Zero Wing

From Sega Retro

For the 2020 re-release by Retro-bit, see Zero Wing Collector's Edition.

n/a

Zero Wing Title.png

Zero Wing
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher: Toaplan (JP), Sega,
Nintendo Switch Online
Tatsujin
Developer:
Original system(s): Toaplan System 1[1]
Sound driver: Cube[2]
Genre: Shooting[3][4]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥8,000 (8,240)8,000e[5] T-40023
Sega Mega Drive
EU
1138-50
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£39.9939.99[6] 1138-50
Sega Mega Drive
SE
(Rental)
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Nintendo Switch Online
JP
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
US
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
EU
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
UK
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
AU
SUBsub
Non-Sega versions

Zero Wing (ゼロウイング) is a Sega Mega Drive horizontal shoot-'em-up game developed by Toaplan. A port of the developer's titular 1989 arcade game Zero Wing, it was first published in Japan by Toaplan themselves in May 1991, and was brought to Europe by Sega in July 1992.

Zero Wing is notable for being one of few Mega Drive ports developed by Toaplan themselves, and for the infamously poor English translation of its opening cutscene, which spawned one of the earliest internet memes, "All your base are belong to us".

Story

ZeroWing MD EU AllYourBase.png

Introduction

Set in 2101, the game follows the signing of a peace treaty between the United Nations and the alien cyborg CATS (キャッツ). However, CATS breaks the covenant and takes control of the Japanese space colonies. The protagonist Trent leads a ZIG space craft, which had managed to escape from the mothership destroyed by CATS, with the aim to defeat enemy forces, avenge the mothership and its crew and liberate the Earth.

Gameplay

The game is a science fiction-themed side-scrolling shooter where players assume the role of Trent taking control of the ZIG space fighter craft through eight increasingly difficult stages, each with a boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further. The stage design has a particular emphasis on navigating narrow passageways. The ZIG is moved in any direction with the D-Pad. It fires its weapon with A or C. Rapid-fire is enabled by default, though a higher firing rate can be achieved by manually tapping the button or using a rapid-fire controller. There are three types of weapons in the game, which are switched by collecting colored items. Collecting the same item successively upgrades the weapon strength; collecting a different weapon maintains the current weapon strength.

The ZIG is equipped with a tractor beam (プリソナービーム), which can be deployed with B. The beam grabs most enemies and holds them as a shield against enemy fire. Enemies can be used to ram other enemies or thrown at other enemies by pressing B again. Larger enemies weigh down the ZIG and make it more difficult to maneuver. The ZIG can also find bombs that attach to it in a similar manner but which explode after being thrown. Additionally, the ZIG can acquire two options, small drones that mirror its weapon, to assist it. Options are invulnerable and can also be used to ram enemies.

The ZIG is destroyed when it collides with an enemy or surface or absorbs enemy fire. It respawns at a predetermined checkpoint with the base weapon and without any options or speed increases. The game ends if the player runs out of lives but can be continued if there are credits remaining. The player is awarded extra lives at certain point thresholds. The game has three selectable difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard) and defaults to the Easy difficulty setting.

As with previous titles from Toaplan, the game loops back to the first stage after completing the last stage, with the difficulty increasing. There are 35 different endings for each time the game is successively completed.

Weapons

Zero Wing, Weapons, Red.png

Zero Wing, Items.png
Vulcan Shot (バルカンショット)
Initially equipped. Starts as a standard horizontal shot but grows into a conical spreadshot as it is leveled up.

Zero Wing, Weapons, Blue.png

Zero Wing, Items.png
Laser (レーザー)
A fast-firing, penetrating laser that increases in size and power as it is leveled up.

Zero Wing, Weapons, Green.png

Zero Wing, Items.png
Homing Missile (ホーミングミサイル)
Homing missiles that increase in size and power as they are leveled up.

Items

Items can be collected by flying over them or by grabbing them with the ZIG's tractor beam.

Weapons and speed upgrades award 5,000 bonus points if already at max level. There is also a chance of earning an extra life or even a "10UP" when collecting an item at max level.

