text: red alarm red alarm ( , ) is a 1995 shoot ' em up video game developed by t & e soft and published by nintendo . released as a virtual boy launch game , it requires the player to pilot a space fighter and defeat the army of a malevolent artificial intelligence called " kaos " . the game takes inspiration from the 1993 title star fox , and it is one of the few third - party titles for the virtual boy . unlike most of the console 's games , red alarm features three - dimensional ( 3d ) polygonal graphics . however , hardware constraints limited the visuals to bare wire - frame models , similar to those of the 1980 arcade game battlezone . reviewers characterized red alarm 's graphics as confusing , but certain publications praised it as one of the most enjoyable virtual boy titles . gameplay and plot red alarm is a shoot ' em up that takes place in a three - dimensional ( 3d ) graphical environment . as a virtual boy game , it features a red - and - black color palette and stereoscopic 3d visuals , the depth of which may be adjusted by the player . the game is set during the 21st century , in the aftermath of a 70 - year world war that led to the establishment of a utopian society without weapons . an artificially intelligent defense system called " kaos " , which had been used to end the war , becomes sentient and builds an army to wipe out humanity . assuming control of a " tech - wing " space fighter , the player seeks to destroy kaos 's forces and finally its mainframe . the game is broken up into six levels , each of which culminates in a boss fight . the player uses the tech - wing 's laser cannons to attack , and its guided missiles to destroy armored enemies . shields on the craft offer limited protection from enemy fire ; evasion is critical . the tech - wing may be maneuvered in any direction , and certain levels contain branching corridors and dead ends that force players to retrace their paths . four camera angles — three third - person viewpoints and the first - person " cockpit view " — are available . when a level is completed , the player may watch a replay of their performance from multiple perspectives . development and release red alarm was published by nintendo and developed by t & e soft , one of the few third - party companies approached to develop for the virtual boy . according to the console 's creator , gunpei yokoi , nintendo tried to " maintain as much control as possible " over virtual boy game development so that low - quality releases by outside companies could be avoided . although t & e soft was known for golf video games , the design of red alarm was inspired by that of star fox , a rail shooter for the super nintendo entertainment system . this decision was considered by patrick kolan of ign to be " a departure for the team " . unlike many virtual boy games , red alarm features an engine that displays 3d graphics : the game world is rendered in wire - frame polygonal visuals similar to those of the 1980 arcade game battlezone . because of the console 's limited technology , solid 3d graphics were not viable . red alarm debuted in north america at the 1995 winter consumer electronics show , and it was confirmed as a launch game for the virtual boy at that year 's electronic entertainment expo . later that year , red alarm and several other titles were released alongside the console , which debuted on july 21 in japan and august 14 in the united states . reception writing for weekly famicom tsūshin , isabella nagano called red alarm 's stereoscopic visuals " amazing " , and sawada noda recommended the game to all owners of the virtual boy . in a more negative review , the publication 's mizu pin characterized the wire - frame graphics as confusing and frustrating , a criticism echoed by the four reviewers of electronic gaming monthly . a gamepro writer under the pseudonym " slo mo " found the visuals confusing as well , but felt that players could adjust to them . slo mo and electronic gaming monthly 's danyon carpenter and al manuel praised the title 's control scheme , and the latter magazine 's andrew baran summarized red alarm as " a nifty show - off game " . the reviewer for next generation saw significant promise in red alarm , and believed that its elements should add up to " a fantastic game " ; but the writer panned the final product as a wasted opportunity . similarly , danny wallace of total ! wrote , " on the one hand , it 's a pretty impressive 3d spacey shoot - em - up , with a real grip on the virtual world and all those fancy techniques , and on the other it 's an often visually confusing , headache - inducing attempt at being something it 's quite obviously not . " however , dave halverson of diehard gamefan called red alarm " a great shooter " with excellent graphics . co - reviewer nicholas barres hailed it as a " masterpiece " , and he considered it to be " the one and only reason to buy a virtual boy " . a retrospective feature by the australian broadcasting corporation 's program good game highlighted red alarm as one of the virtual boy 's most visually impressive games due to its polygonal graphics . the outlet praised it as one of the most entertaining titles on the console . video game database allgame gave the game a two and a half out of five rating , noting how the graphics made it difficult to play . the review stated that the design of the graphics " makes structures hard to see because there is empty space between the lines defining them . add multiple enemy fighters and ground defenses [ sic ] into the mix , and it can be very difficult to navigate your ship , especially when you are trying to fight back ! " the review concluded that the developers " have created a very detailed setting for which to fight in . walls have faces stretching out of them like a scene from the abyss , there are several interesting bosses to combat , and you 'll even hear some speech . deep down there is a fine shooter that is simply hard to enjoy due to the limitations of the hardware ... and that is truly a shame . " in 2008 , kolan called it " a really competent shooter " with strong visuals and gameplay . the following year , damien mcferran of retro gamer summarized red alarm as " pretty good fun to play " , although inferior to star fox . however , wired 's chris kohler later opined that the game " kind of sucked " .