Zaxxon

From Sega Retro

n/a

Zaxxon Arcade Title.png

Zaxxon
System(s): Sega Zaxxon Hardware, Apple II, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, DOS, Intellivision, MSX, SG-1000, TRS-80, TRS-80 CoCo, Virtual Console, ZX Spectrum
Publisher: Sega
Atari 2600
Coleco
Atari 8-bit Family
Datasoft
MSX
Philips
Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
U.S. Gold
Developer:
Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

















Release Date RRP Code
ColecoVision
US
1982 $? ?
ColecoVision
EU
1983 £? ?
Intellivision
US
1983 $? ?
Intellivision
EU
1983 £? ?

Zaxxon (ザクソン) is an arcade shoot 'em up game released in 1982 by Sega. It was the first video game to use axonometric projection, which is where the "AXXON" name comes from. Zaxxon stands as one of Sega's earliest video game successes, and its isometric graphics set itself apart from the competition.

Gameplay

The player controls a starship which continuously moves towards the top right of the screen, meaning it is half-way between a side-scrolling shooter and a vertical shooter. The basic idea is to shoot at and destroy enemies within a space fortress to rank up points, while avoiding obstacles and enemy fire.

Zaxxon allows the player to adjust the ship's height, something that needs to be used to negotiate the scenery in the fortress. This can make gameplay somewhat awkward as it is often difficult to determine the height of obstacles. There is, however, a meter on the left hand side of the screen showing the ship's height, though it still presents a challenge. 1984's Future Spy', which is also a shoot-'em-up running on Zaxxon arcade hardware drops this feature.

Sequels and Re-releases

Zaxxon was quite successful for Sega, and hence it was ported to the Apple II, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, DOS, Intellivision, MSX, Sega SG-1000, TRS-80, TRS-80 CoCo, and ZX Spectrum. More recently, the Arcade version of the game has been made available through the Wii's Virtual Console service. There has also been numerous clones of the game, such as Zaksund and Z-89 for the TRS CoCo.

It should be noted, however, that the Atari 2600 and Intellivision ports of the game use a third person perspective rather than an isometric one, most likely due to console limitations.

The arcade version of Zaxxon was also included as part of the Sega Mega Drive Collection and Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection compilations.

Zaxxon was also turned into a board game by Milton Bradley in 1982. Sega, Bandai and Coleco have also released handheld versions of the game.

The game was followed by Super Zaxxon, Zaxxon 3D and Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000, none of which were as successful.

Prodcution Credits

Commodore 64 Version

C64 Version by Peter Adams

Physical Scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
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Publication Version Score
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Zaxxon

Arcade Version

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SG-1000 Version

SG-1000, JP
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Cover
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Cart

Atari 2600 Version

Atari 2600, US (Coleco)
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Atari 2600, EU (CBS)

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Cart
Atari 2600, UK (CBS)

Zaxxon Atari2600 UK CBS Cart.jpg
Cart
Atari 2600, DE (CBS)

Zaxxon Atari2600 DE CBS Cart.jpg
Cart
Atari 2600, CA (Coleco)
Zaxxon Atari2600 CA Coleco Box Back.jpgNospine.pngZaxxon Atari2600 CA Coleco Box Front.jpg
Cover
Zaxxon Atari2600 CA Coleco Cart1.jpg
Cart
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Alternative cart
Atari 2600, BR (Tron)

Zaxxon Atari2600 BR Tron Cart.jpg
Cart
Atari 2600, BR (Intellivision)

Zaxxon Atari2600 BR Intellivision Cart.jpg
Cart
Atari 2600, BR (Dynacom)

Zaxxon Atari2600 BR Dynacom Cart.jpg
Cart
Zaxxon Atari2600 BR Dynacom Cart Back.jpg
Cart (reverse)

Atari 5200 Version

Atari 5200, US
Zaxxon Atari5200 US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngZaxxon Atari5200 US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Zaxxon Atari5200 US Cart.jpg
Cart

Atari 8-bit Family Version

Atari 8-bit Family, US

Zaxxon Atari8bit US Cart.jpg
Cart
Atari 8-bit Family, US (Datasoft)
Zaxxon Atari8bit US Datasoft Cassette Box Back.jpgNospine.pngZaxxon Atari8bit US Datasoft Cassette Box Front.jpg
Cover
Zaxxon Atari8bit US Datasoft Cassette.jpg
Cassette
Atari 8-bit Family, US (Datasoft) (Alt)
Zaxxon Atari8bit US Datasoft Alt Casette Box Back.jpgNospine.pngZaxxon Atari8bit US Datasoft Alt Cassette Box Front.jpg
Cover
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Cassette
Atari 8-bit Family, UK (Datasoft)
Zaxxon Atari8bit UK Datasoft Box Back.jpgNospine.pngZaxxon Atari8bit UK Datasoft Box Front.jpg
Cover

Colecovision Version

Colecovision, US

Colecovision, FR
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Cover

Commodore 64 Version

Commodore 64, EU
Zaxxon C64 EU Box.jpg
Cover

Intellivision Version

Intellivision, US

Zaxxon Intellivision US Cart.jpg
Cart
Intellivision, UK

Zaxxon Intellivision UK CBS Cart.jpg
Cart

MSX Version

MSX, JP
Zaxxon MSX Box.jpg
Cover

ZX Spectrum Version

ZX Spectrum, EU
Zaxxon Spectrum EU Box.jpg
Cover



Games in the Zaxxon Series
Zaxxon (1981) (home computers) | Super Zaxxon (1982) | Zaxxon Super Game (1984) | Zaxxon 3D (1987) | Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 (1995) | Zaxxon Escape (2012)
Others
Zaxxon (LCD) (1982) | FL Zaxxon (1982) | Zaxxon (tabletop) (1982) | Zaxxon (board game) (1982)
Zaxxon related media
Book
The Official How to Win at Zaxxon (1982)