticeable while playing the portable iteration, but it's a nice bullet point all the same. 

Something else that's worth noting about this release is its brevity. The game offers up just four stages. Successfully finishing them is no easy feat, though, so at least there's that. Still, few are going to describe Alien Syndrome for the Game Gear as a meaty experience.

Most who play it are likely to call it a tense and thrilling experience, though. It absolutely nails that aspect of the source material. As such, playing through it again and again—or at least more than once—is joyful rather than annoying.

Have any of you played the Game Gear port of Sega's Alien Syndrome? If so, what did you think of it?

See also: the Bubble Bobble Game Gear instruction manual

Manual Stimulation: Bubble Bobble (Game Gear)

The Sega Game Gear port of Bubble Bobble may be my favorite home version of Taito's arcade classic.

Which of course means it's also one of my favorite Game Gear titles.

In fact, I love Bubble Bobble for Game Gear so much that one of my "bucket list" wishes as a games writer is to interview the folks who developed it so I can learn why they made some of the intriguing design choices they made. 

(Seriously, if you know anyone who used to work for the now-defunct, South Korea-based Open Corp and you can put me in touch with them, please let me know.)

Why am I such a huge fan of this portable iteration of Bubble Bobble? The main reason is that its Bob, Bub, enemy, and item sprites are the usual size, but its backdrops look as though they've been zapped with a shrink ray.

The result is that this Bubble Bobble port gives off some serious Godzilla vibes. As in, Bub and Bob—as well as their enemy combatants—tower over the surrounding environment. It feels strange, yet also thrilling.

It alters the gameplay quite a bit, too, which I'm sure will irk some Bubble Bobble lifers to no end. Personally, I like how it switches things up—even if it does obliterate the few strategies I've developed for other, more traditional versions of the game over the years.

Anyway, enough about the game itself. This post is supposed to be about the instruction manual that was packed inside copies of this small-screened take on Taito's seminal classic, so let's talk about it.

If you scroll back up a bit, you'll see the Bubble Bobble Game Gear manual kicks off with a two-page comic. Sure, it employs an art style I'm not a huge fan of, but it's still pretty sweet—if short.

Sadly, this booklet isn't as crammed full of lovely illustrations as I think it should be. Still, it includes enough of them that you're unlikely to feel let down at the end. 

To the person who pointed out two pages were missing from my post about the Magical Puzzle Popils manual: that's no longer the case

Three or so years ago, someone pointed out that two pages of the Magical Puzzle Popils instruction booklet were missing from this old "Manual Stimulation" post of mine.

Unfortunately, that comment came in while my husband and I were on sabbatical. I didn't have my copy of this Sega Game Gear puzzler or access to a scanner at the time, so I couldn't rectify the situation then.



I finally rectified it the other day, but who knows if the person who made me aware of the gaffe is still waiting to see the full Magical Puzzle Popils manual?

In the off chance they are, I decided to publish the post you're reading right now to let them know it's finally available in all its "Magical Guide" glory. (Click on the link above to see it.)

That's not the only reason I'm publishing this post, though. I'm also doing so because I want more people to know about this wonderful Game Gear title, which the late, great Fukio Mitsuji developed for the now-defunct Tengen.

If Mitsuji's name doesn't ring a bell, he's the brainchild behind two games you should know well: Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands.



Unlike that pair of Mitsuji creations, Magical Puzzle Popils, renamed Popils: The Blockbusting Challenge when it hit European store shelves in 1992, challenges your brain rather than your reflexes.

Popils is just as cute as those classics, though, if not quite as kaleidoscopically colorful. It also matches their blissful soundtracks.

Add it all up, and you've got one of my five favorite Game Gear games. Is the Magical Puzzle Popils instruction manual a favorite, too? I'll let you be the judge of that.

See also: five Game Gear games you need to play as soon as possible

Manual Stimulation: Lunar Samposuru Gakuen (Game Gear)

I'm just going to say this right off the bat: the instruction manual produced for Lunar: Samposuru Gakuen (aka Lunar: Walking School--and by the way, I know the title in the header above is missing the colon; the fact is, I just couldn't handle two colons pressing against each other like that) is one of the most impressive I've come across so far, especially in terms of manuals produced for portable games.



After all, more than half of its many pages are filled with beautiful, full-color illustrations (like the ones below).



