Super Zaxxon

The objective of the game is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel, which can be replenished by blowing up fuel tanks (300 points). There are two fortresses to fly through, with an outer space segment between them. At the end of the second fortress is a boss in the form of the Zaxxon robot.

The player's ship casts a shadow to indicate its height. An altimeter is also displayed. In space, there is nothing for the ship to cast a shadow on. The walls at the entrance and exit of each fortress have openings, and the ship must be at the right altitude to pass through. Within each fortress are additional walls that the ship's shadow and altimeter aid in flying over successfully.

The arcade game was a major commercial success worldwide. In Japan, Game Machine magazine listed it as the 18th highest-grossing arcade game of 1981, despite having only a limited release towards the end of the year; it did not appear on the magazine's top 20 annual list for 1982. The magazine later listed the game as the eighth top-grossing table arcade cabinet of May 1983.

The arcade game was a bigger commercial hit in North America, where it reached the top of the monthly US RePlay arcade charts in June 1982. The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) later listed it among the top six highest-grossing arcade games of 1982 in the United States.

Zaxxon is a bonus game in the Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2. It is also an unlockable arcade game in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The arcade version was released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on December 15, 2009, the PAL region on March 5, 2010, and North America on April 12, 2010. In 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.

An arcade sequel, Super Zaxxon, was released in November 1982. It has a different color scheme, the player's ship flies faster (making the game more difficult), the space segment is replaced with a tunnel, and the enemy at the end of the second fortress is a dragon. It did not do as well as the original. Super Zaxxon topped the US RePlay arcade chart for software conversion kits in July 1983. In 1984, Sega released Future Spy with a similar style.