How to play Aleste Gaiden on Mac

Game summary

The sequel to Aleste 2.It was released as a free game in Compile's now defunct WOOMB magazine. It is also known as Aleste Special, because it was released in the Disc Station 4 Aku Gau disc in Autumn. Unlike Aleste 1, you are not controlling a spaceship, but instead you're controlling a robot. However, like Aleste, you can shoot enemies, enemies can shoot you, collect power ups, and defeat bosses at the end of a level. However, new to this game is the ability to jump over holes in the ground. This adds a new challenge to the game. In some levels, there are even obstacles like cars that you have to avoid. Power ups range from one that clones yourself and can fire lasers with you, one that replaces your default laser with shurikens. One replaces your default weapon and instead shoots red targets that go in a zig-zag. This laser has a possiblity of shooting enemies. The kinds of power-ups are marked by the color of their box-containers and the Japanese letter on them.
First released: Oct 1989

Play Aleste Gaiden on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)

The easiest way to play Aleste Gaiden on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.

Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.

Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).

Aleste Gaiden installation steps for Mac

Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install Aleste Gaiden like you would on any PC.
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