Software:Fortified Zone 2

Short description: 1992 video game

Fortified Zone 2
English box art
Developer(s)	Jaleco
Publisher(s)	Jaleco
Platform(s)	Game Boy
Release	JP: February 21, 1992 EU: June 3, 2025
Genre(s)	Top-down shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

is a 1992 top-down shooter video game developed and published by Jaleco for the Game Boy. A direct sequel to Fortified Zone (1991), it follows the two mercenaries, Masato Kanzaki and Mizuki Makimura, on a new mission to take down a new weapon that their enemies have. The game features similar gameplay to the original game, with players going through four levels, all while dealing with enemies and traps.

Initially only released in Japan on February 21, 1992, the game was published by the French-based Broke Studio for an English-language release on June 3, 2025. Original reviews were lukewarm, with reviewers complimenting the graphics, but finding that the only thing improved upon the original was the graphics; it was hurt by slow-paced character movement and a lack of innovation from the original.

Gameplay

Fortified Zone 2 takes place after the events of the first game, Fortified Zone (1991). It has the two mercenaries, Masato Kanzaki and Mizuki Makimura, on a new mission to take down a new weapon that their enemies have.

The game has the player controlling the characters through four stages avoiding enemies and traps. Like in Fortified Zone, the player can switch between the two mercenaries. The characters can equip various weapons to vary how they shoot, such as rapid-fire machine guns, a three-way shot called 3WAY, and a grenade launcher.

Release and reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score Famitsu 5/10, 5/10, 6/10, 6/10 Joypad (magazine) (fr) 70% Power Play (magazine) (de) 70% Video Games (magazine) (de) 68%

Fortified Zone 2 was released in Japan for the Game Boy on February 21, 1992. It was re-released digitally in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console on January 11, 2012.

Initially never released outside of Japan, Fortified Zone 2 was released in West on June 3rd, 2025, by the French studio Broke Studio. Broke Studio's release of Fortified Zone 2 made it the first commercial European release with an English translation and enhancements.

General reception from contemporary video game magazines ranged from Michael Paul of Video Games (magazine) (de) finding the game to be solid, to a reviewer in Famitsu saying there was nothing particularly poor about the game, but nothing particularly special either. Olivier Prezeau of Joypad (magazine) (fr) wrote that they expected more from a sequel as there were not any major differences between this game and the first Fortified Zone. Two reviewers in Famitsu found the playable characters and enemies moved too slowly.

Reviewers in Famitsu said the game lacked varied enemies and gameplay mechanics, which led to new levels and a low amount of enemies becoming monotonous. Prezeau wrote that while the game was not just mindless action, it did not grab their attention either. They suggested playing the game in two-player mode, as that is what made the game the most engaging. Power Play (magazine) (de) reviewer Knut Gollert said that despite the somewhat tired gameplay concepts, Fortified Zone 2's detailed graphics and puzzles managed to make the game fun.

Reviewers in Famitsu and Joypad praised the game's graphics, with Prezeau saying they had improved upon the original game.

See also

• List of Game Boy games

References

Sources

• Famibo, Tofuya; Mizuno, Tenchō; Morishita, Moriko; Chuji, Giorgio (February 28, 1992). "New Games Cross Review" (in Japanese). Famicom Tsūshin (ASCII Corporation) (167). 
• Fisher, Andrew (2025). "The Homebrewer's Kit". Retro Gamer (Future plc) (275). ISSN 1742-3155. 
• Gollert, Knut (August 1992). "Fortified Zone 2" (in German). Power Play (Markt+Technik). ISSN 0937-9754. 
• Paul, Michael (July 1992). "Fortified Zone 2: Kellerkampf" (in German). Video Games (Markt&Technik). ISSN 0946-0985. 
• Prezeau, Olivier (April 1992). "Fortified Zone 2: Mercenary Battlefield" (in French). Joypad (Paris, France) (7). ISSN 1163-586X. 
• Yarwood, Jack (May 19, 2025). "A Game Boy "Hidden Gem" From Jaleco Is Set To Get Its Western Debut Next Month". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20250519160704/https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/05/a-game-boy-hidden-gem-from-jaleco-is-set-to-get-its-western-debut-next-month. Retrieved July 3, 2026. 
• "Fortified Zone Sequel Brings More Fury To 3DS Virtual Console". SiliconEra. Gamurs. January 4, 2012. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220518031413/https://www.siliconera.com/fortified-zone-sequel-brings-more-fury-to-3ds-virtual-console/. Retrieved July 3, 2026. 

External links

• Fortified Zone 2 at Jaleco website via Archive.org (in Japanese)
• MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers". This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months. The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing. A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school. Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information. In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount. This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign. A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art). Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel, and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million. The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager. Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface. This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue. Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.

See also

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions