Arcade Archives ZERO TEAM - (Spin, Normal Difficulty, Early Version)
1Introducing Zero Team developed by Seibu Kaihatsu in 1993. Wait, I'm sorry... THE SUPER-ACTION ZERO TEAM! I don't think any other number would sound nearly as intimidating to strike fear into the hearts of evil. Regardless, Zero Team is a beat 'em up and is right up my alley.
The story? Well, there's not much to say here - but it's par the course for usual beat 'em ups if you've noticed how common it was in the 90's. A woman with glasses gets kidnapped by... get this... a terrorist organization! Oh lord, do these types of villains EVER stop with the kidnapping and terrorizing?! Evidently not. A special force called the Zero Team, sets out to rescue this unknown woman (seriously, she could've been anybody - the game never explicitly states exactly who she is, unless she happens to be associated with Zero Team in anyway, it's anyone's guess).
Our four man, or should I say, three man and one woman team consist of Ace, Speed, Spin, and Big-O. (Kinda reminds me of the anime The Big-O). Ace is the team leader with a strong diving kick, Speed is... well, the fastest character if not the speediest if you couldn't guess by his name alone, Spin is the only female member with long attack reach, and Big-O is the token big and powerful guy. They encounter hordes of unique and odd looking enemies while traversing through several stages including slums, a docking bayside, mountains, and a hidden island.
Zero Team is actually a particularly decent beat 'em up, and it doesn't feel too difficult nor resort to any general cheap mechanics designed to eat your quarters. You can perform jump kicks, throws, and even a special lightning move that can drain your health. There are two versions of Zero Team, the Early and Later versions, the ONLY difference being that the lightning move takes off less health of your character and does less damage to enemies, while the Later version the attack takes off a lot of health and does more damage to enemies.
You can also perform two distinct moves by grabbing an enemy and holding up on the joystick to lift them into the air and slam them down for a ton of damage (honestly, the best move in the game), and the second is where you throw them downwards by holding down on the joystick, but this significantly far less damage.
All in all, I enjoyed Zero Team although it kinda drags on a little towards the end, due to bloated enemy health, but nothing too annoying. I really like Spin's character design, as she somewhat reminds me of Tia Langray from Breakers. See you next time, fellow gamers.