Fantasy Zone

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Fantasy Zone
System(s): Sega System 16, MSX, Nintendo Famicom, Nintendo Entertainment System, TurboGrafx-16, Sega Master System, Sega Saturn, Sharp X68000, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega Dempa Sunsoft (JP) Tengen (US) NEC (US)
Developer: Sega Dempa Sunsoft (JP) Tengen (US) NEC Avenue
Genre: Shoot 'em up
ESRB Sega PEGI OFLC CERO Missing Parameter!

Fantasy Zone (ファンタジーゾーン) is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up by Sega, originally released in 1986 for Sega System 16 arcade hardware. It is the first entry in the Fantasy Zone series, a franchise that would be supported by the company in the late 1980s but largely abandoned by the mid-1990s.

Fantasy Zone stars the sentient being "Opa-Opa", a spaceship tasked with saving the "Fantasy Zone" from an army of invaders orchestrated by an unknown force. It is similar to Williams' 1980 arcade game Defender, in that the player can move both left and right across an endlessly repeating playfield, though makes a number of changes and additions to keep the game unique. Rather than simply destroying enemies, Opa-Opa has to eliminate eight "bases" across each level before being presented with an end boss, where horizontal scrolling is clamped.

Opa-Opa has two firing modes - a pair of twin lasers which fire ahead, and a bomb which curves downwards to hit ground targets. Weapons and engines can be upgraded through the use of in-game shops, represented by balloons which appear at the start of the level. Yellow balloons also allow the player to switch weapons, assuming they have bought more than one.

Unusually for shoot-'em-ups of the time, Fantasy Zone opted for vibrant pastel-coloured worlds and joyful music rather than the tradional "space" setting of previous attempts. It is often dubbed as the first "cute-'em-up" as a result. Despite this, Fantasy Zone is known for being an extremely difficult game, as the slow moving camera and swarms of enemies quickly lead to "bullet hell" scenarios.

Sequels and Re-releases

Fantasy Zone was popular enough to see several ports to home consoles, though most remained exclusive to Japan. The watered down Sega Master System port is perhaps the most famous, as Fantasy Zone was one of the console's most highly rated games. The Master System version has since been released for the Wii's Virtual Console service. Sega would later release a near-perfect port of the game for Japanese Sega Saturns.

The game was ported to non-Sega consoles too. MSX, Sharp X68000 and TurboGrafx-16 ports were handled by Pony Canyon, Dempa and NEC Avenue respectively. The game was brought to Nintendo's Famicom by Sunsoft, but strangely Tengen also ported it to the NES for sale in North America. The Famicom and NES ports are both different, despite being made for what is essentially the same console.

Most home ports of Fantasy Zone greatly reduce the quality of the graphics, going so far as to remove backgrounds from boss fights altogether. The Master System version also removes the "radar", allowing the user to see where bases are placed on the map. Others, such as the NES port, reduce the number of bases in across the level, and drop the number of enemies in order to maintain a decent framerate.

The Sharp X68000 port, however, is almost perfect, and is also notable for devoting a secret stage to Space Harrier (also set in the "fantasy zone"). Contrary to popular belief, the Game Gear game often known by the same name is a completely different game.

The game was re-released twice as part of the Sony PlayStation 2's Sega Ages 2500 series in Japan. Volume #3 of the series sees a remastered Fantasy Zone with 3D modes and four extra levels. This version was brought to the western world through Sega Classics Collection. It was later included in Volume #33 of the same series, along with the rest of the franchise, as part of Fantasy Zone Complete Collection. This version also includes an enhanced version of the Sunsoft Famicom port, named Fantasy Zone Neo.

Fantasy Zone was followed by Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa, a similar game which was not released in arcades.

Stages

	Plaleaf Long ago, far away in space there existed a "fantasy zone" where a couragous hero called Opa-Opa (the player) fought in a valiant cause to rescue the "fantasy zone" from its enemies.
	Tabas
	La Dune
	Dolimicca
	Polaria
	Mockstar On a side note, the music played on Mockstar's stage is used in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, as Opa-Opa's "All-Star" theme.
	Pocarius
	Salfar The final stage, Salfar as Opa-Opa duel with all the bosses he has encountered in the game so far, before the final showdown with the end boss.
	Dragon Land Dragon Land is a secret stage, exclusive to the Sharp X68000 version of the game. To access it, the bases in Plaleaf need to be attacked and destroyed in a certain order (from left to right, according to their positions on the radar). Doing so will drop the letters "H", "A", "R", "R", "I", "E", and "R", and when collected you'll be taken to this stage after Pocarius. Dragon Land is based on Space Harrier, and features enemies, music and a boss from that game (though everything is altered to work with Fantasy Zone's sideways perspective.

Physical Scans

Master System version

Master System, US
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Master System, US (rerelease)
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Master System, EU
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Master System, EU ("No Limits" variant)
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Master System, JP
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Master System, AU
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Master System, DE
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Master System, KR
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Saturn Version

Saturn, JP
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MSX Version

MSX, JP
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NES Version

NES, US
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NES, JP
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Sharp X68000 Version

X68000, JP
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Turbografx-16 Version

Turbografx-16, US
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Turbografx-16, JP
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