Zed Blade
Encyclopedia
Zed Blade / Operation Ragnarok is an arcade game from NMK (company), released in 1994 as a Neo Geo MVS cartridge for the MVS (arcade) system.
Zed Blade is known in Japan as Operation Ragnarok.
which is controlled by a state of the art super computer. However, the crew of the Yggdrasil refuse to respond to any of Earth's communications months after deployment. Suddenly, Yggdrasil attacks the Earth using a large fleet of highly developed space fighters, robots and war machines. Operation Ragnarok is enacted wherein three of the Earth's best space fighter pilots must restore order by seizing control of Yggdrasil and halting the invasion.
One or two players simultaneously choose one of three characters to play, each with varying speeds at which they control their ships. A selection of three weapons are used for the front and rear of the selected ship. The player has to destroy various enemy ships and the boss near the end of the planet while travelling through every planet in the solar system. Weapons can be upgraded during the battle, and HyperBombs (that cause maximum damage) can be collected.
, Zed Blade/Operation Ragnarok was one of his earliest soundtracks for a shooting game
. This was the seventh Soundtrack out of 55 that Manabu Namiki composed since his first in 1992 with Super Space Fortress Macross.
theme on the cover art said "Are you ready for the Battles ?" Zed Blade's format as a Shooter / Flying Horizontal game is one of the only games out of the 154 games for the Neo-Geo
video game system in its format.
The MVS market can be divided into two distinct groups: home carts, and complete arcade kits.
Zed Blade / Operation Ragnarok runs on the Neo-Geo MVS and was not released on the Neo-Geo AES home console
Complete MVS arcade kits. These consist of all the materials that would be initially sent to an arcade operator, including the brown cardboard shipping box (with label), the insert materials to decorate the marqee and arcade cabinet
(including separate move lists), warning information, dipswitch settings, in some cases even posters and/or any packing materials.
The Neo Geo arcade cabinet also has a memory card slot on the front so you can save your progress on Zed Blade.
The insert materials to decorate the marqee and arcade cabinet are inserted into a slot at the top of the cabinet marquee. The neo geo arcade slot allowed for up to 6 slots depending on how many ports the cabinet offered giving the specific game artwork design for promotional purposes, joystick movement, and button instructions.
Zed Blade is known in Japan as Operation Ragnarok.
Story
Many years in the future, mankind travels to every planet in the Solar System. A large project to establish the Space Frontier is started with the development of an automated space station called YggdrasilYggdrasil
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology. It was said to be the world tree around which the nine worlds existed...
which is controlled by a state of the art super computer. However, the crew of the Yggdrasil refuse to respond to any of Earth's communications months after deployment. Suddenly, Yggdrasil attacks the Earth using a large fleet of highly developed space fighters, robots and war machines. Operation Ragnarok is enacted wherein three of the Earth's best space fighter pilots must restore order by seizing control of Yggdrasil and halting the invasion.
Gameplay
Soundtrack
Composed by Manabu NamikiManabu Namiki
is a Japanese video game composer who works mainly on shooter games. He has worked with game companies such as Allumer, NMK, Raizing and Cave...
, Zed Blade/Operation Ragnarok was one of his earliest soundtracks for a shooting game
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
. This was the seventh Soundtrack out of 55 that Manabu Namiki composed since his first in 1992 with Super Space Fortress Macross.
History
The marketingMarketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
theme on the cover art said "Are you ready for the Battles ?" Zed Blade's format as a Shooter / Flying Horizontal game is one of the only games out of the 154 games for the Neo-Geo
Neo Geo (console)
The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
video game system in its format.
MVS Arcade Kit
MVS (Multi Video System, the arcade version)The MVS market can be divided into two distinct groups: home carts, and complete arcade kits.
Zed Blade / Operation Ragnarok runs on the Neo-Geo MVS and was not released on the Neo-Geo AES home console
Complete MVS arcade kits. These consist of all the materials that would be initially sent to an arcade operator, including the brown cardboard shipping box (with label), the insert materials to decorate the marqee and arcade cabinet
Arcade cabinet
A video game arcade cabinet, also known as a video arcade machine or video coin-op, is the housing within which a video arcade game's hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the JAMMA wiring standard...
(including separate move lists), warning information, dipswitch settings, in some cases even posters and/or any packing materials.
The Neo Geo arcade cabinet also has a memory card slot on the front so you can save your progress on Zed Blade.
The insert materials to decorate the marqee and arcade cabinet are inserted into a slot at the top of the cabinet marquee. The neo geo arcade slot allowed for up to 6 slots depending on how many ports the cabinet offered giving the specific game artwork design for promotional purposes, joystick movement, and button instructions.