Super Fantasy Zone

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Super Fantasy Zone
Developer(s)	Sunsoft
Release date(s)	1993
Genre(s)	Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis

Super Fantasy Zone was the last addition to the Fantasy Zone series. It was released in Europe and Japan but, for unknown reasons, not in the US. The game is a free moving shoot-em-up, like its side-scrolling predecessors, and essentially has the same control system. The main differences between Super Fantasy Zone and the previous games in the series are its improved graphics/soundtrack. The soundtrack to this game was composed by Naoki Kodaka, you can also find the soundtrack to an older Fantasy Zone game composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi.

[edit] Story

The game follows Opa-opa as he fights to avenge the death of his father, (O-papa), who was killed defending the Fantasy Zone against the invading "Dark Menon". Opa-Opa must rid the Fantasy Zone of the minions of the Dark Menon and restore peace.

[edit] Gameplay

Opa-Opa must clear the levels by moving through them and shooting down all of the "Enemy Generators". Once every "Enemy Generator" in the level has been destroyed a "Menon Guardian" will appear. These are essentially the bosses of each level. In order to obtain better weapons/equipment, etc, you need to collect gold. Gold coins can be collected when an enemy is destroyed. Vast amounts of Gold will also be given when Menon Guardians are defeated.

The Gold Values are as follows:

5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 10 gold

To buy weapons, etc, you have to fly into the "shop". The shop is shown as a red weather balloon. Here many different items may be purchased to increase Opa-Opa's chances of victory. The items for sale and their prices are as follows:

SPEED UPGRADES:

1: Big Wings, 200 Gold. An upgrade from the small wings.

2: Jet Engine, 5,000 Gold. An upgrade from the Big Wings.

3: Turbo Engine, 20,000 Gold. An upgrade from the Jet Engine.

4: Rocket Engine, 100,000 Gold. Insanely fast; the ultimate upgrade.

WEAPON UPGRADES:

1: Wide Beam, 1,000 Gold. This item shoots off Semi-Circles of energy. Can be useful at close range.

2: Laser Beam, 4,000 Gold. The laser is a powerful weapon that fires a continuous beam of energy that damages enemies greatly.

3: 7-Way Shot, 10,000 Gold. This item has a large range.

4: Cross-Rang, 20,000 Gold. A boomerang-type weapon.

BOMB UPGRADES:

1: Twin Bomb, 200 Gold. Double the firepower of the default weapon.

2: Quartets, 1,000 Gold. Four heat-seeking missiles.

SPECIAL WEAPONS:

1: Ultra Bomb, 2,000 Gold. A powerful bomb, with cumulative damage.

2: Heavy Bomb, 2,000 Gold. A giant weight that kills any enemies that are under you.

3: Thunder Volt, 2,000 Gold. Random thunderbolts strike across the screen.

4: Hurricane, 2,000 Gold. Whirlwinds spiral out from your ship, killing anything that comes in contact with them.

5: Smart Bomb, 2,000 Gold. Destroys all weaker enemies on screen. This does not include Enemy Generators or bosses.

6: BackFire, 2,000 Gold. A burst of flame comes from behind the ship.

7: Shower Bombs, 2,000 Gold. Six bombs are dropped from your ship.

OTHER ITEMS:

1: Extra Life, 5,000 Gold. Another chance.

2: Shield, 40,000 Gold. A bubble will surround your ship and defend you from attacks for a short time.

3: Rubber Boots, 5,000 Gold. Useful to insulate electricity.

4: Super Lights, 4,000 Gold. Used to see in the dark.

[edit] Bosses

LEVEL ONE The boss for level one is a giant floating pumpkin, visible on the box. To kill it you just have to shoot it. Its attack is to shoot a slug out, which explodes into smaller pieces, but moves slowly so is easy to dodge. It can also teleport around the screen.

LEVEL TWO The boss for level two is a metal face covered with small gun turrets, which all need to be destroyed to defeat it. The gun turrets shoot in turn, and when a couple have been destroyed it will start rotating too. This makes the shots pretty hard to predict and can take you by surprise.

LEVEL THREE This boss is a giant floating fish, which attacks by sucking you in and shooting scales at you. It is hard to kill as the only time it is vulnerable is when it is sucking, and this is when its mouth is open, although if you use the 'Back Fire' special, you can take it out in seconds.