Apr 20, 2015 To summarise, 3D Fantasy Zone II is a wonderfully sublime shooter that works perfectly as a handheld title. Developer M2 performed wonders with.
Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa | |
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Developer(s) | Sega Atelier Double Sanritsu SunSoft M2 |
Publisher(s) |
|
Composer(s) | Tokuhiko Uwabo System 16 remake Manabu Namiki |
Series | Fantasy Zone |
Platform(s) | Sega Mark III, Master System, Arcade, Family Computer, MSX |
Release | Sega Mark III/Master System
System E version System 16 remake
MSX
|
Genre(s) | Horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up |
Mode(s) | 1 Player |
Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (ファンタジーゾーンII オパオパの涙, Fantajī Zōn tsū: Opa-Opa no Namida) is a Sega Master System game created by Sega in 1987. It was later ported to the arcade, Famicom, and MSX, and was remade for the System 16 hardware on a PlayStation 2 compilation in 2008. It was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on June 29, 2009.[1] Like the first Fantasy Zone, the player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-opa who fights surreal invader enemies. Like its predecessor, Fantasy Zone II departs from the traditional scrolling shooter themes with its bright colors and whimsical designs. For this reason, it is occasionally dubbed a 'cute 'em up'.[2]
Plot[edit]
In the past, the courageous hero Opa-Opa saved the Fantasy Zone from the invading Nenon forces, but his victory came at a price as he was forced to fight his own father who led the invasion. It is now Space Year 1432, 10 years after that battle, and the Nenon forces are once again spreading chaos through the Fantasy Zone. Opa-Opa must once again fly into the Fantasy Zone to rout the invasion.
At the end of the game, Opa-Opa comes face-to-face with the invasion's mastermind: an identical copy of himself. After a tense battle, Opa-Opa's father appears to confront them, and the sight of him brings Opa-Opa to tears which causes the second Opa-Opa to vanish. It is later revealed that this twin is a physical manifestation of Opa-Opa's dark impulses and desires, spawned from his prior battles and seeking to drive the Fantasy Zone into ruin. Reunited with his father, Opa-Opa is able to purge this darkness from himself and swears that such a disaster will never occur again.
Gameplay[edit]
Screenshot of Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa.
Similar to Defender, the player occupies a side-scrolling level that repeats indefinitely, and in which the player can freely travel left or right.[3][4][5] Each zone contains several 'bases' that serve as primary targets. New to the sequel are 'warps' hidden behind certain bases that allow the player to travel between different zones. Each level has at least three zones, and when all of the bases have been cleared in all of the zones of a level, the player can travel through the warp to the boss.[3][4]
Boss fights do not allow for free travel as the main stages do, and force the player to face the boss or face a particular direction. Bosses are generally very large and change color to reflect damage taken. The final stage is a 'boss rush' in which the player must fight a succession of previous bosses before fighting the final boss.[6]
There are two action buttons that correspond to two types of attacks, 'fire' and 'bomb'. The fire attacks shoot horizontally, as in a typical shooter,[7] and different variants can be purchased at shops. The bomb attacks are more powerful, and the basic bomb drops downward. Other variants have other behaviors and are limited in quantity.[6]
Shops, uncovered at key points, allow the player to purchase upgraded weapons, bombs, and speed, as well as extra lives.[8] Upgrades to Opa-Opa's speed (such as larger wings, or jet engines) are permanent as long as the player does not lose a life, but weapon upgrades are time-limited, and bombs limited in quantity. Items become increasingly expensive with subsequent purchases, encouraging the player to vary their purchases.[6]
Ports[edit]
The arcade version of Fantasy Zone II is based on the System E board, and as a result, is almost identical to the Master System version. Differences include the use of the radar that shows which bases are destroyed or not, as well as the use of a timer that, when it reaches zero, the player will lose a life. If the player manages to clear a level, the timer's remaining seconds will add to the score and money.
