Hey guys... I decided to make this thread to review a particular NES game that caught my attention a couple of days ago. I'm talking about Zanac, a vertical shooter released in 1987 by Compile/FCI, Inc for NES and MSX.
I don't think my english is good to explain things without making a couple of mistakes, but I hope it's good enough to understand why this game must be remembered.
Here's my review:
Your traditional Vertical Shooter with a Twist.
At first, Zanac looks like any vertical shoot'em up for NES or SNES. The controls are very simple:
Directional Buttons: Moves your ship. You can move at horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
B Button - Fires your normal weapon.
A Button - Activates your sub-weapons.
Start - Pauses the game.
However, as soon as you start the first level, you will notice that Zanac is a bit more... Complex. This game has a very fast-paced action, along with detailed backgrounds, a large number of different enemies, and most important... A brutal difficulty.
You think Dark Souls was tough? Think again...
It's no surprise that 8/16 bits shoot'em ups can be really hard. But Zanac takes it to another level. In fact, you can say that this game gets really close to become a "Bullet Hell" for NES.
Most enemies that you will face on your way can fire multiple projectiles. If you don't be careful, you will be surrounded by bullets in seconds. And believe me, this may happens at the very first level.
The levels are pretty much the traditional way. You must fight your way to the boss, defeat it, and proceed to the next level. However, some levels in this game are really, really long. In fact, a lot of levels have two or three sub-bosses before the actual boss.
Also, I suppose I don't need to remember that you die with a single hit. Fortunatelly, you don't reset the level unless you game over.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take this power-up.
Of course, there are some power-ups that can help you in Zanac.
Yellow Spheres: If you destroy some bricks that appears in your way, you may find some yellow spheres. They power up your normal weapon. It's very important to do it.
1-UP: It's hard, but you can find a cute little blue guy that looks like a Pokémon in your way. If you grab it, you will receive a extra life. Another way to get extra lives is getting lots of points, so... Destroy everything.
Sub-Weapons: You will find some tiles with a random number in your way. They are sub-weapons. There are 8 different sub-weapons, and your default one is the number 0.
Sub-Weapons? Yes, we have a lot of them!
The sub-weapons can be obtained by finding tiles with a certain number. Here's the list of all the sub-weapons available in Zanac:
0 - Your default sub-weapon. A blue energy sphere that can be fired at any direction. It can be used along with your main weapon.
1 - A slow blue projectile. There can be only one at the screen.
2 - A force shield will protect a portion of your ship. A counter will indicate how many hits it can sustain.
3 - A yellow energy sphere will spin around your ship for a limited time, like a shield.
4 - Your ship will fire a energy circle that will begins oscillating horizontally for some time while damaging enemies.
5 - A Yellow energy sphere will shot straight from your ship, then it will bounce back at you. You can guide it. If you grab more Number 5 tiles, it will evolve to a Laser Gun.
6 - A slow yellow projectile that will explode when it makes contact with an enemy, destroying everything on screen.
7 - A Rapid fire stream of energy bullets. It's very powerful.
You can level up all your sub-weapons by getting another tile of the same number. If you die, you will receive a Number 0 sub-weapon again.
Fight or Resist? Make your choice.
As soon as you reach a boss or sub-boss fight in Zanac, you will notice a countdown at the screen. If you defeat the boss during this time, you will receive a lot of points and continue your game. However, once the timer reaches 0 seconds, your ship will just ignore the boss and flee.
In other words, you have two options against the bosses: You can either fight and defeat them, or if you think you will not be able to fight, you can just wait until the timer reaches zero. However, if you do it this way, you will not receive any points, and of course, no extra lives too.
Usually, the bosses consists of enemy fortress that have multiple weapons. You must destroy them all in order to defeat it. However, the more you damage the boss, the more agressive it becomes, so be careful. Also, of course there is going to have enemy spaceships appearing to distract you.
Beautiful Action without Slowdowns.
One thing that really stands up in Zanac is how the screen can be filled with enemies, projectiles and explosions, and it will most likely never lags. In fact, I don't think I ever had any slowdowns while playing this game.
Just to give a example, there's a horizontal shooter for NES called Parodius. In this game, every time the screen gets filled with enemies, it will become really slow, hurting the gameplay. But in Zanac, it doesn't matter what is happening at the screen, It will run flawless. This is a great achievement for NES.
Yes, you have unlimited continues, but...
As soon as you Game Over, you will notice a "Continue" option at the main menu.
This game has unlimited continues, so every single time you get a Game Over, you can just use the Continue at the menu, and you will restart from the last level you were before dying.
Well... Probably...
Insane graphics and soundtrack for a insane game.
If you looked at the screenshots at this review, you probably noticed how Zanac looks beautiful for a 8-bits game. The spaceships, explosions and enemy bases are very well done, and the backgrounds are really impressive. You just need to play the fist level to notice how the levels are detailed.
Also, the soundtrack is another good thing about this game. There's no doubt that Zanac was very well made, and most important, it runs really great at the NES.
Zanac is available for NES, MSX, Wii Virtual Console and PSN.
VERDICT:
+ Amazing Graphics and Soundtrack
+ Fast-Paced Gameplay
+ Very Challenging
+ Lots of Weapons and Possibilities
- You may get Angry...
Overall, Zanac is probably my current favorite Vertical Shooter for NES. It's fast and furious, a real challenge for any shoot'em up fan.
If you are looking for a true challenge, a game that will make you go crazy, look no further: Zanac is for you.
Well, that's all... I hope you enjoyed it!
