Aleste / Aleste 2

A screen flooded with colourful explosions, a speed that won't let you catch your breath, and music driving you onward — anyone who says eight-bit computers couldn't do a proper shooter has never played Aleste. On the MSX2, which turned into a veritable shmup paradise, this series belongs to the absolute technical elite.

Aleste comes from the studio Compile, masters of the vertical shooter genre, and its roots later grew into acclaimed lines such as Power Strike and GG Aleste. The gameplay rests on the best of what shmups offer: a constant rain of enemies, weapon upgrades, dense formations you have to weave through, and that intoxicating feeling when the screen explodes and you somehow still miraculously live.

What makes Aleste exceptional is its technical execution on the MSX2 hardware. The game wrung impressive colour and fluidity out of the machine, so that it matched even the better arcade and console shooters of its time. On top of that comes a terrific soundtrack — the audio side was often just as important a weapon as the shooting itself in MSX2 shmups, and Compile knew that well.

The context matters too: the MSX2 became home to an unprecedented number of quality shooters, and Aleste, alongside titles like Konami's Space Manbow, shows just how high the bar lay back then. For fans of the genre this platform is literally a treasure trove, one long forgotten outside Japan and now being rediscovered by collectors and players on emulators alike.

Anyone who loves sharp, uncompromising action and wants to see just how far eight-bit shooters could be pushed will not regret a single second with Aleste. It is pure, fast joy — and at the same time proof that a shmup's greatness is not measured by hardware generation, but by the heart of its creators.

Why play it: For one of the technically best and fastest shooters of the eight-bit era, which shows why the MSX2 was a true paradise of the shmup genre.