Zombie Nation
System: NES
Release Date: January 1991
Developer: KAZe
Publisher: Meldac
Genre: Shoot ‘em Up
Take control of a floating samurai head to destroy an evil alien creature in Zombie Nation! It wasn’t a harmless meteorite, it was the evil Darc Seed and it’s turning the United States into a nation of zombies. It’s up to you, the great head of the samurai, Hamakubi, to break the spell by destroying everything in sight!
This is a weird game. There are four rounds of play and you can choose whichever one to start on before rotating through the rest. The screen automatically scrolls to the right and the head moves very quickly and in an unruly fashion. When you press the B Button to fire, you shoot eyeballs and… I dunno… spit or vomit or something gross. You’ll find enemies that you either want to destroy or avoid. As they hit you, your health bar on the bottom of the screen will turn into skulls. These regenerate slowly over time as you avoid taking more damage.
Lightning beams fire in what looks to be the background, but they must be avoided. If they touch you, your health bar is drained and the next hit you take will kill you. Therefore, it is important to watch out for these and try to time passing by them when they are harmless. There are a ton of buildings that you need to destroy tile by tile in order to rescue the zombified humans inside. As they fly through the air, you can catch them in order to earn powerups. Every five you grab increases the power and speed of your attack.
At the end of each round is a boss. You have to avoid getting hit by these or it’s typically an instant death. You’ll battle the Head of Medusa on the Statue of Liberty, Atlas, a nuclear power plant, and the Venusian Snakes before the final fight against Darc Seed. He ends up being a stereotypical little green alien surrounded by orbs that kill you in one hit. It took me several tries, but once I got into a good position, he died quickly. You saved the USA!
Graphics: 2.0
The screen is super busy all the time, but the color palette is not pleasant in any way.
Sound: 2.5
I liked the music, but the sound effects were pretty annoying overall.
Gameplay: 1.5
The head moves too quickly, the attack aiming feels odd, and the whole thing is just… weird.
Difficulty: 2.0
You get a lot of continues and a decent amount of health. But it’s hard to see what’s going on at any given moment.
Fun Factor: 1.5
I didn’t so much enjoy myself, but it was over within a half hour, so it didn’t take too much of my time.
Overall Rating: 1.9
Zombie Nation earns a C. I don’t think the game is as good as the sum of its parts. It just feels… weird.