Oddbean

[🧵 2/x] Zaxxon is a space shooter created by Sega, comprised of three distinct stages. Stages 1 and 3 see you flying through large “space fortresses”, while stage 2 requires you to fly in free space between them. Each stage has various hazards (turrets, rockets, fighter ships, etc.) to defeat, while also contending with an ever-decreasing fuel supply. At the end of the third stage, you fight a large robot (who I *believe* is the titular “Zaxxon”), after which the waves repeat, albeit with higher difficulty. #RetroGaming #Arcade #Sega #Isometric https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/064/513/321/573/259/original/7f3bfe3c97256aee.png https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/064/514/094/531/101/original/32bea2a5278d5a27.png https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/064/514/496/099/463/original/9be7954f6b5b53f1.png https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/064/515/080/514/667/original/5a38a72086e2fb8e.png

[🧵 3/x] Zaxxon immediately stood out in the arcade for being one of the first games (that I'm aware of) featuring an isometric perspective. This gives the game a distinct 3-dimensional appearance at a time when most games were strictly 2-dimensional in perspective. Not only does this look cool, it also requires new skills of the player- specifically, adjusting the altitude of the ship in real-time to avoid obstacles and/or precisely land shots on enemies. #RetroGaming #Arcade #Sega #Isometric https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/064/548/390/354/936/original/8267dc9a436841e4.png https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/064/551/623/511/660/original/1a5f97ce938f73f5.png

[🧵 4/x] Moving on to the arcade unit itself: while Zaxxon might not have the flashiest cabinet, I happen to absolutely adore it! That wood paneling gives me so much nostalgia for "the Wood Generation" (70's/80's, when wood paneling was in vogue), and the contrast of the silver/black of the control panel makes you feel like you're in a warm, wood-panneled spaceship. Maybe it looks a little "functionality-over-form", but I can't help but love that such a (at the time) futuristic game occupied a cabinet that felt so immediately familiar to us in the (then-"Wood Generation") present. #RetroGaming #Arcade #Sega https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/064/953/696/195/910/original/76832aea3451c2b9.png

[🧵 5/x] This is a funny aside, but apparently there was an epidemic of Zaxxon joystick theft, if this service note is to be believed?? The "attractive design" of the Zaxxon joystick (👀) apparently made them a hot commodify, so this service note provides some MacGyver-like procedure to protect your [Zaxxon] joystick. Did any of y'all steal a Zaxxon joystick back in the day? Be sure to let us know in the comments! #RetroGaming #Arcade #Sega https://furries.club/system/media_attachments/files/111/065/009/552/762/816/original/329a026332655a0c.png