Line #48 VideoGame/ZombiesAteMyNeighbors


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zombiesatemyneighbors_7103.jpg]]
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3	''Zombies Ate My Neighbors'' is your classic Zombie game created by Creator/LucasArts and published by Konami. Scores of B-movie monsters, from the eponymous [[FleshEatingZombie zombies]] to stock [[WolfMan werewolves]], [[{{Mummy}} mummies]], [[HockeyMaskAndChainsaw chainsaw maniacs]], and even weirder and more obscure beasties, have overrun suburbia, and two ordinary teens must race through maze-like levels to rescue all the neighbors before the monsters catch them. Huge levels, lots and lots of enemies, creative weapons, and tons of B-movie references abound.
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5	This game is basically a parody of ''VideoGame/DarkAdventure'', a previous Konami arcade game, and in turn had a SpiritualSuccessor in the form of ''Ghoul Patrol'', which was significantly less popular. Also inspired a later game loosely based on Myth/ClassicalMythology called ''VideoGame/HercsAdventures'' as well as the Platform/XBox360 game ''VideoGame/MonsterMadness''.
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7	[[http://www.slashfilm.com/horrorcomedy-zombies-ate-neighbors-development-based-90s-video-game/ A movie]] based loosely on the game was announced but it seems to have fallen into DevelopmentHell.
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9	It, alongside ''Ghoul Patrol'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg1_IC0a2mg comes bundled]] for the Platform/NintendoSwitch as ''Lucasfilm Classic Games: Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol''.
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11	----
12	!!This game provides examples of:
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14	* AbnormalAmmo:
15	** Where else can you kill a giant worm with kitchen plates, or destroy a UFO with soda cans?
16	** One gun from ''Ghoul Patrol'' gives you homing energy bullets.
17	%%* ActionGirl: Julie.
18	%%* AffectionateParody: Of pretty much every classic horror trope.
19	* AliensAreBastards: The Martians are out to kill Zeke and Julie and abduct humans for reasons unknown.
20	* AlienKudzu: A reddish/purplish fungus similar to the stuff from ''War of the Worlds'' is a type of hazard — it's spread by large purple flowers who are stationary but shoot purple goop at the player. The fungus can also spawn [[MushroomMan mushroom men]] who are actually ambulatory and will chase the player. The flowers can also spawn spikey red bulb plants instead of the mushrooms that are functionally the same but don't spawn Mushroom Men. All four of these threats fall pretty much instantly to the weedwhacker weapon.
21	* AllDeathsFinal: Once neighbors die, they don't come back. However, you can gain Bonus Neighbors once your score is high enough.
22	* AmbidextrousSprite: When Zeke is facing left or right, the blue lens of his 3D glasses is always the one closer to the camera.
23	* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The American cover features realistic zombies as opposed to cartoonish drawings of the games' sprites on the European cover.
24	* AncientTomb: A few levels are massive Egyptian pyramids full of mummies and traps.
25	* ApatheticCitizens: All of the survivors you come across either don't seem to realize, or care, that creatures from all kinds of horror imaginable are coming to devour them alive.
26	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever:
27	** One of the bosses, Titanic Toddler, is, well, a gigantic baby, who can stomp you flat or shoot milk out of its bottle at you. It becomes a normal (and rescuable) baby upon defeat.
28	** There are also giant snake bosses, Dr. Tongue's giant spider form, and giant ant enemies.
29	** Each and every boss of ''Ghoul Patrol'' counts, from a monster Franchise/{{RoboCop}}... [[BuffySpeak thing]], to a giant, flying samurai, knight and pirate. They also animate in Mode 7 and look pretty cool when you destroy them.
30	%%* AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: Enemies include giant ants, walking mushrooms, and evil dolls.
31	* BadassNormal: You know any other teenagers that can save 680 people, across the world, across time, destroy two globe-destroying monsters and their thousands of minions with nothing but squirt guns and whatever was in the kitchen?
32	** The chainsaw-wielding enemy ''might'' count as this. He appears to be a normal human except for his super-durability, and tendency to show up alongside numerous clones of himself, but both of these things can be explained as existing for the sake of gameplay.
