Zoar

Data East USA’s Zoar, released in 1982, is a cooperative vertical shooter designed for two players. As pilots, you must navigate through increasingly challenging levels, blasting enemy aircraft and ground-based installations with your guns. Between stages, landing on designated air strips awards bonus points, adding another layer of skill to the gameplay. The action unfolds across an X and Z axis perspective as players fend off waves of threats including submarines, patrol boats, and larger airships. Scoring is based on destroying these targets, with valuable points awarded for taking down aircraft carriers and other heavily defended structures like missile silos. Zoar’s straightforward controls—an eight-way joystick and three buttons—allow players to focus on coordinating their attacks and achieving high scores. The game's design features a dual CPU system powering both gameplay and its sound effects, offering an engaging experience for two players simultaneously.