Keith Courage in Alpha Zones
Encyclopedia
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones is multiplatform video game by Hudson Soft
that was released for the TurboGrafx-16
and the Nintendo Entertainment System
. The game was originally released in Japan
on August 30, 1988 for the PC Engine (The TG-16's Japanese counterpart), under the title Mashin Eiyūden Wataru (魔神英雄伝ワタル), which is adapted from the anime
television series of the same name (Spirit Hero Wataru
).
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.
) 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.
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
that was released for the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
and the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. The game was originally released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on August 30, 1988 for the PC Engine (The TG-16's Japanese counterpart), under the title Mashin Eiyūden Wataru (魔神英雄伝ワタル), which is adapted from the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series of the same name (Spirit Hero Wataru
Mashin Hero Wataru
is a comedy/adventure Super Robot multimedia franchise originally consisting of 45 episode anime series created by Sunrise first aired on April 15, 1988. Sunrise credited "Hajime Yatate" for the storyline and Shuji Iuchi directed the series...
).
Story
The player controls Keith Courage. Struck by a giant meteor, the world, in the game, has been invaded by 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), 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 (theseventh 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 a platformer action-adventure game, but it sports two different styles of play depending on whether the player is above (overworldOverworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
) 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.
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.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.Characters in Keith Courage
- Wataru Ikusabe / Keith Courage - The main character.
- Himiko Shinobibe / Nurse Nancy - Nancy heals Keith for a price.
- Shibaraku Tsurugibe / Weapons Master - Weapons Master sells weapons to Keith.
- The Prophet - The Prophet warns Keith of danger.
- Wise Wizard - Wise Wizard sells bolt bombs to Keith.
Differences between the Japanese version and the North American version
The gameplay of the two versions is the same but the story is different. For example, the main character's name is Wataru Ikusabe (戦部ワタル Ikusabe Wataru), who is a primary school student in grade 4 in the Japanese version. The Nova Suit is called "Ryūjinmaru" (龍神丸) in the Japanese version, and is beckoned by Wataru with his sword. Ryūjinmaru is the embodiment of a dragon. The stage of the Japanese version is called "Sōkaizan" (創界山), which has been occupied by the king of Makai (魔界, which means "World of devil"); it is a seven-leveled mountain that is a different place from the real world, and Wataru is the "Kyūseishu" (救世主, the Savior) to liberate Sōkaizan from the devils.External links
- Keith Courage in Alpha Zones at GameFAQs
- Sardius's Keith Courage in Alpha Zones page - Includes scans of the comic distributed with Keith Courage.