Software:Section Z

From HandWiki
Short description: 1985 arcade game
Section Z
The arcade flyer that takes inspiration from the movie Alien (1979)
Developer(s)Capcom
Publisher(s)Capcom
Designer(s)Takashi Nishiyama
Composer(s)FDS/NES version
Kumi Yamaga &
Tamayo Kawamoto
Platform(s)Arcade, NES, Famicom Disk System
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: December 9, 1985[1]
  • NA: December 1985
Famicom Disk System
  • JP: May 25, 1987
NES
  • NA: July 1987
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)1-2 players alternating turns

Section Z (セクションZ, Sekushon Z) is a horizontally scrolling shooter by Capcom, released as an arcade video game in 1985. A home version was published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987.

The arcade version was re-released as part of Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for PlayStation Portable, and Capcom Arcade Cabinet for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Plot

Set in an unspecified year during the third millennium, the player takes the role of an astronaut sent to infiltrate and destroy a space station orbiting near the Earth that is actually the secret base of an alien empire known as the "Balangool".[2][3]

Gameplay of the arcade version

The player maneuvers the space ranger throughout the enemy space station, which consists of 26 alphabetically ordered corridors known as "sections", starting from Section A and ending at the titular Section Z. The game is divided into five stages, each consisting of five sections (except the final stage, which has six sections to accommodate the spare letter). The player will fight an enemy boss at the end of each stage, concluding with the final battle against the "L Brain" at Section Z. The game's stages alternates between horizontal-scrolling stage (left or right) and upwards vertical-scrolling stages. The player will lose a life every time they get hit by enemy fire. Additional lives can be obtained if the player achieves a high enough score. The game will be over if the player loses all of their lives, although a chance to continue will be provided.

The controls consist of an eight-way joystick and two buttons, one for shooting and the other for changing the character's aim to the left or right. This allows the player to shoot in one direction while moving away towards the opposite. The player will shoot their rifle towards the left or the right with the fire button, while dropping bombs at the same time to the ground. By destroying certain dome-shaped containers, the player can obtain one of three power-up items represented by letters: S, P, and B. S increases the player's mobility speed, while P increases their firing power; each can improved for up to three increments. However, these power-ups will be lost whenever the player loses a life. The B item will simply give the player bonus points.[2]

Famicom/NES version

A console version of Section Z was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America and Europe in 1987. The gameplay was altered for the NES port, particularly in its level design and game controls.

The NES version features three stages, each comprising 20 sections (for a total of 60 sections), which are full-fledged levels in this version, although not all sections need to be visited to complete the game. In contrast to the alphabetical sections in the arcade version, the sections in the NES version are numbered. The first stage, Section 00, is the outer perimeter of the space station and then proceeds to enter Section 01, the first actual corridor of the base. At the end of most sections, the player will choose to enter one of two transporters, each taking player to a different section of the base. Some transporters will take the player to a previous section while others cannot be opened until the player has fulfilled a certain condition and will kill the player if they try to enter. The objective of each stage is to destroy the two power generators located at different sections of each stage in order to open the path to the final section of each stage (Sections 19, 39, and 59 in that order) and face the boss.[4]

Instead of using one button to fire and the other to turn around, the player now uses one button to fire in one direction and the other to fire in the opposite.[5] The player starts with a standard-issue laser rifle and can upgrade their weapon into a Flash Buster (which fires medium-range bullets in three directions) or a Megasmasher (which fires wider v-shaped laser beams). Either weapon can be upgraded into the Mega Buster, which provides both, wider-long range shots in three directions. The player can also obtain a Barrier Shield that will protect the player character for 32 shots.[6]

The player also has a numeral indicator which represents their remaining energy, which will gradually be depleted when the player takes damage from enemy bullets or when the player loses a life by touching an enemy. However the player can still continue at the beginning of their current section, even if they lose all of their lives, as long as they still have energy left. When all energy is lost, the player is sent the start of the stage with full energy to start all over. The maximum energy can be increased by destroying the power generators in each stage. The player can also summon as a special transmission shell by pressing both button simultaneously. These include a Mega Missile, a Flash Bomb, and a Crush Ball.[7] Picking these shells and using them will cost the player four energy points.[5]

The Famicom version in Japan was released in Disk Card format for the Family Computer Disk System add-on. In contrast to its NES counterpart, which makes the player complete the game in one sitting, the Disk System allowed players to save their progress in one of three save files. After a game over, the player can quit the game and resume where they left off by loading the save file. The English localization of the game's manual identifies the main character as "Captain Commando", a fictional spokesman for Capcom USA who later starred in his own video game.[8]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Section Z on their January 15, 1986 issue as being the eighth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[9]

In 2016, Federico Tiraboschi of Hardcore Gaming 101 compared Section Z to Namco's Baraduke, released earlier in 1985. He noted that in "both games the players control a free-range spaceman with a jetpack traversing a number of sectors scrolling both horizontally and vertically," but that "in Baraduke the player characters are affected by gravity and their gun's recoil."[10]

IGN listed Section Z as the 90th greatest game for the NES. Praising the game's "nonlinear path", the publication wrote, "It was unique, novel and also pretty confusing. But mastery of navigation in Section Z was a true badge of honor to hold in the NES age".[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Section Z (Registration Number PA0000291860)". https://cocatalog.loc.gov. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Capcom. Section Z. Arcade. Level/area: Operator's manual, page 5. 
  3. ↑ "The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game Flyers: Section Z, Capcom". http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=953. 
  4. ↑ Capcom. Section Z. Nintendo Entertainment System. Level/area: Instruction manual, page 7. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Capcom. Section Z. Nintendo Entertainment System. Level/area: Instruction manual, page 5. 
  6. ↑ Capcom. Section Z. Nintendo Entertainment System. Level/area: Instruction manual, page 8. 
  7. ↑ Capcom. Section Z. Nintendo Entertainment System. Level/area: Instruction manual, page 9. 
  8. ↑ Capcom. Section Z. Nintendo Entertainment System. Level/area: Instruction manual, page 6. 
  9. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (276): 21. 15 January 1986. 
  10. ↑ Tiraboschi, Federico (April 19, 2016). "Hardcore Gaming 101: Baraduke". https://hg101.kontek.net/baraduke/baraduke.htm. 
  11. ↑ (in en) Top 100 NES Games - IGN.com, https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-nes-games, retrieved 2023-07-06 
  • Section Z at the Killer List of Videogames
  • 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.[1] 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".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] 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.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

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.[6][7] 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.[5] 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.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] 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).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] 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.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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