33	* BigBad: A mad scientist named Dr. Tongue is responsible for the whole madness.
34	* BigCreepyCrawlies: The big ants from ''Film/{{Them}}'', as well as {{Giant Spider}}s of varying degrees of giganticism, all appear as enemies.
35	* BlackBlood: The red blood that oozes down the screen when your game is over by losing all your lives and by letting all neighbors die is recolored purple in the Super Nintendo release.
36	* BlobMonster: Recurring monsters from Level 9 onwards. They’re impervious to most attacks but weak against [[KillItWithIce popsicles and fire extinguishers]]. An obvious ShoutOut to ''Film/TheBlob1958''.
37	* BonusLevel: Six of them. Five of them are accessed by collecting a ? square in a level, while the last one requires all ten victims to be saved in Level 12. They're mechanically identical to every other level, but typically have unique and powerful weapons and items for the player to collect.
38	* BossInMookClothing: The vampires and the Frankenstein's monsters, mostly due to their high health. The former can also teleport, while the latter fires numerous bouncing projectiles. The chainsaw maniacs could count as a WolfpackBoss version of this, as they have high health too.
39	* {{Bowdlerise}}: The game was released in Europe as simply ''Zombies''. Also, the chainsaw maniacs became lumberjacks with axes, and any level title referencing chainsaws was changed to match.
40	* BubbleGun: The Martians wield ray guns that trap the victim in a bubble but don't kill them. The player can collect these guns to do the same thing. They can also be used to kill tentacles, mushroom men, spiders, and giant ants with one shot.
41	* ChainsawGood: The chainsaw maniacs, and any level that focuses on them — most of which feature this enemy type exclusively.
42	* ClassicalMovieVampire: A cloaked vampire appears as one of the tougher enemies in the game.
43	* ClownCarGrave: Most enemies spawn infinitely — which also includes zombies, who spawn by clawing out of the ground, and in a few levels, they have spawn points in graveyards, leading to this trope.
44	* CombatTentacles: One enemy type is just Purple Tentacle from ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle''.
45	* ContinuingIsPainful: Passwords don't preserve your weapons or lives. There's at least one [[GameMod ROM hack]] that tries to alleviate this by making starting equipment dependent on the RandomNumberGod.
46	* CoolShades: Zeke wears old-fashioned red and blue 3D glasses.
47	* CoOpMultiplayer: Both games let Zeke and Julie tackle the zombie menace as a pair.
48	* CreepyDoll: The killer doll enemies wield [[AxCrazy axes]] and announce their presence with a bloodcurdling EvilLaugh.
49	* CuttingTheKnot: Keys are limited and doors are aplenty, but if you got ammo left for your bazooka, you can blast down specific walls to bypass the doors and save your uses of keys. You can also do the same thing by using a monster potion and punching them or the walls down instead. Neither of these, however, work on skull doors.
50	* DarkerAndEdgier: The sequel took itself somewhat more seriously, at least in terms of visuals, which are surprisingly dark and creepy at times. The story is still pretty silly, and there are still humorous elements, like that one of the victim types you can rescue is an old man perpetually being electrocuted by a storm cloud.
51	* DeadlyDisc: The dishes.
52	* DecoyDamsel: In some levels the tourist neighbors will turn into werewolves after a certain amount of time.
53	* DevelopersRoom: The credits level takes place in Creator/LucasArts' office. George himself is even there!
54	%%* EasterEgg: See ShoutOut.
55	* EdibleAmmunition: Some of your weapons are food, such as tomatoes, popsicles and soda cans.
56	* Every10000Points: You get a bonus neighbor. If you don't have any dead neighbors, you get an extra life. If you have max lives (six), you get a "Perfect Player" bonus... which is [[BraggingRightsReward even more points]].
57	* EveryoneHatesMimes: The monsters all ''hate'' the inflatable clown decoys. You can use this to your advantage when trying to get enemies like [[DemonicSpiders the vampires]] off your back long enough to rescue the neighbors.
