May 2020 Shmup Club - Fantasy Zone

[MetalFRO]

[img width=700 height=393]https://www.nintendo.com/content/dam/noa/en_US/games/switch/s/sega-ages-fantasy-zone-switch/sega-ages-fantasy-zone-switch-hero.jpg[/img]

Sega is no stranger to arcade shoot-em-up games, as demonstrated by early hits, such as Zaxxon, its sequel Super Zaxxon, or the lesser known Star Jacker. Sega didn't stick with the genre that long, though, as the market had become flooded during the early 1980's arcade boom. The story goes, that someone in a position of power at Sega saw Konami's success with Gradius in Japan in 1985, and decided Sega needed to have their own, similar game. Designer Yoji Ishii was given the task, and rather than make a clone, he took the design in a very different direction, adopting a free-scrolling approach, like Williams' Defender, and giving the game a very bright, colorful look, paired with a set of very cute, whimsical characters, and a very fantastical setting, which became the game's namesake. That game, of course, is Sega's classic, Fantasy Zone.

Fantasy Zone was a success in the arcade, and appeared on many consoles and home computers during the 1980's and early 90's, including the Famicom, NES, Sega Master System, MSX, Sharp X68000, TurboGrafx-16, and more. It received an arcade-perfect port on the Sega Saturn in 1997, as well as receiving multiple iterations on the PlayStation 2. The arcade version is unlockable in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for PS3 and Xbox 360, received a 3D port on the Nintendo 3DS, and has now been given the M2 Sega Ages treatment on the Nintendo Switch. With so many ways to play, there's no excuse to sit this one out. Join the RF Generation Shmup Club as we team up with Opa-Opa, and fight off an enemy invasion on multiple planets, as we play Fantasy Zone in May 2020!

Participants:
MetalFRO
Addicted
douglie007
FauxMacho
shaggy
zoydo
Normatron
petezilla

High Scores

SMS:
NES:
Famicom:
TurboGrafx:
Arcade:

[douglie007]

I will join this... love the game

[MetalFRO]

Welcome aboard, Doug!

[FauxMacho]

Nice, I'll join on Switch and if things open back up, maybe a day at the arcade.

[MetalFRO]

Nice, I'll join on Switch and if things open back up, maybe a day at the arcade.

Very cool! Jealous of anyone who can actually play it in the arcade. I don't believe I've ever seen it in the wild.

[shaggy]

I actually have this for the SMS so I'm in!

[MetalFRO]

I actually have this for the SMS so I'm in!

Sweet! Welcome to the Shmup Club

[shaggy]

I actually have this for the SMS so I'm in!

Sweet! Welcome to the Shmup Club

Welcome to the party pal!

[zoydo]

I've never been a big fan of Fantasy Zone.  But it's on several SEGA collections and i got a copy for PCE, so i join in. Maybe i find some love for it.

[MetalFRO]

I've never been a big fan of Fantasy Zone.  But it's on several SEGA collections and i got a copy for PCE, so i join in. Maybe i find some love for it.

Excellent!

[shaggy]

So how does this work?  We just trying to beat the game or post a high score?

[MetalFRO]

So how does this work?  We just trying to beat the game or post a high score?

Both! Let us know which version you're playing, maybe talk about your experience with that version, or the game in general. Let us know what you like, don't like, etc. and share your impressions of the game. And then yes, post your high scores, when you have them, and if you beat the game, post an end screen or credit roll, so we can revel in your success and celebrate with you

[shaggy]

So I opened up my copy and found this clipping a magazine:
[img width=700 height=933]https://i.imgur.com/sZVFgsd.jpg[/img]

It may help you guys out.  I tired to do it but can't get $10,000

If anyone if interested the reverse side has a level select for a Mickey Mouse game on the NES.

[MetalFRO]

Awesome find, shaggy! I had not heard of that tip before. This will be great for practice, though I would say play it straight/legit w/o using this, for submitting a score

[shaggy]

So, I'm playing the SMS version.  I read through the manual and it wasn't pleasant.  It seems to be lacking in detail.

I don't like the speed that my ship moves around at.  It's to fast and slippery to me so I don't think the engine upgrades will work for me.  I got some extra weapons and didn't know they were timed which really makes a point of getting a weapon useless.  I figured out that initially the shop comes out after you get $2,000 but after that I don't know when it comes out.  

At first I thought I needed a special weapon to destroy the bases because the noise it makes is a noise that sounds like it was "blocked".  Through luck I figured out that your regular shots can destroy the bases.  Same with the bosses, I didn't if I was hitting them.  Again, I thought maybe I needed to use a special weapon but I was able to defeat the first boss (with many shots).  

There are a lot of improvements that could be made for this game/version.  I wonder how the NES game plays out.  I'm wondering if maybe you are supposed to get a weapon and not use it except for the boss but then that brings up the next question, when does the select (SEL) come so you can change weapons?

I'm not particularly enjoying this game.  I know it gets a lot of love but at the moment, I don't get why.

I made it to level 3 and got 41,000 points.  I'll have to take a picture next time.