Unlike the original version, the Famicom port's subtitle on the title screen says The Teardrop of Opa-opa.
System 16 remake[edit]
Screenshot of Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (System 16 version).
In September 2008, Sega released a remake of Fantasy Zone II, as part of the compilation Sega Ages Vol. 33 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection.
Developed by M2, the game is unique from most remakes in that it is not an attempt to modernize an older work, but rather a ground-up reimagining of the title as arcade game on System 16 hardware like its predecessor, rather than a console title for the more limited Sega Master System.[9] It has been described as a 'What If' remake,[9][10] and strictly adheres to the technical limitations of the time in which Fantasy Zone II was originally released.[9]
M2 CEO Naoki Horii has stated that the remake was inspired by his disappointment that Fantasy Zone never got a true arcade sequel. 'I played the SMS game a lot,' Horii explained, 'but in my heart of hearts, I really wanted to see it on arcade hardware.[11] To ensure the remake would be authentic to the System 16's unique hardware capabilities and limitations, M2 developed the title on real System 16 hardware, with a modest memory increase to 256KB, which M2 dubbed System 16C[12]), and is playable in the compilation via the company's emulation technology. It shows a 1987 SEGA copyright, makes no mention of M2, and bears no titular distinction from the original game. Because of this it can be easily confused for a real arcade title from 1987. Fans have dubbed this version Fantasy Zone II DX to distinguish it from the original versions.[13] This remake was beyond the scope of features requested by Sega and the available budget, so Horii funded development out-of-pocket for an amount he described as 'about the cost of a new car.'[11]
It follows the original Fantasy Zone II only very loosely, pulling enemies, music, locations, and gameplay elements from the Master System game and pairing them with completely new content and elements of the original arcade Fantasy Zone. The most notable change is to the level structure. Rather than having several distinct zones in each stage that must be cleared, each stage in the remake has two parallel dimensions (Bright Side and Dark Side) of comparable size to the levels in the first Fantasy Zone. Bases destroyed in one dimension will also be destroyed in the other, making it possible to clear the level entirely on one side or the other. The Dark Side is more difficult, but offers greater rewards in points and money earned. Bosses are the same on either side, but have considerably more difficult attack patterns on the dark side.[14] The game also features three endings, which depend on both whether the Dark Side levels were cleared and whether some specific items were bought.
The music, arranged by Manabu Namiki, uses melodies of many songs from Tokuhiko Uwabo's original Fantasy Zone II soundtrack, but is calculatedly rearranged in a style more similar to that of the original Fantasy Zone's composer, Hiroshi Kawaguchi.[14] Namiki also wrote original tracks for the game.[citation needed] Stages and enemies are largely based on themes from the original, but some are difficult to recognize. Only about half of the game's bosses correspond to those in the original. It is generally regarded as very loose interpretation of the original.[14]
M2 released a free demo of their version of Fantasy Zone II on their website that lets you download and play the first and second levels on a Windows computer.[15]
The game was bootlegged and released to the arcades under the title FZ-2006 II by Taiwanese manufacturer ISG.[16] The bootleg bears a 2006 copyright date but actually appears to be derived from the 2008 PlayStation 2 release due to it containing the same '2008-07-15VER' string embedded in the ROM data. Sega also produced a limited number of arcade units running real System 16 hardware to promote the game's release.