Zero Wing, Items.png
Transporter (UNITトランスボーター機)
Destroy to release an item.
Zero Wing, Items.png
Vulcan Shot
Equips the Vulcan Shot weapon or levels up the weapon strength if already equipped, up to 3 levels. Also equips two options if not already equipped.
Zero Wing, Items.png
Laser
Equips the Laser weapon or levels up the weapon strength if already equipped, up to 3 levels.
Zero Wing, Items.png
Homing Missile
Equips the Homing Missile weapon or levels up the weapon strength if already equipped, up to 3 levels.
Zero Wing, Items.png
Super Bomber (スーバーボンバー)
A bomb module that attaches to the front of the ZIG. It can be thrown with B, whereupon it explodes in a large radius. Like captured enemies, it can be used as a shield or to ram enemies, though it detonates when it hits anything.
Zero Wing, Items.png
Speed Unit (スピードユニット)
Increases the movement speed of the ZIG, up to four times.
Zero Wing, Items.png
Special
Appears instead of a bomb item if the player is already holding a bomb while at maximum weapon level. This item upgrades the ZIG's weapon to an otherwise unattainable fourth level.

Stages

Zero Wing, Stage 1.png

Zero Wing, Stage 1 Subboss.png

Zero Wing, Stage 1 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 1.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 1 Subboss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 1 Boss.png

Natols

Zero Wing, Stage 2.png

Zero Wing, Stage 2 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 2.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 2 Boss.png

Legrous

Zero Wing, Stage 3.png

Zero Wing, Stage 3 Subboss.png

Zero Wing, Stage 3 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 3.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 3 Subboss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 3 Boss.png

Pleades

Zero Wing, Stage 4.png

Zero Wing, Stage 4 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 4.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 4 Boss.png

Aquese

Zero Wing, Stage 5.png

Zero Wing, Stage 5 Subboss.png

Zero Wing, Stage 5 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 5.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 5 Subboss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 5 Boss.png

Submarine Tunnel

Zero Wing, Stage 6.png

Zero Wing, Stage 6 Subboss.png

Zero Wing, Stage 6 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 6.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 6 Subboss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 6 Boss.png

Barricade Zone

Zero Wing, Stage 7.png

Zero Wing, Stage 7 Subboss.png

Zero Wing, Stage 7 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 7.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 7 Subboss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 7 Boss.png

Bellon

Zero Wing, Stage 8.png

Zero Wing, Stage 8 Subboss.png

Zero Wing, Stage 8 Boss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 8.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 8 Subboss.png

  • Zero Wing, Stage 8 Boss.png

Gerbarra

History

Legacy

Zero Wing, Animated Introduction.png

Full introduction

The infamously poor translation of Zero Wing's English releases has seen the game become the star of community parody. A line in the game's introduction, "All your base are belong to us", was heavily featured in a fan music video for the song Invasion of the Gabber Robots by The Laziest Men on Mars (itself a cover of the game's song "Open Your Eyes") This video, compressed and heavily shared in the early days of the web, gave rise to one of the very first modern internet memes.

The meme was addressed by Toaplan's Tatsuya Uemura (the game's programmer and composer) and Masahiro Yuge (composer) in interviews during the 2010s. He stated the poor English translation in the Mega Drive version was handled by a member of Toaplan in charge of export and overseas business.[14][15]

The game was re-released worldwide as Zero Wing Collector's Edition by Retro-Bit as part of Toaplan Shooters Collector's Edition in October 2020.[16]

Production credits

Zero Wing Original Staff
  • 68k Side: T.Ota, H.Furukawa
  • Z80 Side: T.Uemura
  • Graphics: S.Nakaoka, N.Ogiwara, M.Hayashi, S.Nito
  • Music: T.Uemura, M.Yuge, T.Tomizawa
© Toaplan 1991.
Source:
In-game credits
Zero Wing MD credits.pdf
[17]


Magazine articles

Main article: Zero Wing/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1991-03: "March 1991" (1991-02-08)
also published in:
  • (JP) #14: "March 1991" (1991-02-08)[18]
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1991-05: "May 1991" (1991-04-08)
also published in:
  • (JP) #16: "May 1991" (1991-04-08)[19]
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1991-06: "June 1991" (1991-05-08)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1991-07: "July 1991" (1991-06-08)
also published in:
  • (JP) #1991-08: "August 1991" (1991-07-08)[20]
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(RU)
80
[21]
(DE)
72
[22]
(JP) NTSC-J
80
[23]
(UK) NTSC-J
77
[24]
(UK)
93
[25]
(RU)
40
[26]
(UK)
87
[27]
(JP) NTSC-J
70
[28]
(UK)
92
[29]
(JP) NTSC-J
60
[30]
(ES)
86
[31]
(FR) PAL
90
[32]
(FR)
86
[33]
(UK) PAL
72
[34]
(JP) NTSC-J
66
[35]
(UK) PAL
70
[36]
(FR)
80
[37]
(UK)
82
[38]
(UK) PAL
82
[39]
(UK)
91
[40]
(UK)
91
[41]
(FR)
79
[42]
(DE)
68
[43]
(UK) NTSC-J
100
[44]
(UK) PAL
88
[45]
(UK)
78
[46]
(UK) PAL
77
[47]
(UK) PAL
86
[6]
(RU)
66
[48]
(JP) NTSC-J
75
[49]
(US)
67
[50]
(FR)
85
[51]
(FR)
80
[52]
(DE)
67
[53]
Sega Mega Drive
78
Based on
34 reviews

