Play Space Ace Online

Space Ace came out on the Super Nintendo in 1994, a port of the laser disc arcade game by Cinematronics. It was part of that era on the SNES where developers were trying to bring more cinematic, animated experiences home, though the hardware had its limits. You got a game that was less about deep mechanics and more about reacting to a cartoon.

You control the hero, Dexter, through a series of animated action sequences. The main goal is to rescue Kimberly from the villain Borf, and you do this by pressing the correct directional or action button when prompted during the on-screen animation. If you're fast, you dodge a laser or make a jump; if you're slow, you get hit or fall, leading to one of many comical failure scenes. A key mechanic is hitting the "energize" button to temporarily transform into the older, more powerful Space Ace for brief sections. The pacing is relentless, and the difficulty comes from memorizing the quick time events through repeated failure. It feels less like playing a game and more like trying to keep up with a frantic cartoon.