Game Review: Zombies Ate My Neighbors! (1993, SNES)

This post is all about firsts. This is my first real post, first review, this game was one of my first favorite games, and this is my first Hallowe'en post (I plan a bevy of game and movie posts, among whatever else I can think of.) The show must go on.

North American box art

Between my brothers and I, we probably rented this game enough when were kids to buy it three or four times. I LOVED this game, even though it was maybe a little too hard for me at the time. It's strikingly pretty graphics and amazing atmosphere must have sucked me in way back when, because I feel just like a child again when I play it now, except I can actually beat it now. But just imagine looking at that cover as a kid. That is AWESOME. Generic 1950's mom grimacing in terror while pale green zombies shamble alongside the awesome font and loopy acid background? Sign me up. But enough with nostalgia, what about the game?

Zombies Ate My Neighbors (henceforth referred to as Zombies/ZAMN for short) is a top down run-n-gun that was developed by LucasArts Entertainment. Yes, that Lucas, George Lucas. Now, LucasArts was a gaming giant in the 90's, if you were playing an adventure game, chances are LucasArts made it. Almost all the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films they had a hand in, as well as popular series like Monkey Island and Sam and Max. ZAMN, however, tends to fall by the wayside. I don't hear much about it, but it is undoubtedly a SNES classic. (It was also released on Sega Genesis, but by all accounts that port is inferior.)

Looks like the zombie got that baby. I was focusing on burgers.

The whole experience is masterfully crafted. It manages to be a throwback and homage to early horror and sci-fi films, but also those of the game's era. It takes all the good things, mixes them up in a blender, and it all comes out in it's own blend of delicious salsa. You can tell all the parts it's taking from, but it's still decidedly it's own. It just works. Now you might be wondering, what I mean by taking parts from everywhere, well, you don't only fight the game's namesake. You'll fight everything from zombies, werewolves, mummies, and vampires to more modern monsters like killer dolls, giant sandworms, chainsaw wielding maniacs (censored to axe wielding maniacs in Europe and Australia). Then there is all kinds of off the wall stuff like UFOs, aliens, fifty foot babies, and mushroom men. The game has a large and colorful cast that will keep you interested well through the 55 levels (seven of which are secret levels you have to find.) That's right, 55 levels of butt-kicking goodness! Each level follows it own theme, and some levels have similar themes, but it's mixed up enough that you won't mind playing another suburban level because it has it's own twist. In fact, this game has plenty of variety. There are two playable characters (Zeke and Julie), and the cooperative mode is wonderful. There are tons of weapons and inventory items, and each one has their own special use. For example, you need keys to be able to open locked doors. But what if you don't have a key? No problem, bust it down with the bazooka. There's all kinds of little details like that in the game.

I didn't know Gill-Man was hanging out in pyramids now.

The object of the game is less about seeing how many enemies you can kill (although like any classic arcade style game, that's a way to get points) but rather about saving people from being killed by the various dangers that litter each level. In some levels it's a race to save them before they become werewolves, so don't lollygag! (Fortunately that's the closest thing this game has to a timer.) You can have up to 10 people to save in a level depending on how well you've done prior. (Only really good players are going to get 10 victims a level, and one or two levels have a bonus person to save.) This is an early, and good, example of auto-adjusting difficulty. The game is just right depending on how good you are, and the better you are the better you're rewarded.

When I went to the shopping mall, I was only expecting to be accosted by the
jerk playing with a helicopter, not a giant baby and huge purple ants!

Have I mentioned the music yet? Nope! I should have! The music in this game might not be groundbreaking or anything, but it's perfect for the atmosphere. It's just catchy enough to keep a level from seeming boring, however it also mimics old school film soundtracks with plenty of weird instrumentation to keep you on your toes. It compliments the cheery nature of the game, but the somber tone of it's source material. It's just genius.

The farther you get in the game, the wackier it gets.
I've just been slimed by the Blob while Martians run amok!

All in all, I would say this is one of my all time favorite games. If I was stuck on an island with five or ten games, and this was one of them, there would be no complaints from me. It's just long enough and varied to have great replay value and it's good for casual or seasoned gamers. Oh, and you can play with a friend, what's better than that? I urge you to check it out. It's been released for the Wii Virtual Console, but I've yet to play that port. I hear it's very close to the Super Nintendo version and I say very much worth picking up if you can find it for SNES or you have a Wii. If not, you can always resort to playing it on an emulator. Which is what I did recently, and I had a blast.