I believe this is the island on which the game takes place, by the way, although don't quote me on that.



Likewise, I'm pretty sure the folks featured on the following pages are Lunar: Samposuru Gakuen's main characters.







Are the gal and guy below the game's antagonists? Again, I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet that's just who they are. They certainly look ... villainous enough, don't they?

Manual Stimulation: Nazo Puyo: Aruru no Roux (Game Gear)

Let's be honest here: Aruru no Roux's instruction manual would be worth checking out even if it consisted of nothing more than a single slip of paper bearing the yellow-tinged concoction seen below.



Thankfully, though, there's more to this manual than its striking cover imagery. Much more. Case in point: the following illustration of the titular Aruru (aka Arle).



That's far from the last of this manual's fabulous illustrations. In fact, here are four more:

Should you want to take a closer look at any of this post's many scans, by the way, just click on them.



Anyway, although the next few pages of Nazo Puyo: Aruru no Roux's manual are a bit less awe-inspiriring than the ones seen above, they're still pretty awesome. I mean, how can you not love an illustration that shows the Puyo Puyo series' Carbunkle character cooking Nasu Grave (aka Eggplant Grave)?

Manual Stimulation: Magical Puzzle Popils (Game Gear)

You know you're in for quite a read when someone decides to call the booklet that's included with a particular game--in this case, Tengen's Magical Puzzle Popils for the Sega Game Gear--a "guide" rather than a "manual," as is typically the case.

Which begs the question: Is it a good read in this case or a bad one?

Considering I don't know a lick of Japanese, you'll have to take my response with a rather large grain of salt. Based on what I can see, though, I'd say Magical Puzzle Popil's 30-page (yes, you read that correctly) "guide" is a bit of both.



The manuals' designers certainly didn't start things off on the wrong foot, thanks in large part to its colorful front and even back covers.



The first two interior pages are quite a bit less thrilling, but the following pair offer up a trio of adorable illustrations that more than make up for the preceding yawn-fest.





Even more illustrations appear on the manual's next handful of pages. They're not as precious--or large--as the ones I just pointed out, but they're still pretty cool.

Manual Stimulation: The Berlin Wall (Game Gear)

I have to be honest here: The main reason I'm dedicating a "Manual Stimulation" post to this particular instruction manual is its last two pages.

Also, I'm pretty sure scans of this game's manual are fairly hard to come by in the English-speaking portion of the Internet.

That's not to say The Berlin Wall's instruction manual is a dud. Actually, it's quite nice thanks in large part to the adorable illustrations that pop up here and there.



Those illustrations are present on the front cover of this import-only Game Gear title's manual, unsurprisingly enough, but they're also present on its back cover, which I think is a nice change of pace.



They can be found on its first few pages (above), too, which help spruce things up a bit.



Strangely, illustrations aren't used to tell The Berlin Wall's backstory (above). Instead, in-game visuals are given that task.

Manual Stimulation: Ganbare Gorby! (Game Gear)

You know what I like most about Game Gear instruction manuals? They're small--and not just in size, but in length, too. That's a big deal to me because, well, scanning each and every page of a thick game manual (for use in one of these posts, of course) can be a real pain in the butt.

The only problem I have with short instruction manuals: Sometimes they're stuffed full of delightful illustrations and other details, and sometimes they're as dull as dishwater.

Sadly, the manual produced for Sega's quirky, Mikhail Gorbachev-focused puzzler, Ganbare Gorby!, falls somewhere between those two extremes.

It certainly starts out promising enough, with the game's colorful cover art showing up once again to remind folks what's in store once they press "play." (If this is the first you've heard of Ganbare Gorby!, it means you'll be acting as the aforementioned former president of the Soviet Union as he alters the course of myriad conveyor belts in order to deliver food, medicine and portable game systems to comrades in need.)



Anyway, the manual's first few pages are as bright and bold as its cover. Also, one of them features a completely adorable drawing of good ol' Gorbachev. I wish I could tell you why he isn't also carrying a Game Gear (one of the items he delivers to the poor in this endearingly odd puzzler), but I can't.





After that, Ganbare Gorby's manual becomes a bit boring, to tell you the truth. At least the following pages feature a number of nice screenshots. (Please note the right-most one in the scan below, which shows a citizen grinning from ear to ear after successfully grabbing a piece of meat that wouldn't look out of place in a PC Genjin game.)