Zombies Ate My Neighbors

I've never been a big gamer, but it kind of seems like this movie was made specifically for me.

You go through 50+ levels fighting every single monster ever wielding a wide arrange of frequently ridiculous weaponry.

The inspirations are very obvious, and range from stuff like The Creature From the Black Lagoon and The Blob to Child's Play to Dawn of the Dead.

It really feels like you're playing a b-movie. And I mean that in a good way!

Plus, the gameplay is extremely enjoyable and the soundtrack is amazing.

A highly recommended title, especially if you have a soft spot for campy films.

Ah, Zombies Ate my Neighbors. A Super NES classic. A friend of mine first showed me this around the time of its release and I was hooked right from the getgo. I mean come on, you've got a wide variety of monsters (from zombies, evil dolls, pod plants, spiders, vampires, fishmen, and much more) and weapons of the unconventional variety (from squirt guns, silverware, soda cans, popsicles, and the secret weapon the flamethrower!) how can anyone not like the idea? Thanks to some expert programming the same is never played twice all the way through from start to finish. Add in a haunting soundtrack plus a variety of secrets and you've got a winner that stands the test of time.

The game starts off fun, but then it quickly gets repetitive.

Much like Rampage World Tour where you do the same thing over and over again, in this game you kill monsters and rescue people. Kill monsters, rescue people. Kill monsters, rescue people. Kill monsters, rescue people. Kill monsters, rescue people. Kill monsters, rescue people.......

Also, you find yourself in the same locations over and over. Plus the music cues are mostly the same.

If you're playing with a friend, you would have fun for 20 levels and then you both say "Okay, this is getting boring now."

It's not a bad game, it's not that great. It is fun when you start playing it, but it gets tiresome later.

Damn! I regret big time for not buying this game when I could. I always rented it but never bought it. Anyways, this was video game with a high fun factor. You could play it for hours and not getting tired of it although some scenarios and enemies were repetitive to the point that most stages look exactly the same! But it didn't matter; there were enough cool in-jokes and spoofs to keep you entertained. I don't know if the gaming experience changed if you played with the girl because I always used the boy character.

The neighborhood was pretty colorful but also creepy at the same time; for it's time it was a creative game. I mean, there were minimal Horror video games and specially for Super NES.

You had plenty of freedom to move through the scenarios and "investigate",; of course, not like in "Super Mario 64" but still it was a clever decision.

A "classic" on the Horror spoof video game sub-genre. I miss this video game big time.

This is one of my favorite video games of all time as well as survival horror games. Basically, the game is "Gauntlet" but with film monsters. It's sort of the second time Konami has done a game similar in nature, the other one is the arcade game "Dark Adventure" which is a story for another time. When I saw this game being a fan of horror films, I thought the game was so cool just the simple idea of being able to kick some monster ass was awesome. But mainly by its nature the game is a love letter to the horror genre.

Not much to the story, do like the plotline which is almost similar to the film "Last Action Hero" where some evil scientist wants to conquer the world with the use of film monsters for invasion and it's up to you and your friend to save the neighborhood. That's pretty much it in a nutshell, but like with most video games of back then we're all in it for the action and the game has plenty of it, which is one of the reasons I play video games.

This game has a horror comedy atmosphere where it's both funny but also a little scary in places. I couldn't help in some places not to keep a straight face but in other places I couldn't help but tense up whenever certain monsters outnumbered me, backed me into a corner, or I didn't have the right weapon or god forbid enough ammo to kill them. Or even when I failed to save a innocent random bystander that is always standing around in places of the game for no apparent reason (seriously why aren't they running); granted I know they were just video game characters that get wasted by the monster but still knowing despite your best efforts you couldn't make it on time is disheartening. But this even more shows how high the stakes are in the game as it's both your life and the lives of others at risk.

Graphical presentation is very solid, really like the maze like lay outs which each take place someplace else from your ordinary neighborhood, football field, beach, Egyptian tomb, castle, and my favorite the shopping mall; and each of mazes are designed differently which keeps the game fresh.

I really like the character animation, which is sold, you play one player or two if you have another with you to play as one of two horror film buff teens that are good Samaritans. One Julie whom is the hot girl and another Zack whom is daft looking with that hair that sticks up as higher than Marge Simpson from "The Simpsons", the classic 3D specs how the heck he sees though them in the everyday is anyone's guess. Though he has a decent looking t-shirt which has a skull and crossbones symbol. Doesn't really mater which you play as both characters play the same.

Each of them is armed with a squirt gun which is loaded with holy water, I think. This water we see can kill the zombies which I'll admit is a first as holy water kills vampires. Or since the monster are from film reels, it's based on the physics where when your poor water on the negatives they desolve. I don't know since this is a game you just roll with it.

I really love the colorful variety of monsters which is so cool, this game is just one big monster fest which makes the game in a way a dream come true for the horror genre fan. Each of them is creepily designed but are comical at the same time, just to let you know this is still a game and it doesn't take itself too seriously.

You have Gill Men, Chucky like killer dolls that look almost like demented versions of Bobby from the cartoon show "Bobby's World", giant ants, graboids, killer ogre Football players, Jasons that are armed with chainsaws those guys made me the most nervous, 50's movie aliens that look like the aliens from the "Mars Attacks" trading cards, and many more.

Another thing about the gameplay which is very solid. Like with "Gauntlet" it's simply moving around, shooting everything that moves and getting to the exit. However it's not quite as simple as that, it's not as easy as all that to beat the monsters, just like in the horror movies each of them have certain weaknesses, where some weapons and items will work and some won't, which is why it's important along the way to not just constantly keep your squirt gun loaded but to collect other weapons and items along the way because you'll need them.

Like mystical gold cross talismans which can destroy mummies and vampires always like the sound whenever you use them. Bazookas that are extremely useful and effective toward the stronger enemies mainly the Jason's and giant ants or even blowing passage ways, however there is a catch to it, whenever you discharge there is a big kick to them and the rocket goes travels slow making it useless for faster enemies. Blow up clown decoys that always make a damn obnoxious laughing sound but this makes them all the more useful in drawing the attention of the enemies away from you like the Jason's and Gill Men whom can really outnumber you. Footballs to throw for the football player enemies to chase down instead of you.

Music in the game is great this game has plenty of memorable tracks that are person favorites in my book. I really like how the music has this retro vibe to it as it sounds like the kind you would hear from the 50's horror and sci-fi film. I like how comical but also kind of creepy it sounds which fits this game like a glove as this was music that made me feel creeped out but also puts a smile on my face.

There is also a long game but there is a password system which is simple, so you won't lose your place. The difficulty in the game is at a moderate level, where at first the mazes are a little easy but as you progress, they get a lot more tricky which causes you to make quick adjustments in how you go about things.

Also each round has a quota you have to meet where you have to find and save enough innocent bystanders before the exit shows you (which is a cool effect looks like the Phone Booth from "Bill and Ted" showing up), but if you don't meet your quota then the game is over, so don't you dare waste a minute because like the horror films there isn't a moment to spare and every minute counts toward the survival of you and others.

Can you save the Neighborhood, you'll just have to play the game to find out?

Rating: 4 stars