The world's premier resource for SEGA's arcade and console hardware legacy!
Sega innovated in several ways with 1982’s Zaxxon and created a solid and challenging shooter that has become a classic. However, some may not enjoy the lack of depth find the gameplay frustrating if they’re not using a control stick. If those are humps you can get over, then Zaxxon offers an enjoyable, albeit short, experience that exemplifies Sega at its creative best.
Buck Rogers is a sci-fi legend, but he hasn’t had much of a presence in video games. Sega tried to remedy that with its 1982 arcade shooter that sought to take advantage of the TV revival that was popular at the time. While visually impressive and fun, Planet of Zoom may be a bit too repetitive for extended plays. Still, shooting things is fun!
Golden Axe is synonymous with hack-‘n-slash, and Sega gave us one hell of an upgrade with 1992’s Revenge of Death Adder. The game declared the series’s triumphant return to coin-op form and served up a memorable adventure that somehow never got ported to a Sega console.
Sega’s 1987 sci-fi classic has done the rounds on multiple formats, but the best way to play it is in its original arcade form. Tense and action-packed, the game was a blast to play with a friend, and it hasn’t lost any of its charm or challenge over the years. It remains one of Sega’s arcade best.
Many of Sega’s arcade releases of the early ’80s have been overlooked, and there are some good titles worth checking out. One of them is Mister Viking, a 1984 run-‘n-gun that wasn’t spectacular but offered some decent fun for a while. It was manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Bally/Midway, after Sega’s retreat from the U.S. market in 1983.