58	* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: As a big B-movie loving video game, the zombies naturally get the title.
59	* FishPeople: In homage to ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'', these guys show up as one of the faster and nastier enemies in the game.
60	* GameBreakingBug: It's possible for the cheerleader after the first fight with Doctor Tongue to disappear before you collect her, making the game unwinnable.
61	* GenericDoomsdayVillain: Done intentionally with the aliens, villains, and monsters. The manual states that Dr. Tongue unleashed the monster army unto the world, but it doesn't explain why. World domination or just ForTheEvulz? Likewise, some villains such as the Martians and chainsaw maniacs may be independent threats or possibly allied with Tongue for their own reasons... but really, the game doesn't explain what their driving motives are and it doesn't matter - it's all just meant to be a sendup to horror clichés, their presence can be justified by RuleOfCool, and they're all there to make sure you've got a big variety of horror movie villains to fight.
62	* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: It's AllThereInTheManual that Dr. Tongue is the BigBad of the game, but was any player expecting to first fight him in a non-descript attic level?
63	* GuideDangIt:
64	** The best weapon in the game, the Flamethrower, is a GuideDangIt in itself since it's in a very obscure place and is {{permanently missable\|Content}} if you bypass it. And it's only in the SNES version.
65	** Absolutely nothing tells you that the last form of Dr. Tongue is weak against plates; although once you found that out, it starts making more sense why Level 41 had so many plates strewn around the level to begin with.
66	* HockeyMaskAndChainsaw: The chainsaw maniacs are a hybrid of Jason from ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' and Leatherface from ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre''.
67	* HolyBurnsEvil: The cruc-- er, ''ancient artifact''.
68	* ImprobableWeaponUser: Squirt guns, dinner plates, cans of soda, fire extinguishers, weedwhackers, popsicles... all of which are [[LethalJokeItem surprisingly effective, too]].
69	* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Flamethrower. Able to quickly destroy just about any monster. [[GuideDangIt Good luck finding it in the one level it's located in.]] Playing the Genesis version? Yeah, you won't find the flamethrower, period.
70	* InventoryManagementPuzzle: TooAwesomeToUse? No, you'll waste too much health and time if you don't use it. You like to stockpile weapons? Good luck finding the plates when you need them right now!
71	* InvincibilityPowerUp: Drinking a "monster potion", regardless of the character you're playing, transforms you into a big purple beast that's [[NighInvulnerability impervious to damage]], and comes with a very powerful fist attack. The only notable difference is that when Julie transforms into one, she still has her hat on. There are also "Ghost kid potions" which turn the player into blue (presumably, ghostly) versions of themselves, who can neither attack nor be attacked.
72	* {{Invisibility}}: An effect of another potion. Only your shadow will be visible during this time.
73	* KungFuProofMook: Evil Dolls are immune to the Bazooka, as they duck under the projectiles.
74	* LightningBruiser: Half the enemies in the game are lightning bruisers! Werewolves, evil dolls, the squidmen, the chainsaw maniacs, all the bosses, the vampires, even the damn MUMMIES are surprisingly fast, durable, and can make getting to certain victims nearly impossible.
75	* LogicalWeakness: You can count on common knowledge to figure out enemies' weaknesses. Use the crucifix against the vampires, for instance, the weed whacker against the red weed, the silverware against the werewolves, and the fire extinguisher against the fire babies.
76	* TheMall: Three levels take place at a shopping mall; "Level 3: Terror in Aisle Five", "Terrifying to the Bone! Level 13: Chopping Mall", and "Huge Discounts on: Level 25: Look Who's Shopping".
77	* MarsNeedsWomen: The level that introduces the Martian enemies is called "Mars Needs Cheerleaders". No knowing what they need them ''for'', but the (all-female) cheerleaders are in fact the only neighbors type the Martians are after.
78	* {{Martians}}: Appear as enemies, most prominently in the above "Mars Needs Cheerleaders" level. They look like a cross between the "Mars Attacks" cards from the '60s (the ''Film/MarsAttacks'' movie wasn't out yet) and the ''Film/InvasionOfTheSaucerMen'' aliens.
