~Fantasy Zone~ A shopping STG. The worldview and music are pastel colors.

• Released by Sega in 1986, this side-scrolling shooter features a unique manual scrolling system and a colorful "cute 'em up" aesthetic.

• Hero Opa-Opa embarks on a journey to stop a mysterious entity from building fortresses in the Fantasy Zone after a massive financial depression hits.

• Players control Opa-Opa, who faces surreal enemies and a tragic final encounter with his missing father, who was possessed by space parasites.

• Players must destroy 10 enemy bases per stage to face a boss. Defeated enemies drop coins used to buy weapons and upgrades from a floating SHOP balloon.

• The overseas NES version by Tengen features arcade-accurate colors but reduces the number of bases to six and nerfs certain weapons like the 7-way shot.

• The game is highly praised for its bright pastel-colored graphics and catchy samba-infused BGM, breaking the mold of dark, sci-fi shooters.

• The boss rush in the final stage provides an intense challenge, but the sudden, somber ending creates a sharp contrast with the game's cute appearance.

• A major frustration is that all purchased upgrades are lost upon death, and weapon prices increase permanently after each purchase.

• It became a legendary franchise with sequels like Fantasy Zone II and Super Fantasy Zone, with many ports appearing on Saturn, PS2, 3DS, and Switch.