Impressions wanted: Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS

[Barvok]

Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS (which apparently translates to Earth Liberation Army ZAS) is a 1992 shmup developed by T&E Soft for Game Boy.

It’s very obscure, though recently some more people have become aware of its existence thanks to:

ShellShock at, at http://blamethecontrolpad.com/gbshooter ... oters3.htm ),
Strider at http://www.invertedcastle.com/archives/ ... -shooters/ ) and
Racketboy at http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2009/11/ ... games.html

I’m writing about the game for Hardcore Gaming 101 and would like your impressions of the game, how does it stand up as a shmup? Is it easy, hard, refreshingly original or uninspired?

It’s been mentioned a time or two on these forums, but there has been no real discussion on the English speaking internet (and though I’ve found some Japanese comments on the game, they don’t come across well once I’ve run them through Babel Fish).

I’d also like help documenting similarities between ZAS and other shmups (both pre ZAS and post ZAS). Chris Covell mentions in his review of the game that it takes ‘inspiration’ from various shmups. I’ve been making a list, but I’m not very knowledgably when it comes to shmups (actually ZAS ignited my interest in the genre) and I’m sure my list is quite incomplete.

I’m also looking for a clean scan of the box art to use for the article. I’ve been able to find a couple of los-res images, but that is about all. So I would be grateful if anyone could supply one.

I know a few members of the forum have been looking for a copy of the game; there is currently one complete copy up for auction at Yahoo Auctions Japan (http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k117750554 )(and I’ve seen one cartridge without box or manual come up in the past couple of months) the copy currently up for auction has been up for the entire time I’ve been checking the site (a couple of months).

If there is enough interest I may have a go at running a scoreboard for the game.

Here are some links for those interested in reading a little more about the game:

Chris Covell’s review: http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chri ... views/ZAS/
Shmup.com’s review: http://www.shmup.com/index.php?page=fiche&id=824 (French)

[Zeether]

ZAS does look pretty cool. Very innovative bits like the boss that fills the screen with blocks then uses a pair of tentacles to clear them out, you have to avoid the blocks and then get away from the tentacles as well.

[Damocles]

It's good to see ZAS finally getting some attention. It's a fun little game that plays like a cross between Solar Striker and Image Fight.


Good look to anyone searching for a reasonable complete copy. I've been on the hunt for a few years and have, so far, turned up nothing.

[Barvok]

It would be interesting to know if any of the same people worked on Undead Line and ZAS (as they are both by T&E Soft). I can't find the credits for Undead Line, but if anyone has access to them I suppose it would be you Damocles.

For reference here are the credits for ZAS: http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/gb/a/chizas.htm

I do like: "Final stage cleared. War is over."

I've been meaning to play through some of Undead Line to see if there are any similarities, but I've found it quite difficult (I have your guide sitting on my desk Damocles), I'll have to have another shot at it soon. Do you notice any similarities Damocles? What about in general terms of quality? ZAS pushes the Game Boy with it's independently scrolling background planes (which don't emulate well), and, more generally, seems very carefully designed to be a varied, fun game. How do you feel Undead Line compares?

[Damocles]

I can only compare the MSX and X68k revs (as I can't translate the X68k text), but there are no overlaps. This seems odd to me as ZAS is dated 1992 and the Undeadlines came out between 1989 and 1991.

For posterity:

Genesis

Director - F. Yamamoto
Main Design - T. Hattori
Effect and Sub Director - S. Aoyama
Programmer - F. Yamamoto
Map Design - T. Hattori
Character Designer - S. Aoyama
Music - K. Hasegawa
Music Programmer - K. Nishiwaki
Advisor - H. Kotani
Special Thanks - MSX Undeadline Team *Yes, the one-word variation -Damocles*
Debugger - T. Naito, J. Ogura, T. Hachiya, Y. Goto, K. Watanabe, H. Kouno, S. Matsuhisa, Cherry

MSX

Director - Tokihiro Naitoh
Programmer - Futaro Yamamoto
Subroutines - Katsushi Morizane, Shigeru Tomita
Game Design - Tokihiro Naitoh
Original Design - Yuuji Hattori
Monster Design - Takahiro Hachiya, Hideaki Shinmura, Etsuko Suzuki
Map Design - Kenji Nakashima, Yuuji Hattori
Demo Design - Takako Hayase, Kayoko Miura
Music/Effects - Kazunori Hasegawa
Arrangements - Hiroshi Shiozuka (Polystar)
Production Supervisor - Toshiro Yokoyama, Eiji Yokoyama

[Barvok]

It's strange. I've been looking at the credits for T&E Soft's other shooters, the Laydock series. Some staff carry across form game to game, and even from the Laydock games to Undead Line. But ZAS stands alone. One can trace the linage of Undead Line back through the Laydock games, but it seems they brought in a new (or different) team for ZAS. ZAS seems to be the first and only shooter from that team, which makes it even more impressive.

I can only find a few other games that members from the ZAS team worked on: the Super Famicom Sword World SFC games and Tetris 3D for the Virtual Boy. Though I suspect, though cannot confirm, that members from the ZAS worked on the best Virtual Boy game: Red Alarm. The basis for my speculation: Red Alarm its good game by T&E Soft, ZAS is a good game by T&E Soft, they are both shooters (though one 3D the other 2D) and members of the team worked on at least one other Virtual Boy game (which came out a year after Red Alarm). I suspect that this is more wishful thinking than serious conjecture.

Returning to ZAS; I found a Japanese video of someone clearing the game on hard with no deaths while maxing-out the score counter (the scoring is broken).

Have a link:

http://wray.umu.cc/game/movie.html

It’s the fifth from the bottom.

I still want more impressions. Come on people, play the game, its fun.

How about I post some of my impressions:

The game is fun. It is refreshing. It has interesting bosses, and memorable music to accompany them. While it seems overly simple with only a single weapon there is more depth then there appears due to the option configuration and the slow rate of fire of your weapon (rewarding precise positioning of your options, accurate fire and point blank barrages). The levels scroll slowly but are never boring; no element is over used. Each level has a different design and different enemies, though some do appear twice, there is always something interesting up ahead.

It is also fair. Though you do lose your weapons and shields when you die, you can always finish the game (if not necessarily recover your former power). As your weapon is upgraded it does become more powerful, however the main benefit of an upgraded weapon it the increased versatility provided by a wider spread of bullets. So while you lose some versatility, you don't lose that much power. The level will be harder after death (as it should be) but not extremely so. The main disadvantage is the loss of shields. It could be easier, but is by no means unfair.

Also the sprite work is wonderful. It is detailed and appealing; avoiding grotesque biological elements and other weirdness that many shooters seem to, unfortunately, embrace. The background graphics rarely interfere with the gameplay, which is quite an achievement on the Game Boy hardware.

There you have it. Go play the game.