Zillion

About Zillion

Zillion (1987) is Sega's Master System tie-in to the Zillion anime, a code-cracking space adventure in which J.J. infiltrates the Nohza base to find five floppy disks and trigger its self-destruct.

Zillion in Depth

The White Knights, a peacekeeping force of the Planetary System, set out to destroy the evil Nohza Empire's base on Planet X, misspelt "Norsa" in the North American version. J.J., hero of the Zillion anime, must infiltrate the labyrinthine underground base, fighting enemies, avoiding hazards and perhaps rescuing two captured allies, to collect five floppy disks that let him enter the self-destruct sequence into its mainframe. Starting outside the Mothership on the planet's surface, he spends almost the whole game underground, returning only to restore health or to leave once the mission is done.

The base is a maze of rooms guarded by tripwires, guards, laser turrets and force fields. Capsules hold key codes and power-ups, and rooms are unlocked with computer ID cards and the right four-digit code, found by searching capsules. Computers also allow other actions, such as switching off barriers, disabling traps or even committing suicide, and certain codes in certain rooms produce well-known "special messages". J.J.'s gun grows stronger to break tougher capsules, and once rescued, Apple, fast but weaker, and Champ, slower but stronger, become playable, each upgrading their gun, speed, jump and health. The Games Machine and GamesTM compared it to Epyx's Impossible Mission, and it has also been likened to Metroid.

Making Zillion

Sega developed it for the Master System in 1987 as a companion to the Zillion anime series, and released a sequel, Zillion II, the following year.