Archer MacLean's Super Dropzone

Overview

Archer MacLean's Super Dropzone is a 1995 update to Dropzone, a game first developed for the Atari 8-bit systems in 1984. The game is superficially similar to Midway's Defender with its two-way side-scrolling shoot 'em up gameplay, but features a significant number of differences - the most prominent of which is that the player has to escort the imperiled scientists back to the HQ before the aliens get them.

This Super Nintendo update, which was only released in Europe, adds power-ups and bosses after each wave of enemies, giving players an extra challenge to complete. Defeating the boss releases the next group of scientist survivors, which the player then needs to quickly round-up before the aliens capture them and become far stronger and faster.

This sequel/enhanced remake would later become available for both the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Game Boy Advance as "Super Dropzone: Intergalactic Rescue Mission" in 2003. The GBA version was made available in North America in 2004, and is presently the only version to see a North American release.