Invaders from Space

 is a Space Invaders Collaboration event in SINoALICE.

Hey, kiddos! It’s Puppet Pantomime time! Yay!

Well-Mannered Shadows Presents: The Three Little Pigs

A long time ago, three little pigs lived on a far off coast.

One day, the two eldest sisters burst into the youngest’s house.

For it would seem these weird creatures had...

Oink?!

It’s an invasion!

Somebody call the police! Call the FBI! Call my mom!

Snort?!

A-and who might you be?!

We are space invaders. We do not…

Come in peace

Years ago, the world was once overcome by fear.

Society had been overtaken by unknown entities known as invaders.

Allured and intoxicated with their presence, the people heeded to their every will.

But one day, the invaders were faced with opposition.

And then suddenly they were gone.

In the past 40 years since this account,

never has the world met such an oppressive existence.

But could those invaders still be among us? The truth may still be out there.

Parrah:

Far be it from me to turn an event away, but…

Noya:

How do they keep missing the mark every single time?

Parrah:

Management could do with a good, hard, look in the mirror, I think.

Noya:

Not that they can, I guess.

Parrah:

It’s so pointless, pointless, pointless to expect anything better!

Noya:

It’s the SINoALICE way!

Parrah:

Let’s re-launch it and get things started, shall we?

Noya:

Sure, but--

We’ve had so many events lately. Who’s to say the players won’t get fed up with it?

Parrah:

Well, there isn’t much we can do about that.

Humans are designed to get fed up with things by nature.

Mobile games are just one more thing for them to tire of.

Noya:

And mobile games are terminated all the time without ever having an ending!

Parrah:

While there might be a certain beauty in ending the story here and now…

Noya:

we’re ready to lose funding as long as there’s demand.

Parrah:

Then management will burn out, and the company will go bankrupt.

Noya:

Now that would be the worst story!

Verse 1
“Jeeze these nightmares keep getting stronger.”

“We might even need a booster.”

The puppets complained amongst themselves.

“Wait! I’ve got a better idea!

We get the help of aliens!”

Princess Kaguya and the Three Little Pigs listened closely to the pairs’ strange proposal.

“I supposed they exist,” began one of the pigs. Her sisters then chimed in.

“But more importantly, we’re hungry!”

“Will the aliens give us food?”

“If so, we want to become friends with them!”

“Great, we’re on the same page then,” said the puppet. “We’ll make contact while you get rid of these things!”

Kaguya:

Here’s what I think…

Exterrestrials have more power than humans, right?

We could try to negotiate with them.

But wouldn’t that be a bit careless?

Three Little Pigs:

Like making a house out of straw?

And then inviting a wolf there?

Kaguya:

Hmm, to put it in terms of your era…

Maybe it’s like exposing one’s address on the internet.

Three Little Pigs:

Hmmm.

Well, either way….

We’ll just capture them when they attack and eat them!

“There is something I’ve wanted to ask,” Princess Kaguya spoke up.

“Yeah, what?”

“Why are we dressed like this?”

Princess Kaguya referenced to the swimsuits she and the Three Little Pigs were forced to wear.

“It’s the only way to make contact.”

“Gotta show skin if we’re to make this work!”

“Now, let the ritual begin!”

The conversation was put on hold and the group began to recite a bizarre incantation.

Just then, dark clouds and lightning filled the sky.

“They’re here!” cheered the puppets.

“What is that?!”

The puppets cackled. “Your boost of course!”

“One of the most important lessons in your life!

Verse 1 Alternate
Someone is calling.

Calling to our forgotten selves.

Let's answer the call.

Let's show them our strength.

Our strength as space invaders!!

Verse 2
Many of you may not have heard of the name Space Invaders.

Or perhaps you’ve heard of it but never played it.

However, no other game has made a mark on history like this one has.

In 1978, a company known as Taito released an arcade game called Space Invaders.

Basically, you have these enemies creeping towards you from the top of the screen and you shoot at them with a laser to defeat them.

“Oh wow!” exclaimed one of the sows.

“That’s so kind of you to teach us!”

“I guess they do have a heart.”

“We still have nothing to eat though.

Three Little Pigs:

So, these are the invaders?

How shall we eat them?

Boil for sweetness then serve chilled?

Kaguya:

My, you sure have an appetite.

Three Little Pigs:

Yeah, because we’re pigs!

