Fantasy Zone is one of those great forgotten franchises from the 8-bit/16-bit era that enjoyed lots of attention back in its heyday but tends to be ignored these days.
Featuring the exploits of the cute space ship Opa-Opa, this 2D shooter borrows more than a few gameplay elements from the classic arcade title Defender, but instead of force-scrolling from left to right, you have the ability to change direction and fly at your own speed in either horizontal direction.
Aside from the aforementioned Defender, Fantasy Zone is therefore unlike any other shooter you've played. Being given such freedom of movement certainly takes some getting used to but within the space of a few seconds it all clicks into place and swinging your cute craft around the landscape whilst avoiding the unwanted attention of enemies soon becomes second nature.
The basic gameplay involves tracking down enemy generators that are dotted around the colourful landscape. Once you’ve done this you move onto tackling the boss of that particular level. To help your quest you can collect money dropped by fallen enemies and use it to purchase weapons and upgrades that augment the capabilities of little Opa-Opa.
Graphically, Fantasy Zone is a joy to behold. Granted, it doesn’t quite match the colourful excess of the coin-op original but it’s a decent approximation regardless. Backgrounds are bursting with vibrant hues of red, yellow, green and pretty much every other shade, and the enemy designs are so cute that it almost seems a shame to waste them with your lasers. The bosses are fairly impressive too, but due to the limitations of the Master System hardware you have to fight them against a blank background.
The music is typical Master System quality (not very good, basically) but the tunes are jolly and get you in the mood. The sound effects are predictably limp but it all adds to the retro charm!
The biggest gripe you could possibly have is the nature of the 'free' scrolling levels; often, when you quickly change direction the screen struggles to keep up and you find yourself flying head-on into an enemy that was previously out of view. Still, you can tailor your gaming style to avoid this problem.
Although it’s arguably surpassed by both the Master System sequel and the Megadrive/Genesis ‘remake’ Super Fantasy Zone, this game is nevertheless an ideal purchase for shooters addicts that fancy something a little different.
1. Storyteller
25 Jan 2008, 15:33 GMT
I will have to play the game to see how much I really like it but just from watching the video for a minute it seems to be a really interesting fast-pased game. I loved the games from around this time but never had the money to get more than two a year, one for my birthday and one for Christmas so I'm really exited about about what the VC brings to the table, or rather brings BACK to the table, and if anyone from Nintendo reads this then thank you and if anyone from VC-reviews reads this then thanks a lot to you guys as well for all of this.
2. ICEknight
25 Jan 2008, 17:50 GMT
This game already got an amazing remake for the PS2 (included in SEGA Classics Collection), so I don't think I'm getting this watered-down arcade port... Specially if it isn't including FM sound support, if it will be running at 50Hz in Europe, if the sound emulation is as bad as in the MegaDrive VC games, etc.
EDIT: By the way, that video shows the whole game in 9 minutes, way to spoil things...
3. Jonno
26 Jan 2008, 04:01 GMT
I'm buying this as soon as it comes out. It just has some sort of charm to it that draws me into its happy little cute-cute world, and it IS NOT the graphics, not that I really care about how good they are either way.
4. Bass X0
26 Jan 2008, 21:33 GMT
you don't have to watch the whole video ICE. If you feel like you're spoiling yourself by watching too much, just stop watching it.
5. Kevin
27 Jan 2008, 14:43 GMT
That looks like a lot of fun. I might get it when it comes out.
6. deggs
27 Jan 2008, 19:10 GMT
yeah... i love oldschool shmups but i sadly never got introduced to this game. i really really want it bad (and the sequels would be great as well)
7. 7th lutz
31 Jan 2008, 03:24 GMT
It is a good Shmup. The difficulty isn't too bad if you get used to playing the game. The game controls are very good. It is up to how much skill the player has playing this game. The game would make a great addition for vc owners that didn't own the game and like shmup games.
8. sam
31 Jan 2008, 10:03 GMT
I used to play this game a lot when I was 9 years old. It rocked then and I am sure that it would still rock now. Cute music and art work, rocking difficulty and superb controls. Being able to purchase upgrades keeps you coming back for more. I will definitely be getting this one.
9. shinobiman
23 Feb 2008, 17:41 GMT
One of my favorite SMS games. The music and colorful graphics just suck you in. Not to mention the "Defender" style gameplay. It's a must have people!
10. President_Leever
29 Feb 2008, 15:47 GMT
Yay! One of my fav SMS games. Love the surreal atmosphere (why did Sega abandon this kind of style?) and innovative gameplay. The sequels improved some things but the soundtrack still holds up well and is among the best on the system.
Showing the entire game in a preview video was a Bad move btw
11. Adamant
29 Feb 2008, 16:03 GMT
This game did get a superior TurboGrafx port, though - I'd rather see that one on the VC.