A Nintendo 3DS port of this 16-bit version of Fantasy Zone II was released in Japan in 2014 and internationally in 2015. Titled 3D Fantasy Zone II W, it includes new features, content, and a second game mode called Link Loop Land, an endless survival mode starring Opa-Opa's brother, Upa-Upa.[17]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'It's No Reel Fantasy: Water, Sudoku and Silver Stars Can Boost Your Skills'. Nintendo of America. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ^http://kotaku.com/5030582/sega-whips-up-a-complete-fantasy-zone-collection
- ^ abhttp://wii.ign.com/articles/866/866238p1.html
- ^ abhttp://www.hardcoregaming101.net/fantasyzone/fantasyzone.htm
- ^http://retro.ign.com/articles/915/915442p1.html
- ^ abchttp://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/file/579375/32333
- ^Fantasy Zone II instruction manual, p. 2, SEGA, 1987
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-02-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ abchttp://ages.sega.jp/vol33/fz2r.html
- ^Fantasy Zone Complete Collection back cover
- ^ abhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc5DlOkOcU4
- ^Sega Ages 2500 Vol 33 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection instruction manual, p. 7, SEGA, 2008
- ^http://ps2.ign.com/objects/857/857910.html
- ^ abchttp://www.the-nextlevel.com/review/ps2/fantazy-zone-complete-collection/
- ^http://www.mtwo.co.jp/fz2trial/
- ^http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=fz-2006-ii-the-tears-of-opa-opa&page=detail&id=36300
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2014-07-13. Retrieved 2014-07-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links[edit]
- Fantasy Zone Complete Collection Official Website at ages.sega.jp (Japanese)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fantasy_Zone_II:_The_Tears_of_Opa-Opa&oldid=943623108'
Fantasy Zone | |
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Basic Information | |
Video Game | |
SEGA, Tengen, Sunsoft | |
SEGA | |
Shoot 'em up | |
Joystick, 2 buttons | |
Arcade, Master System, MSX, Family Computer, NES, TurboGrafx-16, Sharp X68000, Microsoft Windows, Game Gear and Mobile Phone | |
Saturn, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 | |
Virtual Console | |
Wii | |
Retail Features | |
Ratings | |
Arcade Specifications | |
Standard | |
Sega System 16A | |
Display(s) | Raster, standard resolution horizontal orientation |
North American Release Date(s) | |
Arcade machines 1985 Master System and MSX 1986 TurboGrafx-16 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System and Sharp X68000 1989 Wii Virtual Console 2008 | |
Japanese Release Date(s) | |
Family Computer 1987 | |
Awards | Changelog | Cheats | Codes | Codex Compatibility | Covers | Credits | DLC | Help Localization | Manifest | Modding | Patches Ratings | Reviews | Screenshots | Soundtrack Videos | Walkthrough |
Fantasy Zone (ファンタジーゾーン?) is a surreal arcade game released by SEGA in 1985. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Sega Master System. The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights nonsensical invader enemies in the titular group of planets, full of settings atypical of the traditional scrolling shooter and pastel colors; for that reason, it is occasionally dubbed a 'cute 'em up'.
- 3Ports
Plot[edit | edit source]
In the space year 1422 (6216 in the Master System version), the Fantasy Zone was cast in panic at the collapse of the interplanetary monetary system. The Space Guild brings to light the plans of the planet Menon, whose forces are stealing the other planets' currencies to fund a huge fortress in the Fantasy Zone. Opa-Opa is sent to stop the invading army and discover who is behind it. In the end, it turns out that the leader was none other than Opa-Opa's long lost father, a revelation that leaves Opa-Opa with mixed emotions.
This is directly followed in Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa, which takes place ten years later.
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
In the game, the player's ship is placed in a level with a number of bases to destroy. When all the bases are gone, the stage boss appears, who must be defeated in order to move on to the next level. There are eight stages, and in all of them, except the final one, the scroll is not fixed; the player can move either left or right and the scroll follows him, though the stage loops. The final level consists of fighting again all previous bosses in succession and then facing the final one.
Opa-Opa uses two different attacks: the standard weapon (initially bullets) and bombs; the normal shot is generally useful though weak, while bombs are powerful though they only drop downwards. He can also move down to land on the ground by sprouting feet and walking around until he flies again.
