Do you remember the first Alien vs. Predator film, written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (the live film adaptions of Capcom’s Resident Evil), released in 2004? If you don’t, consider yourself lucky because the film sucked IMO. There was an early draft in the 1990s that centered on Machiko Noguchi, a well-known protagonist in the AvP comic and novel universe.
The story was scrapped in favor of another story that got put on hiatus and scrapped for (yet) another script, Anderson’s screenplay, adapted into the 2004 film.
Capcom developed a 2D beat ‘em up title on its CPS-II arcade hardware titled Aliens vs. Predator which was based on the early script. The game went through story changes because the film’s early draft was rejected and production went into limbo until the early 2000s. At least Capcom went ahead and developed the game which became one of the best beat ‘em titles created.
The game hit arcades in May 1994.
There were two versions of the arcade cabinet for two or three players. It’s MORE fun when three people can play at the same time.
The game played like a typical 2D beat ‘em title like Final Fight, Captain Commando, Streets of Rage, and Double Dragon.
Capcom’s Aliens vs. Predator happens in the 22nd century in the fictional California city of San Drad”
Within two days, San Drad is overrun by Xenomorphs. The story begins with two of the protagonists, Major Dutch Schaefer and Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa, being backed against the corner by the growing mob of Xenomorphs. They are miraculously saved by an energy blast from the visiting Yautja (the titular Predators) who have arrived to find their missing kin.
Dutch and Linn are joined by the other two protagonists, the Predator Hunter and Predator Warrior.
The four heroes tear through San Drad to destroy the Xenomorphs’ hive and its Queen.
The mission is successful but the heroes stumble onto a sinister conspiracy orchestrated by Weyland-Yutani’s military commander, General Bush, who went rogue and engineered the Xenomorphic outbreak. It becomes a quest to stop Bush’s plans for good while eliminating the rest of the Xenomorphic threat.
The story is straightforward and the gameplay is simple.
Except for Dutch, who has a robotic arm with a built-in smart gun, the other heroes are given melee weapons that can be dropped whenever they’re knocked down. Linn is equipped with a katana (that is tied to her combos), the Hunter is equipped with a naginata, and the Warrior is equipped with a spear.
Dutch is the offensive tank, Linn is the speedster, the Warrior is the aerialist, and the Hunter is the well-rounded specialist.
The four are equipped with unique projectile weapons with a meter that decreases with every use. Dutch has the smart gun, Linn has the pistol, and the Predators have the shoulder cannon. In the case of Dutch and the Predators, their weapon meters refill when not being used. Overusing the weapons causes them to overheat. If you use Linn, the meter doesn’t replenish and you empty it so she can reload.
Even after 30 years, Capcom’s Aliens vs. Predator is still fun to play.
Don’t get it confused with the beat ‘em up game on the Super Nintendo by Activision.
A console version was planned but Capcom was roadblocked by 20th Century Fox (which now belongs to the Walt Disney Company), who had the film and TV rights to the franchise.
Mariko was supposed to be the game’s protagonist but was designed into Linn because of licensing issues. This put Linn in a unique position because Dutch, based on the hero of the same name in the 1987 film Predator, was already established in the AvP universe.
Linn wasn’t involved in the universe, outside of the game.
Even though Linn won’t be playable again because of legal reasons, her legacy lives on through cameo appearances in new characters. If you fight on Ken’s stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2 (SFA2), you’ll see Linn relaxing in the yacht’s swimming pool.
Linn’s obviously living comfortably with the “royalties” from Capcom’s AvP.
She has another cameo in Street Fighter III: New Generation if you fight on Ryu’s stage. It looks like Linn enjoys visiting pools and spas because she’s relaxing in one of the hot springs.
Yeah, Linn’s living comfortably with “royalty” money.
Linn was the reference model for Ibuki who debuted in SF III: New Generation.
Linn would inspire Simone’s creation in Capcom and Psikyo’s bird’s eye view shooter title Cannon Spike (released in arcades and on the Sega Dreamcast).
There’s a fan-made 2D cel-shaded fighting game in development called Sega vs. Capcom, where Linn is being developed to be playable on Capcom’s side. That’s if Capcom, Sega, or Disney don’t file a “cease and desist” order against the developers.
There are two ways you can play this game.
The first method is to buy Capcom Home Arcade Stick but I wouldn’t spend that much money because I could buy a Steam Deck.
The second method is to install an emulator (like Nebula, MAME, or Finalburn Alpha) and download the ROMs. You can mod your Steam Deck, if you have one, and play the game.
After 30 years, the game thrives and hasn’t faded to oblivion.
I hope it officially gets ported onto modern consoles because.
Happy 30th anniversary to one of the greatest arcade games created. You can read my other versions of this article on Medium, HubPages, and Steemit.
Comments