"For great laugh, buy this game."

Aaah... the game that spawned a craze and the reason why I have such a kickass nickname. All you need to know is you're charged with flying a ZIG spacecraft for great justice. Actually, you're supposed to shoot a lot of stuff and get a lot of points en route to a showdown with the nefarious CATS. What's your objective? To bring him in to pay for his crimes against the English language. Seriously, Zero Wing plays just like any other 2D shooter like R-Type or Gradius. You won't be bowled over by any chance, but Zero Wing delivers a solid game playing experience.

Enough with the jokes, let's get on with the show.

Graphically, Zero Wing resembles your run-of-the-mill 2D shooter. It doesn't push the Sega Genesis' capabilities to any great degree, but it's enough to get the job done. You won't ever complain about how crummy the graphics are. But then again, they aren't all that awe-inspiring either.

Playing Zero Wing hearkens back to a day when high-scores mattered (that is, the 80s) and when your primary occupation was not to finish the game, but rather to score lots and lots and lots of points and have your name engraved in the annals of history of the arcade machine (or at least, until some schmuck outdoes you). If you're an old-fashioned gamer like myself, this will probably entice you to play. But to more modern gamers, this will probably chase you away.

In terms of sound, Zero Wing gets high marks by virtue of the hilarious opening ''cutscene.'' I guarantee you will never laugh so hard. Otherwise, the in-game sound effects and music are hardly anything to rave about.

All in all, Zero Wing isn't an outstanding shooter. However, it does just enough to hold the gamer's attention. If for anything else, Zero Wing is the greatest piece of unintentional comedy ever. I applaud and pity the fool who attempted to translate Zero Wing into English. Either way, get this game because it's a piece of videogame history. Who wouldn't want that?

Unfortunately, Zero Wing is a difficult game to find because it was never released stateside. It was however released in Japan and Europe. With a little luck and a lot of patience, you could probably buy an import copy and having the necessary tools to play import games. Otherwise, you're better off looking for a decent emulator on the Internet. Good luck and I hope you have many laughs! All your base are belong to us!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/03, Updated 01/28/03