Viewpoint

About Viewpoint

Viewpoint (1992) is Aicom's isometric Neo Geo shoot 'em up, inspired by Zaxxon, with hand-drawn 3D graphics and a hip hop-influenced soundtrack that won EGM's awards for best graphics and music of 1992.

Viewpoint in Depth

Viewpoint is an isometric scrolling shooter over six stages. Alongside the ship's main weapons, the player has three kinds of bomb: a wave of fire that starts behind the ship and rolls "up" the screen, a powerful circular nova-like blast, and a spread of mini-missiles that home in on several targets. By default, two players take turns, though simultaneous play can be switched on in the service mode. The isometric play was largely inspired by Sega's Zaxxon, and the overall look by Xevious and R-Type. Its 3D graphics were drawn entirely by hand rather than with pre-rendering software or 3D hardware.

The Neo Geo original was acclaimed for its cutting-edge visuals and funky soundtrack, while later ports were divisive. EGM's reviewers called the Genesis version a good conversion despite severe slowdown and weaker music, and Next Generation called it an exceptionally good port for a less powerful system on a much smaller cartridge, though it found the repetitive level design dull. The PlayStation version improved the visuals but drew complaints about an unsuitable new soundtrack, "gummy" controls and extreme difficulty, Next Generation writing: "We have no idea what kind of sadist converted this."

Making Viewpoint

Aicom developed Viewpoint and Sammy Corporation published it in November 1992, its first foray into the market since the early 1980s, with SNK also releasing it for the Neo Geo family. RePlay listed it as North America's fifteenth most popular arcade game in April 1993. Critics loved the Neo Geo version: it won both Best Graphics and Best Music in EGM's 1992 awards, Famicom Tsūshin scored it 30 out of 40, Computer and Video Games gave it 95% and Sinclair User 96%, and GamePro gave it full marks in every category, praising its animated backgrounds and "funky dance music" while noting its similarity to Zaxxon. It was later ported to the Genesis, PlayStation, X68000 and FM Towns, and the Genesis version made its international debut outside North America on the Genesis Mini 2 in October 2022.