*Spoilers may be displayed below*

Not that I'm overly concerned about anyone having not played Zombies Ate My Neighbors or plans on doing so, although not much storyline is involved. I'll get some screenshots uploaded a bit later today.

As a child, quite a few games knocked me around, frustrated, confused, and yet, excited me to play. The sheer amazement I found in them as a child has carried into my adulthood and found itself softly nestled in my heart, thriving within the very rhythmic beat of my being. This drives me to continue playing them, and I'm hoping to share my experience, hopefully stirring old memories in some.

Game: Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Platform: SNES (although a Sega Genesis version is available)

Published: July 19, 1993

Zombies Ate My Neighbors wasn't highly received immediately after its release; most of its fame came later on down the life of the Super Nintendo. Now regarded as a cult classic, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is fun, challenging, creative, and has loads of replayability.

Scoring is rewarded for enemy kills, survivors rescued, money/gold found, items picked up, and bonuses received. Bonuses can include plenty of things and their point value ranges: one level rewards you for never firing a bazooka while another rewards you for killing a vampire (worth a whopping 10000 points!). Outside of bragging rights and a high score table, the points carry no significant value aside from the occasional reward of an extra life.

You choose one of two characters: a blonde, 3D-glasses wearing boy named Zeke, or a purple-jacketed, baseball cap wearing girl named Julie. Neither has any special abilities and both can wield all weapons in the game. However, to play this game I highly recommend finding a partner and playing multiplayer - the levels get excessively difficult, and oftentimes, one player is simply not enough.

The game is based off simple mechanics: find any/all victims, which can include a tourist couple, a man on an innertube floating on water, a baby, a cheerleader, a teacher, a dog, a child jumping on a trampoline, or a man flipping hamburger patties. All levels have at least one victim that will be present somewhere on the map, and up to 9 other vicitims that are randomly placed around the map. Rescuing the survivors results in an Exit door opening and allowing you to pass to the next level.

The game starts you off with a Water Gun loaded with 150 squirts of water and a single health pack. Keep in mind this is what you start with every time you begin gameplay. Why is that important? Because if you feel the need to skip straight to level 45 (the last level reachable via password) and attempt to beat the game in the shortest time possible, you're only going to give yourself a headache.

That brings another point to mind: passwords. You only get a new password every few levels, and you will start to cherish new passwords as you get to the final 15 levels. Keep in mind, though, that using a password won't equip your characters with anything more than their Water Guns and a single health pack, so jumping toward the end can be risky, meaning you'll spend some time wandering the level to get supplies.

There are three different types of items in game: weapons, special items, and bonus items. Weapons range from your standard Water Gun to Silverware to a Crucifix. Special items vary in their use: some heal you, some hurt monsters, some distract monsters, and others destroy most everything on the screen. Bonus items also vary in their use, but aren't carried by your character like Special Items are: coins, money, 1-Ups are all Bonus Items, and are usually pretty hard to find.

Some of the simpler enemies will die in one shot: spiders and zombies immediately come to mind. However, most of the enemies take more than one shot from your Water Gun; finding the right weapon is the key (i.e. Silverware vs. Werewolves and Crucifix vs. Vampire).

The bosses in this game are challenging beyond the level of the game itself. Tremor worms, Giant Spiders, and two-story toddlers are naming a few, and most move erratically and attack even more so.

All in all, I love this game and would definitely recommend it. If you don't have a Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo, the game is available on the Virtual Console for Nintendo Wii, to my knowledge.

Screens:

I couldn't take any of my own screens, because I no longer own any emulators. These are some screens I've found on the net.

~IP