G: Zombies Ate My Neighbors

When I wrote my segment on the celebration of the Super Nintendo 25th anniversary this year, one game in particular popped out to me among the images and it was Zombies Ate My Neighbors. This may be one of the lesser known titles from this era. I heard of it prior to this year, but it didn't come up quite that often in conversations in SNES greats that usually included Mario games, A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Mega Man, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc. That lack of popularity was partially why it interested me, so I decided to give this game a try going in pretty much blind.

Immediately this game gives off a vibe unique to it. You play as one of two characters who must save their neighbors from being eaten from you guessed it zombies! But zombies aren't nearly the only enemies in this game. The game features a ton of enemies from 80's to 50's sci-fi and horror. You'll find yourself fighting possessed dolls, werewolves, martians, mummies, and much more in this game. Your weapons throughout this game are quite strange. You start with a water gun, but have the likes of weed whackers, Popsicles, soda cans, bazookas, and baseballs in your arsenal against these monsters. The levels are short, but numerous. This game has a total of 55 levels, 45 of which are required to beat the game. The main objectives of these levels is basically to try and save as many neighbors as you can to get a high score and unlock the exit. This game can be quite difficult even if you're not aiming to save every neighbor. I highly doubt you can beat all 45 levels in one sitting and even with Password usage it's hard because you're ammo is going to be reset since there is no saves in this game. I personally have yet to beat this game.

The game is very fun with the shooting mechanics being intuitive enough to make for an enjoyable experience and the challenge can be frustrating sometimes, but it's worth playing. I feel that this game would've served better being about 15 levels long instead of the enormous 45. It's a good game and I wish this game wasn't published by Konami so we may see a remake or sequel some day.

7.5/10