Majestic Twelve - The Space Invaders Part IV (US, earlier code base) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 34 years ago:

Majestic Twelve - The Space Invaders Part IV © 1990 Taito Corp.

The third sequel to Taito's seminal "Space Invaders", Majestic Twelve leaves the classic Invaders game-play intact, but adds a slew of new alien invaders and power-ups to the mix. This, together with the vastly improved graphics that introduce colorful new backdrops - some of which scroll vertically in a similar fashion to the star-field in Namco's "Galaxian" - ensure that Majestic 12 is a worthy sequel to the legendary original.

The original game's flying saucer still makes an appearance, but instead of merely awarding bonus points when shot - as in the original game - it now drops a power-up pod for the player to retrieve. Power-ups include shield, faster shots, a laser (activated with the second button) and a giant butterfly, which freezes the invaders for a limited time.

One of the game's most memorable features was the 'Cattle Mutilation' bonus screen, in which the player must protect a heard of cattle from a number of fast-moving saucers, intent on stealing the animals. If a cow is snatched; the player must shoot the relevant saucer to free it; being careful not to actually shoot the cow itself. The '91 incarnation also introduced 'bosses' to the series for the first time; giant, screen-filling aliens that required several shots to kill.

Another major difference to the previous games in the series is that if an invader reaches the bottom of the screen, the player will simply lose a ship (in the original, the game would end once an alien had landed). Also, the player's ship now comes equipped with a shield that can withstand several hits. The shield's strength is depleted every time it takes a direct hit from one of the invaders, and too many hits will result in the shield disappearing altogether. A direct hit on an un-shielded ship will result in the loss of a player life.

TECHNICAL
Runs on the "Taito F2 System" hardware.

Game ID: C64

Players: 2
Control: 8-way joystick
Buttons: 2

TRIVIA
Majestic Twelve was released in October 1990 in Japan.

This game is known outside Japan as "Super Space Invaders '91".

The Majestic Twelve in the title originates from a secret coalition known as Majestic Twelve in the United States who was dedicated to investigating sighting of UFOs.

This game was dedicated to Katsujiro Fujimoto.

SERIES

• Space Invaders (1978, ARC)
• Space Invaders Part II (1979, ARC)
• Return of the Invaders (1985, ARC)
• Majestic Twelve - The Space Invaders Part IV (1990, ARC)
• Space Invaders DX (1994, ARC)
• Akkanvader (1995, ARC)
• Space Invaders Virtual Collection (1995, Virtual Boy)
• Space Invaders X (2000, PS)
• Space Invaders Anniversary (2003, ARC)
• Space Invaders DS (2005, DS)
• Space Invaders - Galaxy Beat (2005, PSP)
• Space Invaders Extreme (2008, DS/PSP)
• Space Invaders Extreme 2 (2009, DS)
• Space Invaders Frenzy (2017, ARC)

STAFF
Director: Ichiro Fujisue
Game designer: Tomohiro Ohno
Software: Hideki Hashimoto, Takashi Kitabayashi, Norihito Taniyama, Masahiro Shimazaki, Takayuki Shinma
Hardware: Yasuhiro Shibuya
Character designers: Senba Takatsuna, Tomohiro Ohno, Masami Kikuchi, Tsuyoshi Satoh, Takayuki Miyazawa
Designer: Rintaro Doi, Kumi Mizobe
Sound: Yasuhisa Watanabe, Shiro Imaoka, Norihiro Furukawa, Kazuko Umino

PORTS

• CONSOLES:

[JP] Sony PS2 (jul.28, 2005) "Taito Memories Joukan [Model SLPM-66057]"

• HANDHELDS:

[JP] Sony PSP (may.12, 2005) "Space Invaders Pocket [Model ULJM-05015]"

CONTRIBUTE
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