Keith Courage in Alpha Zones

Keith Courage in Alpha Zones

released on Aug 30, 1988

Keith Courage in Alpha Zones

released on Aug 30, 1988

Now the Battle is in Your Hands. You are Keith Courage. Struck by a giant meteor, the world has been invaded by strange creatures from another planet. Burrowing deep within the Earth's surface, the Planet of B.A.D. (Beastly Alien Dudes) seeks to take over the world. As a member of N.I.C.E. (Nations of International Citizens for Earth), your mission is to defeat B.A.D. and bring peace back to the world. Armed only with a sword, you must first defeat the outpost guards. Then, enter the Underworld. Here you activate the awesome Nova Suit. A secret force left to you by your fallen father, you are half man, half mechanical monster. Nearly invincible, your sword cracks with the power of lightning, as you wreak havoc on the fearsome Dudes. Your goal is to reach the Robo Zone (the seventh Alpha Zone), headquarters of B.A.D. Succeed here and you will have won the game, recapturing the Earth and restoring humanity's place in the universe. You have help along the way. Four friends offer you advice, swords, bombs, and extra lives. Collect the stolen riches left behind by the invaders and buy your way out of trouble with money.


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While it's not the worst game on the platform and has its neat moments, Keith Courage was generally a mediocre Zelda II clone without much to set itself apart from NES contemporaries in terms of visuals or gameplay, and a very ill-fitting pack-in title for the Turbografx-16 that likely contributed to its failure in the Western market while competing with the Genesis and its graphically-superior pack-in, Altered Beast.

This game has two very distinct marks against it. The first is that half of the game is far too slow paced and generic that it's hard to get into for late comers (or, to anyone that has more/better options for action-platformers). The second is that the version we're looking at is actually very much an "Americanized" adaptation of Spirit Hero Wataru, which is essentially a super-robot fantasy comedy where a young boy on roller-blades gets transported to a fantasy world to fight evil demon invaders with the help of a dragon god of thunder in the shape of a mech.

I still have nostalgia for this game, even if it isn't that great factually, and end up playing it once in a red moon (maybe longer than that). Can't say I recommend. Honestly, go watch the anime instead. Infinitely better.

Below average action platform game. Sloppy hit detection, leaps of faith jumps, amateur programming- where enemies are allowed to walk on spike floor and re-spawn indefinitely, mundane stage design where every level is recycled and use the near exact backgrounds with only a slight color hue changes.

The game is split up into two worlds overworld and underworld - the overworld is a slow slog where you must repeatedly attack tiny enemies to collect coins to purchase upgrades, and the underworld you pilot a super-deformed robot that has slippery controls walking through until you reach the bottom where the boss appears. A good change of pace are the shops to upgrade your weapon and purchase magic, although they do not look very different than the previous weapon & magic you are already equipped with.

Bosses are even recycled as enemies throughout later stages. To top it off the final boss has a glitch when you stand too close to it doesn't attack back!

I will return to the Alpha Zones one day.

Imagine a cheap, repetitive knockoff of Wonder Boy in Monster Land only even slower and more sluggish, where you fight the same floating cats and rats to, in what I’m sure we can all agree is our favorite type of gameplay, grind to get gold to buy better equipment and heal. Then imagine you get into a voltron-ass robot suit and fight admittedly cooler baddies but then have to fend them off in whatever infinite vortexes they borrowed from the Ninja Gaiden series. Now imagine doing that seven times in a row.

And finally, imagine being a kid in the early nineties and realizing that your only choice is this game or Altered fucking Beast.

Pretty compelling giant-robot action sections sandwiched between some of the most rote platforming of a console generation overcrowded with rote platformers. Half is a serviceable action game with good music however.