|
Post by Stan on Oct 9, 2005 19:39:49 GMT
Here we are, the final week. And this time, the legend from the Orient, who slashed swords with the best of them, has come to us. JoMusashi, have at it!
|
|
|
Post by Jo Musashi on Oct 9, 2005 20:18:06 GMT
My choice for GOTW:
ZILLION
Description: An action/adventure title based off of a Japanese "Lazer Tag"-type game; a Zillion anime was also produced by Tatsunoko. If you watched Robotech in the mid-80s, then you have a good idea of what their anime style looks like. The video game involves infiltrating a Norsa underground base as a member of the White Knights, rescuing some team members, powering up the Zillion weapons system, locating some 5.25" floppies(?!?) to run the self-destruct program on the main computer, then getting above ground before the place blows the hell up. Progress is made by opening canisters with your Zillion and obtaining symbols to input into computer consoles, 4 of which will open locked doors. Some canisters cannot be opened with anything less than a level 3 Zillion gun and usually contain something important like the super-futuristic 5.25" floppy discs or an Opa-Opa (he's visiting from The Fantasy Zone to give level-ups to the White Knights).
Graphics: They're simple due to the One-Mega-ness of the cart but the 80s anime look is really there, with the bright colours and the big hair and everything. The opening shot of J.J. firing the Zillion gun gives a good idea of what the "80s anime look" is. The simplistic colours used in the game also contribute to the anime style. Check out the recovery console, where Amy is typing into her keyboard while J.J. gets healed - the simple yellow and red bars are not detailed in any way, but put them on the recovery beam module (which is coloured in a way to indicate chrome and 3D depth) and they immediately become energy vents or plasma indicators or whatever a kid's imagination lets them be. Combined with the checkerboard screens in the back, the sci-fi look is simple and elegant. There isn't much in the way of variety for characters...the Norsa soldiers are all the same sprite but hey...they are members of an evil alien army, after all! The main protagonists - J.J., Apple (who is female despite what the manual says!) and Champ - have a similar look in their pose, but each is coloured differently and they have different heads (mostly to represent their different hairstyles, as there is no facial detail). The underground base has a few colour schemes to indicate progress - some floors are coloured blue, some red etc.
Sound: I think it's pretty good. Watching the anime makes it easier to get into the songs since they're obviously clearer on the show, and some have vocals which are represented in the game as non-vocal melodies. The Zillion gun makes a suitable blasting sound that improves as it gets powered up - there is no doubt that the level 3 Zillion is a powerful weapon! Some cool SFX are heard when the computer consoles are used - simple and effective button presses and quirky computer sounds. This is good, since the game involves interacting with a computer console in about 75% of the rooms you visit.
Control: Probably the low point of the game...the White Nights have an odd way of jumping that takes some getting used to. Perhaps part of the reason is to simulate the "winding up" involved in jumping - i.e. one can't really jump far from a standing-straight position. One good thing though is that it is much easier to notice the differences in the character's physical abilities - Champ is really unagile compared to Apple! J.J. is the moderate character out of the 3, not the best or worst in any category.
Cool Factor: If you see the Zillion gun in profile...you will notice that it looks like the SMS Light Phaser! I haven't read up on this, but I imagine that it means the Phaser's design is taken straight from the Zillion "Lazer Tag" game's toy gun.
Overall:One of my favourites! I usually run through the Norsa base once a year. I only recently discovered that the symbols that are used for computer input are actually numbers...I spent years calling each one some codeword like "big M", "heart", "pignose" or "glasses"...despite my wasted years developing my own Zillionese language, I still highly recommend this game!
|
|
|
Post by Stan on Oct 10, 2005 3:13:16 GMT
AWESOME GAME. It's quite massive and I love the memory aspect of it (if you don't write down the room codes). It's really a shame there wasn't some sort of in-game map though, it gets pretty confusing at times to find your way around.
|
|
|
Post by Hades on Oct 10, 2005 7:35:40 GMT
I love this game, the first time I played it I played from start to finish. I don't think I have done that with any other game like this. Navigating the maze was awesome, using multiple characters was a great addition. Defintely will give this another run through during the week!
|
|
|
Post by JellyCrystals on Oct 10, 2005 8:45:23 GMT
I like replying to the GOTW threads... sadly I don't have anything valuable to say as I don't own this game... Doh!
|
|
dezanuebe
Sonic the Hedgehog
Master System, the best of all times...
Posts: 2,177
|
Post by dezanuebe on Oct 10, 2005 16:13:20 GMT
excellent choice!! Zillion was a complete surprise to me and i consider it better than zillion 2!!
|
|
|
Post by Stan on Oct 10, 2005 16:24:42 GMT
Oh yeah, the second one is absolute trash compared to this. Graphics may be a bit better, but they're not used well.
|
|
|
Post by Roth on Oct 10, 2005 17:28:11 GMT
I've been meaning to check this game out, so I guess now is better than never I'll be DLing the ROM, since I don't have the cart yet. I'm anxious to check it out though!
|
|
|
Post by Jo Musashi on Oct 13, 2005 17:10:17 GMT
Not really game-related, but I recall another connection between Zillion and Robotech, which is that many unused designs from the unfinished "Robotech II: The Sentinels" were used in the Zillion anime (making them un-unused designs ;D).
Sometimes it's funny how all the stuff I liked as a kid turns out to be interconnected in some way.
And for those who have yet to play through this game, DO IT! It's one of the coolest SMS games EVER!!! Just be sure to download/make your own map.
|
|
|
Post by Stan on Oct 15, 2005 15:27:46 GMT
Coo. Just a notice, game is going on for this week as well, Montag is a no show.
|
|
|
Post by Stan on Oct 17, 2005 2:33:11 GMT
This is such a great game. Anyone know of a complete map anywhere on the web or happen to have one themselves? What are you thoughts about power-ups? Do you transfer them all to the J or do you give them to other characters?
|
|
|
Post by Jo Musashi on Oct 17, 2005 18:15:30 GMT
This is such a great game. Anyone know of a complete map anywhere on the web or happen to have one themselves? What are you thoughts about power-ups? Do you transfer them all to the J or do you give them to other characters? www.elnet.com/~gm-quinn/sms/zillion/zillion.htmlI try to power-up each character equally. IIRC, there's enough Opa-Opas and Zillion power-ups for everyone.
|
|
|
Post by Stan on Oct 17, 2005 18:29:22 GMT
Awesome! Thanks! I was trying to make my own, but it didn't seem to go too well.
|
|
|
Post by Tonto on Oct 17, 2005 18:30:57 GMT
A really good game this. Very involved, and it requires a lot from the player. There's one or two things I find a little anoying, but to be honest I can't actually remeber them (think one might have been to do with jumping) so safe to say they weren't much of a bother.
|
|
|
Post by Stan on Oct 18, 2005 0:24:53 GMT
Jumping? I never had a problem with it, if that's even your problem. The only thing I had trouble with was the repetition of the room design. Some variety would have been nice that was a little more noticeable. Still, though, it IS a secret base so I guess it would look like this.
|
|