Fantasy Zone: The Maze
From Sega Retro
Fantasy Zone: The Maze | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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System(s): Sega System E, Sega Master System | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: Sega | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: Sega Whiteboard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distributor: Tonka (US) Hent Gruppen (SE rental) Tec Toy (BR) Samsung (KR) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peripherals supported: FM Sound Unit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Action[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1-2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Fantasy Zone: The Maze, known in Japan as Opa Opa (オパオパ), is an entry in the Fantasy Zone series of video games. It was released for Sega System E arcade hardware in 1987, with a Sega Master System version following shortly afterwards. It is often referred to as "Fantasy Zone III", though this is not an official title.
Contents
Story
What time period the story takes place in varies by region. Western manuals state that the game takes place after the events of Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa; after their first two defeats by Opa-Opa, the Menons have returned to take over the Fantasy Zone, building mazes on each of the planets. Opa-Opa has lost most of his energy from having previously defeated the Menons twice, and so his younger brother, Upa-Upa, volunteers to fight alongside him to help him defeat the Menons once more.
The Japanese manual and the in-game epilogue instead place the game before the events of the original Fantasy Zone, with Opa-Opa and Upa-Upa undergoing training so that they may be allowed to wield weapons with them at all times and be able to defend the Fantasy Zone from enemy threats one day.
Gameplay
Unlike previous entries in the series, Fantasy Zone: The Maze is similar to Pac-Man. The hero, Opa-Opa (and Upa-Upa in a 2-player game), must navigate around a series of mazes collecting coins while avoiding enemies. The coins placed around the maze vary in value based on their size, and bigger coins will slowly decrease in size and value the longer the player(s) takes to collect every coin. When all coins are collected, all on-screen enemies will be turned into additional coins, and the player has a short amount of time to collect them before the current round ends.
Collected coins can be used to buy weapons, giving Opa-Opa a defense or allowing him to travel faster. Before each round begins, the game shows the possible weapons that can be bought in the current round and the prices for each weapon. To buy them, the player(s) must pass over a circle containing the weapon providing they have enough money to purchase it. Weapons only last for a short amount of time and cannot be carried over between rounds, and will be lost immediately if the player dies. Most weapons are fired using either of the face buttons.
The enemies that primarily roam the mazes are Mobile Bases, emerging from a Master Hole in the center of each maze that gradually builds up energy, turning from black to red. When it's about to reach full energy, the game alerts the player(s) to start moving towards the hole and touch it to reset it. If the Master Hole is allowed to be fully charged, it will send Plasma Wave transmissions to the Mobile Bases, in turn commanding them to release more enemies.
The rounds are based on those found in the original Fantasy Zone, with each planet having three rounds, though there are also bonus rounds at the end of each planet in which Opa-Opa must collect as many coins as possible before the time runs out. Collecting the 2x item in these bonus rounds will double the amount of coins collected. There are a total of 51 rounds to complete.
Weapons
Twin Shot | |
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Fires two parallel shots in front of Opa-Opa/Upa-Upa at the same time. | |
Wide Beam | |
Fires a shot in a half-circle with wider range. | |
Laser Beam | |
Fires a laser that pierces through enemies. | |
Fire Bomb | |
A bomb that travels horizontally and blows up an enemy in one blast. | |
Heavy Bomb | |
Falls from the top of the screen, crushing any enemy in its path. | |
Big Wing | |
Increases Opa-Opa/Upa-Upa's movement speed. | |
Top Power | |
Makes Opa-Opa/Upa-Upa invincible, allowing him to defeat enemies by flying directly into them. |
Items
Additional items periodically appear in the corners where the player(s) started in the maze, which can be collected by passing over them. They will flash and disappear if left alone.
Smart Bomb | |
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Destroys all on-screen enemies. | |
Flicky | |
A cameo from Flicky. Awards $5,000 when collected. | |
1UP Egg | |
Awards an extra life. | |
50% Off | |
Reduces the cost of the next weapon purchased by half. |
Planets
Plaleaf (The Green Planet) | |
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Tabas (The Sun Planet) | |
La Dune (The Sand Planet) | |
Dolimicca (The Super Planet) | |
Polaria (The Ice Planet) | |
Mockstar (The Cloud Planet) | |
Pocarius (The Water Planet) | |
Scoring
Mobile Bases: 200 points.
Menon Soldiers: 100 points.
Time Bonus: Awarded at the end of each round, based on clear time:
- Less than 20 seconds = 20,000 points.
- 20-29 seconds = 10,000 points.
- 30-39 seconds = 5,000 points.
- 40-49 seconds = 3,000 points.
- 50-59 seconds = 1,000 points.
- 60 seconds or more = 0 points.
Versions
Localised names
Language | Localised Name | English Translation |
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English | Fantasy Zone: The Maze | Fantasy Zone: The Maze |
English (US) | Fantasy Zone: The Maze | Fantasy Zone: The Maze |
Japanese | オパオパ | Opa Opa |
Production credits
- FKK
- LLM
- MMO
- NBN
- AOO
- PPP
- AAA
- KAJ
Magazine articles
- Main article: Fantasy Zone: The Maze/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Physical scans
System E version
Master System version
Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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76 | |
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Based on 10 reviews |
Master System, SE (rental; Hent Gruppen) |
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Technical information
ROM dump status
System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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✔ |
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128kB | Cartridge (EU/US) | |||||||||||
✔ |
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128kB | Cartridge (JP) | |||||||||||
? |
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128kB | EPROM cartridge | Page |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2019-06-21 03:44)
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "May 1992" (JP; 1992-04-xx), page 103
- ↑ Computer Entertainer, "August 1988" (US; 1988-08-13), page 12
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs2h-gyK66I
- ↑ Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume IV" (UK; 1990-11-xx), page 96
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 56
- ↑ The Games Machine, "June 1988" (UK; 1988-05-19), page 65
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 133
- ↑ Power Play, "Ausgabe 5" (DE; 1988-05-24), page 86
- ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 56
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 70
- ↑ Soft, "" (DK; 1988-10-xx), page 22
- ↑ Software Gids, "Mei/Juni 1990" (NL; 1990-05-xx), page 37
- ↑ User, "Aprílios 1992" (GR; 1992-0x-xx), page 87
Fantasy Zone: The Maze | |
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