79	* MilitariesAreUseless: Armed soldiers are among the survivors you need to rescue, and in the face of the zombie apocalypse are just as useless as the trope implies.
80	* MonsterMash: A whole gang of movie monsters terrorizing your hapless neighbors, including: vampires, werewolves, killer dolls, and of course zombies.
81	* MundaneUtility: Bazookas are as good of a door-opener/wall-smasher as they are weapons! Fire extinguishers can also... extinguish fires.
82	* NightOfTheLivingMooks: Armies of zombies compose the weakest enemy hordes in the game.
83	* NonStandardGameOver: If you let all of your neighbors die, the game is immediately over regardless of how many lives you have remaining.
84	* OneHitKill: Most enemies have a weapon they're particularly weak against.
85	* OpenSaysMe: Keys are required to open locked doors. Alternatively you can destroy the doors with either a bazooka or the Monster potion, but while it opens up previously inaccessible areas to you, it also does so for the [[ThereWasADoor monsters hunting the neighbors]].
86	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: You temporarily transform into a cross between a super beast with attitude and ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'' when consuming the monster potion. You're invincible while in this form. On some levels the tourists can transform into two weaker, but [[LightningBruiser no less threatening]], regular werewolves, if you take too long. Unfortunately, unlike the giant baby boss, defeating them now counts as a neighbor death.
87	* PermanentlyMissableContent:
88	** The Flamethrower is easy to miss on the one level it appears on, and it's only in the SNES version.
89	** The Son of Doctor Tongue only appears in his eponymous BonusLevel, and Purple Tentacle only appears in the first BonusLevel.
90	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Inverted with Zeke and Julie's squirt guns, although Zeke's gun is red.
91	* PoisonMushroom: One of the mystery potion's side effects is to turn you into the uncontrollable Mr. Hyde, who will actively hunt down and kill neighbors, and even your partner if you're in 2 player mode.
92	* ProHumanTranshuman: Despite transforming into giant hulking monsters via a potion, both Julie and Zeke are still able to [[SheepInWolfsClothing save any survivors they come across]].
93	* PurelyAestheticGender: There is no difference in gameplay between the two characters.
94	* ReadTheFreakingManual: Some weapons are obvious choices for certain enemies. Some — like the Bubble Gun vs. Giant Ants — not so much. The manual has a handy list explaining weaknesses.
95	* RuleOfCool: Zeke inexplicably wears a pair of 3D glasses throughout both games.
96	* SandWorm: ''Film/{{Tremors}}''-style ones, referred to as "Snakeoids", appear in a few desert levels. One of the toughest monsters to kill, and a SuperPersistentPredator to boot.
97	* SequentialBoss: The final battle with Dr. Tongue has him first transform into a GiantSpider, then a giant head, which itself has several forms.
98	%%* ShellShockedVeteran: Implied to be the reason the soldiers just stand there when an enemy draws near.
99	* ShoutOut:
100	** Entering BCDF as an opening password sent you straight to the ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' bonus level, themed after the video game of the same name.
101	** Level 5 is [[Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock Weird Kids on the Block]].
102	** Level 12 is [[MarsNeedsWomen Mars Needs Cheerleaders]].
103	** Level 14 is [[Film/SevenBridesForSevenBrothers Seven Meals for Seven Zombies]].
104	** Level 19 is [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Nightmare on Terror Street]].
105	** Level 26 is [[Literature/WhereTheRedFernGrows Where the Red Fern Growls]].
106	** Level 27 is [[Film/DancesWithWolves Dances with Werewolves]].
107	** Level 31 is [[Film/GuessWhosComingToDinner Look Who's Coming To Dinner]].
108	* SkewedPriorities: When you save the grilling neighbor, you get 105 points: 5 for the neighbor and 100 for the food he's cooking.
109	* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness: Averted. Many weapons you pick up have at least one corresponding monster that it will deal heavy damage to, [[OneHitKO if not kill them outright,]] and even the water gun you have as your starter weapon has decent range, a high rate of fire, and can rapidly gun down a few fodder enemies such as the zombies in one hit each, so it's surprisingly handy throughout the game as well.
