Zero Wing
European boxart
Developer(s)	Toaplan
Publisher(s)	Sega
Platform(s)	Arcade, PC Engine, Sega Mega Drive
Release date	1989 (Arcade) May 31, 1991 (Sega Mega Drive)
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single player

Zero Wing is a 1989 Japanese shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Toaplan. Like other shoot 'em ups of the time, it featured no real plot except to distinguish that the player is a lone hero who will save the universe from an evil force. However, it enjoyed a degree of success in the arcade and was subsequently ported to the PC Engine and Sega Mega Drive in 1991. Gametrailers.com listed Zero Wing as the seventh worst video game in its "10 Best and Worst Video Games." Image File history File links Zerowing. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Toaplan was a video game developer from Japan. ... This article is about the video game company. ... In computing, a platform describes some sort of framework, either in hardware or software, which allows software to run. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... For information on the Japanese version of this console, see PC Engine The TurboGrafx 16 is a video game console released by NEC in 1989, for the North American market. ... The Sega Mega Drive ) is a video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ... Further information: Game classification Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay interaction. ... Scrolling shooters are a type of video game, a subgenre of shoot em up . ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... For the video/computer game genre, see Shoot em up. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Toaplan was a video game developer from Japan. ... arcade, see Arcade. ... In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed (e. ... For information on the Japanese version of this console, see PC Engine The TurboGrafx 16 is a video game console released by NEC in 1989, for the North American market. ... The Sega Mega Drive ) is a video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Gameplay

As with other scrolling shooters, the aim of the game is to shoot all enemies that appear on screen and avoid getting obliterated by lasers, crashing into enemies or into foreground scenery. There are mid-level and end-of-level boss enemies that stay with the player until they are defeated. For alternative meanings see laser (disambiguation). ... Flag Ship from the video game Gorf A boss is an enemy-based challenge in video games that, once encountered, stops the games progression until the player is able either to surmount the enemy or is thwarted by it. ...

The player, a "ZIG" star fighter, has several ways to attack:

• Using the main cannon: scatter-shot (red weapon), lasers (blue weapon), or homing missiles (green weapon).
• Ramming smaller enemies with the orbital cannons that appear above and below the ZIG. These cannons fire whatever weapon is equipped on the main ship at the time.
• Grabbing an enemy using the tractor beam and releasing it at another enemy, similar to the Kirby games.
• Releasing the spherical front shield once it is collected, like in R-Type.

Soon after starting, the player encounters power-up ships. If destroyed, they leave behind power-ups. These run in the sequence of red weapon, blue weapon, green weapon, and speed-up, and then start with red again. There is also an occasional shield power-up, which attaches to the front of the ship. Once the first weapon power-up is collected, two small ships appear above and below the ZIG, and follow its exact movements. These extra ships are impervious and can be used as shields. As they occasionally move nearer the ZIG when blocked by large enemies or foreground scenery, they can serve as a warning to the player that they should move carefully to avoid a collision. For other uses, see Laser (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Missile. ... Kirby ) is a fictional character and hero of Nintendos Kirby video game series created by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by HAL Laboratory. ... R-Type is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. ... For the American non-profit organization, see Power Up. ...

Each of the three main weapons has three power levels. Each time the same weapon is collected, the power level increases. If a different weapon is collected, it starts back on level 1 power, unless level 3 power was already attained previously. If you have a spherical front shield while you're already holding one, a special power-up will replace it which increase all weapons to a special, otherwise unattainable, level 4. Another way to obtain level 4 is if you're already carrying a bomb and detonate an object that would yield another bomb power up. In the intro scenes, the ZIG's windows are green. In the game itself, the windows change color depending on what weapon the player has.

"All your base are belong to us"

Main article: All your base are belong to us

See also: Engrish

The phrase is a piece of subtitled dialogue from the introduction to Zero Wing.

In the Sega Mega Drive version, to expand on the game's plot, an introductory cut scene was added to the game. This introductory scene was translated to English from Japanese rather poorly for the European release, because of the European version being rushed, resulting in dialogue such as "Somebody set up us the bomb," "All your base are belong to us" (AYB for short), and "You have no chance to survive make your time." The introduction does not appear in the arcade version. The phrase is a piece of subtitled dialogue from the introduction to Zero Wing. ... An example of Engrish on a sign in Sasebo, Japan. ... png version of All your base are belong to us This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... A cut scene or cutscene (sometimes also referred to as a cinematic) is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no control. ... The phrase is a piece of subtitled dialogue from the introduction to Zero Wing. ...

In 1999, Zero Wing's introduction was re-discovered, culminating in the wildly popular "All your base are belong to us" memetic phenomenon. This also popularized the introductory and Level 3 background music by Tatsuya Uemura.^{[citation needed]} The phrase is a piece of subtitled dialogue from the introduction to Zero Wing. ... For other uses, see Meme (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Tatsuya Uemura (上村建也 Uemura Tatsuya, born June 23, 1960) is a Japanese arcade game musician and programmer. ...

The console version of Zero Wing was never released in North America for the Turbo Grafx (PC Engine) or Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) due to the release of the arcade version distributed by Williams Electronics, which lacks the AYB intro. However, the European Mega Drive version of the game will play on American consoles due to a lack of region protection. Game console redirects here. ... North American redirects here. ... Williams is a long-standing electronic gaming and amusement company based in Chicago, Illinois. ...

See also

• All your base are belong to us

The phrase is a piece of subtitled dialogue from the introduction to Zero Wing. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Zero Wing

• Zero Wing at MobyGames
• Zero Wing at the Killer List of Videogames
• Zero Wing at GameFAQs
• Category at ODP
• Zero Wing Megadrive/Genesis review from Mean Machines Archive
• Video of the Famous Introduction