Developed by Toaplan for arcades in 1989 and ported to the Mega Drive in 1991, there are noticable differences between the two, and, for once, the MD version is far superior to the arcade. It's virtually impossible to review any space shooter of this era without comparing it to R-Type, and Zero Wing certainly does feature a very similar aesthetic and enemy formation. The arcade version was far too hard and a joyless experience, though it's more fun on the MD and the closest you'll get to R-Type on that platform.
The MD version adds cutscenes, a storyline, and a much improved soundtrack with chunkier, more vivid graphics. The famous "all your base are belong to us" meme is from the English translation of this game. There is also an option to change the difficulty setting, which is a welcome addition. The arcade version was not only very punishing, but made more even difficult by the fact that the game does not respawn your ship after cheap and annoying one-hit kills, but sends you back to a checkpoint. No matter how well you do, you'll never get past a certain section of level one because you will ALWAYS be in the path of enemy fire. It's not even a "bullet hell" game, but your never out of danger and always in the trajectory of a single, deadly shot. Dialling this down for the MD was a smart move.
A soundtrack album was released, but its the weaker arcade soundtrack, not the thumping, rocking MD music, which really ought to get its own vinyl release. I'm amazed that Data Discs or Ship to Shore Records have not put this out yet. This game proved that you take a horrible arcade experience and make a superior home console version on arguably weaker hardware.
Arcade version 1/5
Mega Drive version 4/5
Overall 3/5