An overlooked fun Run 'n Gun style game filled with horror movie cliches and humor
+Great co-op
+48 levels (55 including bonus levels) that never get old or boring
+Wide aresenal of weapons including squirt guns and rocket launchers
+Good challenge
+Password feature is rediculously short
---Bad Points---
-Controls aren't bad but can be annoying in certain situations
-Some level designs are rediculous and require certain weapons to be able to complete
Zombies Ate My Neighbors is an awesome shooter that is fun for everyone. The game is appealing to video game fans, and fans who love horror movies. Like the title says, there will be zombies and plenty of them, but in addition to zombies we also have giant babies, martians, Jason, vampires, mummies, blobs of goo, man-eating plants, psycho killing dolls, and many more horror movie killers. Overall the game is very underrated and never given the credit it deserves and should be on more top SNES games.
Gameplay in this game is good but is one of my biggest problems with the game. First off the controls go like this Y - shoot, X - secondary weapon, B - switch weapon, A - switch secondary weapon, L and R - switch radar on and off, START - pause, SELECT - nothing, and the D pad moves you. So what's wrong with that you might ask? Well using your weapon of course. Keep in mind, this game is a top down view and isn't like Contra where you just use the D pad to point where you shoot, so in this game you shoot in the direction your facing. That can be a problem because enemies come at you in all directions and you're likely to hit cause you have to be constantly moving and turning to kill enemires. This how the controller layout should be: Y - shoot left, B - shoot down, X - shoot up, A - shoot right, L - switch weapons, R - switch secondary weapons, START - pause, SELECT - secondary weapon, D pad - move. And instead of being able to switch the radar on and off, just keep it on permantently on the side with a health and weapon info like the Genesis version. The game would've been better if it was designed with controls like Smash TV was for the SNES. But don't get me wrong the game is still fun with the flawwed controls.
Graphics and audio are good too. While graphics aren't anything flashy, they get the job done. They're bright and colorful and are pretty detailed that are nice to look at. They're no Donkey Kong Country, but they're certainly good. Audio is awesome to me. If you're a huge horror film fan like myself, this soundtrack is perfect for you. The music is very similiar to old 30's and 40's horror films mixed in with some "horrifying" sound affects such as Jason's chainsaw or the sound of your soda grenades blowing blobs of goo up. The game is full of musical goodness.
Weapons in this game is probably the highlight of the game. Zombie games now are all about the biggest guns and shooting the brains out of zombies, whereas Zombies Ate My Neighbors is completely different. Here you'll find weapons like squirt guns, popsicles, silverware, plates, fire extinguishers, bazookas, soda can grenades, weed wackers, and much much more. Also, you'll collection secondary weapons like chests that kill enemies, health packets, keys, skull keys, and other stuff. The game hides these weapons in trash cans, drawers, dressers, on the ground, and other places.
Other things I like about this game is the password feature. While usually most games with passwords kill you with those long-ass passwords that are like 20 characters long, Zombies Ate My Neighbors treats you with passwords that are only 4 characters long. It's less stressful and they're easy to remember. One thing I hate is, you only get passwords every 5 levels instead of every level. It's not a big flaw but it's noticeable and can be annoying when you don't have time to finish the level. And there's 48 regular levels so, you're gunna need a password to beat the game unless you plan on playing the game all day.
While the main objective of the game is to collect your neighbors in every level, they can die and you can just continue on the level not collecting them. However, continuing on from levels can be a pain with my next complaint. Some levels require certain weapons and items to complete and it's annoying. And while most games have this feature, Zombies Ate My Neighbors pissed me off about it. There's one level you need a skull key to continue on and I swear to God I can never find it and I have to save a skull key from another level to beat the level, that's just abd game design. Also, there's a man-eating plant level where you can only kill them with a weed wacker. That's fine, except I already used all my weed wacker ammo on the mummy level and now I'm ****ed. They couldn't just give you an ammo supply of it? Was it that hard? Also, certain parts like the weed wacker, you need certain weapons to not get hurt, like in Dracula's castle when you have to go through the fireplace, better have a fire extinguisher or you're losing health. I mean the game isn't bad cause of this, but it pisses me off sometimes and causes me to not wanna play it.
All in all, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a great game and a SNES essential. While my problems in the game (bad level designing and bad gameplay) may seem like the essentials to make a game playable, don't take them away from the game. Sure they're annoying, but the game is still fun nonetheless. I mean, I still play this game all the time even though I have those big problems with the game. The game is awesome and especially fun with a friend. You should really pick this up because it's full of charm with it's horror movie references and the sheer funness of busting a cap in a zombie.......with a squirt gun. Overall, this game is superb, and shouldn't be overlooked.