ZAXXON

'''Zaxxon''' is a 1982 arcade game developed by Ikegami Tsushinki and released by Sega. The game gives the player the experience of flying a fighter craft through a fortress while shooting at enemy entities (missiles, enemy gunfire, etc.). The object of the game is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel, which can be replenished by shooting fuel drums.
At the time of its release, ''Zaxxon'' was unique as it was the first game to employ isometric projection, something of a three-quarter viewing perspective. This effect simulated three dimensions (albeit from a third-person viewpoint).
The world record on Zaxxon is 4,680,740 points scored by Vernon Kalanikaus of Laie, Hawaii, on March 15 1982, according to the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard. [1]
A bootleg of the game was released in the arcades in 1982 called ''Jackson''. [2]

Contents

Ports

Legacy

Board game

Tabletop and handheld games

Remakes

Similar games

External links

Ports

A popular game, ''Zaxxon'' was ported to almost all home computer and video game console systems between 1982 and 1985. Among them were DOS (as a booter), Apple II, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari XL, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Dragon 32, Amstrad CPC (as zaxx), ColecoVision and Intellivision.
The Atari 2600 and Intellivision ports were noticeably different because they used a three-dimensional perspective instead of the isometric graphics of the other versions. This is probably due to technical limitations of these consoles.
The game was also released for Sega's own console, the SG-1000, in 1985.
A clone of the game was released on the TRS-80 Color Computer as ''Zaksund''.
In 2006, ''Zaxxon'' games were included as bonus game on the Sega Genesis Collection for Sony's PlayStation 2 and PSP consoles. The original ''Zaxxon'' is the game included on the PS2, and ''Super Zaxxon'' is the one available on the PSP.

Legacy

Due to its success, ''Zaxxon'' spawned an arcade sequel, ''Super Zaxxon''. It didn't do as well as the original.
In 1987, ''Zaxxon 3-D'' was released for the Sega Master System. This console variation made use of its 3D glasses add-on for extra depth perception.
A whole decade after, ''Zaxxon Motherbase 2000'' was released for the Sega 32X in 1995. It is the only ''Zaxxon'' game to use full 3D graphics. The game bore the ''Zaxxon'' brand only in the United States, as the Japanese version was named ''Parasquad'' and the European version was simply called ''Motherbase''.
# ''Zaxxon'' (1982)
# ''Super Zaxxon'' (1982)
# ''Zaxxon 3-D'' (1987)
# ''Zaxxon Motherbase 2000'' (1995)

Board game

In 1982, Milton Bradley made a ''Zaxxon'' board game. [3]

Tabletop and handheld games

In 1982 Sega released ''Zaxxon'' as a tabletop game and there was a handheld version released as well [4]. Bandai [5] and Coleco[6] also released ''Zaxxon'' handheld games.

Remakes

The 2003 Retro Remakes competition produced clones for Linux and Windows. [7]

Similar games

★ ''Future Spy'' was created by Sega in 1984. This game uses the same hardware as ''Zaxxon'' and has very similar game play but with a more realistic military theme.[8]

★ ''Viewpoint'' was released by Sammy in 1992 for the Neo-Geo system. This game features the same 3/4 view perspective and similar gameplay as ''Zaxxon''. [9]

External links

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