Zanac X Zanac (J) ISO
[SLPS-03354]

The Title Screen says it all for this one. Just listen to the music. Compile took their classic shmup and added to it. Zanac X Zanac actually contains two games. One is a port of several versions of the original zanac including ports of the NES and MSX versions. The other is Zanac Neo, the newer PS style game. Zanac Neo allows you to create profiles and save scoreboards as well as continue previous game files. It has some remixed soundtracks and enemies from the original Zanac, but mostly produces new content. I love the idea of the powerups. You have a normal gun that fires all the time and a special weapon that is more complex. The first fires more rapidly based on how many orbs you collect from boxes. The second changes depending on which number powerup you get. The more of the same number you get, the better the weapon gets. An added feature is that whichever ship you choose determines what weapon set the numbers give. Where the game really stands out for me is the multiplayer. Two players can play simultaneously, which is much more fun in my opinion. The only problem is that it only came out in Japan. With this type of game, though, no reading is needed.