Zaxxon

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Sega

When Sega released Zaxxon in arcades in 1981, it was a visual marvel. Taking the still-new scrolling shooter genre away from simple side-scrolling, Sega instead had Zaxxon scroll diagonally, with the player seeing the ship that they control from an isometric viewpoint. What that means is that Zaxxon allowed players to play a 2D scrolling shooter that looked like a 3D scrolling shooter. It wasn't just the visuals that grabbed everyone's attention with Zaxxon, though. Sega made sure that you knew about Zaxxon, even if you never stepped foot in an arcade. How was that? Well, Zaxxon was the first arcade game to have advertisements on television. Of course, all the advertising and impressive visuals wouldn't mean much if the game wasn't fun to play. Thankfully, Sega delivered in that department, too. Before I get into the gameplay, though, I will say that Zaxxon isn't a pick-up-and-play game. It takes a little bit to get used to. Some of that is due to the isometric view, which takes a little getting used to on its own. The other reason is that you're not simply weaving back and forth in the isometric levels while you shoot at targets: you're also changing altitude as you do so. This can make shooting enemies and/or raising or lowering your altitude to squeeze into tight areas a bit tricky at times. Until you've played Zaxxon for a while, it can be a little difficult to figure out the correct height that you need to be at to successfully destroy enemies or avoid obstacles. However, once you overcome that hurdle, you're rewarded with a very solid scrolling shooter for its time. Anyway, onto the actual gameplay. Zaxxon consists of two fortresses to fly through, with a segment in outer space between them. As you fly, you'll weave back and forth, as well as up and down, to both avoid enemies and line up your shots so that you can take them down. At the end of the second fortress, you'll have a boss fight of sorts, as you need to shoot down a giant Zaxxon robot. Like most arcade games of the time, successfully taking down the robot results in you starting back at the start of the game, but with an increased difficulty. The Zaxxon arcade game was a commercial success worldwide, but it specifically did well in North America, being among the six highest-grossing arcade games of 1982. Zaxxon is one of the best early scrolling shooters that you can find. It may not be as easy to pick up and play as some other shooters, but if you stick with it, you're rewarded with a fun game that truly felt like it was ahead of its time.

Review added: 09/20/2026

Zero Wing

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Toaplan

Call me crazy, but the arcade version of Zero Wing is a bit more difficult than the Genesis version, isn't it? I felt like the Genesis version was a good shooter, but a little on the easy side…well, you can throw that out the window for this version. Also, I had a minor complaint about the gimmick of being able to pull an enemy ship in to use as a shield or weapon in the Genesis version. Here in the arcade original, it seems like it's much more useful. I found myself in situations where it was helpful to use the enemy ship as a weapon, but much more often, I found it useful to have a shield that could absorb a bullet that I didn't see coming. Other than that, this largely seems to be a bigger, better variation of the game…if you can survive through the bullet hell spots to see it all. I am impressed, however, at how close the Genesis version got to this game graphically: the arcade version definitely looks nicer, but not by a lot. Anyway, if you've played the Genesis port of Zero Wing and found it to be a bit too easy for your tastes and want a bit of a challenge, then give the arcade version a try. It's the same fun concepts, but with added difficulty, extra content, and a slightly better look.

Review added: 11/20/2025