Zaxxon
Zaxxon | ||
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Arcade system Sega Zaxxon | |
Zaxxon
Zaxxon was the first
Sega released an arcade sequel, Super Zaxxon, in 1982 and the Zaxxon-like shooter Future Spy in 1984.
Gameplay
The objective of the game is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel—which can be replenished by blowing up fuel drums (300 points).[8] There are two fortresses to fly through, with an outer space segment between them. At the end of the second fortress is a boss in the form of the Zaxxon robot.
The player's ship casts a shadow to indicate its height.[9] An altimeter is also displayed; in space there is nothing for the ship to cast a shadow on.[10] The walls at the entrance and exit of each fortress have openings that the ship must be at the right altitude to pass through. Within each fortress are additional walls that the ship's shadow and altimeter aid in flying over successfully.
The game is controlled by a four-directional joystick. On arcade cabinets this is an aircraft-type stick with a molded hand grip. Pushing forward makes the player's aircraft lower in altitude and pulling back makes it rise. The aircraft cannot move forward or backward; it flies at constant speed. As this sort of control and movement was not common in video games, the arcade cabinets have illustrations around the joystick to indicate the effect of each position on the aircraft.
Ports
Between 1982 and 1985, Zaxxon was ported to the
Reception
Publication | Score | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atari 8-bit)[22] |
Commercial
The arcade game was a major commercial success in North America. Zaxxon reached the top of the monthly US RePlay arcade charts in June 1982.[23] The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) later listed it among the top six highest-grossing arcade games of 1982 in the United States.[24]
The game did not appear on the annual
The ColecoVision version was also commercially successful. Zaxxon was Coleco's best-selling non-bundled cartridge for the ColecoVision up until 1983.[22]
The home computer ports were commercially successful in North America and Europe. II Computing listed Zaxxon fourth on its list of top Apple II games as of late 1985, based on sales and market-share data.
Reviews
The arcade game was well received upon release. David Cohen in his book Video Games praised the "incredible three-dimensional realism" in the graphics, which he considered the best in a video game to date, while describing the gameplay as "a mixture of driving and zap game."[30] Computer and Video Games praised the game for being "at the frontier of a third dimension in arcade games" and for its "realistic" altitude-based gameplay for the time.[3]
Video Games in 1983 called the ColecoVision version of Zaxxon a "coup for this new system".[31] Video magazine also praised the ColecoVision version in its "Arcade Alley" column, describing it as "one of the most thrilling games available", and noting in passing that the only "serious criticism" of the arcade original was that "many players felt they needed flying lessons to have even a ghost of a chance of performing well".[32]: 26 K-Power rated the Color Computer version with 8 points out of 10. The magazine praised its "excellent three-dimensional graphics", and concluded that "Zaxxon is a game that can't be praised enough".[19]
Awards
At the 1982
Legacy
In 2012, Zaxxon was shown at "The Art of Video Games" exhibition at the
Re-releases
Zaxxon is a bonus game in the Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2. It is also an unlockable arcade game in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The arcade version was released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on December 15, 2009,[41] the PAL region on March 5, 2010, and North America on April 12, 2010. In 2022, the original arcade version will be included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.[42]
Sequels
Zaxxon was followed by an arcade sequel in November 1982: Super Zaxxon.[1] It has a different color scheme, the player's ship flies faster (making the game more difficult), the space segment is replaced with a tunnel, and the enemy at the end of the second fortress is a dragon. It did not do as well as the original. Super Zaxxon topped the US RePlay arcade chart for software conversion kits in July 1983.[43] In 1984, Sega released Future Spy with a similar style.[44]
In 1987
Zaxxon Escape was released on October 4, 2012, for iOS and Android devices. The game was criticized for having little resemblance to the original.[47]
Popular culture
In 1982 Milton Bradley released a Zaxxon board game.[48][49]
In 2012, Zaxxon was shown at "The Art of Video Games" exhibition at the
In season 1 Episode 13 of Home Improvement, Randy and Brad play the game "Zaxxon" and fight a bully over use of the arcade cabinet.
Notes
References
- ^ ISBN 978-4990251215.
- ISBN 978-4990251215.
- ^ EMAP. July 1982. p. 26.
- ^ "Video Game Flyers: Zaxxon (France)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ ISBN 4-9902512-0-2.
