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The Laser Guide to Video Games |
Zero Wing (PC Engine - Toaplan,
1989 - Naxat Soft, 1992)
Despite its unfairly summoned one-note
reputation, Zero Wing is actually a fairly interesting shoot-'em-up for its
time. Its more interesting than a single line of misbegotten text and
delivers solid, if unsurprising action for the console gamer. On the
surface, its a straightfotward vertically scrolling action game with the
usual enemies, power-ups and unexpectedly resilient bosses. Structurally,
the game is fairly decent. Your objective is to defeat the assemblages of
standard foes, progress through each stage until you reach the boss
character at the end. There are a few twists that keep things interesting.
The power-up system is fairly simple. Running over a power-up automatically
enables it. Several types are available, including standard fire but you can
upgrade to more effective ones such as lasers, that slice through foes and
vulcans that automatically aim at onscreen opponents. You collect these
relatively quickly and the distance between you and lost power-ups isn't
dramatic so you aren't penalized excessively when you lose a ship. The
system is relatively straightforward but you have a secondary fire system to
work with. You can aim you tracor beam at certain objects and add them onto
you ship for added firepower. This allows you to 'throw' the object back at
the level and it usually destoys everything within its path. Using this is
somehwat limited to the smaller and less dangerous objects, but it can be
quite effective if you reach a tight spot.
Zero Wing's intial levels shouldn't pose too much
of a problem, its enemy patterns and waves offer challenge and engagement,
with frustration only occuring at the later stages. You should be able to
plow right though with little effort or energy which helps to build up you
confidence. Anticipating enemy movements takes some memorization and
reflexes, but this become intuitive quickly and since the power-ups build
rapidly, you won't need to make up too much effort if you lose a ship. The
power-ups are fairly standard. The most effective of these are the wingmen
with appear above and beneath your ship. These effectively tripke your
firepower and give the added advamtage of absorbing shots from enemies to a
limited degree.
In addition, you can use certain objects as
weapons if you're smart and master the timing. Its not as simple as it
sounds. You have to aim your shots perfectly which isn't easy to do when
you're simultaneously fighting off attacking foes. Zero Wing's innovative
catch-and-release tractor beam mechanic makes an interesting diversion from
the norm, its implementation is a bit clunky on two fronts. Its hard to use
effectively and aiming the shots isn't intuitive which marks it as an
interesting gimmick, not the main course of action. Using Zero Wing's
standard shots to simply destroy the enemies is a more effective and less
time consuming strategy, that allows for much better gameplay flow. Another
strategy comes with memorization and power-up mangement. Instead of
heedlessly picking up everything you see along the way, the better course of
action might be to hold back a bit. Somethimes, it helps to know which
power-ups are represented by specific types of pods. You can plan ahead
somehwat and skip some of the less-effective power-ups by avoiding them and
keeping hold of the more powerful or useful ones. This somewhat elaborate
approach makes Zero Wing a deeper and more engaging title.
Its gameplay mechanics are not surprisingly,
given the developers solid and challenging. There's a good balance between
shooting enemies and avoiding them. Good placement means you have some
recharge though these are balanced with busier sections that are trickier to
navigate. Enemy patterns are somewhar predictable at certain points, which
can be a bit challenging if you haven't memorized that particular section.
Most of the boss encounters are difficult to defeat and require patience and
good reflexes to get through. Each one has a vulnerablitity but you need to
attack its weak-spot relentlessly in order to defeat it. This might take
several attempts to accomplish, which can be a little bit frustrating but is
something that adds a layer of satisfaction to the gameplay. There are a
generous amount of lives to use and numerous extra-continues that should
give you plenty of chances to defeat the opposition forces.
Zero Wing's presentation does a good job in using
the CD-Rom format effectively to enhance the Mega-Drive experience. The
changes are interesting but don't overwhelm the experience. While the famous
'Base' meme is nowhere to be found, at least in english, the presentation
remains solid. Elebarate cut-scenes help to flesh out the action between
levels and make a good change of pace from the expected usual confinements.
Its a fairly-standard anime-style space opera with some interesting
back-stories unfolding on its setting. The lush environments and elaborate
storyline highlight its presentation. which is above average, especially for
its era. Characterization is minimal during the cinemetics, but they remain
interesting and propel the plot forward in a quick and satisfying manner.
One underwhelming aspect of the game comes in its CD soundtrack, while it
does an effective job in comolimenting the action, the end result falls on
the bland side of things, which is disappointing. It could have been better,
but doesn't really match the potential or promise of the format.
During the in-game sequences, things improve
markedly. Zero Wing's overall aesthetics are above average and succeed in
placing you in the action to a large extend. There's a consistent quality in
appearance with the mainline visuals showcasing a solid engine. The
characters are detailed and engaging with nicely detailed sprites and
artwork highlighting above-average ship and enemy design. Stages look fairly
decent with multi-layered parallax scrolling allowing for some interesting
layers of depth. Some ot the sprites seem a little bit small, but this is
outweighed by a higher-than-average level of detail. Most importantly, Zero
Wing flows at a consitent and satisfying frame-rate throughout, making it a
joy to play. There's none of the slowdown or jerkiness that plagues some of
its contemporaries, surpassing the design even many cartrige games. Its
controls and interface are fluid, responsive and straightforward which
allows you to focus on the action without getting distracted by halting
movements or obtrusive controls.
While there are many familar elements, this is a
suprising game in some unexpected aspects. All of the standard elements are
present but implemented solildly in a way thats consistent with other
shoot-'em-ups for the most part. There are some innovative features such as
the catch-and-release system, but the implementation is poor, making it feel
more like a gimmick than it could have been. Its also somewhat extraneous
since you don't actually need it to progress through the game. Some sections
are more difficult to beat than others, fortunately abundant power-ups and
continues make progression easier than it needs to be. Its an enjoyable
experience that delivers some solid, occaisionally challenging shoot-'em-up
action in terms that are somewhat predictable while remaining enjoyable.
Zero Wing brings a standard style of play to the table but offers enough
twists along the way to keep things interesting.
- Michael Palisano
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