Zaxxon

[hansolo77]

September 2016 GOTM Winner: Mame Offender - 134,250

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Zaxxon Leaderboard

 

POSITION	USER NAME	TOTAL SCORE
1	Mame Offender	134,250
2	ExedExes	85,700
3	Cynicaster	64,050
4	hansolo77	15,950
5	millerbrad	15,550
6	Floyd Turbo	11,400
7	rtkiii	8,400
8	RedDog	6,450
9	Luigimaker	5,500

Last Updated by hansolo77: 02-24-2019

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Please use these settings when submitting a hi-score for Zaxxon:

ROMSet: Zaxxon
Bonus Life: 10000
Lives: 3
Cabinet: Upright
Special Rules: None

 

The green coloured default values match the Twin Galaxies settings.
The red coloured values need to be changed!

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# you can change your Mame dip switch settings by following this guide:
# you can make a printscreen of your hi-score screen by following this guide:
# general rules for submitting you hi-score:

 

[hansolo77]

This was a close race in the polls.  In fact, we had a 3 way tie up until I checked this morning for the winner, and this was the one!  So thanks to everybody who voted.  And if you voted, you owe it to us to compete too!  Voting is only half the fun!  Happy gaming!

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Zaxxon (ザクソン^?) is a 1982 isometric shooter arcade game developed and released by Sega. Some sources^[13][14][15] claim that Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki also worked on the development of Zaxxon. The game gives the player the experience of flying a fighter craft through a fortress while shooting at enemy entities (missiles, enemy gunfire, etc.) The object of the game is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel—which can be replenished, paradoxically, by blowing up fuel drums.^[16]

At the time of its release, Zaxxon was unique as it was the first game to employ axonometric projection, which lent its name to the game (AXXON from AXONometric projection). The type of axonometric projection is isometric projection: this effect simulated three dimensions from a third-person viewpoint. It was also one of the first video games to display shadows, to indicate the ship's altitude above the surface;^[17] the game also employed an altitude meter, allowing the player to control how high or low the ship is above the surface.^[18] It was also the first arcade game to be advertised on television,^[19] with a commercial produced by Paramount Pictures for $150,000.^[20]

The world record on Zaxxon is 4,680,740 points scored by Vernon Kalanikaus of Lā'ie, Hawai'i, on March 15, 1982, according to the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard.^[21] A bootleg of the game was released in the arcades in 1982 called Jackson.^[22]

- Quote from Wikipedia (link)

[Mame Offender]

This one is a toughy.  

[rtkiii]

Yep...i was never good at it but always loved the look.

[hansolo77]

I used to play this on our Atari 800 back in the good old days.  I remember being pretty good at it.  But that was with a joystick and 1 fire button.  Not sure how well I'll be on the arcade version (and using an Xbox 360 controller).

[Kustom Kid]

Oh man. I remember playing the crap out of this game back in the day. It was at the hockey rink where I'd go watch my friends play because my parents wouldn't pay for us to play hockey. I'd live vicariously though them on the ice and play Zaxxon between periods. I might have to jump in on this one.

[Mame Offender]

Hey, it's September.  People will start to get the itch for some classic games.  

Submission of a score is as simple as a photo with initials. 

 

M0

[DazzleHP]

I hated this! I could never get used to the UP/DOWN movement in isometric view Yet i'm pretty good at most flight simulators. It's just that view! It messes with my spacial senses heheh

[ExedExes]

Lots of talk and no scores, fine by me!*

ExedExes - 85,700

* Welcome back, DHP. Now let's get the band back together once GC returns!

[hansolo77]

Yay!  First score of the month!  I kind of expected a slow roll out with the holiday weekend.  Glad to see it just the same!

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Cynicaster]

IMO, the tragedy of Zaxxon is that the only thing separating it from classic arcade greatness is one poorly-executed space battle sequence.

The game could have been a masterpiece, if it weren't for the pretty much unplayable deep space section.  I've spent a few hours over the years playing this game for online competitions and such, and I've got a pretty good handle on managing the controls in the axonometric view when flying over the bases, but when it comes to the deep space sequence, I STILL have no feel whatsoever for my altitude and position relative to the enemies and thus no way to target or avoid them with any kind of purpose.

After all the times I've played Zaxxon, my strategy in that screen is essentially the same as it was the first time I played it; i.e., to move the joystick around constantly, mash the fire button, and hope for the best.   In other words, my survival pretty much comes down to chance; I may gradually improve my skills at navigating the bases, but then the space screen comes up, at which point I might as well put on a blindfold and let the game rob me of my lives, because that's what's going to happen anyway.

 

49,200

[Mame Offender]

Agreed on the Space topic.  I also have no grasp on what to do while in space.  

My first game, won't be the last.  It is clear to see that I am not very good at Zaxxon.  I won't give up, though.

 

- (an embarrassing) 5,850 (measly points)

[Mame Offender]

Gee, that didn't take long to triple the previous entry....

A little better:

018900

[Mame Offender]

Getting there.  Made it to the third board.

 

24800

[rtkiii]

On 9/4/2016 at 11:22 AM, DazzleHP said:

I hated this! I could never get used to the UP/DOWN movement in isometric view Yet i'm pretty good at most flight simulators. It's just that view! It messes with my spacial senses heheh

Any good at Q-Bert?

[Mame Offender]

28050 

 

Slow and steady progress on this toughy....

[Mame Offender]

38,850

[hansolo77]

Thanks for bringing some much needed enthusiasm back to the GOTM guys!  Now I just wish I could get over this "cold" so I actually felt like playing.  You've definitely got me wanting to play!

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[RedDog]

Well, I almost didn't want to post my very sad score...but it will probably make Han feel like he has some skills. 

That's right...6,450!

You know...I played Zazzon every so often and remember it being pretty fun...I just don't remember these older games being as challenging as they feel today. I am pretty sure it isn't me... 

[hansolo77]

It's just our age getting in the way.  I didn't want to believe it when Dad would tell me the same thing when I tried to get him to play games with me and my brother as kids.  He was all "I'm too old to play those games, they're too complicated and fast".  Now 30 years later, we're suffering from the same issues.

As for your score.. don't feel bad about it at all.  I haven't even posted up a score yet, so you're already doing better than me. 

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Mame Offender]

I guess that is how it works:. Cynicaster bumped me on Bubbles, time for me to bump him here on Zaxxon!!  So here it is:

 

069800

[Mame Offender]

Oh so close to the X!

082550

[DazzleHP]

2 hours ago, Mame Offender said:

Oh so close to the X!

082550

You get so good so fast MO! I'm sure X has something up his sleave though

On 13/09/2016 at 5:56 PM, rtkiii said:

Any good at Q-Bert?

Nope, i hate that too, for the same reason

 

[hansolo77]

Ok I'm going to make a real dedicated effort to try and play this game some time this week.  Not sure when, but I'm missing out!

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Mame Offender]

MO wants another title, making a push for it as we speak...

 

098500