Zombies Ate My Neighbors

aka: Monsters, Zombies
Moby ID: 6966
SNES Specs
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Description official descriptions

In Zombies Ate My Neighbors, the player takes the role of a male or female protagonist (Zeke or Julia), fighting vampires, mummies, zombies, and other horrifying creatures. The goal is to destroy these monsters, survive the 50+ levels (not including secret ones), and rescue the neighbors that have survived the onslaught.

There is a defined number of neighbors who can be saved on every level. When they are all rescued, an "Exit" door opens, and the player advances to the next level. The levels range from mall and grocery store to beaches and football fields. Using different weapons such as bazooka or water gun, Zeke and Julia have to kill regular enemies and bosses (huge babies, dragons, ants, and others) at the end of the levels. Despite the horror theme, the game's setting contains humorous elements as well. A two-player cooperative mode is available.

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Credits (SNES version)

23 People

Game Design by
Lead Programmer
Game Engine Programmer
Programmer
Additional Game Coding by
Maps by
Lead Animator
Assistant Animator
Additional Game Art by
Music Produced by
Music Composed by
Music Support by
  • Team Fat
Sound Engine by
Sounds
Testing by

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 84% (based on 34 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 107 ratings with 4 reviews)

zombie fun for all

The Good
The graphics, they are nice, all the characters are done well. The levels are fun too,each one being varied from the last, as is the whole concept of the game. The background music adds well to the atmosphere and feel of the game. The controls are simple and responsive, they all add together to form a classic game

The Bad
Sometimes shooting zombies can get repetitive,(I never thought I'd say that), but apart from that its a game I could keep on going back to.

The Bottom Line
zombie mayhem which is great fun

SNES · by Big C (56) · 2003

Excellent, criminally overlooked game

The Good
Zombies is simply a blast to play. It is one of the ultimate 2-player games. The various weapons are well-balanced and different enough to require thought in use. The concept - rescuing civilians from zombies (which include other baddies as well) is clever and well-executed. There is no "distinct" time limit, but you must operate swiftly to rescue the majority of them (you won't get them all, and that's acceptable - and the scream sound effect when a "neighbor" meets their maker is one of the best sounds in video gaming). Level design is very fresh and clever.

The Bad
I wish you could "continue" your way through the game, because it's difficult as you get going, and there are a lot of levels that I haven't ever been able to get to. There's not much else to complain about. It's not quite as great as a solo-player game - it really shines in 2-player mode. The difficulty level does quickly ramp up, but there is a lot of fun in just getting as far as you can (kinda like some of those old arcade games).

The Bottom Line
Zombies Ate My Neighbors is an overhead-perspective shooter game, in which you move with 360 degrees of freedom around locales like neighborhoods, shopping malls, and some more exotic locations as well. The concept of the game is to rescue civilians ("neighbors") from the zombies and other creatures roaming around. Equipped with weapons ranging from soda cans to a bazooka, you (and ideally, a friend as well) perform rescue missions. It's kind of like a Gauntlet, except with the whole "rescue" angle, as well as a lot of clever gameplay and theme twists.

SNES · by *Legion* (136) · 2003

Zombies?! Where's my Super-Soaker!

The Good
This has got to be one of the top-ten most fun games from the 16-bit days! The replay value is high, graphics are great, sound effects top-notch, music imminently hummable, controls are slick and responsive, the AI is advanced beyond its years and technology and the difficulty is almost perfectly balanced.

This is the definition of "sleeper hit". Why ZAMN didn't get more attention when it came out than it did is beyond me. The fast-paced arcade style gameplay is nicely complemented by the variety of weapons, enemies and locales to create a deeply satisfying and fun playing experience.

It's somewhat ironic, though, that a game packed with so much nostalgia has itself become a piece of 16-bit nostalgia. If you've seen even a fraction of the horror movies that have came out in the nine decades before the game's release, you'll recognize some of them in this game.

The Bad
It gets somewhat repetitive after a few hours, and the password system was a wrong move for continuing, but it still keeps you coming back for more, regardless. Also, the weapon and item selection system is a little tedious, especially if you have large caches of each, and it can get annoying to hit the selection button two dozen times because you missed the item/weapon you needed.

The Bottom Line
Think of it like Resident Evil meets Gauntlet in "Abbot and Costello meet The Monsters!" It's got homages to all the great horror classics of the last century, including Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Child's Play, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein, Dracula and many many more.

The premise is a simple one: Save the victims, kill the monsters and don't get killed yourself. It never gets more complicated than that. Not to say it's not a challenge; often times the victims are positioned so that you can see them, but you still have to fight through half the level to get to them. And even then, they're usually so close to an enemy spawn point that it's a mad dash to rescue them. But there's no greater feeling than narrowly snatching a victim from the claws of a Werewolf.

Game design is pure genius; you go from bouncing on trampolines in your backyard one level to fending off chainsaw-wielding maniacs in a hedgerow maze to battling giant babies in a shopping mall. That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg; there are haunted castles, caves, beaches, factories, schools...the list of levels goes on and on and on.

So does the list of enemies; the title Zombies are only the first of a wacky cast of enemy characters you'll encounter. Others include evil ax-throwing dolls (which naturally erupt into flaming dolls if damaged enough), giant toddlers who stomp on you and shoot milk out of their bottles, giant plants that can spawn walking mushrooms, jelly blobs that will spit jelly balls at you (and that prevent you from using your weapons and items for a few seconds if they hit you), vampires, werewolves, and tons of others.

With the variety of weapons, items, enemies, levels, victims, music and sounds, it's not just a wonder that they were able to cram it all into a 16-bit cart, it's a testament to the creative and programming teams at Konami. Do yourself a favor, go out and find this game to add to your SNES library. If you don't have an SNES, get one!

SNES · by Tom Jacob (6) · 2004

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
robot game = Metal Warriors? Marauder^ (87) Oct 21, 2007

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Zombies Ate My Neighbors appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Bonus level

At the end of the game there's a special credits level called "Monsters Among Us" in which you walk around in the LucasArts headquarters. The game developers are sitting at their desks or just hang around and when you approach them they will tell you who they are and what their role in the development of the game was.

Some bits of trivia regarding this credits level:* George Lucas welcomes you at the door tells you to get back to work. * A woman at a desk says: "watch out for our boss Kelly Flock". * Steve Purcell, of Sam & Max fame, is dressed up like Indiana Jones. * The purple tentacle from Day of the Tentacle is one of the monsters in this level. * A guy at a desk says: "I cannot wait for the robot game" ("Metal Warriors" for the SNES, which was the next game done by the same team.)

Want to play this level? Take a look at the Tips & Tricks section.

European version

The American SNES version of the game suffered a bit of censorship at the hands of Nintendo, which was nothing unusual at the time. The red blood in the game over screen was changed to purple from the Mega Drive / Genesis version.

In the European version, the enemy representing Jason Voorhees (from the Friday the 13th film series) was given an axe instead of a chainsaw. And the blood in the game over screen was changed again, now to green.

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • August 1993 (Issue 49) - Game of the Month (SNES version)Information also contributed by Toshiyasu Morita

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by POMAH.

Wii added by Charly2.0. Antstream added by lights out party.

Additional contributors: Macintrash, Roedie, Sciere, Alaka, Pseudo_Intellectual, Havoc Crow, Neville, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack.

Game added July 19, 2002. Last modified March 27, 2024.