Alpha Mission II

ASO II: Last Guardian (also known as Alpha Mission II) is a vertically scrolling shooter released by SNK in 1991 for the Neo Geo arcade and home systems. It was later released for the Neo Geo CD in 1994.

The player controls a fighter spacecraft (Armored Scrum Object) and can shoot enemies in the air, bomb enemies on the ground, collect power-ups, and defeat bosses to advance levels.

Game Mechanics
The game has only 2 or 3 buttons used depending on the selected shuttle mode. Pull the joystick to manuever the shuttle. The first shuttle mode enables you to fire missiles and laser shots simultaneously with Button A, but in the alternate mode press Button A for laser shot and Button B for missile shot. Laser shots are used for air-to-air attacks and Missiles are used for air-to-ground attacks. When a drone is shot, power ups can be collected: S for Speed, L for Laser shots, M for Missile shots and G for credits. Credits are useful for purchasing weapons in between stages. The power ups are changed by shooting them. When Laser shots and Missiles are maxed, they are more widespread and combined in power. There Hidden items can do certain things like an R item can put the shuttle in Reverse for a certain distance. The shuttle is destroyed by the one shot or by running into an enemy unit or hazard. Unless the player gets far enough, the missiles and laser shots will be lost to minimum power.

Press Button C(on the first mode)/Button B (on the alternate mode) to bring up the weapons selection provided you have weapons available, select the weapon with Button A. To cancel the weapons selection press the button used to bring it up. Different weapons serve different purposes. The Laser Cannons provides a more powerful version of air-to-air attacks but restricts air-to-ground attacks completely. The Fire Launcher is very destructive on both air and ground targets. The Shield protects the shuttle from damage. The weapons have a limited power indicated on an energy metre on the left of the screen. Using the weapons or getting the ship damaged lowers the energy. The energy can be recharged by E power ups.

There are seven stages in the game. The player has to fight through them avoiding hazards in addition. Mid-bosses very occasionally appear in the game. When the player meets an mid-boss or end stage boss, the player must destroy weak points and various parts of the boss to destroy it.