Space Fantasy Zone
From Sega Retro
| Space Fantasy Zone |
|---|
| System(s): TurboGrafx-CD |
| Publisher: NEC Avenue |
| Developer: NEC Avenue |
| Genre: Shoot-'em-Up |
Space Fantasy Zone is an unreleased TurboGrafx-CD game developed by NEC Avenue. It attempts to bridge the gap between Fantasy Zone and Space Harrier, two games set in the same fictional universe of the "Fantasy Zone".
It is a rail shooter similar to Space Harrier, but features Fantasy Zone's Opa Opa as the main character. Enemies are taken from both games and the music is a mix between the two as well. There is a shop similar to the one in Fantasy Zone also, and strangely the introduction sequence bears a resemblance to Galaxy Force.
Though it was mentioned several times in the gaming press, Space Fantasy Zone never saw the light of day. This is potentially due to legal disputes with Sega who at this point (1991) were planning their own CD-based add-on for the Sega Mega Drive. Another possible reason for cancellation was due to quality problems - as the TurboGrafx-CD cannot natively scale sprites like Space Harrier in the arcades, it can lead to very "choppy" scaling and other restrictions making it look less appealing.
A prototype was leaked to the internet many years after cancellation. Though it seems to be mostly complete, levels can be bypassed by accessing the shop, and most of the music seems to be missing.
