Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Encyclopedia
Zombies Ate My Neighbors, released as Zombies in Europe and Australia, is a run and gun video game for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo
consoles. The game was developed, distributed and produced by LucasArts
and published by Konami
.
s, werewolves
, huge demon
ic babies, merman, evil dolls, alien
s, UFOs, giant ants
, blobs
, Giant worm
s, and the game's namesake, zombie
s. In each of the 48 stages, which includes seven optional bonus levels, the goal is to rescue the surviving neighbors, at which point a door opens that will take the player to the next stage. If the player does not find a neighbor fast enough, an enemy will kill the neighbors when touched, preventing them from being saved. At least one neighbor must be saved from each level to progress to the next. The game is lost if the players lose all of their lives
or if all of the neighbors in the current stage are killed. Scoring points earns players neighbors to save and extra lives
. Each level has at most ten neighbors, and each neighbor type is worth a different amount of points.
in 1993. Music for the game was composed by Joseph "Joe" McDermott. The ZAMN engine would later be used for Ghoul Patrol
, Metal Warriors
and Big Sky Trooper
.
The monsters in the game are based on classic horror films released in the 1950s and more modern films like Friday the 13th and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
. The weapon's usefulness is also based on these depictions, such that werewolves die in one attack if attacked with silverware
, or vampires die faster if attacked with the crucifix
. In the SNES version of the game, there is a flamethrower
which is not included in the Sega Mega Drive version. The North American release was released with a variant cover art in very limited quantites.
. This game was released before the ESRB
inclusion and before then, Nintendo did not want violence in their video games. Nintendo
of America ordered all depictions of blood and gore be removed or changed to purple ooze.
Censorship committees at several European Nations—i.e. United Kingdom
, Ireland
, Italy
, France
, Spain
, Austria
, Portugal
, Finland
, Denmark
, Norway
, Sweden
, Germany
and Australia
—censored more by having the game renamed to Zombies and ordered other changes including the replacement of the chainsaw-wielding enemies with lumberjacks wielding axes.
years after its release. Upon its release, it got above average praise, earning a 85.6% on Gamerankings.com. Reviewers of the game often cited its humor, two-player mode, graphics and music as some of its best aspects.
Mike Seiblier of Sega-16.com said the variety of weapons shows off the game's "tongue in cheek nature by giving you weapons and items like, silverware, dishes, soda can grenades, a weed whacker, keys, bazookas as well as health packs." The Armchair Empire similarly praised the variety and strategy that the weapon system incorporated. They also made note of the "little details that make it so cool to play", saying "If you come across a door, which you don't have the key for, you can blow it open with the bazooka." Critics agreed the co-op mode is "highly recommended".
The game's "colorful and detailed" graphics have been praised as well as its soundtrack which Seibler called an "homage to the spooky, over the top music found in old, scary flicks." He went on to mention the sound effects are equally impressive. Corbie Dillard of Nintendolife.com said the graphics do not "exactly set new 16-bit standards, but they still manage to look sharp and the creative use of the darker color scheme used throughout the game really makes the creepy visuals come to life onscreen." He ended his review by affectionately calling the game a "second-rate horror movie
" version of Contra
.
Upon the game's release for the Wii
Virtual Console
, Zombies Ate My Neighbors received immense praise and earned an Editor's Choice Award from IGN
. The game has been regarded as one of "the most requested additions to the VC system even before the Wii launch." Comparisons to the game Dead Rising
, released for the Xbox 360
in 2006, have been drawn, Lucas Thomas of IGN saying "Zombies Ate My Neighbors is basically a comical 16-bit template for the new Xbox 360 release, Dead Rising. And like that game, this one arms you with a pretty bizarre arsenal. Weed whackers, exploding soda cans and flying silverware all make an appearance to help you, or you and a friend, put a hurt on these living dead." GameFAQs described the Xbox 360 game Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia as "a tribute to the classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors" due to its similar game play, scenario, and B-Movie humor.
was released in 1994, but was not as well received as its predecessor. Originally, Ghoul Patrol was not intended to be released as a sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors, but was re-worked as such to increase sales. In 1997, LucasArts
released a game for Sony's PlayStation
titled Herc's Adventures
, which uses the same basic gameplay format and mechanics as Zombies Ate My Neighbors, but instead parodies ancient Greek mythology
. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, another game developed by LucasArts, is referenced in Zombies Ate My Neighbors through a secret level.
's Insidious
and Aaron Sims' Archetype.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
consoles. The game was developed, distributed and produced by LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
and published by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
.
Gameplay
The player chooses between two characters, Zeke and Julie, or both in a two-player mode. They navigate suburban neighborhoods, shopping malls, pyramids, haunted castles and other areas, destroying a variety of horror-movie monsters, including vampireVampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s, werewolves
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
, huge demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
ic babies, merman, evil dolls, alien
Alien
Alien or Aliens may refer to:* Alien , a non-citizen inhabitant of a country* Extraterrestrial life, defined as life that does not originate from Earth* Introduced species, a species living outside its native distributional range...
s, UFOs, giant ants
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
, blobs
Blob
- In biology :* Blob , sections of the visual cortex where groups of color-sensitive neurons assemble* Globster, an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water...
, Giant worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s, and the game's namesake, zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s. In each of the 48 stages, which includes seven optional bonus levels, the goal is to rescue the surviving neighbors, at which point a door opens that will take the player to the next stage. If the player does not find a neighbor fast enough, an enemy will kill the neighbors when touched, preventing them from being saved. At least one neighbor must be saved from each level to progress to the next. The game is lost if the players lose all of their lives
1-up
1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
or if all of the neighbors in the current stage are killed. Scoring points earns players neighbors to save and extra lives
1-up
1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
. Each level has at most ten neighbors, and each neighbor type is worth a different amount of points.
