Siliconera is going to post mini-guides on how to play GungHo’s PsOne imports. We picked Zanac X Zanac first and discovered all of the menus and options are in English. You won’t have to understand Japanese to enjoy this retro masterpiece.
Zanac X Zanac features three versions of the Shoot ‘em up, Zanac, originally made for the MSX and NES. It also includes the PlayStation sequel, Zanac Neo.
Zanac was originally designed on November 18th, 1986, by a small company known as Compile (also known for several Puyo Puyo titles). Players play as the starfighter, AFX-6502 Zanac, the most technologically advanced starfighter, made by man kind, in order to stop the main antagonist known as, the System, from destroying what’s left of man kind.
The game plays like any other Shoot ‘em up, as players take out hundreds of enemy fighters, while moving upwards to the stage boss, with a total of 12 levels. The main weapon can be powered up by picking up blue boxes that drop from the top of the screen, to increase the amount of bullets and speed of your shots. There are also a total of 8 sub-weapons, which can be collected by picking up numbered power-ups.
What made Zanac stand out above the rest of all the Shoot ‘em ups during their golden years, besides its high-paced gameplay and difficulty, was its unique AI system. The game adjusts itself accordingly to the players and how well they perform. The stages would get harder according to your starfighter’s capacities, firing rate and overall skill; making it a true challenge for even the best shoot ‘em up gurus.
Zanac Neo (PlayStation)
Zanac (NES Version)
Zanac X Zanac is available on the PlayStation Store for $5.99! Here are some codes to download Zanac X Zanac and all of GungHo Online Entertainment’s other PsOne imports. Enjoy and please let us know if you used the codes in the comments. Thanks!
N7R2-83NC-9N84
JDDJ-C7NQ-NLHC
