Director Ridley Scott’s prequel to Alien, Prometheus, is coming to a theater near you next weekend. To celebrate the return of one of the most successful science fiction/horror franchises, we’re taking a look back at video games that were influenced by the movies’ main villain, the xenomorph.
The following titles borrow heavily on the vicious alien’s design, as well as the embryo-implanting “facehugger” from whom the creatures are born.
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Contra
Contra (Nintendo Entertainment System) -- The boss at the end of level 3 is basically a giant xenomorph with laughable, tiny, wiggly arms.
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Contra III: The Alien Wars
Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super Nintendo) -- The Contra series pays tribute to Predator (Bill Rizer = Schwarzenegger), Rambo (Lance Bean = Stallone), and Aliens. Just look at the eggs, the facehuggers, the giant “chestburster” hanging from the ceiling, and of course, the xenomorphs.
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Contra III: The Alien Wars ending
Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super Nintendo) -- During the ending, a cycloptic, drooling alien smiles at the players while it tries to emerge from a gargantuan, ungodly, bony uterus.
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Alien Breed
Alien Breed (PC) -- This bloated monstrosity looks very similar to the xenomorph queen seen in Aliens.
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R-Type
R-Type (arcade) -- Dobkeratops is the most recognizable character in Irem's hard-as-nails shooter, probably because it resembles a xenomorph fetus.
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Mega Turrican
Mega Turrican (Sega Genesis) -- This scene looks like it came from Konami's Contra, but Factor 5's futuristic action game has its fair share of Aliens references.
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Alien Carnage
Alien Carnage (PC) -- Slimy eggs, an alien with an elongated skull, a space marine with a flamethrower...this seems vaguely familiar.
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Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 2 (Sega Genesis) -- The amusement park in stage 3 features a horror-themed corridor with suspicious-looking, glowing alien eggs. Could they be real?
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BioMetal intro
BioMetal (Super Nintendo) -- At first glance you could mistake this screenshot for R-Type, but xenomorph-like beings populate the world of this side-scrolling shooter as well.
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BioMetal
BioMetal (Super Nintendo) -- Even spaceships look like the vicious extraterrestrials. This is getting out of hand.
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Gradius II
Gradius II: The Ambition of Gofer (arcade) -- More facehuggers, this time in Konami's shooter.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Super Nintendo) -- Pizza Monsters roam New York's sewer system stalking mutant turtles. That's a topping I don't need on my pizza pie.
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Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Conker's Bad Fur Day (Nintendo 64) -- Rare's adult-oriented game parodied many popular films like Saving Private Ryan, The Matrix, and Reservoir Dogs. During the final scene, a chestburster gushes out of the Panther King (Conker's main villain) and turns into a full-grown xenomorph.
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Conker’s Bad Fur Day cargo loader
Conker's Bad Fur Day (Nintendo 64) -- Luckily for Conker, an exosuit cargo loader is conveniently stored nearby. The potty-mouthed squirrel uses it to fight off the otherworldly menace, just like in Aliens.
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Xenophobe
Xenophobe (NES) -- If the title doesn't make you think of Aliens, the xenomorph clone on the freaking box will.
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Although the Metroid series doesn’t rip off the xenomorph’s design, you can’t ignore the similarities between the two franchises:
- Strong female leads (Ellen Ripley in Alien and Samus Aran in Metroid)
- Parasitic alien life form that could wipe out life in the entire galaxy
- Recurring space pirate Ridley has the same name as movie director Ridley Scott
- Xenomorph home world: LV-426, Metroid home world: SR388
- Nostromo’s computer is called “Mother” in Alien, while the leader of the space pirates is called “Mother Brain”
Know of any other games that borrow elements from xenomorphs or Aliens in general? Tell us in the comments below.
