| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
The reason for Zero Wing's popularity beyond its release as an arcade game and video game is due to the additions made to the European Megadrive version. To expand on the game's plot, an introductory cut-scene was added to the game. This introductory scene was poorly translated to English for the European release. In 1999, Zero Wings Engrish intro was re-discovered by members of overclocked.org, culminating in the wildly successful " All your base are belong to us" memetic phenomenon. This also popularised the introductory and level 1 background music by Tatsuya UemuraTatsuya Uemura is a Japanese arcade game musician and programmer born June 23, 1960. He is regarded as one of the better music programmers and composers in this genre, and is the creator behind the following arcade game scores: Flying Shark Tiger Heli Hel.
The console version of Zero Wing was never released in North AmericaNorth America is the third largest continent in area and the fourth ranked in population. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocea, however the arcade version was distributed by Williams Electronics there.
As per other shooters, the aim of the game is to shoot all other enemies that appear on screen and avoid crashing into bullets, enemies or foreground scenery. There are mid-level and end-of-level "boss" enemies that stay with the player until they are defeated.
The player, a "ZIG" fighter ship, has several ways to attack:
Soon after starting, the player encounters power-up ships. If shot, they leave behind power-ups. These run in the sequence of the red weapon, blue weapon, green weapon and speed-up. There is also an occasional shield power-up, which attaches to the front of the ship. Once the first weapon power-up is collected, two small ships appear above and below the ZIG, and follow its exacting movements. These extra ships are impervious and can be used as shields. As they occasionally move nearer the ZIG when blocked by large enemies or foreground scenery, they can serve as a warning to the player that they should move carefully to avoid a collision.
Each of the three main weapons has three power levels. Each time the same weapon is collected, the power level increases. If a different weapon is collected, it starts back on level 1 power, unless level 3 power was already attained previously. In the intro scenes, the ZIG's windows are greenGreen is a colour seen commonly in nature. Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll. Green light has a wavelength of around 550 nm and is one of the additive primary colours, the complement of magenta. Many artists, however, continue to use a tra. In the game, the windows change color depending on what weapon the player has.