In the game, it is possible to upgrade Opa-Opa's weapons, bombs and flying engine which makes him faster, as well as get extra lives. In order to do that, the player must first get money by defeating enemies, bases or bosses, and access a shop by touching a red balloon with the 'Shop' word written on it. The screen later changes to a menu where the player, for a limited time, can select any item of choice. Each time a new item is bought, they become more expensive. When the player chooses to exit or the time runs up, another screen appears, in which he or she can select what upgrades Opa-Opa can use; only one engine, weapon and bomb can be equipped at a time.
Some of the new weapons have a time limit that starts as soon as the shop is left. Some of the bombs can be used at any moment, but they are limited. On the other hand, the engines are permanent, though some of these actually makes Opa-Opa hard to control, as he moves too fast. The power-ups can also be re-assigned by re-entering the shop or touch a balloon with the word 'Select' written on it. If the player loses a life, all of the upgrades are lost.
Ports[edit | edit source]
Fantasy Zone is originally an arcade game. It was later ported to the Master System. The game eventually saw ports in other consoles and home computers, such as the MSX, Famicom & Nintendo Entertainment System, Sharp X68000 and TurboGrafx-16. While all of these ports play similarly to the original version, some of them have several omissions and changes. For instance, the Master System version lacks some features such as the radar that indicates the location of the bases or a gauge that indicates how much energy left they have, and two of the bosses were replaced by original ones. Other versions have several changes as well.
There are actually two different versions for the Famicom & Nintendo Entertainment System. The Famicom version is ported by Sunsoft, while the NES one is an unlicensed version by Tengen.
Fantasy Zone was later remade for the PlayStation 2, under the Sega Ages label. Although similar in appearance to the arcade version (even incorporating the original arcade sounds), this version used polygons instead of sprites and added some levels, including bonus levels in which the game takes the view behind Opa-Opa as he tries to collect coins from any boss that was defeated at the moment. The game mode is very similar to Space Harrier, or the unreleased Space Fantasy Zone. Also, even though '2UP' can be seen in the score display, this version only has a single player mode. This version was released in North America along other remade classic Sega titles in the compilation Sega Classics Collection.
On March 11, 2008, the Master System version saw a re-release in Japan for the Virtual Console. In Europe and Australia, it was released on April 11, 2008, and in North America, on April 14, 2008.[1] In all territories, it was released at a price of 500 Wii Points.
On September 18 of the same year, SEGA released another Sega Ages disc devoted to the series, title Fantasy Zone Complete Collection. This time, instead of a 3D remake, the disc compiled all of the games in the series, including spin-offs, and all of SEGA's own ports. It also included a remake of Fantasy Zone II created for System 16 hardware. It was the final release in the Ages series.
Release years[edit | edit source]
- Arcade, 1985
- Master System, 1986
- MSX, 1986
- Famicom, 1987
- TurboGrafx-16, 1988
- Nintendo Entertainment System, 1989
- Sharp X68000, 1989
- Sega Saturn (part of Sega Ages), 1997
- Mobile phone, 2002
- PlayStation 2 (part of Sega Classics Collection), 2003
- WiiVirtual Console (re-release of the Master System version), 2008
- PlayStation 2 (part of Sega Ages 2500), 2008
- Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (part of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection[NA]/SEGA MEGA DRIVE Ultimate Collection [UK]), 2009
Other appearances in media[edit | edit source]
- Opa-Opa appeared in the Japanese anime series called Zillion. The video-game Zillion that was based on this anime series was available on the Sega Master System console. This game also featured Opa-Opa, where it served as an item that boosted your character's abilities.
- One of the downloadable contents for Sonic Adventure 2 on the Dreamcast using its own Internet homepage was a new Kart Racing track named Fantasy Zone, a nod to the series. Omochao was also playable for this race, driving an Opa-Opa-shaped kart (which was the first and probably last time Omochao was ever playable in any Sonic game).
- One of the Gear in Sonic Riders is named the Opa-Opa, a reference to this game.
- In the Dreamcast game Shenmue, several capsule toys can be collected, including the Opa-opa, shop balloon and the stage 3 boss.
- In the arcade and Sega Master System versions of the game Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, the goal of the second stage is to find Opa-Opa.
