Zaxxon is a 1982 isometric shooter arcade game developed and released by Sega. Some sources claim that Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki also worked on the development of Zaxxon. The game gives the player the experience of flying a fighter craft through a fortress while shooting at enemy entities (missiles, enemy gunfire, etc.) The object of the game is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel—which can be replenished, paradoxically, by blowing up fuel drums.
At the time of its release, Zaxxon was unique as it was the first game to employ axonometric projection, which lent its name to the game (AXXON from AXONometric projection). The type of axonometric projection is isometric projection: this effect simulated three dimensions from a third-person viewpoint. It was also one of the first video games to display shadows, to indicate the ship's altitude above the surface; the game also employed an altitude meter, allowing the player to control how high or low the ship is above the surface. It was also the first arcade game to be advertised on television, with a commercial produced by Paramount Pictures for $150,000.
To read the operations manual for this game, click here.Released
1982
Also For
Apple II, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, Coleco Adam, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, MSX, PC Booter, SG-1000, TRS-80, TRS-80 CoCo, Wii, ZX Spectrum
Developed by
SEGA Enterprises Ltd.
Published by
Sega/Gremlin
Gameplay
Arcade, Shooter
Perspective
Bird's-eye view
Setting
Sci-fi / futuristic
Genre
Action
Visual
Isometric
Description
The Zaxxon defence system must be destroyed in this isometric-viewed shoot 'em up. The game has three stages, first taking you through Asteroid City, which is heavily protected by aircraft, guns and missiles. Many barriers are alarmed, leaving you with limited space to progress through, and fire must constantly be dodged.
Stage two is a space shoot out against hordes of enemy aircraft - those you failed to destroy in the first part of the task. Complete this and you reach the final battle with Zaxxon, the game looping with increased difficulty if you can survive the first time. There are three distinct skill levels, while controls involve using forward to dive and back to climb, in the manner of flight simulation.
From Mobygames.com. Original Entry
Reviewer:
MagicalPtolemy
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favorite -
April 29, 2018
Subject:
Horrible emulation.
Classic game, but no sound effects like there should be.
Reviewer:
voxkev
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
June 12, 2017
Subject:
Love..but control button fire is a problem
It's been 35 years and the muscle memory for which way to zig and zag is still there. But the problem on OS X is that the control key to fire, in conjunction to the left and right arrow keys sends you to one of your virtual desktops. So to play this game through, you have to turn off Spaces.
Reviewer:
Zimanu
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
October 11, 2015
Subject:
This is just perfect
My grand-father flew spitfire in WWII, I was born in 76, this game was the mythology of my childhood and yes it is for goofy only ;) Thanks mate, much enjoying playing this again !
Reviewer:
CLA1522
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favoritefavoritefavorite -
August 18, 2015
Subject:
Memories
Enjoyed it for the memories... game play online not as smooth... still... what a great game.
Reviewer:
GoodNewsJimDotCom
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favoritefavoritefavorite -
November 14, 2014
Subject:
Zaxxon had an interesting view for the time
Zaxxon seemed like so much of a cooler game than it was at the time. My uncle had it on Coleco. We'd play it a lot, but the biggest challenge was aiming your ship through a concrete wall occasionally. The game probably doesn't hold up now, but at the time, the graphics were interesting and it scrolled for a while, so it was okay for the time. Since it probably doesn't hold up, I'm only giving this a 3.
![[screenshot]](/serve/arcade_zaxxon/arcade_zaxxon_screenshot.gif)
