Play A.S.O Online
Dodge neon bullets while scrambling for upgrades—pick wrong and you’ll be hilariously outgunned when the screen explodes with enemy fire. Tight controls and chunky sprites make the chaos feel just right.
Ever stumble across A.S.O. (or Alpha Mission if you're feeling fancy) on the NES? It's one of those shooters that somehow slipped past most people back in the day, which is a shame—it's got this weirdly satisfying loop of dodging neon bullets and scrambling for floating orbs to beef up your ship. At first, it feels like any other side-scroller, but then you realize those upgrades actually matter. Like, picking the wrong one can leave you hilariously underpowered when the screen suddenly fills with enemy fire.
The controls are stupidly tight for an '80s game, which is good because you'll need every pixel of precision. It's not as flashy as Gradius, but there's something about the chunky sprites and that synth soundtrack that just works. Fair warning: it starts mean and gets brutal fast. I may or may not have yelled at my TV after losing to the same boss three times. Still, if you like your retro games with teeth, this one's a solid time capsule.
Download A.S.O ROM
You can download this ROM to play A.S.O offline using an Nintendo (NES) emulator (Top Emulators).
*This ROM is provided for backup and educational purposes only.
