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52 / wfmag.ccDeveloper Profile / CompileZanac
NES / MSX 1986
Although built for 8-bit home systems, Zanac at
least felt like it could have come straight from
an eighties arcade: the quality of its music and
frankly ludicrous turn of speed set it apart from
other 2D shooters available on the NES and
MSX at the time. Its enemy AI – which became
more aggressive depending on the player’s skill- also made it frighteningly tough.
Gunhed/Blazing Lazers
PC Engine 1989
Essentially an unofficial entry in the Aleste
series, Gunhed (loosely based on a movie
released in Japan that year) brought Compile’s
fast scrolling and sweaty-palmed tension to
NEC’s console. The levels are unfathomably long
for some reason, but the weapons are absurdly
over the top (there are ten or so different kinds),
and the soundtrack’s an absolute stormer.The Guardian Legend
NES 1988
A hybrid of top-down, free-scrolling action-
adventure and Zanac-style vertical shooter, The
Guardian Legend took chunks of already popular
games – not least the open-ended format of
The Legend of Zelda and Metroid – and turned
them into a stylish and challenging sci-fi opus
that required careful mapping of its labyrinths,
and strategic use of your secondary weapons.Aleste/Power Strike
Sega Master System / MSX2 1988
A sequel to Zanac in all but name, Aleste shared
the same relentless difficulty and fearsome
turn of speed, while the studio’s affection for
complex weapon systems – and showers of
tiny upgrade capsules – really began to take
shape here. Thundering along to an angst-ridden
soundtrack, this and its sequel were among the
best shooters ever made for the Master System.Musha Aleste
Sega Mega Drive 1990
Yes, it’s another vertical shooter, but this one
arguably sees Compile at the top of its powers.
Musha Aleste unfolds as a baroque, relentless,
and faintly manic collision of high-tech mecha
and Japanese medieval architecture, and the
action here pushes the console’s hardware to
its limits. Yet again, the soundtrack – Toshiaki
Sakoda’s ‘Edo Metal’ – is a classic.Speed of Sound
A compilation of 10 Compile corkers
Fifteen years of games united by their speed and spectacular music
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