Kaguya:

Pigs...a trio of hogs...haha. How fitting…

The gameplay was like a brick breaker,

but an evolved form of the genre.

The alien and space themes went on to influence the very popular movie Star Wars at the time.

The game was an immediate hit in arcades,

and it exploded mainstream as a global social phenomenon.

Prince Kaguya gave a stern look.

“Everyone went to the arcade to fight cute enemies like these?

You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“Hmm? Is something wrong?” one sow asked.

“Your face is all red.”

“The thought of it makes my skin tingle.”

“Oh yeah. Forgot you’re one of those weirdos.”

Verse 2 Alternate
Have you heard our name?

We are a shooting game

created By Taito.

There was a time when we invaded

Japan.

Our name was huge. All knew who we

were.

Ah, the sweet nostalgia

of 1978...

Verse 3
Why was it so popular?

It’s simple!

It was the first game of its kind that captured the thrill of kill or be killed!

That’s what everyone loves about shooting games!

This stuff is all common sense nowadays.

The enemy moves, then you attack.

And if you get hit by an enemy missile…

KABLAM! You lose your own ship!

Are you getting it?

In other words, players engaged in a life or death battle right there on the screen.

Back then, this was revolutionary.

Verse 3 Alternate
We were a revolution.

The gamers of the day were swept

away by our presence,

as we attacked wave after wave.

Verse 4
You’re probably wondering

why point this out now?

Because in the early days of gaming,

this concept was completely new to developers and players.

The few games that even had enemies never retaliated against players.

But here the invaders did.

This concept blew people’s minds!

It was these intelligent enemies that kept addicts coming back for more.

They just couldn’t get enough of this amazing shooter.

Three Little Pigs:

Mealtime! ♪ Mealtime! ♪ So many ways to cook! ♪

Eat, eat, eat! I can just keep going! ♪

Who cares how much! I can vomit it up afterwards. ♪

Kaguya:

I’d be happy if our enemies were a little tender.

Three Little Pigs:

Tender? Would you like your meat rare, then?

Parrah:

Have any of you heard a word I said?!

Noya:

Any one of these could be the real alien.

Verse 4 Alternate
The youth were drawn to this battle to

the death.

Everyone wanted to join us.

They came from far and wise to battle

with us at the arcades.

Verse 5
“And there you have it,” concluded the puppet. “What do you think?

Wanna give it a go?”

Princess Kaguya was intrigued.

“Indeed. You’ve got my attention.

In this kind of play.”

“No, I don’t think you understand.”

The Three Little Pigs jumped excitedly.

“We also want to play!”

“He said it was addicting, so…”

“That must mean it’s delicious!”

Satisfied with their answers the pair continued.

“I wouldn’t call it a treat…

But who cares! Let’s play!”

“Remember this was consensual.”

“A battle of life or death!

GAME START!”

OCTOPUS:

Gwoo…..oooh……

Kaguya:

I have a bad feeling about this…

Three Little Pigs:

Yi...Yipes! Where’s this wind coming from?!

“Wh-where are we…?”

Princess Kaguya arose startled.

“We were blown away like a straw house,” replied the pigs.

After closer examination…

“Our bodies!” they exclaimed.

“We’re…”

“Pixelated?!”

The puppets snickered.

“It seems these anomalies are the invader’s doing.”

“That’s why you look like that.”

“You gotta follow the rules of this world and defeat the invaders if you wanna return to normal.”

“In other words…”

“Get shootin’!”

Verse 5 Alternate
Watch and learn.

Tremble at our fearsome might.

We are the heart and soul of the

shooter!

Muhaha... Take a good look.

Our bodies are a little freaky-looking,

right? Made out of

dots, see that? Yes, that's right,

this is the world of pixels!

Verse 6
“If you were listening to us earlier this wouldn’t have been a shocker.”

The second puppet continued.

“You’re not going anywhere until you fully get the gist of how great shooting games are!”

They were then interrupted by the squeals of three pigs.

“Pixel art is amazing!”

“I feel like a brand new me!”

“So how many gigabytes did we increase by?”

“You’re still not listening!”

Slightly annoyed, the puppet began its tale.

The year is 1978.

The 25th year since the founding of Taito.

It was also the year they released their biggest hit of the time: Space Invaders.

Parrah:

This is more like it! A REAL shooting game!

Noya:

Well, we can’t call this a collab without it!

Kaguya:

Just where does that confidence come from?

Parrah:

Past experience!

