1990 жылғы «Out Zone» аркадалық ойыны

the 1990 arcade game

Out Zone (アウトゾーン, Auto Zōn) is a run and gun arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Tecmo, North America by Romstar and Europe in August 1990. Set in a future where an alien race from the fictional planet Owagira are threatening to wipe out humanity after multiple failed attempts to defend Earth against their attacks, players assume the role of cyborg mercenaries recruited by the United Nations in a last ditch effort to overthrow the invaders. Out Zone received positive reception from critics since its release and has been praised for its visuals, sound design, gameplay, multiplayer, challenge and overall intensity but some lamented the lack of a console release. A spiritual successor, FixEight, was released for arcades in July 1992. As of 2019, the rights to the title is owned by Tatsujin, a company founded in 2017 by former Toaplan member Masahiro Yuge and now affiliate of Japanese arcade manufacturer exA Arcadia alongside many other Toaplan IPs.

Out Zone is a science fiction themed vertically scrolling run and gun game reminiscent of Commando and Ikari Warriors, where players assume the role of two cyborg mercenaries hired by the United Nations through seven increasingly difficult levels, each with a boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further, in a last ditch effort to overthrow an alien race from the planet Owagira from invading Earth as the main objective. Players fight enemies on foot, moving upward through the level, and are equipped with a number of bombs at the start, which obliterates any enemy caught in its blast radius, but player characters are not rendered invincible for any time period after using a bomb.

Out Zones soundtrack was composed by Tatsuya Uemura, who also created the sound effects while Naoki Ogiwara served as designer. Uemura recounted its development process and history in interviews, stating that it was difficult for him as he could not apply his experience from vertical scrolling shooters with flying ships, as players controlled the game on foot and could not design its progress. When composing music for the last stage, Uemura wanted to convey the sense of a "decisive battle". On October 21 of the same year, an album containing music from the title and Snow Bros. was co published exclusively in Japan by Scitron and Pony Canyon, featuring an arranged song composed by Uemura. Unlike several other releases by Toaplan, the title remained exclusive to arcades and did not receive any official port to home consoles. By 2020, a new version of Out Zone by M2 was announced as part of their M2 ShotTriggers publishing label. It was first announced to be released on the Nintendo Switch. In December 2020, the game was made available on the iiRcade arcade console, marking its first appearance outside the arcades. The game was included in 2022 as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.

Out Zone received positive reception since its release, becoming a well regarded title from Toaplan in recent years. In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their August 15, 1990 issue as being the fifth most popular arcade game at the time. In Australia, Leisure Line magazine reported the game to be the fifth most popular Japanese coin op game in their September 1990 issue. In the November 1990 issue of Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine, the game was ranked on the number fifteenth spot in popularity. Likewise, RePlay reported Out Zone to be the fourteenth most popular arcade game at the time in North America. In May 1991, UK magazine Zero ranked it on their number nine spot in popularity. Sinclair User praised the fast paced gameplay and frenetic action, stating that "Outzone is one hell of a challenge, particularly past the initial stages, but is sure to set the pulse racing if you've got the reactions to match it!". Computer and Video Gamess Julian Rignall scored the game with an overall 80% rating. Out Zone was included as one of the titles in the 2010 book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. A spiritual sequel, FixEight, was released in July 1992 for arcades.