Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa
A whimsical shooter where Opa-Opa confronts his dark twin.
It was later ported to arcade, Famicom, and MSX2, and re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America in 2009. The game is noted for its bright colors and whimsical designs, departing from typical shooter themes and sometimes called a 'cute 'em up'.
Quick Facts
- Composer
- Tokuhiko Uwabo
- System 16 remake
- Manabu Namiki
- Series
- Fantasy Zone
- Platforms
- Mark III/Master System
- arcade
- Famicom
- MSX2
- Genre
- Scrolling shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
- Arcade system
- Sega System E
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Ten years after Opa-Opa defeated the Menon forces and fought his own father, the Nenon forces spread chaos through the Fantasy Zone in Space Year 1432. Opa-Opa must again fly into the zone to rout the invasion. At the end, he faces an identical copy of himself. His father appears, and Opa-Opa's tears cause the twin to vanish. The twin is revealed as a physical manifestation of Opa-Opa's dark impulses, spawned from a childhood war. Reunited with his father, Opa-Opa purges this darkness and vows such disaster will never recur.
Gameplay
The player controls Opa-opa in a side-scrolling level that repeats indefinitely, allowing free travel left or right. Each zone contains several bases that are primary targets. Hidden warps behind some bases let the player travel between zones. A level has at least three zones; clearing all bases in all zones allows travel through a warp to the boss. Boss fights restrict free movement and force the player to face the boss in a fixed direction. Bosses are large and change color to reflect damage. The final stage is a boss rush against previous bosses. Two action buttons provide fire and bomb attacks. Fire shoots horizontally, with variants purchasable at shops. Bombs are more powerful; the basic bomb drops downward, and other variants have limited quantity. Shops at key points sell upgraded weapons, bombs, speed, and extra lives. Speed upgrades are permanent unless a life is lost; weapon upgrades are time-limited. Items become more expensive with each purchase, encouraging varied buying.
Ports
The arcade version uses the System E board and is nearly identical to the Master System version. Differences include a radar showing which bases are destroyed and a timer that causes life loss when it reaches zero. Clearing a level adds remaining timer seconds to score and money. The Famicom port's title screen subtitle reads The Teardrop of Opa-opa.
System 16 remake
On September 11, 2008, Sega released a remake of Fantasy Zone II as part of Sega Ages Vol. 33 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection, developed by M2. This remake reimagines the title as an arcade game on System 16 hardware, adhering to the technical limitations of the original era. M2 CEO Naoki Horii, disappointed that Fantasy Zone never got a true arcade sequel, funded development out-of-pocket at about the cost of a new car. M2 developed the game on real System 16 hardware with a memory increase to 256 KB, dubbed System 16C. The remake shows a 1987 SEGA copyright, makes no mention of M2, and bears no titular distinction, leading fans to call it Fantasy Zone II DX to distinguish it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What platforms is Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa available on?
Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa was released for Mark III/Master System, arcade, Famicom and MSX2.
Who composed the music for Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa?
The music for Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa was composed by Tokuhiko Uwabo, System 16 remake and Manabu Namiki.
Is Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa single-player or multiplayer?
Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa offers single-player play.
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