I expect to see all of Sega 3D classic-GAF clothed by Sega by the time all of these are finished
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Sega 3D Classics Wave 2 |OT| October: 3D Sonic 2
- Thread starter Nachos
- Start date
Fantasy Zone is another great port. The 3D effect is great too. The only issue being that this is an arcade game clearly designed to be played with larger stick controls. It's not ideal on a controller, but it's even worse on a portable. That aside, the pain and suffering isn't too much to deal, especially with very generous stage select and rapid fire options.
I think it was the 3rd or 4th stage (the water one with the hermit crab shell things you had to destroy) that was hilariously easy because all the enemy generators were on the ground. 7-way shot + Large Engine or whatever + running on the ground = easiest stage.
But otherwise, been liking this & can't wait for April to get the sequel.
But otherwise, been liking this & can't wait for April to get the sequel.
Splash Wave
Member
I hardly knew what Fantasy Zone was until it was announced for the 3DS--is it worth checking out for someone like me? I've really enjoyed messing around with these releases so far.
Fantasy zone is a good game regardless of having played it back in the days or not.
Brian_FETO
Banned
I'm surprised how low the scores on the leaderboard are. It's cool to be able to get at the top easily (especially since it counts for an entry in the hoodie contest) but jeez, I had a horrible run my second time and got 1st. I almost want to wait to enter until I have a more worthy-looking leaderboard haha
First time playing Fantasy Zone though, and it's pretty fantastic.
First time playing Fantasy Zone though, and it's pretty fantastic.
I forced my way through with the spread shots bought right before the boss, he was down in three seconds. But a real pain in the butt otherwise.
Ingueferroque
Banned
I will purchase all 3D classics the moment I get the New 3DS.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Awesome port. Here the 3D effect's used for subtlety of immersion, and listening to the ranking music, viewing those vistas that pop out so well on the screen...well I can't stop playing this game! Interesting that M2's locked some options behind a coin limit, which encourages players to learn the controls before relying on shop items for leverage.
This game's more complex than I remembered, one example being how it'll deny shop access if you aren't within a certain range of coins determined by how many lives you've bought. I love being able to manage scrolling speed in order to avoid enemy waves/ambushes; nailing the momentum of collecting a stray coin, then flying up to shoot a phalanx of cute fuzzies, never gets old. Use the Circle Pad Pro if you have an OG 3DS and would like better ergonomics, as Opa-Opa's physics call for precision. Only just got to stage 4 on two-stars, no stage select used to jump ahead, and coin bank left unopened.
This game's more complex than I remembered, one example being how it'll deny shop access if you aren't within a certain range of coins determined by how many lives you've bought. I love being able to manage scrolling speed in order to avoid enemy waves/ambushes; nailing the momentum of collecting a stray coin, then flying up to shoot a phalanx of cute fuzzies, never gets old. Use the Circle Pad Pro if you have an OG 3DS and would like better ergonomics, as Opa-Opa's physics call for precision. Only just got to stage 4 on two-stars, no stage select used to jump ahead, and coin bank left unopened.
Is one star not the arcade default? Or does it just not pose enough of a challenge?
Xbudz
Member
Except those of us in Canada
I feel ya! Good thing my Mom lives in the USA. I entered the contest with her name. Fingers crossed!!
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
I'm not sure about it either. Assuming the one-star default is arcade difficulty, then just how difficult would it be with four?
Agent Unknown
Member
Just got done playing Fantasy Zone 3D for about an hour straight, great port! Also, La Dune is a really tough stage. I'm playing on two star difficulty for now.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
La Dune was punishing until I figured out why I wasn't getting shop balloons. Some of the enemy patterns and waves following upon them are too damn clever, I swear.
Agent Unknown
Member
What's the secret on getting the Shops?
Edit: I buy the beam lazer on La Dune, helps on taking out a lot of the bases early.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Say you've bought one life, meaning the next life's cost is 20K. If you don't have 5K coins or more after that point, balloons won't appear.
Agent Unknown
Member
Cool, thanks for the tip.
Ryu Hayabusa
Member
I can't wait for this 3D Streets of Rage 2
Except those of us in Canada
Or...anywhere other than US?
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
There's a damned art to utilizing bomb trajectory in this game. It's clever in that I can learn how to save up as many coins as needed within a run to get certain items (lives, twin bombs, and 7-way shot usually), and I also learn how to deal with patterns better due to moving around more precisely for blowing a base up. And yet it's a punishing game no matter how good I am, because some enemies fire stray bullets just when I've cleaned up and wanna move on to another base. Polaria is a menace, but even La Dune still gives me problems.
3 million coins lets you choose infinite weapon time btw. I won't be using it aside from goofing off, though.
3 million coins lets you choose infinite weapon time btw. I won't be using it aside from goofing off, though.
The 3D effect is quite good, definitally better than the MD/Genesis games and keeping in mind that even though Fantasy Zone was a System 16 arcade game, it was a simple side-scrolling cute 'em up with just a standard 2nd background layer, not layer after layer of scrolling.
What's interesting is that console-only Super Fantasy Zone on MD programmed by Sunsoft has an extra layer of scrolling and is a great game overall. It's too bad there isn't a way to play it in 3D unless someone hacked the ROM and added support for 3D shutter glasses, which AFAIK never happened.
It's news to me that the X68000 port of Fantasy Zone supported 3D shutter glasses.
Arcade flyer material (best I could fine are low-res)
Sharp X68000
Sega Saturn
What's interesting is that console-only Super Fantasy Zone on MD programmed by Sunsoft has an extra layer of scrolling and is a great game overall. It's too bad there isn't a way to play it in 3D unless someone hacked the ROM and added support for 3D shutter glasses, which AFAIK never happened.
