Jaleco seems to be good at making a game of just about any genre. We've seen fighters, sports games, a firefighting game and more, and this one can probably be best described as a mix of The Legend of Zelda and Commando, similarly to the original Metal Gear, in a way.
Like many old games there's not much of a story. You play as two mercenaries who infiltrate a large fortified complex to defeat a nondescript enemy and save the day. Upon starting you're immediately plunged into the first area, a wooden fort of sorts. You'll quickly discover that your character controls much like the main characters from games like Commando — rather slow, and with bullets actually coming from the barrel of your weapon rather than your character, meaning you need to line up your gun with enemies, not just your hero.
Meanwhile, the level design is curiously like the dungeons in the original Legend of Zelda, with each room having up to four exits leading up, down left or right to another room. In each you'll find enemies that respawn every single time you enter, and you'll have to go around finding key items, power-ups and defeating minibosses in order to reach the final room where a boss lurks. You can view a map of the current level on the pause screen whenever you want, as well as being able to change between your two characters — they don't share a life bar, so if your life is getting low switch to the other until you find some health.
It won't take that long to find health though, as there's a ton of it scattered around, making the game generally pretty easy. If that wasn't enough, you'll also find items like upgraded gun shots, life extensions and powerful grenades, which combined with the fact that your character can actually jump across obstacles means you'll make short work of just about any enemy along the way.
The game doesn't seem long, with just four stages total, but while the first two are pretty short the other two span two different floors each and as such can take a good while to navigate. There's a password system if you prefer one stage over another, so you can start out anywhere you want as well.
The graphics are nothing to write home about, with many enemies looking quite similar and the levels generally repeating themselves over and over, but the music is fairly good, with some catchy tunes spread out here and there.
Curiously, this game is actually the first in a series of three games in Japan, but is a completely standalone title in the West, much like Jaleco's other games Rival Turf!, Brawl Brothers and The Peace Keepers, all on the Super NES. Known in Japan as Ikari no Yōsai, Fortified Zone had a direct sequel on the Game Boy, as well as a third, somewhat unrelated game on the SNES. Only the SNES game was also released elsewhere, as Operation Logic Bomb. Maybe we'll see it on the Wii Virtual Console sometime?
Conclusion
Overall, Fortified Zone is a strange but working mix of two completely different types of games. It's not particularly long, and there's never really any moments that elevate it to fantastic levels, but it's a fun game throughout and well worth a try in these early days of the 3DS Virtual Console, as most people probably will not have originally played it.
Comments 32
I'll probably go ahead and get this one. Seems decent enough.
This game got the score I thought it would. It sounds interesting and worth the 3 USD price but I'd rather save up my money for a better GB game such as Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, whenever it comes out.
Nice review.
Just a shame they didn't include multiplayer modes in the VC. I'm tempted to buy it but will not get a VC version of a game that orginally had it. I just don't know how long i can keep that up.
You're just playing the original game as if you didn't have a link-cable. Many people used to do so. Is multiplayer THAT important to you that you can't enjoy the single player game?
@LTD:
Why are the multiplayer modes unavailable in the virtual console versions?
@Alpha2797: I don't know why. I just don't think it would be too big of a problem to emulate the link mode.
@Bass_X0: It's not even that i would use multiplayer often. It's just that i'd like to hear from Nintendo why it isn't there. And just pretending there never was one seems like a disservice to the original games. Plus what i wrote to Alpha2797.
@LTD
Wireless Communications should be added to the virtual console games. I don't want Pokemon R/B/Y or S/G/C to not have trading.
The game is not bad. I like the BGM on stage 3
3rd Boss killed the girl but my guy killed him, now I have a restore point at the start of stage 4, I've got no med-packs, and 3 life points left.
I don't think I'm gonna pick this up, I'm getting a little bit tired of the generic 7's on our VC games. I'll wait for some really good ones.
In Spain, we haven't got this game on eShop. We will wait
En España, no tenemos este juego en la eShop. Tendremos que esperar.
Think I'll pick this up. Seems fun~
How is Nintendo not putting:
Kid Icarus: Of Myths & Monsters
Metroid 2
Pokemon Yellow
???!!!!
Infact, where are all the gameboy color games? I need my Oracle of Seasons!!!
I'd rather not support Nintendo leaving out the multiplayer, but I will most likely get this later on.
