Fantasy Zone logo
Fantasy Zone (Japanese: ファンタジーゾーン) is a horizontal scroller shoot 'em up video game series created by Sega and designed by Yoji Ishii.
The series' gameplay involves the player controlling a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa, who is placed in a level with a number of bases to destroy with only two buttons: shooting projectiles and dropping bombs, facing the stage boss when all the bases are gone and moving on to the next stage when they're defeated. There is also a shop that Opa-Opa can access to buy items and weapons from it, using coins from defeated enemies.
Opa-Opa, the main character and primary protagonist of the series, was the first mascot of SEGA, but would later be replaced by Alex Kidd, and then Sonic the Hedgehog.
History[]
The original Fantasy Zone was released for the arcades in Japan on March 1986, and was later ported for a wide variety of consoles, including the Master System. It was created as a response to success of Konami's Gradius, which was a smash hit in the arcades upon its release in May 29, 1985.
Fantasy Zone opted for vibrant pastel-coloured worlds and joyful music rather than the traditional "space" settings of previous shoot 'em ups at the time. It is often credited with the creation of the "cute 'em up" sub-genre alongside TwinBee, which was also released earlier in 1985 by Konami, like Gradius.
The game Space Harrier, also by Sega and released the previous year, supposedly takes place in the "Fantasy Zone" as well, including the same bright pastel color scheme, although the game scrolls into the screen as opposed to horizontally. The cancelled game, Space Fantasy Zone, attempted to bridge the gap between both series.
Games[]
- Fantasy Zone (Arcade/Sega Master System, 1986/Sharp X68000, 1989)
- Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (Sega Master System, 1987/Arcade, 2008 - as Fantasy Zone II DX: The Tears of Opa-Opa)
- Fantasy Zone: The Maze (Sega Master System/Arcade, 1987 - known as Opa Opa in Japan)
- Galactic Protector (Sega Master System, 1988 - only released in Japan)
- Fantasy Zone Gear (Sega Game Gear, 1991)
- Super Fantasy Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis, 1992/Wii Virtual Console, 2008)
- 3D Fantasy Zone:Opa-Opa Bros. (Nintendo 3DS, 2014)
- 3D Fantasy Zone II W (Nintendo 3DS, 2015)
Cancelled[]
- Space Fantasy Zone (PC Engine CD-ROM² - Cancelled)
Cameos[]
- Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars - 1986, Arcade. 1988, Master System. Opa-Opa is the holding the second Miracle Ball in both versions of the game.
- Zillion - 1987, Master System. Opa-Opa is a power up item that increases the players power and level.
- Quartet - 1987, Master System. Opa-Opa appears in the sound test.
- Flash Point - 1989, Arcade. Opa-Opa is one the characters that will wish players good luck before a round.
- Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf - 1989, Mega Drive. Opa-Opa appears during the Coffee Break segments alongside Alex Kidd.
- Shenmue - 1999, Dreamcast. Opa-Opa appears as a capsule toy.
- Planet Harriers - 2000, Arcade. Opa-Opa is a playable character.
- Phantasy Star Online - 2000, Dreamcast. Opa-Opa is an obtainable mag.
- Shenmue II - 2001, Dreamcast. Opa-Opa appears as a capsule toy.
- Segagaga - 2001, Dreamcast. Opa-Opa joins Taro Sega and the rest of the Sega superstars in the fight against DOGMA. O-Papa appears as a space craft to transport the cast.
- Sonic Riders - 2006, GameCube, PlayStation 2. Opa-Opa appears as a board.
- Sega Splash! Golf - 2008, Windows. Opa-Opa appears as a caddy.
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing - 2010, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. Opa-Opa is a playable racer.
- Project x Zone - 2012, 3DS. Opa-Opa appears in Ulala's special attack.
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - 2012, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. Opa-Opa appears as a hologram on the 'Race of Ages' track.
- Hi☆sCoool! SeHa Girls - 2014. Opa-Opa and a Dralinflore appear in Sega Mark III's design, appearing out of her top hat. On top of this Opa-Opa and Dralinflore appear in the School's classroom, rotating on a mobile on the ceiling alongside NiGHTS.
- Sonic Runners - 2015, Android, iOS. Opa-Opa appears as an obtainable buddy.
- Yakuza 0 - 2015, PlayStation 3. Opa-Opa appears as a toy in the UFO Cabinet.
- Project x Zone 2 - 2015, 3DS. Opa-Opa returns in Ulala's special attack.
- Power Drift 3DS - 2016, 3DS. Dralinflore appears as a playable racer.
- Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX - 2021, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Steam. Opa-Opa appears as one of the obtainable treasures.
- 404 Game Re:Set - 2023, Mobile. Both an Anode and Cathode personification of Altered Beast appear in the game. The Anode one is based around Opa-Opa's Big Wings upgrade, whilst the Cathode one utilises both the Turbo Engine and Rocket Engine upgrades with a Dark Opa-Opa theme.
- Sonic Superstars - 2023, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Steam. Frozen Base, Act 2 is based around Fantasy Zone, with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy riding in Egg Mobiles acting as Opa-Opa, several badniks mimicking Menon Forces and fighting a giant boss that greatly resembles Volanda.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Fantasy Zone Retrospective (Gaming History 101)
- Fantasy Zone Retrospective (IGN)
- SEGA Retrospective: Welcome to Fantasy Zone Week, Get Ready!
- Interview with Yoji Ishii, Director/Designer of Fantasy Zone
- Dreaming Tomorrow - The Space Harrier & Fantasy Zone Shared Timeline
- Fantasy Zone's Daddy Issues Twist Drags It Back to Bleak Reality