Drones (Benji)

Hostile Species
Full Name	Drones
Alias	Aliens
Origin	Benji: Space Rescue
Homeworld	Unknown universe
Abilities	Flight Lasers Torpedoes
Members	Green Drones Purple Drones Blue Drones
Hobby	Kidnapping scientists.
Goals	Kidnap every scientist on Earth.
Crimes	Kidnapping Attempted murder
Type of Hostile Species	Alien Robots

“	There are scientists being held somewhere in the Solar System by creatures from another universe. You and Benji must find them, free them from the robot drones guarding them, and return them to Earth. If you and Benji can do this in time, you will win. You have 60 star days.	„
	~ The game's narration about the Drones.

The Drones are the main antagonists of the 1983 sci-fi video game Benji: Space Rescue for the Commodore 64. They are a dangerous group of robots from another universe who want to kidnap every scientist on Earth.

Origin

It is unknown what universe they came from or how they knew humanity. However, it is possible that they wanted to be free from their world and explore another universe. When they discovered humans, they realized that they might be studied and that the humans can become a threat to their kind, so they captured the scientists to prevent themselves from being discovered.

Gameplay

Benji's mission is to save a number of scientists that are being held by robot drones somewhere in the solar system. Once he is on board, the player must take them safely back to Earth.   

This can be done by going into the engine room and selecting the planet of the player's choice, and the player can modify the warp and jump settings to get to the planet faster or slower.   

When cruising the planet's surface, Benji's ship's alarm will sound if it detects enemy movement. This is followed by the drones chasing Benji and shooting at him with their lasers.  

While fighting the drones, the player can use the keyboard's function keys to either fire torpedoes or phasors. Also, while transporting scientists, the player must supply them with rations in order for them to survive. Benji is constantly running out of fuel, meaning that the player needs to stock up while orbiting space. Higher ranks have Benji rescuing more scientists and navigating an asteroid field.   

Benji has a specific number of star days to rescue the scientists. If Benji runs out of time or fuel, the game is over. The higher the rank, the more difficult Benji's rescue mission becomes.

Personality

The Drones are extremely dangerous, ruthless, cunning and intelligent creatures who want to capture every scientist on Earth. The purple ones are the most cunning, the green ones are the most powerful, and the blue ones are the most dimwitted. Whenever Benji choses a harder rank, the Drones would become more formidable and dangerous and increase their numbers as they begin to shoot at Benji.

Gallery

Images

Shoot down the Drones.

One of the Drones has been destroyed.

The Drones damaging Benji's ship.

The Purple Drone, the most intelligent and dangerous of the Drones.

The Green Drone, the most psychotic of the Drones.

The Blue Drone, the most dimwitted of the Drones.

Videos

Benji's Space Rescue Gameplay

Trivia

• When the player choses the harder ship rank for Benji, the lasers only stun the green drones when the player shoots lasers at them.
• Whenever Benji flies towards the ground on a planet, the drones would sometimes destroy themselves as they fly to the ground.
• The blue drones are the only type of drones that don't shoot lasers at Benji.