February 2019 Shmup Club - Zanac

[EZ Racer]

No pic yet, but 2nd time playing beat a few mini-bosses. Long ways to go.

[ReddMcKnight]

Is it too late to join? I just got this on PC for free via Project EGG.

[MetalFRO]

Never too late to join! Welcome aboard, gents

[MetalFRO]

High score time! This game is challenging, for sure. And I'm finding that the enemies and attacks that come at you will depend upon which sub-weapon you have. It varies quite a bit, which is quite interesting. It's very forward thinking for its time. I managed to reach Stage 3 last night, on a single credit:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/xuOwa2g.jpg[/img]

I managed to score 463,080 points, which I thought wasn't half bad. I like sub-weapon 2, which is the shield, but the game starts to throw A LOT at you, which just diminishes the shield faster. I also like 3, because it gives some of the protection of the shield, but is also good for offensive play. However, it doesn't start to get really effective against incoming bullets until you power it up to at least level 3, where you have 2 orbs rotating around  you, providing more cover. I also like weapon 7, because it shoots fast, and repels some enemy fire. However, be careful using that against the plane mini-boss in Stage 2 - sometimes that ship will repel the sub-weapon, and leave you vulnerable against its own barrage of shots that come down!

[Duke.Togo]

I made it to area 6 with a score of 1,122,010 on one credit.

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/7QIYOmZ.jpg[/img]

I really find that weapon 7 is essential to making good progress as it wipes out enemy bullets, covers a great portion of the screen, and lasts a long time as it only uses energy when it destroys something.

A couple tips:

Don't fire any shots and use your secondary weapon to kill the first enemy that swoops down and goes back off screen at the beginning to turn him into a 1up. I've gotten a couple other blue landers before, so I am not sure if there is a guaranteed trigger for the others.

On a few levels there is a face on the ground. If you shoot if enough before it scrolls off screen, you will become fully powered up for your primary and secondary weapons. Don't collect any more of the chips as it will downgrade your primary weapon.

[cverz2]

I haven't had time to play yet.

But another tip is....

At the beginning before you shoot the blue boxes that give you the white pellets that give your guns more bullets.

Just fly directly into the middle(usually) one and it will automatically give you the 3 bullets.  BUT REMEMBER do not shoot it first.

Just a little trick I picked up when I was a kid.

[img width=700 height=417]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190207/fe060d9f1372236de6d8f55fca96b4cf.jpg[/img]

[Duke.Togo]

Here is what the blue lander (1up) looks like.
[img width=256 height=232]https://i.imgur.com/HWcwMAa.jpg[/img]

[MetalFRO]

Good tips, gentlemen, keep them coming!

I haven't managed to reach Duke.Togo heights in score yet, but I did nearly break 1 million points yesterday, while streaming the game:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/tGeevjo.jpg[/img]

Now that I know the trick to fully powering up in the first stage, I'm going to have to start using that tactic! It certainly makes the game more manageable right from the get-go. However, as I mentioned a couple times during my stream, your fortunes can change in the game so quickly because of one mistake, and because you have almost no window of invincibility upon respawn, a single mistake can turn into 2 or 3, just because you can't escape a swarm of enemies or bullets.

[EZ Racer]

Got on a decent run earlier and broke 300K, making it to Area 3. What really helped was watching MetalFro's stream and ask a few questions on the live chat to better understand the mechanics of the game. Big thank you to him.

Gotta say the more I play this the more I like it, but it definitely seems geared towards no deaths with losing all your power-ups. Maybe it's just me, but when I die I get 2 or 3 more deaths compounded on it before I can get back in a rhythm, provided I still have any lives left.

[MetalFRO]

Gotta say the more I play this the more I like it, but it definitely seems geared towards no deaths with losing all your power-ups. Maybe it's just me, but when I die I get 2 or 3 more deaths compounded on it before I can get back in a rhythm, provided I still have any lives left.

I feel the same way about getting into a rhythm. Dying in the game is harsh, not only because of your loss of powerups, but also because there's almost no window of invincibility when you respawn. If you come back in the middle of a swarm, expect to die again, and there's little you can do about it.

[Duke.Togo]

Found some more useful information: https://shmup.fandom.com/wiki/Zanac

[Pam]

This game is hard! I haven't even gotten a score I'm willing to post.

[MetalFRO]

This game is hard! I haven't even gotten a score I'm willing to post.

You are absolutely right! I was struggling with it quite a bit while streaming last night. I did manage to finally get into a rhythm and break 1 million points, but I had several runs where I didn't even break 100K, or leave the first level, because it can be quite unforgiving, especially with regards to recovery after you die. Your choice of sub-weapon also greatly affects the composition of enemies that you'll encounter, so keep that in mind.

[Crabmaster2000]

I'm away for a few days and then I'm planning to jump in again. It's been a few years since I played last, but I'm pretty excited. Duke got me hooked on Compile shooters and I completely credit him for turning me onto this game in particular.

[Addicted]

I played Zanc Neo a little last night. My score is nothing to brag about but it's a start.

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/Vy5DREH.jpg[/img]