Heart of the Alien

Lore & Background

The story picks up immediately after the end of Another World. Buddy lands the flying creature in the ruins of his village, lays Lester down on a cot to rest, and walks through the village thinking of his past. A flashback shows that Buddy's people were captured by soldiers led by one of the alien humanoids with red eyes. After recovering his power whip, Buddy returns to the prison he and Lester escaped from in the first game to try to save his people. Later, Buddy is knocked unconscious, and Lester saves him by attacking an enemy alien but is electrocuted in the process. Eventually, Buddy traps the red-eyed alien in a cage with a beast that kills him, and at the end of the game, Buddy gives Lester's body a ceremonial cremation. Buddy's village is rebuilt with its citizens living again in harmony.

Reader's Guide

Heart of the Alien holds significance as the only official sequel to the acclaimed Another World, though its development was marked by controversy. Eric Chahi, creator of Another World, agreed to Interplay's proposal for a sequel but later stated that the game did not represent his vision and disowned it as an official sequel. The game's control scheme is largely similar to its predecessor, with new elements such as Buddy's energized whip allowing him to swing from objects and deploy shields instantly. Reception was mixed: GamePro hailed it as even better than the original, praising its cutscenes, level design, and soundtrack, while Electronic Gaming Monthly found it a strong sequel despite control difficulties. Sebastian Sponsel of Sega-16 gave it an 8/10, calling it an enjoyable experience and a true sequel. After the game became unsupported, a fan reverse-engineered the binary to produce open-source code, enabling it to run on modern platforms, and an Amiga version using the original assets was later released.

Did You Know?

• Heart of the Alien was released exclusively in North America for the Sega CD in 1994.
• Eric Chahi disowned the game as an official sequel shortly after its release.
• A fan reverse-engineered the game's binary to create open-source code hosted on SourceForge.
• An Amiga version of the game was later released using assets from the Sega CD original.

Gameplay & Mechanics

Released exclusively for the Sega CD in North America in 1994, Heart of the Alien carries forward the cinematic platforming formula established by its predecessor while introducing mechanics tailored to its new protagonist. Interplay Productions built the control scheme on the foundation players already knew from Another World, yet the addition of Buddy's energized whip opens up entirely new movement possibilities. Players can now swing from stalactites and similar overhead objects, adding a vertical dimension to traversal that the original game lacked. Combat also feels different: Buddy's defensive shields activate the instant they are called for, a sharp contrast to Lester's shields, which required a brief charging period before deployment. True to the series' identity, the game eschews any heads-up display, forcing players to rely on spatial awareness and the environment itself for feedback. Virgin Interactive Entertainment handled publishing, and the result is a title that rewards patience and spatial thinking over quick reflexes, maintaining the deliberate, cinematic pacing that defined the franchise.

Plot & Narrative

The narrative begins the moment the credits roll on Another World. Buddy brings the wounded flying creature down in the desolate ruins of his home village, gently lays the exhausted Lester onto a cot, and wanders the broken streets lost in memories of who his people once were. A flashback then reveals the full scope of the tragedy: soldiers under the command of a red-eyed alien humanoid captured Buddy's entire community. Driven by that revelation, Buddy retrieves his lost power whip and marches back toward the very prison he and Lester fled in the first game, determined to free his kin. The two heroes press through a gauntlet of obstacles together, but the story takes a devastating turn when Buddy is struck unconscious. Lester, acting on instinct, charges an enemy alien to protect him and is killed by a burst of electricity. Buddy eventually tracks down the red-eyed commander and seals him inside a cage with a lethal beast. In a quiet, solemn final act, Buddy performs a ceremonial cremation for Lester's body. The closing scene shows the village rebuilt, its citizens once again living in peace.

Development & Chahi's Disavowal

Eric Chahi, the creator behind Another World, has spoken openly about the uneasy circumstances surrounding the sequel. Interplay Productions pushed for a follow-up specifically to exploit the CD-ROM medium's expanded storage and capabilities, and after deliberation Chahi agreed to participate. His creative vision was to reframe the entire experience from the alien's perspective, letting players rediscover the world of the first game through Buddy's eyes. He described imagining layered scenes where Lester would fight guards in the background while the player controlled Buddy in the foreground, with the two characters eventually converging. The concept, in his words, was strong. The execution, however, fell short. Chahi noted that neither the animations nor the overall game—developed entirely by Interplay without his direct involvement—met the standard he envisioned, and he labeled the result a flop. Shortly after the 1994 release, he issued a public statement declaring the title did not reflect his vision of the world he had crafted, and he formally disowned it as an official sequel to his original work.

Legacy & Preservation

Once the Sega CD era faded and Heart of the Alien slipped out of print, the game seemed destined for obscurity. That changed when a dedicated fan undertook the painstaking task of reverse-engineering the binary executable to extract a usable source code variant. The resulting code was released as open-source and made freely available on SourceForge, allowing the title to run on modern hardware without the original console. An Amiga port also emerged, repurposing the Sega CD original's visual assets to bring the experience to a different platform entirely. The game's critical reception during its lifetime had been largely positive. GamePro went so far as to call it superior to Out of This World, singeing its animated cutscenes, level design, and soundtrack while acknowledging the controls demanded patience. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers similarly praised the graphics, puzzles, and cinematic sequences despite noting the same control frustrations. Sebastian Sponsel of Sega-16 awarded it eight out of ten, calling it an enjoyable and genuine sequel to a classic.