12. Pocketim
29 Feb 2008, 19:59 GMT
Oh, its a shooter? It looked like a platformer in one of the screens, everything looks too cute to shoot!
13. The_Indigo_Effect
02 Mar 2008, 01:52 GMT
I had intended to buy this game for the NES. From what I've seen, it seems like the Master System's version has richer colors. The NES version has a Kirby, side-scroller aesthetic for the background.
14. President_Leever
05 Mar 2008, 04:48 GMT
Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the TG16 version. It's very good, almost on par with the arcade original. They all crap on the NES version though.
15. jg233
11 Apr 2008, 01:32 GMT
What happened to 400 point SMS games!?
16. Adamant
11 Apr 2008, 03:00 GMT
^They never existed in the first place.
17. KeeperBvK
11 Apr 2008, 10:53 GMT
"Fantasy Zone is an arcade style shooter for one or two players."
But then again it says 1 player in the upper right corner of the review. What's true now?
18. Dazza
11 Apr 2008, 11:07 GMT
@KeeperBvK - It is not 2 player simultaneous. You just take turns as with Super Mario Bros.
19. KeeperBvK
11 Apr 2008, 13:40 GMT
Ah, ok, thx Dazza. Couldn't imagine it to be 2 player simultaneous anyway. How would you coordinate the movement of two aircrafts both being able to change directions, anyway? ^^
20. Roo
11 Apr 2008, 15:49 GMT
I like the video - shows us the entire game
21. Stu
11 Apr 2008, 22:15 GMT
I can definately recommend this one. This stands out as a very unique and memorable MS game.
It can be quite a challenge though. Dying can be so frustrating!
22. TRON
12 Apr 2008, 03:48 GMT
This is a pretty good game. Like others have said, the TG16 did get a better version, and IMHO Ordyn is alot like this game, but a lot better.
23. 100xp
12 Apr 2008, 09:01 GMT
When I first got Fantasy Zone it was because my mom thought it was more a kids game due to the day glow colors, I'm glad it worked in my favor for a change. Even though my first impression was, this is nothing like the cooler looking snes shooter games...I don't believe I had so much fun for this genre of game in a long time...then I got the SMS rapid fire joystick. Mwahaha...sorry.
It gets my endorsement. (Waiting for Fantasy Zone 2 which was pretty might as well)
24. That Guy from Faxanadu
12 Apr 2008, 21:57 GMT
Fantasy Zone is fantastic. The most amusing of all master System shooters, and totally insane. Some enemies are cute, while some are just plain creepy. Boss design is gorgeous. Master System usually has terrible music, and I guess Fantasy Zone has pretty bad music too. Still, it´s very sick and jolly so it fits the game perfectly. I actually rate this game as #86 on my personal "best games ever" list^^
25. The_Indigo_Effect
13 Apr 2008, 02:03 GMT
I own Fantasy Zone for NES; how does it stack up to the Master System version?
26. Ryu-mithril
13 Apr 2008, 17:50 GMT
just saw the whole game on the vid...don't need to play it now
27. michinmuri
13 Apr 2008, 18:38 GMT
I believe this was also on the TG-16. I remember it being quite fun, if not a bit to cutesy at times. Not a bad game for the 500 points.
28. Zinjak
14 Apr 2008, 17:34 GMT
i had this on my NES when i was lil, it was a blast but even from that early age i new i would never be good at shmups lol, this game kicked my butt alot. i usually only played it because i liked the music ( same reason i ever played dr. mario, because otherwise i dont like or am i good at puzzle games)
29. Tony
16 Apr 2008, 16:32 GMT
I wonder what the next batch of SMS games will be? Maybe Shinobi
30. DEMON212
18 Apr 2008, 18:54 GMT
Can't believe the poor reader ratings that this game is getting. It's soo much fun IMO.
31. Jimpaco
19 Apr 2008, 16:03 GMT
never played it it looks hard.
how much levels does it have? I might buy it cuz it does look fun.
32. Tony
22 Apr 2008, 13:25 GMT
@ Demon212
I gave it four stars. I just tried it last night and its fun!
In regards to the video the player makes the game look easy. Its not!!
Its a pretty tough game
33. Adamant
24 Apr 2008, 20:17 GMT
Once you learn how to use bombs effectively, it's not really that hard. Most bosses can be killed in one hit from the weight bomb thing, too - learn to love it.
34. Cally
11 May 2008, 06:31 GMT
this isn't the WHOLE game on the video, peeps
35. deshadow52
26 Jun 2008, 13:20 GMT
after seeing the video clip of the game i can honestly say i never see a shooter with this much color
36. Dalek Gerbil
12 Jul 2008, 21:24 GMT
Got it today, I find it VERY hard as im not used to this sort of game but I am enjoying it (havent got past the first boss yet, lol). It better still be good as I choose this above the original Zelda. The other advantage is its small size, i couldnt believe it at first but then again it is short (24 blocks).
Leave A Comment
Please login to post a comment.