Zodiack

Pilots take to the stars in Zodiack, a cooperative vertical shooter released in 1983 by Orca, under license from Esco Trading. As pilots of the ‘Zogram’ spaceship fighter, two players must navigate deep space and eliminate waves of enemies while dodging celestial obstacles. The objective is to destroy eight 'Mitiohro' structures surrounding the enemy base, ‘Goke’, which triggers the deployment of enemy fighters called ‘Ahro’. After clearing all 'Mitiohro', players return their Zograms to the 'Battlestar-asat' base. A unique gameplay element involves observing the color changes on the ‘Mitiohro’ as gates open, signaling attack opportunities. Destroying ‘Ahro’ causes more of these structures to emerge from the enemy base, although they are immune to standard laser fire. Players can earn additional Zograms by reaching score milestones of 20,000 and 50,000 points, and a precision landing near the center of the 'Battlestar-asat' base yields higher scores. Zodiack offers a challenging experience for two players utilizing an eight-way joystick and single button control scheme.