Zillion (video game)

Infobox VG| title = Zillion


developer = Tatsunoko Productions
publisher = Sega
composer = Tokuhiko Uwabo
release = 1987
genre = Platform
modes = Single player
platforms = Sega Master System
input = Joypad
media = 1-Megabit cartridge

"Zillion" is a space adventure platform video game designed for the Sega Master System as a companion for the Zillion anime in 1987. The game is a free-scrolling platform/adventure in the vein of "Metroid". It also has objects to be inspected and the necessity of enable things by accessing codes in vein of "Impossible Mission". A sequel to the game, "" was also released.

Gameplay

Zillion is a game where you play the role of JJ. The mission was to retrieve the 5 floppy disks from the Norsa Forces base on Planet X, find his missing partners Apple and Champ, and destroy the Norsa base by entering a code in its mainframe. JJ is dropped off by the ship, after he reaches the underground base at the initial part of the game, the rest of the game would take place indoors underground. He would not emerge on top again until the end of the game.

Some of the obstacles of the missions include tripwires, enemy guards, laser turrets and forcefields. The game style includes entering and exiting room to room in the base and unlocking each room with computer ID cards and inputing the correct code, which parts are is shown by investigating broken machines. Some will be reusable, others will be eaten up by the machines. Aside from unlocking rooms, the player has also the option to make specific actions, such as turn off barriers, deactivate traps, or even commit suicide, among others. One of the codes is the one needed to self-destruct the Norsa base.

JJ carries a gun which was used as a design model for the Sega Master System Light Phaser. It would also be his main weapon in the game. As the game progresses, the gun will become stronger allowing JJ to break capsules containing codes for the computers or powerups.

Once rescued, the player can also play as Apple and Champ, each one with its own differences; Apple is fast but is weaker and Champ is slower but stronger. Like JJ, they can also upgrade their gun power and get items for themselves.

Trivia

* Zillion prominently features the egg-shaped character, Opa-opa. This character is a Sega tie-in to the Fantasy Zone games also available for the Sega Master System.

* Zillion was one of a handful of anime-based 8-bit games that actually made it into the hands of American consumers during the 1980s.

* Zillion is famous for a variety of "special messages" that can be received if the player inputs certain codes in certain rooms.

* In the instruction manual of the English release of the game, Apple is incorrectly mentioned as a male.

* A bug in the game allows a player to reenter the base after it is destroyed with all robots and defense mechanisms deactivated. The player must escape the base and wait for the explosion which seals the entrance. Then, instead of returning to the mothership, the player must walk out of sight of the base entrance and then back towards the central elevator hatch. The elevator hatch will then reappear, albeit without the elevator. The player is then able to jump down the shaft into the base, but is now trapped there since there is no way to get back to the surface without a working elevator.fact|date=February 2008

* Another bug in the game allows you to become invincible in certain rooms, including the very first room, by taking damage as you enter the console and putting in the suicide code. However this will mean you cannot use the pause button to change characters once they become available.