Zero Wing

"Legendary descript, decent game"

Most of you have probably clicked on this to find out more about the title which gave us one of the most famous fads in the history of the internet. Namely photoshop images involving everything from Bugs Bunny to President Bush saying the immortal line 'All your base are belong to us".

As far as mistranslation goes, this game racks up quite a high score. Thankfully this game is not about walls of text and important plot information that you have to piece together through poor translation. Zero Wing is in essence an old school title, harking back to days of no thrills fun involving you and the enemy.

The plot for this game is as generic as it comes. Mankind has a huge space station in the early 22nd century that is attacked by Space Criminal named 'Katz', who warns them that war is about to break out and all the bases shall be conquered. As such you control the 'zig' Zero Wing and are sent out into space with one objective, stop Katz and his army.

Graphically this game is quite basic, the main background is black with obvious pinpricks of silver denoting stars. Overlaid on top of this are outline designs of what are meant to be variations of tunnels, space bases and some forms of sewer. Enemies are nicely rounded and varied. Being everything from rival space craft to mutant creatures. Bosses form large entities that often fill one side of the screen, so no beating about the bush as far as that is concerned. These behemoths are everything you imagine from this sort of game.

Which brings us nicely onto how it actually plays. Software of this nature is ten a penny, the side scrolling shooter is as synonymous with 16 bit gaming as sonic and mario. When you talk of the side scrolling space shooter, the game most often thought of is 'R-Type', though fellow legends such as 'Lifeforce' and 'UN Squadron' are also up there.

Zero Wing is very much an imitation of R-Type, the setting is very close to it and the overall controls are very similar. It moves smoothly and responsively with no real slow down to speak of. There isn't any real variety to the gameplay, it is all a case of shoot everything left to right, kill boss and move on.

Power ups are available with you having three types of gunfire available. 'Red' bullets are basic forward shooting, though as you collect more red orbs they gain spreadfire, eventually covering the screen. 'Blue' ammo forms three laser beams that fire straight ahead, and collection of more makes them thicker. While 'Green' involves homing missile bullets that gain in speed and quantity as you power them up.

Unfortunately the weapons aren't balanced, the 'green' firepower is complete overkill compared to everything else, allowing you to easily dodge beams and bullets while not worrying about hitting the enemy. Blue beams, while gaining in thickness, still fire at the same rate, making them a difficult one to get through some paths with. While the 'Red' bullets are too weak to be of any real effect, even at top power. However, you can vary the challenge by restricting yourself to one type of ammo and see how that alters the game. Though most will be drawn to the homing shots where possible.

As with any side scroller that was produced at this time, it does feel a bit samey, some levels look identical to others and a sense of deja vu swamps the experience. Enemies reoccur quite often too so again, more deja vu.

Yet, these flaws add to the charm of this game, this is not meant to be some cutting edge title. If you come into this title expecting something as colourful as 'Sol-Feace' or as legendary as 'R-Type' you'll be disappointed, make no mistake. This is a title that thrives on being an all out blast affair with you versus the aliens.

It is also a game that plays quickly, it doesn't feel as pedestrian as some of the titles in the genre and the difficulty is well balanced. Unlike 'Silver surfer' or 'battle squadron' you won't feel like you are restricted to where you can go thanks to an overabundance of enem'y firepower.

In conclusion this is a title that is a charming throwback to the limited technology of the late 80's, this is not a massive update on the genre and it is not a title that shatters the imagination. This is a classic old school shooter, complete with the frustrations of the genre and the emphasis on survival versus firepower. If you are a fan of games like 'sol-feace', 'r-type' and 'lifeforce you will find fun here. Just don't expect it to be a classic.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/04/07

Game Release: Zero Wing (EU, 1991)