I hate time limits. Case study: Alien Syndrome

[NintendoLegend]

There are not a ton of top-down shooters on the NES. The Ikari Warriors series is a nice arcade-inspired port, and Guerilla War is fantastically fun, and even Jurassic Park is a decent game, albeit with repetitive elements.

One title that, to me, held tremendous potential was Alien Syndrome. Rather than go into a 500-word diatribe as to why I despise time limits except in very specific circumstances, I wish just to ask one question:

Wouldn't this game, Tengen's Alien Syndrome, be improved if it didn't have a time limit? Am I crazy?

Item-finding alone is bad enough, but with a time limit is just not fun. Maybe it's a gameplay style thing, where certain people actually do love that sort of experience, but I don't see how focusing on action, shooting, and gruesome enemies is inferior to frantically avoiding everything in an effort to grab tokens and find an exit.

Any thoughts on time limits? Am I the only person who hates them?

[godslayer]

I hate time limits in some games too. I think the worst examples I can think of are Gauntlet and Dragon Power (Dragon Ball), where the time limit is related to your health. I think Dragon Power bothered me the most, because the health power-ups were completely random, so even a skilled player could succumb to death without a good amount of luck.

I'm fairly certain that it was a device leftover from arcade games, where running out of health would force players to spend more quarters. It's something that didn't really translate well to console systems, where it no longer made sense to kill the gamer at random intervals to increase profits.

It really depends on the game though. I don't care about time limits in games like SMB or SMB 3 because I never really felt rushed. It was kind of nice to get those bonus points at the end of a level when you went through it fast enough.

[NintendoLegend]

Feb 13, 2011 9:43:09 GMT -6 godslayer said:

I hate time limits in some games too. I think the worst examples I can think of are Gauntlet and Dragon Power (Dragon Ball), where the time limit is related to your health. I think Dragon Power bothered me the most, because the health power-ups were completely random, so even a skilled player could succumb to death without a good amount of luck.

Ugh. Excellent examples. Gauntlet would be a great game with or without time limits, but to imagine it without... mmm...

I'm fairly certain that it was a device leftover from arcade games, where running out of health would force players to spend more quarters. It's something that didn't really translate well to console systems, where it no longer made sense to kill the gamer at random intervals to increase profits.

Yeah! It's one thing to aim for a high score rather than "beat" a game, ala the arcades, but to penalize a home player using a device that was specifically tailored to garner arcade profits, oy...

It really depends on the game though. I don't care about time limits in games like SMB or SMB 3 because I never really felt rushed. It was kind of nice to get those bonus points at the end of a level when you went through it fast enough.

I guess I do agree that it is a game-by-game basis. I wonder why the time limits in SMB never bothered me. Perhaps I was always in a hurry. Then again, level design was so linear -- where were you going to go to get lost for a few minutes?!

[masterLEON]

That's the double-edged sword of porting games from the arcade. You're either going to try to make the game as arcade faithful as possible to bring the arcade experience at home, like what Capcom did at first and Tengen seemed to go for in most of their releases (Gauntlet is an exception), or modify it to either deliver a new experience or make the game more playable in a home environment, like 1943, Bionic Commando and Strider (holy crap, all Capcom games; they learned early).

Alien Syndrome, even though it's one of my favorite top-downs, was simply a cash-in off of Aliens (no surprise there). The only things going for it were 2 player simultaneous, some cool weapons and the haunting time limit for an added adrenaline rush. It was also unique in that the arcade version did not let you continue at all, it's a memorizer, and that you get stripped of your weapons at the beginning of each stage. All this makes for lousy home gameplay. This game would have probably benefited more as a redesign port. Probably make the stages longer, maybe let the characters themselves plant the time bomb(s) and fight the boss to either plant the bomb(s) or on the way to escaping, add multiple floors per stage, hidden bonuses, etc.

The thing about the Tengen port is that taking away the timer or adding continues would make the game too easy. Also, if Tengen were able to put as many enemies on screen as the arcade version had, we'd all be screwed! Find that laser or flamethrower quick! I feel that the time limit for Alien Syndrome worked because there was a solid consequence behind it, the ship blows up and that's it, it's Game Over. Unlike some other games where exceeding the time limit can cost you a life (which gives you another chance to pump up your score) or be generous to the point of why bother having one anyway? Also in the arcade version, there were actually more comrades than what was required to open the exit on every stage. The benefit was that there was a progressive bonus for each comrade you rescue without dying on the stage. And, of course, when the last required comrade gets rescued, all Map displays will simply point to the exit instead of telling you where the last couple comrades are located. Those points were worth a hell of a lot more points than the end of level time bonus (and apparently more than the NES version as I just tried it out on playnes.net and the 12th comrade only gave me 1200 points as opposed to 8000 or so in the arcade)

So yeah, I think Alien Syndrome needed the time limit, as a case-by-case thing applies. However, to port the game as a 'straight' arcade port, and without including certain scoring elements, makes me wonder, why? Oh well, at least it's better than the Sega Master System version.

[NintendoLegend]

Aug 16, 2011 12:46:46 GMT -6 masterLEON said:

*a bunch of well-written content on arcade ports, Capcom/Tengen, rippin' off Aliens, Alien Syndrome as a top-down, etc.*

Well-said.

The thing about the Tengen port is that taking away the timer or adding continues would make the game too easy.

True. I suppose I am a bit much of a side-scrolling, run-'n'-gun/platformer fan, then -- I would prefer my difficulty come in the form of on-screen challenge that is completely determined by my own ability or inability to make progress, not the implementation of a time limit. But, yes, as its own special case, Alien Syndrome would indeed be a heckuva lot easier without the timer.

Also, if Tengen were able to put as many enemies on screen as the arcade version had, we'd all be screwed! Find that laser or flamethrower quick!

I too often forget how many of the NES games were arcade games first -- I'll have to look up some info on the Alien Syndrome cabinet version. Thanks. Then again, I know Tengen loved to almost exlusively work from arcade ports, so I should've known better...

I feel that the time limit for Alien Syndrome worked because there was a solid consequence behind it, the ship blows up and that's it, it's Game Over. Unlike some other games where exceeding the time limit can cost you a life (which gives you another chance to pump up your score) or be generous to the point of why bother having one anyway?

Alright, I hear ya. That does make sense, and I do appreciate, at least, the game putting some real effort into the gravity of going over the time limit -- making it a real big consequence. Having the ship explode also at least explains the reason for the time limit, like a self-destruct sequence... unlike, say, Super Mario Bros. Why does Mario die when the timer hits 0? Who knows?

Also in the arcade version, there were actually more comrades than what was required to open the exit on every stage. The benefit was that there was a progressive bonus for each comrade you rescue without dying on the stage. And, of course, when the last required comrade gets rescued, all Map displays will simply point to the exit instead of telling you where the last couple comrades are located. Those points were worth a hell of a lot more points than the end of level time bonus (and apparently more than the NES version as I just tried it out on playnes.net and the 12th comrade only gave me 1200 points as opposed to 8000 or so in the arcade)

Ha! Silly port errors.

So yeah, I think Alien Syndrome needed the time limit, as a case-by-case thing applies. However, to port the game as a 'straight' arcade port, and without including certain scoring elements, makes me wonder, why? Oh well, at least it's better than the Sega Master System version.

Another version I'll have to look into. Good times. Thanks for your insights.

[masterLEON]

The thing that really rounds out the arcade version is the haunting BGM! check this out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeK4Y2KvpmE Don't miss the 2nd stage gameplay, the player runs down the timer to single digits and it gets pretty exciting!