Friday, December 16, 2011

#220 - Fantasy Zone


                                No, Fantasy Zone is not located in Tomorrowland.


This particular wooden-headed boss will frustrate you with his seed-spitting abilities.


I feel like I should have plenty to write about Fantasy Zone. Shmups are one of my favorite genres and I can play a simplistic 8-bit shooter as readily as I can a modern-day retardedly hard shooter. Alas, I find myself at a loss for this game. I've heard of the original Arcade and Master System versions, and though I didn't know Tengen had illegally ported Fantasy Zoneto the NES, I'm not exactly surprised. Trickery like that runs through Tengen's veins, and they're usually quite good at said adaptations (though when they suck, they really suck). Consider me underwhelmed with this particular port, then. Screenshots of both the Master System and Arcade games look visually arresting, with surprisingly magnificent use of the pastel end of the color spectrum. Both backgrounds and enemies are unique and the gameplay itself is novel: despite most horizontal shooters limiting your directional curve to the right, Fantasy Zoneallows you to turn around and fly back to the left. Sunsoft (the original developers) included this mechanic, presumably, because killing enemies generates coins which you can use to purchase better weapons and equipment. Enemies regenerate frequently, so if you really want to amass a bundle of coins, turning around is key. Inspired! While the Nintendo version retains the basic elements of the original Fantasy Zone, I'm surprised at how few enemies there are to shoot, at how bland the colors look, at how slow and pathetic your ship is without weapon and equipment upgrades, and (finally) at the unbalanced difficulty. Stages are too easy, while bosses can be quite difficult. My desire is to love all shmups, so admitting these realities to myself was depressing. Fantasy Zoneisn't unplayable, but it's definitely an inferior port of what is probably an otherwise fantastic shmup.

C-

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