Super Fantasy Zone
What Is It?
Released six years after the original, Super Fantasy Zone is the 16-bit sequel to one of Sega's trippiest shooters. The concept remains the same; you play an adorable little space craft (with feet) that flies back and forth dodging enemies and shooting down larger enemy generators. In a lot of ways this game feels like an extra adorable sequel to Defender, one of the earliest 2D shoot-em-ups. This 16-bit sequel isn't very different from the original game, but it does offer better looking levels, some cool bosses and a few extra twists here and there. But the reason to download this game is because it's the first time we've ever seen Super Fantasy Zone released in the United States. Up until now this Sega classic has only been available in Japan, which boggles the mind given how polished the game feels. It may not be the most revolutionary game of the week, but Super Fantasy Zone is well worth checking out.
Does It Still Hold Up?
The gameplay is admittedly simple, but there aren't that many games like this on the Virtual Console. Outside of the original Fantasy Zone, this is just about the only other 2D shooter that wants you to go both backwards and forwards, never forcing you in one direction. The new enemies and bosses are pretty cool, but this is ultimately the same old game you played in the arcades and on the Sega Master System. Still, I would say that the gameplay holds up for what it's trying to accomplish.
Is It Worth The Money?
Even if this game had been released in the U.S. I would still say it's worth your nine dollars, but given the fact that this has been extremely rare, I would argue that Super Fantasy Zone is a must-buy. Sure it has its faults, Sega could have done more to upgrade the gameplay, it's on the short side and the gameplay can be occasionally frustrating. Even then, Super Fantasy Zone manages to keep you entertained with crisp graphics, cool backgrounds and a level of weird that you don't normally see in 2D shooters. It may be a dollar more, but Super Fantasy Zone is well worth your money.
This Week in GameTap
Still not satisfied with what you're getting on the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade? Then maybe you should head on over to
GameTap! With more than 100 free games currently available,
GameTap is one of the best places to play classic games! And every week they are adding brand new titles to the service, including old school games for the Genesis, Neo Geo, Commodore 64 and much, much more. Won't you join us as we take a look at what's going on this week over at
GameTap!
We have two week's worth of content to get to and not a lot of time, so let's just start with the Gold Member subscription games. Last week we saw the release of Inca Ball and Freespace 2. If that's not enough for you, then this week you can download Aveyond 2 and Battle Chess. But wait, that's not it. If the news about Fallout 3 whet your appetite, then why not check out the original Fallout? Now you can thanks to GameTap.
In other news, GameTap signed an agreement with THQ, which means that we will start seeing games like Company of Heroes, Red Faction, Supreme Commander, Titan Quest, Saints Row 2, Puzzle Quest and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. There are definitely some good games in that list, but I do worry that we'll start seeing THQ's terrible console games from the early 1990s. Hopefully this agreement won't mean that I'll have to play ports of the Home Alone games.
To wrap things up I want to talk a little about GameTap's newest innovation,
the ability to use GameTap in your browser! That's right, not only is this service free, but you don't need to download and install any software. All you do is pick the game you want (at the moment there are just over 40 titles available) and play using the keyboard. Some of these games work just fine, but playing Street Fighter II with a keyboard is the truest test of one's frustration level. Either way, this brand new service is worth checking out. My only real gripe is that it does not work in FireFox, the preferred browser around the GamingNexus offices.
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