Supa Zazai Da!

Super... what?

Supa Zazai Da is another Gamopat conversion by Templeton, the same genius who graced us with the stupendous Crash Time Plumber. I couldn't wait to get my grubby mitts on this after reading the superb review by ST Graveyard on Atari Legend. Sadly, I admit to being disappointed with it. I failed to play more than a handful of frustrating games before rebooting my Atari STe with a massive portion of dismay.

I'll never knock anything powered by Maria Whittaker (yeah!) but this is rock solid and too difficult!! Having only one life didn't help, especially when the enemy could fill the entire screen with bullets! Yep, this is a wolf in sheep's clothing and seemed like a bad joke. Dang, I was incredibly bad at it and genuinely gutted.

I know, I know, those first impressions of a weak gamer. Sigh, but read on...

Trust me, this game will destroy you and any expectations for success!

Don't judge a book by its cover

I returned and anxiously grabbed my creaky old joystick, determined, but expecting the battle of my life. After many embarrassing failures, I eventually beat the first hoard of cute nasties and even gained extra points thanks to the green particles. How I managed to dodge the enemy's bullets, well, it felt like a personal achievement!! The clue is how you navigate through the cloud of bullets, it's easier than you think (watch the video).

Nevertheless, the scary boss instantly gave me a good drubbing and I was again greeted with the Game Over screen. I defeated him on my next nerve-racking attempt so was close to tears and ecstatic!! Once the second level begins you realise there's a familiar and repetitive pattern so I hammered it home and battled onto the third and fourth levels, with relative ease. The lesson is to stick with it as it can be conquered!!

Talk about a massive learning curve. Or at least for me? Wow, this game is so rewarding...

However, nobody said those bosses would be easy. Especially when they can fire so much!!

Pixels and Sonics

The visuals scroll at an ultra-smooth 50fps. It's the outrageously cute sprites, from a wide variety of games, that everyone will adore. Your computer will require a Blitter coprocessor, which is not a problem for the Atari STe and Falcon, but the original ST models are outta luck (unless you have a later revision or a Mega ST).

Musically, Supa Zazai is great but different depending on your hardware: an unnerving chip rattles ST players, whereas the STe gets exhilarating streamed audio (both brilliant). As instructed, pump up the volume!

It looks and sounds fantastic is what I'm saying about this Blitter-boosted game...

50fps action through and just look at that huge sprite. Impressive, to say the least!!

The CryptO'pinion?

What a journey!!

It's nothing like I initially imagined yet, it lived up to my expectations. Arcade fans are going to drool over their keyboards because it's fast, fun, thrilling, and addictive. Quite simply, Supa Zazai Da is an exhilarating shooter with gorgeous aesthetics. I hope Templeton has many more Atari STe games in the pipeline, I really do.

It's zany, it's crazy, it's insane and I love everything about Supa Zazai Da.

Download Supa Zazai Da! via AtariMania.