Zombie Raid

Zombie Raid
Zombie Raid
	Cover art
Developer(s)	American Sammy
Publisher(s)	American Sammy
Programmer(s)	Tomohiro Takahashi, Hiroaki Murase
Artist(s)	Isao Suwa, Ujita, Noriyo Antako
Composer(s)	Brian L. Schmidt
Platform(s)	Arcade (Seta 1st generation hardware)
Release	NA: September 28, 1995 ;
Genre(s)	Rail Shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously

Last updated February 06, 2023

Zombie Raid is a screen scrolling, horror-themed light gun shooter game released for the arcade by American Sammy in January 1995.^[1]

Plot

In 1918 England, a small village suffers a rash of kidnappings and grave-robbing incidents, and heavily armed zombies have begun to emerge. With the job too dangerous for the police to handle, private detective Edward Windsor begins to investigate. Following a shootout in the village cemetery, Edward rescues a man named Charles, and the two join forces to infiltrate a nearby castle where the zombies have originated. They become separated upon entering the castle, with Edward falling into a subterranean dungeon and having to fight his way out. Shortly after Edward and Charles reunite, Charles suffers a fatal gunshot wound but transforms into a hideous monster, which Edward must defeat in order to continue. Edward moves through the castle laboratory only to find Charles - mutated into a new form - waiting to battle him again at the exit.

After defeating Charles again, Edward must set three colored crystals into the correct positions in order. Any mistake, or a failure to find all three crystals in previous stages, causes Edward to fall to his death in a pit of spikes and ends the game. If the correct combination is entered, Edward confronts the mad monster scientist who has been creating the zombies in order to mutate weak mortals into powerful creatures that can dominate the world. The scientist drinks one of his own potions, which mutates him into a giant reptilian beast, Edward battles him and eventually triumphs by shooting the beast's head off. Edward walks away, reflecting that even though the village can now live in peace, he feels that he did not fulfill his mission.

Gameplay

The player travels through five stages and must shoot zombies and other monsters along the way before being hit by their attacks (gunshots, knives, axes, etc.). Innocent bystanders appear frequently; if they are shot, the player suffers a health penalty. Pieces of the scenery such as gravestones and windows can be destroyed to reveal weapon power-ups and bonus items. The player starts the game with a standard handgun, but stronger weapons such as shotguns, machine guns, and fire rifles can be found; however, if the player is hit or shoots a bystander, any weapon power-ups are lost. The player's controller is a pump-action shotgun mounted to the cabinet. When a weapon's ammunition supply runs out, the player must pump the fore-end to reload.

A boss character must be defeated at the end of each stage in order to advance to the next. In addition, to reach the final boss of the game, the player must find three colored crystals and place them in the proper order at the end of the fifth stage. Failure to find them all or place them correctly will immediately end the game, with the player's character being dropped into a pit of spikes.

Development

Zombie Raid was developed by both Japanese and Americans working at American Sammy Corporation. The game's music was composed by Brian L. Schmidt, who also made the BSMT2000 sound system (Zombie Raid does not run on this system, however). Zombie Raid runs on Seta's first-generation arcade system, which was originally developed in 1987 and allows for high-quality sprite graphics.

Release

Zombie Raid was released on September 28, 1995. The game was released exclusively in North America.

Reception

Next Generation gave Zombie Raid a score of two stars out of five, and stated that it "isn't terrible, it's kind of fun, but compared to the current shooter crop, it's lacking."^[2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Area 51</i> (1995 video game) 1995 video game

Area 51 is a light gun arcade game released by Atari Games in 1995. It takes its name from the military facility. The plot of the game involves the player taking part in a Strategic Tactical Advanced Alien Response (STAAR) military incursion to prevent aliens, known as the Kronn, and alien-created zombies from taking over the Area 51 military facility.

<i>The House of the Dead III</i> 2002 video game

The House of the Dead III is a 2002 horror-themed light gun arcade game and the third installment of the House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Wow Entertainment and Sega. It was ported to the Xbox in 2003, Microsoft Windows in 2005, the Wii in 2008 in a compilation with The House of the Dead 2, and PlayStation 3 in 2012 with PlayStation Move support. The game was remade with typing controls as The Typing of the Dead 2 in 2008. The game continues the story of the previous games and introduces new gameplay concepts such as story branching. The game's protagonist is Lisa Rogan, daughter of Thomas Rogan and Sophie Richards.

TimeSplitters 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Free Radical Design and published by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube game consoles. It is the second game in the TimeSplitters series, and a sequel to the original TimeSplitters.

CarnEvil is a 1998 light gun shooter arcade game released by Midway Games. It is often noted for its heavy use of graphic violence and dark humor. It is Midway Games' most successful light gun shooter.

<i>1943: The Battle of Midway</i> 1987 video game

1943: The Battle of Midway is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Capcom.

<i>Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil</i> 2005 video game

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is a horror first-person shooter video game developed by Nerve Software and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows on April 3, 2005, as an expansion pack and sequel to Doom 3 and on October 5, 2005, for the Xbox video game console. The Xbox version does not require the original Doom 3 in order to play, and includes The Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth and Master Levels for Doom II.

