They should have called it Mode 7 Zone.
The strange thing about this game are the stages themselves. For some reason, every area has a Mode 7 ceiling and floor, and they are mirror images of each other. There are no walls on the sides though, so it is possible to fly off the track and damage your craft. This is at times a useful strategy, since enemies never seem to go off track themselves. The game has F-Zero style recharge strips that you can fly over to repair any damage your craft sustains.
As you make your way through the levels, which would be strange already without the weird ceilings, you occasionally get upgrades to your ship. These upgrades exist mostly to improve the weapon your craft fires. The upgrades are useful, since as the game progresses, enemies become tougher to beat. By the end of the game, you must defeat each boss again in succession, and then finally kill the final boss which looks like something out of the R-Type universe.
The graphics in the game are extremely good for the time period. Each level is extremely detailed, from the colorful Material Factory to the impressive city stage. In fact, the developers seemed to have spent more time making the stages look cool than they did making the enemies or your ship look nice.
Music and sound get average marks here. The songs are the typical techno-rock that permeates many games like this.
Hyperzone probably won't appeal to everyone, but it was quite advanced for its time. It will provide some enjoyment to those who like mindless shooters.