Zero Wing
1989 · Horizontal Shooter · Arcade
Overview
Zero Wing (1989) is Toaplan's side-scrolling shooter, whose badly translated Mega Drive intro gave the internet "All your base are belong to us".
Deep Dive
In 2101, Trent seeks revenge on the space pirates CATS, who have broken a peace treaty, flying the ZIG fighter through eight levels, each ending in a boss. The Seizer Beam grabs enemies to use as shields or to fling at others, and three weapons — Red Cannon, Blue Laser and Green Homing — can be switched and upgraded.
Developer Story
Toshiaki Ōta led development, and Namco published the arcade game in Japan in October 1989. Sega released the Mega Drive version in 1991, which Computer and Video Games scored 93%.
Did You Know?
- The Mega Drive version's English translation was done in-house; its intro was rediscovered in 1999 and became the "All your base are belong to us" meme.
- The project began as a training exercise for new Toaplan staff and reused the Hellfire engine.
- It was Toaplan's last side-scrolling shooter.
Sources & further reading
- Zero Wing — Wikipedia
