Mega Zone, 1983 Konami

Channel:

crazyclimber80

Subscribers:

1,770

Published on September 18, 2017 2:21:41 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTPIgcNUm8o

Game:

Mega Zone (1983)

Duration: 12:31

191 views

8

Blah vertically scrolling shoot-em-up; fairly disappointing for most Konami enthusiasts. Fly vertically over various terrain-- rivers, foliage, enemy fortress, etc. while fending off attacks from all manner of enemy craft. Ground targets and air targets alike can be shot by regular fire, and small pink ground targets release an icon when destroyed that acts as a smart bomb, destroying all enemies onscreen (though stupidly enough, doesn't grant you points for all the destroyed enemies). You can get increasing bonus points for subsequent smart bombs collected. IF you can manage to collect enough of the small pink dots that appear on the landscape from time to time, you will change your ship to a larger ship with MUCH better maneuverability and firepower, though this is really hard to accomplish. When your larger ship is shot (you are a one-hit kill) you will simply revert to the smaller ship without loss of a life. Maybe it's just me but this seems to be one of those games that adjusts to your skill level, by making the game easier or harder. Take care not to get "trapped" by certain terrain you can't fly through as the screen scrolls; this will result in your ship being destroyed. One thing I don't like about this game is that the targets that grant the smart bombs differ in the amount of shots needed to destroy them. Sometimes they go down quickly, and sometimes you can't seem to destroy them! Also watch out for the rectangular ground targets; these CANNOT be destroyed (even with your ship upgrade) but will grant you 2,000 points if you slam into them! Put the MAME invincibility cheat on to get TONS of points for flying through them! If you give this game a bit of a chance you'll see some of the cool bonuses you can pick up, like the smart bombs or the crab creatures that give you increasing bonuses for destroying them (requires lots of shots), or the gates with the ball that bounces between them-- fly through the gates to destroy them for bonus points. The latter is especially interesting-- if you meet some sort of criteria (that I don't know about), the wolf from the Konami classic POOYAN will replace the gates! The terrain takes you through 4 different areas, pits you against a boss, then repeats the areas again. An unfortunate misfire from Konami.