Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa

About Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa

Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (1987) is Sega's colourful "cute 'em up" sequel in which the sentient spaceship Opa-Opa warps between zones to defeat an invasion led by his own dark double.

Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa in Depth

Opa-Opa once saved the Fantasy Zone from the invading Menon forces, at the price of fighting his own father, who led them. Ten years later, in Space Year 1432, the Nenon forces are spreading chaos, and Opa-Opa flies back in. The mastermind turns out to be an identical copy of himself; when his father appears, the sight brings Opa-Opa to tears and the double vanishes, revealed as the physical manifestation of his dark impulses, born of a war in his childhood. Reunited with his father, Opa-Opa purges the darkness and vows such a disaster will never happen again.

As in Defender, each level scrolls endlessly left or right, and the player travels freely to destroy the "bases" in each zone. New to the sequel are warps hidden behind certain bases that link the zones; each level has at least three, and once every base is cleared the warp leads to the boss. Bosses, large creatures that change colour as they are damaged, restrict movement, and the final stage is a boss rush before the last fight. Two buttons fire horizontal shots and bombs, the basic one dropping downwards, and stronger variants can be bought in shops. Its bright colours and whimsical designs set it apart from other shooters.

Making Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa

Sega developed and published it for the Master System in 1987. The Master System version was well received, and it was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on 29 June 2009.