Last week I promised you my favorite pro tip from my favorite game of all time. Well, for those of you who didn’t read the title of this piece, it is Zombies Ate My Neighbors from the Super Nintendo. It was also out on the Sega Genesis, but that means nothing to me.
There isn’t too much I can say about Zombies Ate My Neighbors without having you all play it. It’s a near perfect game. The levels get increasingly harder, adding more baddies. Aside from your normal assortment of werewolves, zombies, and mummies there are giant babies, football players, and cheerleader-obsessed Martians. Also everything from water guns to tomatoes to dinner plates to bazookas are weapons in game, and that was long before Dead Rising did all that.
It’s just amazing, so let’s leave it there. My Pro Tip is one that I picked up very early on. I believe I learned it in an issue of GamePro, a magazine I just recently found out is still a thing. I quickly memorized it and use it every time I play.
Pro Tip: BCDF
That’s right. BCDF. That is the code to unlock the Bonus Level, Day of the Tentacle in ZAMN. Besides playing against the Tentacles from the Lucas Arts game Day of the Tentacle, you also get access to two key items that will help you out for the rest of the game.
You get the bazooka in the bonus level and you get an extra life, which are few and far between throughout the game. If you save a bazooka shot for Level One you can actually unlock the bonus level again by firing said bazooka shot into a strategically placed piece of hedge. So if playing with a friend (the way to go for sure) you can each grab an extra life, something you will need when fighting Dr. Tongue.
For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about you should probably know that there were days before game saves. Yes, those were dark times and we had to play our videogames by candlelight because there was no electricity. And while Zombies Ate My Neighbors really should have included saves, it didn’t. Instead, every few levels you got a four-letter code where you could jump back to that point. Unfortunately you started off with only the water gun. Really it was worth it to start from the beginning to get all the cool weapons and potions.
OK, I’m done geeking out about my favorite game.
[Creighton DeSimone]