Zero Wing

Mega Drive, JP
Zerowing md jp cover.jpg
Cover
ZeroWing MD JP CartTop.jpg
Zerowing md jp cart.jpg
Cart
Zerowing md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
Zero Wing MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
ZeroWing MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Zero Wing MD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
ZeroWing MD EU pcb.jpg
PCB
Mega Drive, SE Rental (Hent orange)
Zero Wing MD SE Rental Box Back.jpgNospine.pngZero Wing MD SE Rental Box.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU

Technical information

Main article: Zero Wing/Technical information.

References

Necretro-round.svg
NEC Retro has more information related to Zero Wing
  1. https://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=966&page=1#19118
  2. http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Mega_Drive/Genesis_Sound_Engine_List
  3. File:Zerowing md jp cover.jpg
  4. 4.0 4.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  5. Beep! MegaDrive, "May 1991" (JP; 1991-04-08), page 16
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Sega Force, "July 1992" (UK; 1992-06-xx), page 72
  7. Sega Pro, "June 1992" (UK; 1992-05-21), page 9
  8. Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1992-05-11), page 19
  9. https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/1bbb22fd-9a6b-4d8b-8554-c55c3874e49b (archive.today)
  10. @NintendoAmerica on Twitter (archive.today)
  11. @NintendoEurope on Twitter (archive.today)
  12. @NintendoUK on Twitter (archive.today)
  13. @NintendoAUNZ on Twitter (archive.today)
  14. https://archive.org/details/Shooting_Gameside_Vol.4/page/n41/mode/2up
  15. https://pixelatedaudio.com/out-zone/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-10-23 23:09)
  16. https://retro-bit.com/toaplan-shooters/ (Wayback Machine: 2021-05-15 18:27)
  17. File:Zero Wing MD credits.pdf
  18. Mega Drive Fan, "March 1991" (JP; 1991-02-08), page 99
  19. Mega Drive Fan, "May 1991" (JP; 1991-04-08), page 42
  20. Beep! MegaDrive, "August 1991" (JP; 1991-07-08), page 16
  21. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 349
  22. Aktueller Software Markt, "November 1991" (DE; 1991-10-11), page 139
  23. Beep! MegaDrive, "May 1991" (JP; 1991-04-08), page 27
  24. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 137
  25. Computer & Video Games, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-07-15), page 60
  26. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 7, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 291
  27. Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 118
  28. Famitsu, "1991-xx-xx" (JP; 1991-06-14), page 19
  29. Games-X, "21st-26th June 1991" (UK; 1991-06-21), page 36
  30. Hippon Super, "May 1991" (JP; 1991-04-04), page 42
  31. Hobby Consolas, "Agosto 1992" (ES; 1992-0x-xx), page 48
  32. Joypad, "Juin 1992" (FR; 1992-05-1x), page 158
  33. Joystick, "Juillet/Août 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 182
  34. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 95
  35. Mega Drive Fan, "August 1991" (JP; 1991-07-08), page 123
  36. Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 21
  37. Mega Force, "Mai 1992" (FR; 1992-05-05), page 76
  38. MegaTech, "May 1992" (UK; 1992-04-20), page 32
  39. MegaTech, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 93
  40. Mean Machines, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-29), page 74
  41. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 143
  42. Player One, "Mai 1992" (FR; 1992-05-10), page 70
  43. Play Time, "(8/9)/92" (DE; 1992-07-08), page 94
  44. Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 55
  45. Sega Power, "August 1992" (UK; 1992-07-02), page 34
  46. Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 41
  47. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
  48. Sega Opisaniy i sekretov, "14000 Opisaniy i sekretov" (RU; 2003-03-11), page 236
  49. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  50. Super Gaming, "Fall 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 8
  51. Supersonic, "Mai/Juin 1992" (FR; 1992-xx-xx), page 6
  52. Tilt, "Septembre 1991" (FR; 1991-09-xx), page 53
  53. Video Games, "7/92" (DE; 1992-06-24), page 46


Zero Wing

Zero Wing Title.png

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