Space Shadow and the Hypershot in the Age of Peripherals
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On July 18, 1986, Aliens was released in theaters throughout North America, soon becoming the number one film at the time. It later had a Japanese release on August 30, 1986, and it left an influence in Japan. Bandai developed their own alien-based game for the Famicom, known as Space Shadow, which was released only in Japan on the Famicom on February 20, 1989. What makes it significant at the time as the game was sold only in a bundle with the game cartridge and a light gun peripheral known as the Hyper Shot. There was no other way to play Space Shadow without using the Hyper Shot. The Aliens influence is clear — Space Shadow’s title screen shows someone aiming a firearm who looks a lot like Ripley.
Space Shadow has a story, but it doesn’t have much impact on the game or the player. It takes place in 20XX where a planet named Nodbar was discovered after human migration to other planets was deemed feasible due to overpopulation. An inspection team from the Earth Planetary Administration (EPA) was sent to investigate Nodbar, but they later find out that hostile aliens are everywhere. An SOS signal was sent for reinforcements, but communications appear to fail. The inspector needs to fight through the aliens to rescue human survivors before evacuating the planet.
Space Shadow has five stages where the player can only go forward through the corridors of the various space ports, blasting aliens and various hostile security robots. The Hyper Shot’s ammo and grenades are limited. But more ammo grenades can be acquired by shooting ammo and grenade icons if they appear on the screen. Armor and more life can be acquired by shooting armor and life capsule icons.
The Hyper Shot physically resembles actual submachine guns with foregrips similar to those introduced for real weapons at the time such as the Heckler & Koch MP5K. Its bundled release with Space Shadow serves as a means for the player to have a realistic experience in using it. The Hyper Shot has a conventional appearance, with the magazine mounted in the front, where it also doubles as a foregrip and a pistol grip. There are also a couple of buckles mounted on the left side, though it’s unknown if someone can attach an actual sling on it. For the controls, the select/start buttons are located (also) on the left side, above the magazine. The directional pad is located on the magazine well, which is used to control movement. A trigger is also present in the same location, which is used in-game to fire grenades at the aliens. The triggers, both the magazine well and the pistol grip, correspond as the B and A buttons, according to the game’s instructions. But these features, while allowing the player to feel like they’re using an actual gun, are not the only ones that make the Hyper Shot significant.
Two features of the Hyper Shot that make the peripheral way different from other light gun peripherals for the Famicom (or the NES outside of Asia) consist of the Body Vibration System and the speakers built into it on the rear side. The Body Vibration System (BVS) simulates recoil from a submachine gun, powered by four C cell batteries. For the speakers, they only work when the player plays Space Shadow and not any other game, playing the sounds from the game through the peripheral.
Though the Hyper Shot was exclusively packed with Space Shadow when it retailed, there has been confirmation that the submachine gun-like peripheral can be used for other shooting games such as Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley. Ultimately, Space Shadow doesn’t appear to have much replay value. With just five stages, it is quite short, though the game and the Hyper Shot can fetch quite a price. On eBay, a used bundle can be found for $289.00. The rear of the box mentions that the game was dubbed as Volume 1, indicating that perhaps there were expansions to create more games that could use the Hyper Shot.
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Mark Soo is a Canadian geopolitical consultant, based in the Philippines, who researches regional issues in the Indo-Pacific. While he writes commentary and journal articles, this is his first article related to videogames.
