''Keith Courage in Alpha Zones'' is a 1989

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released by

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for the

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation of video game con ...

. It was the

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for the console in North America. It was originally released in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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on August 30, 1988 for the

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation, it launched ...

(The TG-16's Japanese counterpart), under the title which is adapted from the

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of the same name. Hudson later released in 1990 another game for the

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based on the franchise titled ''Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden Famicom'', which is a

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

Plot

The player controls Keith Courage. In this game, Earth has been struck by a giant meteor, carrying an invasion force from another planet. Burrowing deep within the planet's surface, the planet of B.A.D. (Beastly Alien Dudes) seeks to take over the Earth. As a member of N.I.C.E. (Nations of International Citizens for Earth), Keith's mission is to defeat B.A.D. and bring peace to the world. Armed with a sword, Keith must first defeat the outpost guards. Then, enter the Underworld. Here Keith activates the awesome Nova Suit. A secret force left to him by his fallen father, he is half man, half mechanical monster. Nearly invincible, his sword cracks with the power of lightning, as you wreak havoc on the fearsome Dudes. His goal is to reach the Robo Zone (the seventh Alpha Zone), headquarters of B.A.D. Succeed here and the player will win the game, recapturing the Earth and restoring humanity's place in the universe. Four friends offer Keith advice, swords, bombs, and extra lives. The player's goal is to collect the stolen riches left behind by the invaders and buy your way out of trouble with money.

Gameplay

The game is an action-adventure platform game, with two styles of play depending on whether the player is above ( overworld) or below ground (underworld). There are a total of seven levels in the game, each of which is broken into two areas, the overworld and underworld. Overworld areas consist of simple rightward travel and platform hopping. In the overworld, one controls Keith Courage in his human form, using a dagger to fend off enemies which take the form of birds, moles, and even cats that drop from the sky. Upon reaching the end of the overworld level, Keith is transported via rainbow to the underworld, whereupon he adopts the Nova Suit. The underworld levels are more complex and menacing than the colorful overworld, with aggressive nightmare creatures and a larger landscape to travel with more of a focus on navigating not only horizontally but also vertically. At the end of each underworld level is a boss. In the overworld, the player can go into buildings at times and buy power ups.

Overworld gameplay

In the overworld, Keith is a simple adventurous human with a short sword and three heart containers. The overworld, while simple, is where Keith will collect coins and spend those coins to obtain "bolt bombs," health regeneration, and better equipment for the underworld by going to houses that have NPCs to talk to.

Underworld gameplay

Transporting to the underworld places Keith in the Nova Suit, a suit of armor that grants him extra hearts on his health bar and a better sword depending on what was purchased in the overworld. Additionally, Keith is now able to use the "bolt bombs." When used, bolt bombs are similar to bullets that are fired in the eight cardinal directions depending on how many are left.

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/keith-courage-in-alpha-zones
''Keith Courage in Alpha Zones''
at GameFAQs

1988 video games Hudson Soft games Pack-in video games Platformers Single-player video games TurboGrafx-16 games TurboGrafx-16-only games Video games based on anime and manga Video games developed in Japan Advance Communication Company games