Production
Zombies Ate My Neighbors was originally developed by LucasArts. It was published by Konami, a company already known for platformersPlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
in 1993. Music for the game was composed by Joseph "Joe" McDermott. The ZAMN engine would later be used for Ghoul Patrol
Ghoul Patrol
Ghoul Patrol is a Super Nintendo/Super Famicom video game that is a sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors. It was released in September 1994 by LucasArts and later on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on January 25, 2010 and the PAL region on May 14, 2010...
, Metal Warriors
Metal Warriors
Metal Warriors is a video game developed by LucasArts in 1995 for the Super NES and published by Konami.- Overview :Metal Warriors is about the United government in the year 2102 being under siege from Dark Axis led by the leader Venkar Amon...
and Big Sky Trooper
Big Sky Trooper
Big Sky Trooper is a sci-fi action game, produced by JVC and LucasArts for the Super NES in January 1996. At the start of the game, the player chooses an avatar, male or female, before the story begins; the evil Space Slug forces, led by the Sultan of Slime, have launched a sudden attack on...
.
The monsters in the game are based on classic horror films released in the 1950s and more modern films like Friday the 13th and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
. The weapon's usefulness is also based on these depictions, such that werewolves die in one attack if attacked with silverware
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, or vampires die faster if attacked with the crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
. In the SNES version of the game, there is a flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
which is not included in the Sega Mega Drive version. The North American release was released with a variant cover art in very limited quantites.
Censorship
The game's theme was subject to some censorshipCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. This game was released before the ESRB
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
inclusion and before then, Nintendo did not want violence in their video games. Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
of America ordered all depictions of blood and gore be removed or changed to purple ooze.
Censorship committees at several European Nations—i.e. United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
—censored more by having the game renamed to Zombies and ordered other changes including the replacement of the chainsaw-wielding enemies with lumberjacks wielding axes.
Reception
Zombies Ate My Neighbors, although not an immediate success, became a cult classicCult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
years after its release. Upon its release, it got above average praise, earning a 85.6% on Gamerankings.com. Reviewers of the game often cited its humor, two-player mode, graphics and music as some of its best aspects.
Mike Seiblier of Sega-16.com said the variety of weapons shows off the game's "tongue in cheek nature by giving you weapons and items like, silverware, dishes, soda can grenades, a weed whacker, keys, bazookas as well as health packs." The Armchair Empire similarly praised the variety and strategy that the weapon system incorporated. They also made note of the "little details that make it so cool to play", saying "If you come across a door, which you don't have the key for, you can blow it open with the bazooka." Critics agreed the co-op mode is "highly recommended".
The game's "colorful and detailed" graphics have been praised as well as its soundtrack which Seibler called an "homage to the spooky, over the top music found in old, scary flicks." He went on to mention the sound effects are equally impressive. Corbie Dillard of Nintendolife.com said the graphics do not "exactly set new 16-bit standards, but they still manage to look sharp and the creative use of the darker color scheme used throughout the game really makes the creepy visuals come to life onscreen." He ended his review by affectionately calling the game a "second-rate horror movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
" version of Contra
Contra
Contra is a Latin preposition meaning "against". It is very frequently abbreviated to con, which is a separate preposition. It may refer to:*Contras, Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries opposed to the Sandinistas...
.
Upon the game's release for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
, Zombies Ate My Neighbors received immense praise and earned an Editor's Choice Award from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
. The game has been regarded as one of "the most requested additions to the VC system even before the Wii launch." Comparisons to the game Dead Rising
Dead Rising
is an action-adventure, survivor horror video game, developed by Capcom and produced by Keiji Inafune. It was released on August 8, 2006 exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game console. The game was a commercial success. It has been introduced into the Xbox 360 "Platinum Hits" lineup, and a cell...
, released for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in 2006, have been drawn, Lucas Thomas of IGN saying "Zombies Ate My Neighbors is basically a comical 16-bit template for the new Xbox 360 release, Dead Rising. And like that game, this one arms you with a pretty bizarre arsenal. Weed whackers, exploding soda cans and flying silverware all make an appearance to help you, or you and a friend, put a hurt on these living dead." GameFAQs described the Xbox 360 game Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia as "a tribute to the classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors" due to its similar game play, scenario, and B-Movie humor.
Legacy
A sequel entitled Ghoul PatrolGhoul Patrol
Ghoul Patrol is a Super Nintendo/Super Famicom video game that is a sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors. It was released in September 1994 by LucasArts and later on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on January 25, 2010 and the PAL region on May 14, 2010...
was released in 1994, but was not as well received as its predecessor. Originally, Ghoul Patrol was not intended to be released as a sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors, but was re-worked as such to increase sales. In 1997, LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
released a game for Sony's PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
titled Herc's Adventures
Herc's Adventures
Herc's Adventures is the title of a video game released for the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation by LucasArts Entertainment in 1997.The overhead, action-adventure format was similar to Zombies Ate My Neighbors...
, which uses the same basic gameplay format and mechanics as Zombies Ate My Neighbors, but instead parodies ancient Greek mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, another game developed by LucasArts, is referenced in Zombies Ate My Neighbors through a secret level.
Film
Announced in 2011, a film based on the game is now in development. the film is being penned and produced by screenwriter John Darko, known for his work on James WanJames Wan
James Wan is a Malaysian-born Australian producer, screenwriter, and film director of Chinese heritage. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw and creating Billy the puppet. He also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious.-Life and career:Wan was born in Kuching, Sarawak,...
's Insidious
Insidious (film)
Insidious is a 2011 American independent supernatural horror film written by Leigh Whannell, directed by James Wan, and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts...
and Aaron Sims' Archetype.