It's news to me that the X68000 port of Fantasy Zone supported 3D shutter glasses.
Arcade flyer material (best I could fine are low-res)
Sharp X68000
Sega Saturn
A lot of them had either secret or unlockable content, yes;
Space Harrier: reaching and clearing the final stage on one credit gives you an extra boss, and beating the extra boss unlocks an on/off toggle for that boss, as well as infinite credits.
Super Hang-On: clearing all four of the courses unlocks a new "World" course which is basically all four courses strung together as one long race.
Galaxy Force II: This port is based on the retouched "Neo" version that M2 made for PS2 several years ago, but clearing the game unlocks an arcade-accurate version with the original graphics, aspect ratio, etc. There are also some hidden commands that let you increase your energy and shield levels beyond the defaults, change the stereoscopic orientation of the lock-on reticule or unlock a new goofy background for the arcade cabinet mode.
Outrun: Each time you clear a different route you unlock another modifier toggle that affects the handling of your car (better cornering, maintain speed off-road, etc). Beating all the routes unlocks an arcade-accurate mode that maintains the aspect mode and refresh rate of the original game and contains all the bugs they fixed for the 3DS version, like the timer bug.
Fantasy Zone II DX: The coin bank is back with most of the same perks, and getting the alternate endings in the main game unlocks additional ships for Link Loop Land, the (excellent) supplementary game.
Thunder Blade: Clearing the arcade mode unlocks an arranged special mode with new mechanics and scoring systems, new enemies, newly arranged stages and a completely new and original final stage. This mode even has its own unique set of arcade cabinet settings, modelled after a hypothetical arcade revision that never existed.
There's also the hidden extra in FZ that no-one seems to have stumbled across yet that I won't spoil.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
So what's the reason M2 didn't replicate the Fantasy Zone arcade cabinet?
They touch on the cabinet in the interview and later say they decided to go with the replicated CRT viewing mode for this port but don't really say why this was the case...
They touch on the cabinet in the interview and later say they decided to go with the replicated CRT viewing mode for this port but don't really say why this was the case...
What's there to replicate? It was just a generic arcade machine. The cabs they replicate are the sit-in ones which are unique.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
That'll teach me for not even trying to search for the cab first, now I've seen it I get what you mean.
In terms of port quality? No, they're all great and pretty much the definitive versions.
Obviously you have to decide for yourself if you want to drop money on Altered Beast but if you think of it as supporting this stellar initiative, you'll have an easy time justifying it.
Did Fantasy Zone come out in Europe? For some reason it didn't in Australia and isn't even listed on the classifications site that revealed Streets of Rage 2 recently. Every other Sega 3D game has released as normal as far as I know, Afterburner 2 was definitely same day as America since I bought it.
Yes it did.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Now that I've beaten my firing hand to a pulp getting to Mockstar reliably, I can only hope muscle memory guides me to round 7 tomorrow. The 3D backgrounds work on me in these night hours, lol.
I've gone back to default stars (never changed ship count), which confirms my suspicion that difficulty only controls where and when some bullet patterns crop up. For example, on two-star difficulty, the bases in La Dune will occasionally fire lone bullets at you, killing Opa-Opa when up close. Now that's gone, but my run I'd practicing on two-stars works just as well (if not better) on default. Seems to me that stars act in place of dip switches, or that's what they represent anyway; I'm glad I'm playing on arcade settings now.
The only true enemy in the Fantasy Zone is that fucking shop balloon, always interrupting one of my maneuvers in Polaria. The opening bases of Mockstar are positioned such that you have to wait for the balloon to descend upon you, as there's a base it passes through right above the player spawn. What a trick!
I've gone back to default stars (never changed ship count), which confirms my suspicion that difficulty only controls where and when some bullet patterns crop up. For example, on two-star difficulty, the bases in La Dune will occasionally fire lone bullets at you, killing Opa-Opa when up close. Now that's gone, but my run I'd practicing on two-stars works just as well (if not better) on default. Seems to me that stars act in place of dip switches, or that's what they represent anyway; I'm glad I'm playing on arcade settings now.
The only true enemy in the Fantasy Zone is that fucking shop balloon, always interrupting one of my maneuvers in Polaria. The opening bases of Mockstar are positioned such that you have to wait for the balloon to descend upon you, as there's a base it passes through right above the player spawn. What a trick!
iirc in the Arcade and Master System, spending money on all four engines ($111 100) gives you infinite weapon too. Though if you die you still lose everything.
Also, AFAIK the console-exclusive Super Fantasy Zone was released in Japan and Europe on the Mega Drive. The U.S. did not get it on Genesis.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Tabas is the quickest, easiest stage if you have Twin Bombs, Big Wings, and skill with dive-bombing bases. I generally don't like using the quicker engines as, for reasons explained below, this game has a finicky hitbox for Opa-Opa and I like knowing where the little guy is any time. So round 4 takes a bit longer than round 2 on my end.
Being able to interface a stick and buttons with my 3DS would make this feel a lot better, honestly. Good thing M2's included auto-fire buttons for shots and bombs, allowing me to not worry about tapping buttons with 3D on.
It's a surprisingly detailed credits reel, elaborating on the boss encounters as though Koga's already got ideas for a 3D, all-range Fantasy Zone sequel.
Xbudz
Member
Same here. Also got ABII. I wasn't hyped to get Fantasy Zone but ended up drinking a bunch of wine and clicked the purchase button last night.
Yeah if the 3DS supported an external arcade stick, in a dark room with the screen setting on 3, the 3DS could feel like a mini cabinet screen in 3D!
TwiztidElf
Gold Member
Still not out in Australia. Boooooooo!