Zombies Ate My Neighbors - Sega Genesis

If you are looking for an obscure yet incredibly awesome game, have I got one for you. From its title to its never-ending array of unique environments, enemies and weapons, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a game that even to this day is one of a kind. I’ve literally been playing this game all week and I can’t get over how much fun it is. Let me explain how it works.

You start the game by selecting a character. You can either play as Zeke (left controller) or Julie (right controller). The game plays like a top view run and gun. The object of each level is to save your neighbors from getting killed by hordes of stereotypical horror-movie monsters. There are ten neighbors scattered around each level for you to save, and in order to exit the stage you must save at least one. Seems simple right? Well, here’s the kicker. You continue the next level out to save the same amount of neighbors you saved in the previous stage. So if you were only able to save five of your neighbors in stage one, you will only be able to save a maximum of five neighbors in stage two. If two of your neighbors get killed in stage two and you saved the rest to complete the level, then you will start stage three only able to save a maximum of three. There are 48 levels in the game (not including the 6 bonus stages and the credits stage), so you can see that it is imperative to save as many neighbors as you can in each stage, otherwise its going to get really difficult down the road.

Now, 48 levels may seem a bit extensive considering the objective is the same in each area, but let me assure you it’s not. The creators at Konami put together such a large amount of differing environments and so many bizarre weapons at your disposal, it’s virtually impossible for you to get bored. You will be fighting off monsters in so many places: rural neighborhoods, shopping malls, ancient pyramids, medieval castles, vast deserts, business offices, toy factories and many more. Another awesome aspect of the game is the amount of monsters you’ll be seeing. The title is slightly misleading; you definitely won’t be saving your neighbors from only zombies. You’ll be fighting werewolves, vampires, huge blobs of goo, mushroom plant monsters, sand worms, three-story-tall babies, ants the size of cars, axe-wielding demon dolls, chainsaw murderers and almost every other horror flick monster you could dream of. How will you be killing these creatures you ask? Well let me tell you...

The weapon selection is simply amazing. In a way I like to think of it as a retro Dead Rising. You literally can use almost anything you find. You are initially armed with just a water pistol, but you can later freeze enemies with fire-extinguishers, mulch creatures with a hand mower and even blast creatures with a bazooka. And if that’s not crazy enough for you, you could pummel your enemies with dinner plates and kitchen utensils, blow up zombies with popsicles, pelt your foe with tomatoes, or even drink a special potion which transforms you into a monstrous killer with an explosive punch. You can also plant decoys to attract enemies and collect many other items that act as homing missiles against the hordes. Now it’s not just the existence of the weapons that is awesome, it’s the way you can use them. The game is very well supportive of the horror movies that it references. For instance, the vampires can be killed instantly with the use of the crucifix item. The werewolves also only need to take one hit from a piece of silverware for them to eat the dust. Speaking of cool weapon uses, the bazooka can change the environments a little bit, since it is able to blow through locked doors and walls...frickin’ sweet.

You’ll find that there is a port of this game on the SNES, but if you ask me, the Genesis port is far superior to its Nintendo counterpart. For one thing, Nintendo, being a family oriented gaming developer, demanded that the game have no violent content and no blood or gore. So, anywhere where there should be blood is replaced by green or purple slime. Sure it’s cute, but it’s just not authentic. The Nintendo version also has a button you need to press to bring up your radar, which can be a pain in the butt. The Genesis version keeps a transparent radar on the screen at all times. This makes for much easier neighbor searching since you won’t have to be constantly pulling up the map. Also, the amount of sprites on the screen is just better supported by the Genesis’s hardware capabilities.

So, is this one obscure enough for you? I guarantee almost anyone would be pleased with this game. Oh, and did I mention it’s two player compatible? A lot of teamwork aspects in this mode, but I’ll let you discover that on your own. This game is a little tougher to find and will probably run you anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five dollars. I got mine cartridge-only and it cost me 15 bucks. Is it worth it though? Hell yes. If you see this one anywhere, I would definitely pick it up. With over 48 levels to play through, you’ll be enjoying this one for a long time.