Three Little Pigs:

Wow, you even speak with confidence.

I could learn something from you ♪

Space Invaders garnered more attention than any game had before.

However, not all of that interest was met positively. Many said the game would not sell.

Unlike any game before, the player had to compete against the game itself.

There was also the pressure to react immediately and with precision to stop the enemy’s advances.

One wrong move meant GAME OVER.

This lead many to believe players would become frustrated and eventually abandon it.

The game’s developer,

Tomohiro Nishikado remained calm despite the criticism he daced.

“This will work,” he said.

He had faith in himself.

Verse 6 Alternate
Your skill has been acknowledged.

But is it enough to fight against Taito?

Back then, they said we were

"too innovative," and weren't given a

chance.

But there was a god amongst

them who believed in our power.

A god named Tomohiro Nishikado.

We offer him our eternal gratitude.

Verse 7
At the time, the shipping cost for Space Invaders was 460,000 JPY per monochrome unit and 580,000 JPY for color.

Compare that to 105,500 JPY, the average college graduate salary at the time.

On the other hand, just one of those units could bring in 100,000 JPY a day.

What took a college graduate to earn in a month took only one day of sales for this machine.

In other words, the investment could be paid off in a week and the rest was profit.

“That's a lot of money!” squealed a pig.

“Just think of all the cake you can eat!”

Space Invaders was so popular that the machine was on backorder months after its release.

No one had expected it’d succeed, so only few were manufactured.

As a result, the production line couldn’t meet demand.

Princess Kaguya gave a slight laugh.

“I guess the haters got their just desserts.”

“Desserts? Are invaders ingredients?”

“Ooh! Then we’ll use them for pancakes!”

One sow appeared less excited.

“Kaguya can eat my half. I’m not getting fat.”

Princess Kaguya kindly declined.

“Sorry, but I don’t eat my enemies.

Unless it was perhaps...somewhere specific.”

“...Can you girls PLEASE stay on topic?”

Verse 7 Alternate
We were joyful servants.

And those who brought us to life

became millionaires.

We were increadibly popular.

Everywhere you went people were

talkin'

about us. Their rapturous praise

even reached the point of mania.

Verse 8
Space Invaders was a massive hit.

As word of it grew, so did the rumors.

Like the government having to mint new coins for circulation due to the machines accumulating so many.

Or that the trucks collecting the coins couldn’t handle the sheer amount of weight.

Some employees even complained of back pain from carrying sacks filled with the riches.

Anyway, that’s just what we heard.

The point is, the game was such a huge crazy it had everyone talking.

Kaguya:

I get the point already, but…

There’s just no end to them!

Three Little Pigs:

I’m hungry!

But cooking takes too much time.

It’d be much quicker to eat them raw.

Kaguya:

Kill them first at the very least.

“Make sure you kill them all,”

the puppets snickered.

“Otherwise, you’ll be trapped in this world forever.”

The Three Little Pigs were fatigued.

“Why did this have to be a shooter?”

“Yeah, this one’s nothing like other games we’ve played.”

“I’ll eat anything, but I do have preferences, you know?”

“That’s just life,” Princess Kaguya said. “No one is perfect at first. You only get better with experience.”

“What a bunch of babies,” said the puppet.

“Can’t do anything themself.”

Verse 8 Alternate
There were all sorts of legends about

us. There was an unprecedented

demand for 100 yen coins.

Arcades sprouted up everywhere...

We were basically driving the entire

Japanese economy.

Ah, it's so nostalgic looking back

on those times...

But what happened next,

turned our dream into a nightmare.

Verse 9
The puppets offered an act of kindness.

“Fine, we’ll teach you a trick.”

“The Nagoya Zap!”

“It’s a system bug where an invader can’t kill you when it’s one space directly in front of you.

Even if a bullet hits, you won’t die. Use that and you’ll be invincible.”

“People think it was discovered in Nagoya. So they just named it that.”

They added one more thing.

“Anyway, it’s a bug. You’ll be a cheater, but it is what it is.”

“That’s perfect!!!” the sows cheered.

Princess Kaguya agreed. “I’m in.”

“No remorse!” the puppets chuckled.

“That’s SINoALICE for ya.”

Three Little Pigs:

Isn’t Nagoya famous for its miso pork cutlets?

Ooh! And I love the eel!

It’s also well known for its breakfast items.

Kaguya:

Long ago, the area was called Owari Province.

