Developer: Hi-Score Media Publisher: Hi-Score Media Release: 07/03/87 Genre: Action
I remember looking forward to Activision’s Zombie Master based on nothing more than the cover and descriptive text in its ads. The box art looked totally bad ass with a knight fighting a dragon. But then I remember Hydlide had the same thing and that game was….”special”. Zombie Master looks like the side scrolling portions of Zelda 2 as a complete game so it has to be good right? If only wanting could make it so. The truth is Zombie Hunter has many problems and at the very least we dodged a bullet. Play Chester Field instead.
What little story the game has is all in the intro. The four spirits of wind, earth, fire, and water govern the world. Unfortunately Dolgo, the earth spirit steals the Life Seeker, giving him power over all the world’s energy. In order to save humanity’s souls Ariel of the wind commands her subordinates to find a hero to defeat Dolgo. This is where you come in. Aside from the game’s introduction and the menus there is little other text. This had to be the one of the fastest fan translations out there. Originally Zombie Hunter was released for the MSX and it shows in its simple presentation and jerky scrolling. Not that you would be playing the game for its stunning graphics anyway of course.
You are not getting interesting gameplay either. The gameplay in Zombie Hunter is pretty simple even for a 1987 release. Your hero has a sword and shield (which is useless) and follows a straight path through every level. There are light RPG elements as you gain experience and level up, which produces a tangible boost in power. If you can find the shops in each stage you can buy new equipment. These same items also drop from specific enemies randomly. Since they respawn in the same spot you can grind if you choose although that is a separate issue in itself. Weapons have durability and will break. Magic is also single use to prevent spamming. Bottom line, you might be using the default sword a lot.
Although there is only one path you can “explore” freely. There are hidden shops and potentially good items in seemingly bottomless pits. Enemy encounters are preset down to their location and number. It is useful in that you know what to expect but also makes the game predictable. Later stages introduce platforming that makes combat tricky by also dealing with the environment. Despite the game’s six stages there are actually ten total; at the end of each stage you have a choice of two paths, each with their own unique enemies and challenges. While the game seems to have a solid foundation it falls apart in its execution.
The high difficulty ultimately ruins Zombie Hunter. This game is the very definition of grind, to the point it is unbearable. Your first few levels progress naturally. But it ramps up quickly and unfortunately the gains barely keep up. There are a few shops per level but items are exorbitantly expensive and you have limited inventory. It leads to a Catch 22; you need to fight stronger enemies for more exp and gold but you need better equipment (or at least healing items) to survive an encounter with said enemies. Which means you are stuck wandering back and forth fighting the same weak enemies for longer than should be necessary. I wish the game had some semblance of balance as I can see what they were going for but they miss the mark.
And I have not even mentioned the worst part yet! You only have one life to complete the game. There are no continues, passwords, or battery back-up. With all of Zombie Hunter’s flaws this makes the game unbearable. Death can come at any moment and the thought of repeating the hours of grinding is disheartening. Since you decide when to progress most will tire of grinding and move on only to encounter ridiculously powerful regular enemies and die in seconds. If the game had a few credits it would be somewhat bearable as it is not very long outside the tedium but as it is the game is a chore to try and enjoy.
In Closing
We will probably never know why Zombie Master’s US release was cancelled. My head cannon is someone got around to playing the game and had an epiphany. As much as I would like to say Zombie Hunter is a hidden gem the truth is we did not miss much. There is no reason to seek this one out.
