Zero Wing (1989)

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"Z" Game Completed!
(Arcade version of Zero Wing played on the Evercade via Toapan Arcade Collection 1)

Bit of interesting trivia about this one... The infamous cinematic with "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" doesn't exist in the original arcade version. In fact, based on some of the screenshots I saw, the Genesis version actually has different (additional?) levels.

Speaking very broadly, the arcade version is not as good as the later Genesis port. The music, while still pretty darn good, has a lot more punch on Genesis due to that console's really distinctive sound chip. The graphics are excellent for 1989 though, and that's one area where I think the arcade version feels superior. In fact, the imagery in the last few levels of the game is really damned interesting, with lots of eyes and insects and level-eating amoeba fellas.

Mechanically, this one definitely feels like a quarter muncher. It kinda feels like one designed to be brute-forced, not learned. The enemy and shot patterns didn't feel like they had any kind of pattern to learn compared to something like R-Type; everything felt quite sporadic, and I never felt like, "Oh, I could a bad that one if I played differently." As someone who's quite experienced with SHMUPs of the era, it never felt quite right.

You do have some cool defensive tools though - you have floating "Options" above and beneath you, and these guys can both deal touch damage and tank enemy shots. You also have a rather infrequent power-up the serves as a front shield, and explodes in a big boom when it's tanked too much damage (or when you die).

Weapons are... Not great. You only have 3 weapons - a red one where you gotta mash fire, a blue one with linear laser attacks, and a green one where you get honing missile shots. These can only be powered up by getting the same colour in repetition, but getting the colour you want is sporadic and can be frequently undone by the wrong colour dropping in your path.

Oh, and the ending cinematic in the arcade version has discount California Raisins dancing in space for... Some reason. Some raisin.

Overall, this game is fine. Mostly forgettable, but worth a play if you appreciate this era of SHMUPs. I think the Genesis version is probably the better way to play overall, but it's far from essential. It lives on as a funni meme, but it's very much a B-tier title compared to its contemporaries.

Different game with redbook audio that's okay and graphics that look alright as well. features some anime cutscenes (not in english) and different storyline. (Notably no famous intro) basic gameplay. i've played harder shooters but this one downgrades your upgraded ship at death and bumps you back to an earlier part in the level (groan) hence making it that much harder. The game has some gimmicks I did not much like. I've never liked the 'collect only one power up flavor to increase your power' route in SHMUPS. at least when you are fully powered you are free to switch but until then you are straddling for it. The other part is you use your satellite options as shields by positioning yourself to block incoming shots with them (and even kamikaze like 'slamming' weapons to take out stationary enemies you dont have line of fire on) Also the game is really hard and requires constant pressing of the fire button (or autofire.) Some bosses are kinda gnarly looking as are backgrounds for the levels but most are fairly uninspired. I was not expecting much but I was hoping for a bit better looking game and music (being that its CD based, but hey you don't always get that with the TurboCD and this is one of those times) In the end the game has no real high marks going for it. The voice over cutscenes were the highlight of this particular version of the game and i find always interesting to see this art from this era. (odd to see too in between waves of a SHMUP!) A shame they are not in english and are actually very short, generic and static scenes. In conclusion this is one to safely skip and to those interested watch [a demonstration/review][4] or watch the [cutscenes.][5] There are better games to play, (In the genre, for the platform, by the developer)

After a playthrough I fired up the genesis version curious to see the famous intro. ![enter image description here][6] I was surprised at how a lower fidelity system made the elements stick together better. The look and the sound meshes well, and the game is a bit more fluid as well. I found myself having a much better time here, the difficulty issues remain the same, as does much of the game's design. There are two levels fewer (and infinite continues on easy mode that are curiously also bound to the death respawn checkpoints)

![enter image description here][7] I found with patience this could be played without cheats all the way to the very end, it then got a bit ridiculous with the homing missiles. Average enough game i suppose.

![enter image description here][8]

By all means if you play this, play the European MD/Genesis version.

[4]:

Everyone just knows this one because of the hilarious English translation (ALL YOUR BASE), but you know what? It's a solid little shmup. A horizontal shooter that gives you a space ship, and a few nice power-ups to rotate through via pickups. You can get two little helper pods that can shoot along with you, and also serve as a bit of a shield above and below you. You can also use a tractor beam to pull in an enemy ship, and use that as a temporary shield directly in front of you. Very cool! You can even launch the captured ship at other enemies, which always felt satisfying. I also like the intro theme song, which has to be one of the most epic tunes for a Genesis game. Oh, but screw the levels where you have to navigate through really tight corridors. Why do old shmups like to do this?

One last thing I'll note... That ending. What the hell was that!