- In the Sound test screen for the Sega Master System adaptation of Quartet (arcade game), Opa-opa can be seen flying horizontally across the top of the screen. You can also see Teddy Boy, Pit Pot and Alex Kidd in this screen as well.
- Several of the enemies from Fantasy Zone II appear as attack waves for the final boss in the cult Dreamcast game Segagaga.
- In the Muppet Babies episode, It's Only a Pretendo, Baby Gonzo, Baby Animal, and Baby Miss Piggy were playing Fantasy Zone. During their imagination in Fantasy Zone, Gonzo and Piggy both fought over the controls to the Opa-Opa, while Animal spotted an enemy approaching and destroying the Opa-Opa.
- In Arcade Gamer Fubuki one of the challenges Fubuki had to do was get a higher score than the opponent in Fantasy Zone.
- Intentionally making over one hundred strokes in the Sega Genesis game Arnold Palmer's Tournament Golf allows the player to play a short, one-screen-long version of Fantasy Zone as an Easter egg, albeit one which continually loops until the console is either reset or turned off. The Opa-Opa also appears as a cursor in some selection screens within the game.
- Phantasy Star IV has a remix of 'Pao-Pao' playing when a group of dancing girls come on a stage in the Hunters Guild in Aiedo.
- In Phantasy Star Online, Opa-Opa is a rare mag.
- In Phantasy Star Universe, Opa-Opa appears in one of the random attacks from the cast SUV 'Ascension Gift'.
- In Phantasy Star Portable, Opa-Opa is a rare RCSM.
- The game Space Harrier, also by Sega and released the previous year, supposedly takes place in 'the Fantasy Zone' as well (Space Harrier begins the phrase 'Welcome to the 'Fantasy Zone'! Get Ready!'). It includes the same bright pastel color scheme, although the game scrolls into the screen as opposed to horizontally.
- There was an unreleased game in the series called Space Fantasy Zone that was to have been released on the NEC PC Engine around the year 1990 that was to have finally bridged the gap between the Fantasy Zone series and the Space Harrier series by having a gameplay similar to Space Harrier, but have the layouts of the stages to be directly based on their Fantasy Zone counterparts. The game was never released because NEC developed the game without first getting permission from Sega to use the Fantasy Zone property; when the game was finished, they contacted Sega, who promptly told them not to go any further with it. Although the game was never released, a gameplay video of a prototype of the game has been found. An ISO of the SuperCD does exist and has been leaked online in the past.
- In the arcade game Planet Harriers, Opa-Opa appears above the head of the killed player while being queried on whether to continue or not. Opa-Opa is also a playable character after enabling a certain code at the character select screen.
- In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity 80's Blvd course a Fantasy Zone character appears on the first jump and gives out rings.
- Opa-Opa appears as a playable character in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.
Sequels[edit | edit source]
- Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (1987)
- Opa Opa (Released internationally as Fantasy Zone: The Maze) (1987)
- Galactic Protector (1988)
- Fantasy Zone Gear: The Adventures of Opa-Opa Jr. (released internationally as simply 'Fantasy Zone') (1991)
- Super Fantasy Zone (1992)
- Space Fantasy Zone (unreleased)
Reception[edit | edit source]
The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #136 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in 'The Role of Computers' column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.[2]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑'Fantasy Zone and Mega Turrican Now Available on Wii Shop Channel!'. Nintendo of America. 2008-04-14. http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/IMOTteeJDspEDNbie3zCZC0suT-skBFt. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ↑Lesser, Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk (August 1988). 'The Role of Computers'. Dragon (136): 76–81.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Fantasy Zone wiki guide at StrategyWiki
- 'Fantasy Zone' at MobyGames
- Fantasy Zone A rather detailed website on the Fantasy Zone series
- Fantasy Zone at Hardcore Gaming 101
- 'The Fantasy Zone Sky' A website on the Fantasy Zone series
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