We’ve been excited seeing the updates for ZPF, the upcoming Mega Drive shooter from retro publisher Mega Cat Studios. The crowdfunding campaign has already amassed over £110k, is still gaining pre-orders, and has a couple of weeks to go. Fusion has been sent a prototype cart to try out and we’ll give our findings in this preview. Of course, this is a sneak preview of the current build and not the final game so we’ve held off giving any definitive opinions, criticism or praise.
To bring any readers new to the game up to speed, ZPF is set to be released early next year on physical Mega Drive carts and brings together three developers who are known for their love of retro-style shooters. The development team is made up of Gryzor, the visionary designer behind the cult classic Super XYX, Mikael Tillander, the programming genius from the critically acclaimed Tanzer, and Jamie Vance, who’s crafting an electrifying chiptune soundtrack that will make your speakers sing.
One of the most important aspects of any great scrolling shooter is how well the craft manoeuvres and how responsive the overall control is. From the get-go, our time with this early ZPF build shows that the developers have taken care to make sure controlling your craft is a breeze. Controller inputs feel solid throughout and there is good collision detection when shooting enemies.
You have three different ships to control, each with its own attributes. They all have the same basic set-up for attacking though, the main fire weapon, a close combat melee attack, and limited bombs that cause devastation. As you progress through levels there is the odd chance to power up your attack by grabbing the pick-ups that seldom appear.
As you make your way through levels, you’ll pick up plenty of points for that high score table but also spending points to be used in the game’s shop. The shop has lots of options to upgrade as well as spending your currency on hints that help with bosses and where to find the game’s secret levels. The upgrade shop is fairly expensive to use so it encourages you to try and kill all the enemies on screen.
The overall gameplay is great and even though this is an early prototype version, we could see exactly where the developers will be taking ZPF. It has the classic arcade scrolling shooter action, that controls well and will also have secrets to unlock by performing tasks in the game. Add in the three ship types and upgrade system and there is potential for a lot of longevity in the final game.
The final aspect that we wanted to discuss in this preview was ZPF’s presentation. Firstly the game features some beautiful pixel art that is eye-catching and detailed. Of the three levels available in the prototype, each one had a vibrant use of colour with bright, bold enemies and scenery. The music is also excellent and anyone who enjoys a classic shmup soundtrack will appreciate the tunes in ZPF.
We’re looking forward to seeing the finished version of ZPF. It feels like a classic old-school shooter that wouldn’t have been out of place if it had been released in the early 90s. The attention to great gameplay and fantastic presentation are leaning toward this being one of the better indie retro releases of recent years. Anyone who enjoys a good blast on their Mega Drive should be checking this out.
