How to play Zaxxon online
- Steer left and right: left and right arrow keys
- Climb: down arrow (like pulling back on a flight stick)
- Dive: up arrow
- Fire: Space bar
- Choose a game option: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Start the game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
The difficulty switches are not used in this game.
Gameplay
Each round follows the same cycle. First you approach an asteroid fortress, where you have to fly high enough to clear the entry wall and then drop down to shoot targets on the ground. A bar on the left side of the screen shows your altitude, which is your main help in judging height from the behind-the-ship view. Your fuel drains all the time, and the only way to top it up is to shoot fuel tanks. After the fortress comes a battle in space against enemy planes that can attack from above, from below or straight ahead. Then the robot Zaxxon appears. Its only weak point is the missile under its arm, and it takes several hits to destroy it. If you fail, you can still shoot the missile once it is launched to survive. After that, the next fortress begins.
You start with five fighters and earn one bonus fighter at 10,000 points.
| Target | Points |
|---|---|
| Enemy plane | 200 |
| Fuel tank | 300 |
| Gun turret | 400 |
| Mobot | 400 |
| Dodger gun | 500 |
| Radar tower | 1,000 |
| Zaxxon’s missile | 1,000 |
| Zaxxon | 5,000 |
Game options
There are eight options: skill levels 1 to 4, each for one or two players. From skill 2 upwards, some ground targets are protected by electronic barriers, and you have to slip through the gaps in the beams. Higher skill levels also mean Zaxxon’s missile needs more hits, from three up to six.
Tips
- Remember the reversed climb. Down climbs and up dives. Get used to it on skill 1 before trying harder levels.
- Go high for the first wall. Climb as the fortress approaches, then descend once you are over it.
- Treat fuel tanks as a priority. They give 300 points and refill your tank, so never let one pass if your fuel is getting low.
- Watch the altitude bar, not just the ship. From behind, height is hard to read. The bar tells you whether your shots and your fighter are at the right level.
- Aim for the missile. When Zaxxon appears, only shots at the missile under its arm count, so don’t waste time firing at the body.
History
Sega’s arcade Zaxxon was the first game to use axonometric projection, the technique that gave the game its name, to fake a 3D view. Coleco released a ColecoVision version in September 1982, which became Coleco’s best-selling ColecoVision cartridge that did not come bundled with the console. The Atari 2600 version followed in April 1983. Coleco’s 2600 and Intellivision versions both replaced the isometric view with a third-person view from behind the ship. Reviews of the 2600 cartridge have been mixed, and it is usually rated well below the ColecoVision version.
