A decent shooter that was way ahead of its time

User Rating: 8 | Ikari no Yousai GB
By Double_Wide | Review Date:
Fortified Zone was a strange, challenging, but fun game to play. It's a two player shooter about a male (Masato) and a female (Mizuki) mercenary that has infiltrated a foriegn military compound of some kind. But this is no ordinary military that they are fighting against...along with soldiers, the merchenaries are faced with the likes of robots and monsters as well. If you think that is weird, the bosses range from a giant bulldozer to a dragon! It plays kind of like a game out of the "Dungeon" series...it has a top down perspective and you go from room to room fighting baddies until finally finding the exit (which always leads to an end boss).

What really put this game ahead of its time though was the ability it gave players to switch characters whenever they needed/wanted...a common element in games today. Many times switching characters was a necessity. Mizuki had the ability to jump and Masato had the ability to use special weapons. So in a nutshell, Mizuki was absolutely need when avoiding certain traps (particularly ones on the floor) and Masato was needed when taking down enemies with above average defenses.

My Breakdown:

What's Good:

- Unique features for its day
- Oddly interesting
- Boss battles are always epic
- Neat anime depictions of characters on the menu screen
- Awesome Weapons

What's Not-So-Good:

- The game can be fustratingly difficult at times

What's Bad:

- Never felt like the game ever gives the player enough health or health refills to have a fair chance of victory

In all, Fortified Zone was a great game that appeared to fall under the radar of many gamers and reviewers alike. I'd definately recommend those interested in retro gaming to try this one out.
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