Aleste X Naked Earth

The climax of GG Aleste 3 does something really interesting with visual/spatial storytelling, and leaves a question around the significance/symbolism of the Earth in shmups.

[The screenshots in this post are taken from Lazy Devs playthrough design commentary - definitely worth checking out if you haven't seen it yet : The Toybox Storytelling of GG Aleste 3 - 1CC Commentary]

I've discussed before how shmups often make use of spatial storytelling to build tension and provide a 'narrative' arc. In many cases you start from your origin point, battling further and deeper into enemy territory before mounting an assault on the final stronghold. Here you encounter and defeat the ultimate enemy at their thrown of power. GG Aleste 3 follows this structure in a pretty typical fashion - you make your way through a variety of locales of increasing enemy saturation before taking on the main armada lying in wait at the edge of the solar system. However in your battle with the final boss an inversion takes place. By way of a hyperspace leap, the final boss takes you back to have the final encounter in the upper atmosphere of the Earth itself. Krystian in his commentary highlights how wonderfully dramatic this sequence is:

'This is such a good staging for the final fight. You see what's at stake, you see the Earth underneath you, and you are literally defending Earth from the evil aliens'.

I agree wholeheartedly with Krystian that this is a great twist that creates an engaging, dramatic sequence, and I would argue that a good deal of the drama here comes from the circumventing of the classic spatial narrative. With a final battle typically taking place at the seat of enemy power, it occurs at the farthest possible point from home, entirely within a locale where collateral damage is not an issue and with the only real threat being directed at you as an individual insurgent. In the case of GG Aleste 3, being pulled back along the journey string this encounter instead occurs close to the pristine origin place, a vulnerable naked earth. To align it with a more typical monomyth example, this is an attack on the Shire by Sauron himself - an untainted core which serves as the place to ultimately protect from evil influence laid bear to the supreme sign of evil itself.

I do find this Damoclean god dagger hanging above a blue pearl a particularly arresting image, and because shmups are (by necessity) so visually symbolic, I find myself considering how this particular moment links into a wider representation of 'the Earth' in shmups and how this may have been influenced by the media spaces that they emerged from.

To be continued...

_DYR