<i>The House of the Dead 2</i> 1998 video game

The House of the Dead 2 is a horror-themed light gun shooter arcade game and the second game in The House of the Dead series of video games. The direct sequel to The House of the Dead, it was developed by Sega for arcades on the Sega NAOMI board in November 1998, then ported to the Dreamcast in 1999 and Microsoft Windows in 2001, and is also found on the Xbox as an unlockable bonus in The House of the Dead III. The game appears in the compilation The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return for Wii. The Dreamcast version became a Sega All Stars title.

The House of the Dead 4 is a horror-themed light gun shooter arcade game and the fourth installment of the House of the Dead video game series, developed by Sega. The game takes place between the events of The House of the Dead 2 and The House of the Dead III, and introduced several new gameplay concepts. Players can control characters James Taylor, from The House of the Dead 2, or Kate Green, a new character to the series. The game was followed by House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn.

<i>Duke Nukem: Time to Kill</i> 1998 video game

Duke Nukem: Time to Kill is a third-person shooter video game developed by n-Space and published by GT Interactive for the PlayStation.

The House of the Dead is a horror-themed light gun shooter video game franchise created by Sega in 1996. Originally released in arcades, it utilizes a light gun on the platform, but can be played with standard controllers on consoles and a mouse or keyboard on home computers. For the PlayStation Network releases of III and 4, they can also be played using the PlayStation Move controller.

<i>Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair</i> 1988 arcade video game

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair is a side-scrolling action game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment that was originally released for the arcades by Sega in 1988. It is the third game in the Wonder Boy series and the last one released for the arcade. A console adaptation was made by Hudson Soft, released in 1989 in Japan for the PC Engine CD-ROM² System and the subsequent North American release on the TurboGrafx-CD dropped the 'Wonder Boy III' title. It was also converted and released by Sega for the Mega Drive in Japan in 1990 and Europe in 1991. Both, the TurboGrafx-CD and Mega Drive versions have been re-released for the Wii Virtual Console.

Beast Busters is a rail shooter horror game released by SNK for arcades in 1989. It was the first three-player light gun shooter video game. Ports were released for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1990.

<i>Lets Go Jungle!: Lost on the Island of Spice</i> 2006 video game

Let's Go Jungle!: Lost on the Island of Spice is a joystick-mounted gun arcade game by Sega. The game was released on June 27, 2006. Players take the roles of Ben and Norah stranded on a jungle island which has been overrun by monsters. Each player must shoot the monsters with his or her machine guns while looking for rescue.

<i>Rolling Thunder</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Rolling Thunder is a run-and-gun shooter produced by Namco, originally released as a coin-operated arcade video game which ran on the Namco System 86 hardware in 1986. It was distributed in North America by Atari Games. The player takes control of a secret agent who must rescue his female partner from a terrorist organization. Rolling Thunder was a commercial success in arcades, and it was released for various home computer platforms in 1987 and the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. The original arcade game has been included in various classic game compilations as well. It influenced later arcade action franchises such as Shinobi and Time Crisis, which borrowed mechanics such as taking cover behind crates.

Survival mode, or horde mode, is a game mode in a video game in which the player must continue playing for as long as possible without dying in an uninterrupted session while the game presents them with increasingly difficult waves of challenges. A variant of the mode requires that the player last for a certain finite amount of time or number of waves, after which victory is achieved and the mode ends. The mode is particularly common among tower defense games, where the player must improve the defenses of a specific location in order to repel enemy forces for as long as possible. Survival mode has been compared to the gameplay of classic arcade games, where players face off against increasingly stronger waves of enemies. This mode was intended to give the game a definite and sometimes sudden ending, so that other players could then play the arcade game as well.

Organ Trail is a "retro zombie survival game" that parodies the educational game series The Oregon Trail. It was initially released as a free Adobe Flash-based browser game, and later as a Facebook app. This version was developed by Ben Perez, Michael Block, and Ryan Wiemeyer. The game uses the Unity game engine.

Dead Rising 3 is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Capcom Vancouver and published by Microsoft Studios. The game was released as a launch title for the Xbox One platform on November 22, 2013; a Microsoft Windows port published by Capcom was released on September 5, 2014. It was announced as an Xbox One exclusive during Microsoft's E3 2013 press conference on June 10, 2013.

<i>Rastan</i> (video game) 1987 videogame

Rastan Saga, known as Rastan in North America, is a side-scrolling hack and slash video game released by Taito for arcades in 1987. It was a critical and commercial success and was ported to home platforms.

Fireside Games is a US based board game publishing company owned and operated by Justin De Witt and Anne-Marie De Witt. Based in Austin, Texas, the company was founded in 2007. They published their first game, Castle Panic in 2009, and have published several expansions and sequels as well as other titles since then.

Death Horizon is a mobile FPS VR game developed by British studio Dream Dev Studio VR.

References

↑ "Zombie Raid". Arcade History. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
↑ "Finals: Zombie Raid". Next Generation . No. 12. Imagine Media. December 1995. p. 209. ISSN 1078-9693.

External links

Zombie Raid at MobyGames
Zombie Raid at the Killer List of Videogames

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Zombie_Raid_Coin-op-1] "Zombie Raid". Arcade History. Retrieved 13 March 2013.

[nextgeneration-2] "Finals: Zombie Raid". Next Generation . No. 12. Imagine Media. December 1995. p. 209. ISSN 1078-9693.

[1]

[2]