110	* SprintShoes: The shoe item increases your speed. Often crucial for saving neighbors, especially the damned tourists before night falls.
111	* SquashedFlat: This can happen to your character if you get too close to the Giant Baby.
112	* TomboyishBaseballCap: Julie wears one, establishing her as a tough ActionGirl. She loses it in ''Ghoul Patrol'', though.
113	* TooDumbToLive: There's all kinds of monsters roaming about, but the neighbors you have to rescue apparently just don't give a damn, and are too busy hanging out in pools/barbequing/jumping on trampolines/etc. to even react when a monster is nearby. One victim is a soldier too scared out his wits to pick up the nearby bazooka and shoot some zombies.
114	* TookALevelInBadass: Zeke and Julie in ''Ghoul Patrol''. The monsters are far more demonic and take more hits before going down, so they switched the squirt guns for infinite crossbows, repeat-fire rifles, homing energy guns, and hot lasers (but no bazooka for some reason). The zombies themselves as well, they're considerably stronger and scarier looking and take four shots to go down as opposed to being weak as water in ''ZAMN''.
115	* TransformationSequence: Big purple beasts in ''[=ZAMN=]'', [[TheGrimReaper Grim Reapers]] in ''[=GP=]''.
116	* UngratefulBitch: No matter how often you rescue them from mortal danger, the teachers will ''always'' give you an "F" grade! [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And they're only worth 10 points when rescued, too.]]
117	* UnintentionallyUnwinnable:
118	** Very rare, but it is possible to get yourself stuck by running out of ammo for all your guns and wasting all the keys and not having a bazooka or potion to blast the doors down.
119	** It is also possible to get stuck by not having enough skeleton keys when the game requires them.
120	** The game's password system is badly flawed to the point of being broken and useless. This is because it tracks exactly two things: your current level, and the number of remaining victims at the time you got the password. It doesn't matter how well-stocked you were when you got the password; if you use it, you will ALWAYS start off with only 150 water pistol ammo and a single health kit. Naturally, with VERY few exceptions that are minor at best, the farther you go by entering a password, the more severe and unpleasant your starting situation will be. And given the extreme difficulty of the final four levels, starting from level 45 is effectively setting yourself up for failure as you'll be lucky if you're able ''just to survive'' to the final boss, let alone hoard enough weapons, ammo, and items to actually take both forms down.
121	* VersionExclusiveContent: The secret flamethrower can only be acquired in the SNES version.
122	* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Victims disappear for good once they die, so letting the monsters kill them is not advised, no matter how much more quickly you think you'll get through the levels. Oh, and if none of the victims survive the level, [[HostageSpiritLink it's an immediate game over no matter how well you're doing otherwise,]] so best not to make yourself hope that monsters don't score a lucky shot/spawn on your sole surviving neighbor for up to 55 stages straight.
123	* WeaksauceWeakness: Many of the monsters have a particular weapon type that is exceptionally lethal to them, allowing you to OneHitKill some enemies with the appropriate item. For example, Tomatoes are extremely toxic to Martians.
124	** Toxic blobs die in a single hit if you can manage to land a Popsicle on them. Additionally, they're the only non-fire-based enemy that can be killed by the Fire Extinguisher. (All other enemies will be frozen by the extinguisher and take double damage from all weapons, until the freeze wears off.)
125	** You can kill werewolves in a single attack by throwing ''[[SilverBullet Silver]]''[[SilverBullet ware]] at them.
126	** Pod Plants are, appropriately, easily disposed of with the Weedwhacker.
127	** The otherwise VERY durable Giant Ants die on contact with the Bubble Gun's projectiles, whereas every other monster is merely incapacitated temporarily.
128	** While the Bazooka works fine, throwing Plates at a Snakeoid takes it down just as well.
129	* WingedSoulFliesOffAtDeath: What happens to the neighbors who get killed.
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Context VideoGame / ZombiesAteMyNeighbors