Parrah:

Focus!

Noya:

I’m gonna up the difficulty if you don’t!

Verse 9 Alternate
The "Nagoya Zap" had us

quaking in our boots.

We certainly don't miss that.

I doubt anyone even remembers it

now.

Verse 10
The profit these machines was quickly noticed by opportunists. It wasn’t long before pirated versions were being distributed worldwide.

Back then, arcades and video games were still new concepts without legal protections.

Because of this, there was no way to stop it. This would be the catalyst of the invader’s downfall.

“I’m hungry,” the pigs whined.

“Let’s go eat some invaders!”

“I’m trying to cut down on sugar.”

The puppets grumbled to one another.

“Still in one ear and out the other.”

“Whatever, I’ve given up on them.”

All sorts of pirated copies were out there. Some had obvious changes such as different invaders,

while others were so identical to the real thing with the exception of finer details such as the logo design. This wasn’t unheard of for the period. Ripoff versions of many machines were scattered alongside their original in arcades everywhere. They all appeared the same.

“Oh, this sounds familiar,” said a pig.

“Like those games we play on our phone now?”

Princess Kaguya sighed.

“How sad that history repeats itself.”

Verse 10 Alternate
We had plenty of imitators,

But they didn't last long.

Well, nothing lasts in this world...

It was game over. For us -the real

thing- and for the imitators.

The fad had died and with it our glory

faded.

Slowly we were forgotten.

Verse 11
Wikipedia estimates that 100,000 authentic units were distributed by Taito,

another 100,000 units from licensed manufacturers,

and then 300,000 more unlicensed copies were on the market.

Meaning, in less than a year and a half, 500,000 units in total had been shipped.

It was said to be the biggest hit in the history of all Japanese arcade games.

Especially so since in those days 15,000 distributed units alone was considered a big success.

Space Invaders was a phenomenon.

INVADER:

WE ONCE TRIUMPHED THE WORLD.

NOW LOOK AT US...YOU TOO WILL FACE THE SAME FATE.

Kaguya:

Yes. I’m well aware how the world works.

Our existence is only so limited.

Three Little Pigs:

So we gotta live it up now!

As for us, bon appétit!

Verse 11 Alternate
But we did leave our mark

on the world. Evidence of our

existence

is still out there.

Let our collaborators regret

ever hearing our name!

Final Verse
Then, the Space Invaders boom came to an end.

There was no need for the units, so many of them ended up getting scrapped.

Others were shipped and leased overseas.

And then…

“So anyway,” went the puppet.

“That’s what a shooting game was.”

“I take it you understand now?”

“Anyway, we’re sick of explaining this to you.” The puppet then added, “The end.”

The three sows looked disappointed.

“Don’t stop there! That ending was half-baked!”

“Was there more to eat?”

“Whoa, we’re back to normal!” cried the pigs.

“The curse of the invaders was lifted,”

the puppet simply stated.

“But what did they come for anyway?”

“Despite all their success, society eventually lost interest and were forgotten.

Maybe they came to tell us of their sorrow.”

Princess Kaguya spoke.

“I think I understand their feelings.

The same fate may one day come to us.

People will tire of our stories and we’ll be forgotten, too.”

“That’s so sad…” said a pig.

“But we did learn something important from it. However…”

“It’s the swimsuits! We look so weird.”

“That too...is a curse!”

Parrah:

Shooting games are really quite fun, aren’t they?

Noya:

They’re the pinnacle of human culture, I’d say.

Parrah:

Surely that kept them entertained long enough not to get fed up.

Noya:

But our own life span is coming to an end.

Parrah:

So, too, is the day we will be forgotten.

Noya:

We’re not afraid of death, though.

Parrah:

Some of you may be angered at the way the invaders were forgotten, never to be heard from again.

Noya:

But surely the people who played it will remember… all the fun the had before it was over.

Parrah:

Do you think we should take a page from Space Invader’s book, and turn SINoALICE into a shooting game too, while we’re at it?

Noya:

Well, if it would make the players happy…

I wouldn’t mind turning all of the battles into a shooting game!

Parrah:

So? Which will it be?

A: Let’s keep it this way!

Thank you for voting!

B: Let’s get to Guild Shooting!

Thank you for voting!

Final Verse Alternate
For the first in a long time, we did

battle.

And from this we learned something.

Not only are shooting games awesome,

but...

Bugs should be smooshed!