Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
In the Gamest Mook The Best Game, published in 1991, it placed 18th in a reader poll covering every arcade game up to that point. The magazine wrote: "Beautiful graphics that capture a fantastical world, comfortable sound that nothing else can match, and above all the striking attacks of the enemies.
In the Famitsu Cross Review it scored a total of 34, earning a place in the Gold Hall of Fame. In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by Family Computer Magazine, it scored 22.56 out of 30, as shown below.
In the Famitsu Cross Review the four reviewers gave 7, 8, 8, and 7, for a total of 30, earning a place in the Silver Hall of Fame. In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by PC Engine FAN, it scored 22.47 out of 30, as shown below.
This score also placed it 125th among all PC Engine titles (485 titles in total, as of 1993).
In the software review section of the magazine Sega Saturn Magazine it received 8, 8, and 9, for 25 points (average 8.33).
Sega Hard Girls — Opa-Opa is drawn on the illustration of one of the 1 characters, "Sega Mark III".
In 1989, Computer and Video Games rated the PC Engine version 88% and the Master System version 87%, considering the PC Engine version to be better than the Master System version but not as commercially successful.
Console XS reviewed the Master System version in 1992, giving it a 91% score.
Before that, a game combining the two, Space Fantasy Zone (unreleased, see below), had also been made.
Space Fantasy Zone (unreleased)
After production was announced in magazines, the release stayed undecided for 4 years, and in the end the game went unreleased even though it was all but finished.
Space Fantasy Zone (1990, unreleased)
Of all the platforms it was ported to, this one had the tightest hardware limits, and the attacks of the bosses in rounds 5 and 7 were changed as well.
The title "Fantasy Zone" had originally been given to this game during development; it was changed on the grounds that it suited the other title better. The spoken message at the start of the game, "Welcome to the Fantasy Zone!
A title that NEC Avenue had planned to release on Super CD-ROM2.
It is said to have been the first complete port achieved on a home console of this generation.
It is the first game in the Fantasy Zone series, and was later ported to several home consoles, including Sega's Master System.
The main character, Opa-Opa, is sometimes referred to as Sega's first mascot character.
Of all the platforms it was ported to, this one had the tightest hardware limits, and the attacks of the bosses in rounds 5 and 7 were changed as well.
The Japanese version was released in 1987, developed and published by Sunsoft.
In 1988, it got four categories of 9/10 each from Computer and Video Games, calling it "a beaut of a game [where] I-want-to-eat-this-cartridge scrolling backdrop and aliens float in from all sides spitting death at you".
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