Ludography
74/100
Players6 ratings
75/100
Critics1 review

Where to get it

Zero Gunner 2 cover

2001 · Psikyo · Action · Arcade

Zero Gunner 2

Timed Sega exclusive

In the near future, scientists working for the powerful Asian conglomerate known as Igem have discovered a new energy source. Refusing to share their technique with the rest of the world, Igem eventually developed a weather control machine named ONI, which they intend to use for the purpose of global domination. A squadron of ace helicopter pilots, called Zero Gunner, is assembled to destroy ONI - but Igem fights back with everything they've got...

Released
6 September 2001
Platforms
ArcadeDreamcastNintendo SwitchPlayStation 4WindowsXbox OneXbox Series X/SiOS
Genres
ActionArcadeShoot 'em upShooter
Developers
PsikyoZerodivCity Connection
Publishers
PsikyoCity Connection
Modes
Co-opLocal multiplayerMultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
Action
Country
Japan
Age ratings
CLASS_IND LUSK 6CERO APEGI 7GRAC ALLESRB E
Languages
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, Japanese, Korean

About

Zero Gunner 2 (ゼロガンナー2) is a 3D multidirectional shooter developed by Psikyo as a sequel to Zero Gunner, the original arcade game. It was released for the Dreamcast in Japan in 2001.

A version of this game was developed and released in 2018 for the Nintendo Switch, by Zerodiv. This version was given the title Zero Gunner 2- as Zerodiv had to rebuild the game almost from scratch, due to the original data being missing, and out of respect for both the original version of the game and purists. This version was later released for Microsoft Windows via Steam in December 2020, PlayStation 4 in July 2022 and Xbox One in January 2023.

Keywords

  • shoot 'em up
  • character select screen
  • sega naomi

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

One or two players can take their pick of three helicopters, each with their own firing pattern and battle oncoming waves of enemies through 7 different stages, each with a boss at the end. Each boss has a different form at the beginning, such as a train, boat, airplane, or submarine, but after the players have inflicted enough damage, it turns into a giant robot. After the players destroy the robot, the stage ends and they progress on to the new stage. There are 9 modes of difficulty, ranging from "Child", where enemies fire little to none when fired upon to "Very Hard", where enemies fire at almost any given moment.

The game is particularly innovative by including a way to rotate the helicopter in 360 degrees, allowing the player to fire in any direction. Most of the time this is required to survive, as enemies not only come from the top of the screen, but the left, right, and bottom as well. Like other scrolling shooters, the game makes use of power-ups to improve a helicopter's firepower. Each player also has a "Special" Bar, which slowly rises whenever players collect the little "E" icons from destroyed enemies.

Story

In the near future, an Asian conglomerate known as Igem develops a unique energy source capable of developing a number of innovative machines. Their over-abundant research with the energy leads to the construction of a weather control machine called ONI, developed entirely for the purpose of taking over the world. Once ONI is activated, the countries of the world suffer and Igem's secret militia move in to destroy any opposition. It is here that the Zero Gunner squadron is called into action to stop Igem and to destroy ONI.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Zero Gunner 2 on their July 15, 2001 issue as being the eighth most-successful arcade game of the month.

On release, Famitsu magazine scored the Dreamcast version of the game a 30 out of 40.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Arcade1 May 2001Worldwide
Dreamcast6 September 2001Japan
Nintendo Switch25 January 2018Worldwide · North America 25 January 2018
iOS18 December 2019Worldwide
Windows21 December 2020Worldwide
PlayStation 413 July 2022Worldwide
Xbox One11 January 2023North America

Editions and related releases

Included in
Psikyo Shooting Stars AlphaPsikyo Shooting Library Vol. 1

Games like this

Collections3 collections

Platform libraries

Publishers

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.