- ISBN 0-313-33868-X
- ^ Harmetz, Aljean (July 3, 1982). "Movie Themes Come To Video Games". Star-News. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- Killer List of Videogames(KLOV)
- ISBN 0-415-96282-X
- ISBN 978-1-59962-110-4. Archivedfrom the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ "InfoWorld Jan. 1983". 1983-01-31. Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
- ^ a b "Complete Games Guide" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. Complete Guide to Consoles. 16 October 1989. pp. 46–77.
- ^ "CVG Magazine Issue 044". Archive.org. June 1985. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- ^ "Le site des anciennes revues informatiques". Abandonware-magazines.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- ^ "The HotSeat : Review of New Products" (PDF). Digitpress.com. 1982-11-21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- ^ a b "1985 Software Buyer's Guide: Zaxxon". Computer Games. Vol. 3, no. 5. United States: Carnegie Publications. February 1985. p. 58.
- ^ "Video Game Explosion! We rate every game in the world". Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. Vol. 1, no. 2. December 1982. pp. 12–7.
- ^ "Spectrum Software Reviews". Home Computing Weekly. No. 52. 6 March 1984. p. 8. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ a b Lentvorski, Andrew Jr. (February 1984). "Zaxxon". K-Power. p. 59. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ "Critically Speaking... ColecoVision: Zaxxon" (PDF). The Video Game Update. Vol. 1, no. 8. November 1982. p. 6.
- ^ "Software Report Card". Video Games Player. Vol. 1, no. 1. United States: Carnegie Publications. September 1982. pp. 62–3.
- ^ a b Dimetrosky, Raymond (November 1983). "Video Game Buyer's Guide: One on One (Zaxxon vs. Zaxxon)". Video Games Player. Vol. 2, no. 2. United States: Carnegie Publications. p. 55.
- ^ "RePlay: The Players' Choice". RePlay. June 1982.
- Cash Box. 30 October 1982. p. 37.
- ^ ""Pole Position" No. 1 Video Game: Game Machine's "The Year's Best Three AM Machines" Survey Results" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 207. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 March 1983. p. 30.
- ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 – テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 213. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 June 1983. p. 29.
- ^ Ciraolo, Michael (Oct–Nov 1985). "Top Software / A List of Favorites". II Computing. p. 51. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-13-154122-1.
- Computer Gamer. No. 1. United Kingdom: Argus Press. April 1985. p. 14.
- ISBN 0-671-45872-8.
- ^ Wiswell, Phil (March 1983). "New Games From Well-Known Names". Video Games. p. 69. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ISSN 0147-8907.
- ^ Bang, Derrick; Shore, Howard A. (July–August 1983). "Zaxxon". Softline. pp. 22–23. Archived from the original on 2014-07-29. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "The Best and the Rest". St.Game. Mar–Apr 1984. p. 49. Archived from the original on 2014-07-29. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Coin-Op Game". Electronic Games. Vol. 1, no. 11. January 1983. p. 35. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ "Videogame of the Year". Electronic Games. Vol. 2, no. 23. January 1984. p. 67. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ "1985 Arkie Awards". Electronic Games. Vol. 3, no. 35. January 1985. pp. 28–9. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ "Hall of Fame Winners". Electronic Games. Vol. 3, no. 35. January 1985. pp. 58–59 [58]. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ "Top 100 Video Games". Flux. No. 4. Harris Publications. April 1995. p. 30.
- ^ Choney, Suzanne. "80 video games head for Smithsonian art exhibit". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
- ^ Life, Nintendo (27 November 2009). "December 2009 releases in Japan". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
- Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ "RePlay: The Players' Choice". RePlay. July 1983.
- ^ "Future Spy". Arcade History.
- ^ "ProReview: Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000". GamePro. No. 82. IDG. July 1995. p. 46.
- ^ "Review Crew: Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 71. Ziff Davis. June 1995. p. 36.
- ^ "'Zaxxon Escape' Review – Hardly A Resemblance (Review)". TouchArcade.com. 2013-12-06. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- ^ Zaxxon Archived 2006-10-19 at the Wayback Machine from the Great Game Database (GGDb)
- ^ Zaxxon at BoardGameGeek
- ^ Choney, Suzanne. "80 video games head for Smithsonian art exhibit". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 13 March 2014.