Software:Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel

From HandWiki
Short description: 1994 video game
Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel
Cover art for the Genesis version
Developer(s)Iguana Entertainment
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Neill Glancy
Team Iguana
Designer(s)Neill Glancy
Team Zero
Composer(s)Rick Fox (as Fox Productions)
Platform(s)Sega Genesis
Super NES
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 5
Xbox One
Xbox Series X/S
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, released years later in Japan as Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is a video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft. It is a spin-off/sequel of the Aero the Acro-Bat series. The game was released in 1994 for the Sega Genesis in October and Super NES in November, along with the release of Aero the Acro-Bat 2. A PAL region release for Mega Drive was in July 1995.

The main star is Zero, Aero's rival from the previous games. A remake for the Game Boy Advance was planned in 2003,[4] but it was cancelled. The game was re-released in October 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S by Ratalaika Games.[5]

Plot

During the events of Aero the Acro-Bat 2, Zero receives a telegram from his girlfriend Amy telling him that an evil lumberjack named Jacques Le Sheets is deforesting their homeland Stony Forest to produce counterfeit money and has also captured her father. Ignoring Edgar Ektor's protests, Zero decides to put a stop to Le Sheets. Upon arriving at the island, Zero's plane is shot down and crashes on the beach, so he starts making his way to the forest on foot. During his journey, Zero learns that Amy has also been captured after an unsuccessful attempt to save her father by herself. At the paper factory, Zero fights Le Sheets and pursues him on a flying ship. Aboard the ship, Zero finds that the mastermind is none other than Edgar Ektor. After defeating Ektor with Amy's assistance, the two squirrels parachute safely away, while Ektor's ship crashes into a cliff.

Development

While David Siller was drawing and designing the concept art for Aero the Acro-Bat, his son Justin introduced a character who went up to the same level as Aero and put his thoughts on paper.[6] Using the traits and sketches, it took a year to turn the concept character Zero into a digitized sprite. Siller submitted his proposal to Sunsoft and they approved it. The plot was based on the character animation. Some of the enemy boss sprites were rendered with 3-D Studio. The audio was based on a number of traditional Japanese melodies and sounds and incorporated a rock n' roll soundtrack. A number of ideas from the original concept were left out. The game was finally finished and released by fall.[7] The game was showcased at 1994 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.[8]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Sega GenesisSNES
AllGame3/5[12]2.5/5[13]
EGM9/10, 8/10, 8/10, 8/10[11]N/A
Power UnlimitedN/A79%[14]
Aggregate score
GameRankings71.25%[9]71.00%[10]

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Genesis version high scores, praising Zero's innovative techniques, especially his dive and swoop moves, and the colorful graphics, which one of the reviewers said surpass the Genesis's theoretical color limits.[11] Captain Squideo of GamePro, in contrast, commented that while most of Zero's moves are fun, the dive and swoop moves are too difficult to control. He shared EGM's approval for the game's colorful graphics, but concluded that "difficult controls make this martial arts squirrel less than an instant superstar".[15] He made similar remarks of the SNES version, which he described as "identical" to the Genesis version, but this time concluded Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel to be an overall good game despite its drawbacks.[16] Power Unlimited gave a more negative review criticizing the plot being weak, described the controls as "incomprehensible" and "almost impossible to reach" levels.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mega Drive Review - Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel". Mean Machines (EMAP) (33): 66. July 1995. https://archive.org/stream/mean-machines-sega-magazine-33/MMSega_33_Jul_1995#page/n65. 
  2. ↑ "Viewpoint (Genesis)". GameFan 2 (11): 60. November 1994. https://archive.org/stream/GamefanVolume2Issue11November1994#page/n59. 
  3. ↑ "Viewpoint (SNES)". GameFan 2 (5): 65. October 1994. https://archive.org/stream/GamefanVolume2Issue05April1994#page/n63. 
  4. ↑ IGN staff (June 21, 2002). "Aero Swings to Shelves". IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/21/aero-swings-to-shelves. 
  5. ↑ Romano, Sal (July 31, 2024). "Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch on October 4". https://www.gematsu.com/2024/07/zero-the-kamikaze-squirrel-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-and-switch-on-october-4. 
  6. ↑ "From Aero to Zero in three generations! (page 1)". https://justinsiller.com/files/EGM-article-pg-1.pdf. 
  7. ↑ "From Aero to Zero in three generations! (page 2)". https://justinsiller.com/files/EGM-article-pg-2.pdf. 
  8. ↑ "1994 Summer CES". June 1993. https://www.gamezero.com/team-0/articles/industry/sces_1994/. 
  9. ↑ "Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel for Sega Genesis - GameRankings". GameRankings. CBS Interactive Inc.. http://www.gamerankings.com/genesis/586625-zero-the-kamikaze-squirrel/index.html. 
  10. ↑ "Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel for SNES - GameRankings". GameRankings. CBS Interactive Inc.. http://www.gamerankings.com/snes/588879-zero-the-kamikaze-squirrel/index.html. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Sushi X (December 1994). "Review Crew". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) 7 (12): 40. ISSN 1058-918X. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/ae5970f5-14e0-4dbb-9b6d-23e4fe97a85b. Retrieved October 9, 2025. 
  12. ↑ "Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel Review". http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=12667. 
  13. ↑ "Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel Review". http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=22283. 
  14. ↑ "Power Unlimited Game Database" (in nl). November 1994. Archived from the original on September 2, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030902211113/http://www.powerweb.nl:80/database/index.php?&query%5border%5d=platform&ending=ASC&query%5bstart%5d=3860. Retrieved December 20, 2022. 
  15. ↑ "ProReview: Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel". GamePro (IDG) (75): 96. December 1994. 
  16. ↑ "ProReview: Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel". GamePro (IDG) (76): 70. January 1995. 
  17. ↑ "Power Unlimited Game Database" (in nl). November 1994. Archived from the original on September 2, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030902211113/http://www.powerweb.nl:80/database/index.php?&query%5border%5d=platform&ending=ASC&query%5bstart%5d=3860. Retrieved December 20, 2022. 

Footnotes

  • 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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