@stalfosavocado: Lol, chill out. Virtual Console 3DS has barely been out for a month yet
@Alpha2797:
OH GOD, IF THEY DONT LET YOU TRADE IN POKEMON!! DB>
@Stalfosavocado: I feel your pain on Metroid 2. Its the one metroid game I never got to play D:
This reminds me of that weird, obscure James Bond 007 GB game that came out from Nintendo in the wake of GoldenEye (Nintendo didn't really do a lot with the 007 license). It was another one of those Zelda-influenced top down games like this one. Apparently, the original Game Boy has a few gems in the genre. I hope that Mystical Ninja GB game comes out on the eShop Virtual Console someday. There's been a distinct lack of Mystical Ninja games on the Virtual Consoles...I don't like it.
@stalfosavocado: Y'know, if Nintendo's really trying to learn from past mistakes, perhaps they're saving Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters for when Kid Icarus: Uprising is coming out. And use both titles to hype each other? Y'know, like how they DIDN'T do that for the myriad Metroid, Zelda or Mario games on the Wii Virtual Console?
There's a mistake. Fortified ZOne is $3.99 not $2.99.
I just realized this game had color in it.. and it looks fun. I might get this now, ha.
@Link977: If you want to laugh, I had the same thing happen to me in Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Brothers 2 on my 1st tour through the game.
Before you beat the game through once, you have to restart the entire game if you get a Game Over and I ended up on the last level of the game (Level 7-2) with 0 Extra Lives and being small.
I had to pickup the Extra Life that was in a dangerous location before starting the level and turning the handheld off before it saved my loss after I died before I could get the game completed.
@Link79, @Alpha2797, @rolLTheDice, @Bass_X0, @shonenjump86, @Link977, @ryanheinz, @diegopefra, @Raylax, @stalfosavocado, @Retro_on_theGo, @Azikira, @Vinsanity, and @Colors:
As part of my effort to celebrate every single Virtual Console game, E-Shop game, and expansion for Wii U and 3DS, I am going through every single NintendoLife.com Review (or offsite review for those games that NintendoLife.com never reviewed) to see if it is worth our collective time in the Virtual Console's final year.
For Fortified Zone from Game Boy on 3DS Virtual Console, here are my questions.:
1) I notice the review compares this game to The Legend of Zelda franchise.
Is the exploration really intense for this game?
I know The Legend of Zelda games get great reviews and I tried purchasing 3 separate Zelda games, but I always get lost early in the game and never end up finishing them.
2) The review makes the game sound like the Super Nintendo Power Rangers games with more exploration.
Is that an accurate summary of the game?
3) Are there collectibles to retrieve to pad out the game?
4) How many total hours of gameplay will it take to 100% the 4 levels?
5) Is there a hard mode for the 4 levels if you 100% the 4 levels?
6) If the game is more fun in multiplayer, what was the reason in cutting it from Fortified Zone?
Space? Frame rate problems?
7) How many blocks of space does this download take up and what is the current price? (in both US dollars and Euros)
8) What number score out of 10 would you give this game and why?
9) Just a general question:
Are @'s capped 10 people actually popping up hyperlinked or is it just that that many people have left this website over the years?
Thanks so much for your info!!!
@SportyMarioSonicMix
I don't even know if i ever bought this game.
9) I guess they left. I'm practically never here anymore either. I just didn't delete my account and i'm really only responding to you because i get mails when someone writes something where i wrote something i guess.
@rolLTheDice Aw, why don't you spend as much time here anymore?
Do you not like Nintendo games anymore?
I guess i'm just overwhelmed by the sheer number, quality and diversity of games nowadays. For the most part i get my fill out of two android-games and don't really find the time for much else gaming anymore.
@rolLTheDice: What types of Nintendo games did you used to play when you were more active here?
@SportyMarioSonicMix
I don't wanna talk about that.
@rolLTheDice: Did you have an irritating video game experience that caused you to leave gaming or an embarrassing taste in games?
Don't worry. I am such a huge collector of Gamecube games that I considered purchasing a Mary Kate & Ashley game just because it was the last minigame collection on Gamecube that I do not already have.
(IGN gave the game a surprisingly thorough and good review of the game and predicted it would sell millions of copies. Hard to imagine the sales part verifying though.)
@SportyMarioSonicMix
Nope.
@rolLTheDice: Then, why don't you want to talk about what types of Nintendo games you used to play?
If anyone is curious in 2022, this game is pretty fun. Review is pretty spot on, I enjoyed it, but I also beat the thing in an afternoon lol
Edit: I did want to add, “Sound Boy” is an interesting feature and unusual for old Game Boy games. It’s basically just a music player, but you can create a playlist to listen to and have it loop if you want. Not something I imagine a ton of people will spend a lot of time with, but it’s a neat feature worth mentioning.
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