Customer Reviews

Zanac

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This game has got to be one of the most fascinating NES titles I've ever played. It's not just your average space shooter, although it plays just like one. What makes this game so interesting is that its difficulty level varies depending entirely on the player. THe harder the player fights, the more enemies the game will send after you.
The story is also pretty unique. The universe is governed (to a certain extent), by what is known only as the System. This is a highly advanced computer that continued to evolve long after those who built it had perished. Eventually it covered the entire universe. Now, to those who opened the Icon properly, the System was a source of great wisdom. But to those who dared tamper with the Icon, the System would bring brutal punishment. Most races understood this and were careful never to tamper with it. One day however, someone decided to open the Icon improperly, thereby causing the System to power up its weapons. Then, this daring soul opened the Icon properly. The Icon ordered the System to abort its last command, but by now the System was beyond the Icon's control. It lashed out at those who tampered with it, ultimately bringing humans to the brink of extinction. But there was hope. The AFX-6502 Zanac was an extremely powerful spacecraft equipped with a variety of powerful weapons. Enough had been learned about the System for everyone to know that it had been designed to deal with problems on a universal scale I.E. an army. The humans thought that if they sent just one ship in to destroy the System, it might not be able to cope with it effectively. It was a very big gamble, but it was the only hope for civilization.
Zanac's controls work very well. Control movement with the D-pad and fire weapons with A and B. You fly through twelve stages, each with at least one boss. These are just special turrets of cannons, but each must be destroyed. If you can manage to destroy a fortress within the time limit, you will receive a bonus.
Zanac's music, though not very varied, is still some of the catchiest I've heard in a while. A few of the SFX are heard in a later game, the Guardian Legend. In fact, there are a few things that suggest that Zanac may be the prequel to the Guardian Legend.
I recommend you at least try this game. It's very innovative, for the less aggressive you are, the less agressive the System will be. You can either be a smart person and blow up only what you need to, or you can be the psychotic killer and unload your weapons on anything around you. This is not a good idea for a newby though. Anyway, give this game a try. It's well worth it.

I cannot recommend Zanac too highly. It is one of my two all-time favorite video games.

My other favorite is Space Dungeon on the Atari 5200. It's the classic with two joysticks; one controlling movement and the other controlling direction of fire (later copied by Robotron).

I used to play SD on a console that seemed to get harder and faster the longer I played. It was as if the console got "warmed up." Sometimes I could "run" SD right through 99 levels to the end. Other times it acted like it got mad at me and threw things at me mid-game that you didn't usually see until the end of the game! When it REALLY got mad at me, it changed the rules and just stomped me flat!

All other games became predictable and boring compared to this touchy game on my possibly defective console.

Then came Zanac, the game that deliberately does what my flaky console did accidentally. Zanac adjusts to the way you play! This means that the game stays challenging and it's never the same twice.

The format reminds me of Xevious, a game I loved until I got used to it and bored with it. Xevious is pretty much the same game each time.

Zanac is exciting. The music is lively and entertaining. The scenery scrolls by quickly and sometimes breathtakingly fast. But most pulse-quickening of all is when the screen fills with many kinds of enemies at the same time! I don't think any other NES game can display as many moving objects simultaneously as Zanac does. And that's with no slowdown and almost no flicker.

The only complaint I've heard about Zanac is that it can be too much for some people. I would counter that if they played less aggressively, the game would cut them some slack. If you use avoidance more than your gun, it keeps the enemies at a minimum. But if you go blasting everything in sight, you're going to get swarmed!

You can find this game and NES emulators online that will work on your PC. Don't even think of trying to play this with your keyboard. Use a good joypad. And maybe a seatbelt.

Indeed! Zanac is one of the best titles out there.

I've been playing this game since I was 7 years old back in 1986, and still today enjoy it, and still today it presents a challenge every time.

It is a game mostly build on randomness. Sure there are some areas that will present the same enemies/characteristics, but overall the games adaptive A.I. still impresses me for a game that was born in the infancy stages of the video gaming industry.

Imagine if we could strip that A.I. code out of Zanac, modify it, and program it into today's more popular titles, let's say Gears of War, Doom, Silent Hill, Call of Duty, Etc. Etc.?

That would change single player modes a lot. My point here is, once you learn what to expect from a game, it will always be the same. The element of surprise or challenge is gone (especially with Doom 3 or other FPS's)

It's no wonder multiplayer has become so explosive (the random "I don't know what is coming or how it is coming" factor has returned!)

Granted it is another human...

Give Zanac a try, after a while, you'll be impressed. It's never the same old game twice!