OVERVIEW:I
The first time I played a videogame was when I had about 5 years old. I had a relative who worked at a bank and he was introducing IT basics to colleaguesm thus he also had a chance to play early personal computer titles like Moon Patrol. I still have embarrassing memories of my struggles managing 4 keyboard instructions: moving left or right, jumping and shooting.

Eight years went by and the Arcade cabinets started arriving at my city, in particular during Christmas holidays, then some coffee shops started having some titles and that's how I first played Out Zone during the early 90's.
Thinking about it now, this was the title I likely spent the most hours playing amidst the Arcade era full span, since I managed to go for several loops with 1CC either solo or with my best buds at the time....who, by the way, are still in my friends network today.

The Out Zone plot is a treat to the science fiction enthusiasts, alluding to the year 2095, where Earth falls victim of vicious attacks from the planet Owagira and the United Nations has to scrap some sort of last ditch response that ends being recruiting mercenaries from the outskirts of the milky way (therefore I assume the outzone reference) working for an entity self labelled "Space Entrepreneurs".

Being in the Run and Gun dimension meant that Toaplan developers, to whom this review also intends to be a humble trubute, had to fill massive shoes with the likes of previous successfull brands like "Ikari Warriors" and "Commando". Rest assured, they delivered! Naoki Ogiwara, the game designer, deserves the eternal respect, for the efforts assembling this masterpiece.


STRONG POINTS
-» Gameplay: You are granted 4 types of weapons, namely a basic 3 way autoshot, a manual gun which allows preventing ambushes from any side of the screen, a flamethrower and a Super Ball for are of effect damage power. You also need to manage a energy gauge that demands that you manage where you sould make a movement pause or not. All these nuances blend fantastically enabling the possibility of different playstyles for different skill ceilings.

-» Soundtrack and sound effects: Created by Tatsuya Uemura, this is was regarded by the former like the most difficult project he had to work on. As for my own opinion, and maybe some nostalgia, it ended up being a thoroughly satisfying beat for a futuristic apocalypse with the sound effects being an outstanding complement.

-» Graphics: The cybernetic atmosphere in the areas you fight get increasingly noticeable, starting from a deployment landing zone where it is still possible to admire Nature to the final stage at the enemies headquarters, where a high tech background is solely what you get. The color palette is very pleasing and you can tell a diligent person was addressing the projectile transparency too.

-» Bosses: They are designed to offer different mechanics that are friendly to newcomers or casual players within the Run and Gun genre. The last boss offers a higher challenge than any of the previous end of stage enemies, but is still very much within the decency scope of a 1CC enterprise.

-» Replayability: With the co-op option (offline and online, via remote play), the ability to go for multiple loops and an online leaderboard that caters for different levels of practice... you can't really go wrong. This is the dream of any player who enjoyed Outzone before at the Arcade cabinets.

-» Difficulty: Moderate at the first campaign loop, and truly a perfect fit for anyone who is starting to fancy the Run and Gun or the Shmup spectrum.

CONS
-» We are already in 2025 and still no "Out Zone" sequel? Here is my SHOUT to get it fixed


SUMMARY:
9/10 Gaming Scale


Disclosure: After completing the campaign and, as new updates are made available, I intend to revise this review

This is the best version of this game at the moment. It runs with no envelopes so you can play it on a vertical screen, or rotate the game to your landscape 4//3 monitor. You can disable instagram filtres. There is a good controls rebinding system. There are saves and rewinds.

But the game itself sucks. It's a top-down shooter without mouse controls. It does not use the tank controls or the dual sticks crutch controls either. You can shoot only in the direction you are walking. And then the screen is filled with bullets, so you can either evade or kill. To top it off, there are bottomless pits everywhere. In a game where you shoot where you are walking. And there's negative coyote time, you start falling before your hitbox even properly reached the ledge. And there's a draining energy metre to make sure you are not gonna play the content, and that you cannot play it cautiously. It forces you to run fast and make more mistakes.

Because it's a P2W arcade scam game. Every time you game over it offers you to continue for money. This digital re-release version is defanged, but it is clear where the design priorities lay when it was created.