The tale of three worlds. ZPF gameplay review.

A new SEGA Genesis/Megadrive game in 2025? You better believe it.

you might have read our previous article on upcoming SEGA Genesis SHMUP ZPF a while back. A brand-new game for the Sega Genesis. Yes, this isn’t just another retro-styled shooter; it’s a true Genesis game, built from the ground up to run on original hardware, complete with a physical cartridge, box, and manual andf or those without a Genesis on hand, don’t worry—ZPF is also coming to PC via Steam.

After being part of the Steam Next Fest, The fine folks at Mega Cat Studios send us a preview key recently to check out a bigger part of the game to get a feel of what to expect of the final release.  If the promo screen shots had not already captured your imagination, the atmosphere of the game is rich with color and captivating enemies, and these are backed by a great soundtrack.  The lore behind the game is equally colorful and before discussing the gameplay experience, we had let's dive a little into the story and the legendary heroes you will play in the game when it releases May, later this year. 

The Tale of Three Worlds and the Rift That Binds Them

The story of ZPF goes as follows: Across the vast expanse of existence, three worlds stand on the brink of catastrophe. Once separate, their fates now intertwine as a force beyond comprehension calls three unlikely heroes to battle. The rifts have opened, the balance of reality is crumbling, and the cosmic war for survival is about to begin.

The Kingdom of Arcadia – A Land of Magic and Betrayal

Arcadia was once a realm of wonder, where dragons soared, fairies wove spells of light, and even the most fearsome creatures of legend coexisted in harmony. But peace is fleeting, and greed is eternal. A powerful goblin tribe, driven by avarice, shattered the balance by plundering the land for its arcane treasures, plunging the kingdom into chaos.

Hope seemed lost until the return of Knight—a towering, ancient suit of enchanted armor, dormant for centuries in the ruins of a forgotten temple. Crafted by the gods themselves, it was built to serve as Arcadia’s ultimate protector. Now, with a brilliant young magician at its helm, Knight awakens once more to fulfill its divine purpose: to reclaim the kingdom from the forces of darkness.

Megalopolis – A Cybernetic Dystopia of Greed and Survival

In the neon-lit sprawl of Megalopolis, the future has gone off the rails. Corrupt corporations wage war in the shadows, automated war machines patrol the streets, and unspeakable things fester in the sewers beneath. It is a city where survival is a business, and nothing comes cheap.

Enter Gold, a battle-hardened cyborg with a sharp tongue and sharper reflexes. Once a promising mercenary, she now finds herself entangled in the endless power struggles of the city’s feuding elite. Her ship, a marvel of technology, came at a cost so high she may have doomed her cybernetic descendants to millennia of debt. But for Gold, the only way out is forward. Tasked with hunting rogue war machines, eliminating threats to the city’s fragile order, and occasionally cleaning up after the rich and reckless, she walks the line between necessity and destruction.

The Void of Deep Space – A War Against the Unknowable

The final frontier has become a graveyard. The remote human colonies that once thrived among the stars have fallen, consumed by an unimaginable horror. These xenomorphic abominations, ever-mutating, have left only devastation in their wake. What remains of humanity’s spacefaring ambitions teeters on the brink of annihilation.

But one refuses to go quietly. The pilot of Gladius, a lone survivor of a doomed colony, takes to the void in his last-ditch attempt at vengeance. The enemy is endless, his resources are dwindling, and reinforcements are nothing but a distant dream. Yet, with every shot fired and every abomination incinerated, he fights on—not to win, but to make the invaders bleed.

The Rifts and the Call to Destiny

Until now, these three warriors each fought their own battles, unaware of the others. But fate has different plans.

From the depths of existence, the rifts have torn open, merging realities into a single battleground. As the chaos spills forth, an ominous presence looms beyond the stars—a force neither of their worlds has ever encountered, beckoning them toward the Cosmic Nexus.

Drawn together by an unknown power, Knight, Gold, and Gladius must unite against an enemy beyond their wildest nightmares. If they fail, their worlds—and perhaps existence itself—will be undone.

The battle is set. The fate of the universe lies in the hands of three warriors who were never meant to meet. But together, they just might stand a chance.

Classic Shoot-'Em-Up Action with a Modern Edge

At first glance, ZPF looks like it was pulled straight from the golden age of side-scrolling shooters, channeling the spirit of classics like Gradius, Thunder Force, and R-Type. It features six large stages, each packed with enemy waves, minibosses, and screen-filling bosses that will put your reflexes to the test.

The preview build offered three stages and three playable ships each with different firing patterns and combat styles:

1. Gladius – A traditional spacefighter with a spread shot, perfect for covering multiple angles.

1. Gold – A high-tech craft that fires a concentrated energy wave, ideal for direct damage.

1. Knight – A flying enchanted suit of armor, attacking with sword beams and even melee strikes. (Because why not?)

Each ship offers a fresh approach to tackling the game’s chaotic enemy formations, making multiple playthroughs worthwhile, mix and matching different ships/heroes with the different levels.

Overall the ZPF manages to serve up a hefty challenge even for seasoned players. And while the first level might lull you into a sense of security, later stages crank up the difficulty, requiring precise movement and quick reactions.

Graphically, ZPF leans all the way into its "Heavy Metal-Future Fantasy" aesthetic with highly detailed pixel art, some fierce color saturation, and multi layered parallax backgrounds. The results are stunning and surreal, though the sheer amount of visual information can sometimes make dodging bullets a challenge, despite their large neon appearance. 

The soundtrack also delivers, making excellent use of the Genesis' FM synth capabilities to create a hard-hitting, energetic and psychedelic backdrop to the chaos. The bass is true SEGA crunchy, the percussion drives the action, the sound design perfectly complements the game’s intensifying pace.

Since ZPF was designed for the Genesis first, some old-school quirks come with the territory—occasional slowdown in busy sections, for example, just like you’d expect from classic hardware. While this is a nostalgic plus for purists, it’ll be interesting to if the PC version will see some performance tweaks or sticks with an authentic experience. 

That said, the PC version already plays well, and with a CRT filter option, which was not available for this preview, it could offer an experience faithful to the original hardware while still feeling at home on modern displays. I hope these kinds of features to enhance the retro experience added to the Steam version. 

As a preview, ZPF is already proving itself to be an exciting and well-crafted addition to the shmup genre. The full version, set to release in Q2 2025, promises even more stages, bosses, and refinements. Whether you’re a hardcore Genesis collector looking for a new cartridge for your shelf or a PC gamer wanting a fresh retro challenge, ZPF is shaping up to be a worthy SHMUP ( Shoot 'em Up for those unfamiliar with the term) 

To my utter joy as an older gamer, there has been a real renaissance in developer creating games for and within the confines of older classic hardware. The Genesis may be over 35 years old, but ZPF proves it still has plenty of fight left in it.

You can check out more of ZPF at this link