Space Ace - The 2 1984d animation video game
Space Ace is a LaserDisc video game produced by Bluth Group, Cinematronics and Advanced Microcomputer Systems (later renamed RDI Video Systems). It premiered in October 1983, just four months after the Dragon's Lair game, followed by a limited release in December 1983 and then a large release in the spring of 1984. Like its predecessor, it featured cinema-quality animations reproduced by a LaserDisc.
The gameplay is similar to Dragon's Lair, which requires the player to move the joystick or press the fire button at key moments in the animated sequences to govern the hero's actions. There is also the occasional option to temporarily transform the character into his adult form or to remain a boy with different challenging styles.
The arcade game was a commercial success in North America, but was unable to achieve the same level of success as Dragon's Lair. [5] It was later ported to a number of home systems.
The videogame
Like Dragon's Lair, Space Ace is made up of numerous individual scenes, requiring the player to move the joystick in the right direction or press the fire button at the right time to overcome the various dangers that Dexter / Ace faces. Space Ace has introduced some gameplay improvements, most notably selectable skill levels and multiple paths through many scenes. At the start of the game, the player can select one of three skill levels: "Cadet", "Captain" or "Space Ace" for easy, medium and hard respectively; only by choosing the most difficult skill level can the player see all the sequences of the game (only about half of the scenes are played at the simplest setting). Some scenes had "multiple choice" moments in which the player could choose how to act, sometimes deciding which direction to turn in a passage, or choosing whether or not to react to the on-screen "ENERGIZE" message and transform back into his ace shape. . [6] Most of the scenes also have separate versions, flipped horizontally. Dexter usually advances through the scenes avoiding obstacles and enemies, but Ace goes on the offensive, attacking enemies instead of running away; although Dexter occasionally has to use his pistol on enemies when it is necessary to advance. An example can be seen in the first scene of the game, when Dexter escapes from Borf's robot drones. If the player presses the fire button at the right moment, Dexter temporarily transforms into Ace and can fight him, while if the player chooses to remain as Dexter, the robots' drill attacks must be dodged instead.
History
Space Ace follows the adventures of the fascinating hero Dexter, better known as "Ace". Ace is on a mission to stop the evil Commander Borf, who is trying to attack the Earth with his "Infant Ray" to make the Grounders defenseless by turning them into babies. Early in the game, Ace is partially shot by Infant Ray, which causes him to become a teenager, and Borf kidnaps his female aide Kimberly, who becomes the damsel in distress of the game. It is up to the player to guide Ace, in his teenage Dexter form, through a series of obstacles in search of Borf in order to save Kimberly and prevent Borf from using the Infant Ray to conquer Earth. However, Dexter has a wrist gadget that allows him to optionally "ENERGIZE" and temporarily reverse the Infanto-Ray's effects, to transform him back into Ace for a short time and overcome the toughest obstacles in a heroic way. The attraction mode of the game introduces the player to the story through narration and dialogue.
Software
The animation for Space Ace was produced by the same team that faced the previous Dragon's Lair, led by former Disney animator Don Bluth. To keep production costs low, the studio has again chosen to use its staff to provide voices to the characters rather than hire actors (one exception is Michael Rye, reprising his role as narrator of the attraction sequence in Dragon's Lair). . Bluth himself provides Commander Borf's (electronically modified) voice. In an interview about the play, Bluth stated that if the studio were able to afford more professional actors, he thought Paul Shenar would be better suited for the role of Borf than himself. The game's animation features some rotoscoping, where models of Ace's "Star Pac" spaceship, his motorcycle and tunnel were built in the game's aerial combat sequence, then cutscenes and tracks to make the animated images move with very realistic depth and perspective.
Space Ace has been made available to distributors in two different formats: a dedicated cabinet and a conversion kit that can be used to transform an existing copy of Dragon's Lair into a Space Ace game. The first production units of version no. 1 of the dedicated Space Ace game were actually released in Dragon's Lair-style cabinet. The latest version n. 2 of the dedicated Space Ace units arrived in a different, inverted-style cabinet. The conversion kit included the Space Ace laserdisc, new EPROMs containing the game program, an additional circuit for adding skill level buttons, and replacement artwork for the cabinet. The game originally used the Pioneer LD-V1000 or PR-7820 laserdisc players, but there is now an adapter kit to allow the use of Sony LDP series players as a replacement if the original player is no longer functional.
Technical data
Platform Arcade, 3DO, Amiga, Android, Apple IIGS, Atari Jaguar, Atari ST, CD-i, iOS, Mac OS, MS-DOS, Nintendo DSi, PlayStation 3, Sega Mega CD, Super Nintendo, Windows, Blu-ray, player DVD
Publication date 1983 (arcade)
1989-1990 (16-bit computer)
1993 (CD-i)
1994 (SNES, Sega CD)
1995 (3DO, Jaguar)
Gender Action
Theme Science fiction
Origin United States
Software Advanced Microcomputer Systems
Publication Cinematronics, Readysoft Incorporated (16-bit computer, 3DO, Sega CD, Jaguar), Digital Leisure (players, Android, PS3)
Game mode Single player
Input devices Joysticks, joypads
Support Laserdiscs, floppy disks, CD-ROMs
System Requirements: Amiga: 512k
DOS: 640k; video CGA, EGA, VGA, Tandy
Jaguar: Atari Jaguar CDs
Followed by Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge
Arcade specifications 80MHz Z4 CPU
Screen Horizontal raster
Resolution 704 x 480, at 59,94Hz
Input device 8 direction joystick, 1 button
