Super Fantasy Zone (Mega Drive)

Developer: Sunsoft
Publisher: Sunsoft 
Year: 1992

Interestingly, the Mega Drive was the only pre 64-bit Sega console that didn't receive a Fantasy Zone port. Instead, Sunsoft, (under license) not Sega themselves who developed a 'reimagined' variant of the first game. Super Fantasy Zone was not an official sequel to the original arcade game or it's Master System/System E follow up, but a return to form for a series that had veered starkly from its shooter roots. The Pacman-esque Fantasy Zone: The Maze and the obscure spin-off, Galactic Protector, were fun distractions, but both very different genres to the first two games in the classic series.

Lore-wise, vengeance is very much the order of the day here; in a bid to fend off the Dark Menon Forces from taking over the Fantasy Zone, Opa-Pa was fatally wounded. Upon realising this, Opa-Opa sets of on his mission to avenge his father and remove the Menon from the Fantasy Zone.

The games first stage, Picknica is a nice homage to the original games, Plaleaf, with its green hills and valleys. 

Super Fantasy Zone was released in 1992 for PAL and NTSC-J territories, but bizarrely never saw a release in North America. It was a true return to form for the franchise; the somewhat tedious warping mechanic from FZII was ditched and the colourful, pastel aesthetic of the first game was given a new lick of paint with enemies and Opa-Opa himself looking chunkier and better than ever.

The games second stage, Karzane, is gorgeous with its pink hues, a smooth implementation of parallax and volcanoes pumping smoke into the atmosphere.

Aesthetics aside, gameplay wise, Sunsoft were faithful to the series' notorious difficulty, with 'Super' arguably being the most difficult entry in the franchise. To compensate for this, Opa-Opa has been given a plethora of new weaponry to purchase from the Parts Shop. Alongside the standard speed and bomb upgrades, there's a backfire shot, a Hurricane AOE attack, the screen filling Thunder Volt, Shower bombs and perhaps the most significant change from a firepower perspective, the quartet missiles. When these are launched, 4 missiles home in on the nearest targets, proving to be essential when surrounded by groups of popcorn enemies and particularly useful against bosses with hard to hit weak points. On first impressions, the missiles seem overpowered as their homing properties mean that no targeting is required. However, when compared to the tried and tested twin bombs, they can't match their DPS, therefore for ease of use, the quartet missiles are considered to be a good, beginner friendly option for new players, while the twin bombs power and precision requirement, would be the preferred choice for series veterans. New to the Parts Shop are a set if environmental/stage specific items; rubber boots for the electrified floor that features in stage 6, Le Picker, Super lights for stage 4, Risscave, where your range of vision is severely reduced by the lack of light.

Super Lights and Rubber boots are stage specific items that really don't serve any purpose on other stages.

Boss wise, 'Super' has quite a variety of fiendishly devised guardians, from stage 1's halloween influenced, Lantern to the bizarrely named and extremely challenging nautilis, Unmostly. Most will keep you on your toes, while others are relatively straightforward (I'm looking at you, Dogoo.

This final boss (well, almost), Opa-Opa Nexus, looks imposing but there's a strategy to taking him down. 

The games OST can possibly only be rivalled by M2's remake of Fantasy Zone II's in terms of quality. There are so many great tunes here! Composer, Naomi Kodaka, has been faithful to the tone of the previous games, but has somehow managed to create his own unique style. In terms of presentation, 'Super' sits comfortably among the Mega Drive's best shooters.

In terms of present day availability, the JP Mega Drive cartridge can be bought on eBay (if you want to play the game at 60fps and full screen, I would avoid the pal release), but prices are ridiculously high as is the price of the PS,2's Fantasy Zone collection. Thankfully, the game can be accessed via the Switch's Mega Drive Online service as well the Mega Drive mini.