Light guns.
They were once the wondrous accessory which seemed to elevate our home computers and consoles
to new heights.
We'd played Operation Wolf in the arcades, but to experience this in the home was mind
blowing.
Of course, the in home experience never quite lived up to the arcade sensations, but these
accessories provided enough respite from the standard fare of game-play to rejuvenate the
whole experience and add an additional level of fun to proceedings.
Of course, these days, LCD televisions prevent most of these accessories from working.
They require the direct connection to a CRT television, so those white flashes of light
can be timed perfectly for reception by the light gun sensor.
Modern flat screens inhibit this direct precision, but it's worth grabbing a CRT just to re-live
these charming light phaser days.
In this short historical episode, I'm going to be focusing on one light gun in particular,
or at least a spin off of it; The Sega Light Phaser, designed for the Sega Master System.
A sturdy slab of plastic, which looks pretty menacing in it's all black aesthetic.
The later American versions had an orange cap added onto the end, to prevent confusion
with the real guns which are seemingly abundant throughout the country.
You don't want to be firing a Glock 17 at your CRT television, or likewise, attempting
to hold up a bank with your Sega Light Phaser.
So this orange beacon thankfully, removed any doubt from the situation.
Interestingly, the Sega Light Phaser looks very similar to the Amstrad and Mastertronic
released 1987 Sinclair Magnum Phaser, which would gain popularity with +2 game bundles
in 1989, and clearly it takes inspiration from Sega's model, released in 1986.
You might think they've been run from the same mould, but they're slightly different
in size and aesthetic, with the Sinclair model feeling distinctly cheaper to hold and use,
but otherwise performing the exact same job.
A gun which shares an even more striking appearance with the Sega Light Phaser is the Zillion
Laser Tag Toy.
In fact, the mould is identical.
But why?... and where did it lead?
Let's begin with Zillion.
Zillion was a Japanese anime television series which ran from 12th April 1987 to the 13th
December 1987, consisting of 31 episodes and produced by the people who would become the
acclaimed Production I.G with some episodes even scripted by "Ghost in the Shell" director,
Mamoru Oshii.
5 of these episodes were dubbed into English and released in North America on VHS.
The basic story takes place on the planet Maris in 2387.
A race known as the Nohzas have started a genocide program to kill all humans in order
to lay eggs and reproduce on the planet, however thanks to the appearance of some mysterious
guns collectively called "The Zillion Weapon System", their plans are somewhat thwarted.
Three soldiers, known as the White Knights... or disturbingly, "The White Nuts" post translation,
are chosen to operate these weapons, and so the fight plays out in this typically bizarre
story-line.
Now this is an Anime which had Sega tied in from the beginning.
In fact, the Anime was sponsored by Sega Enterprises to go hand in hand with the home video game
due for release on 27th May 1987; 1 month after the series first aired.
This sponsorship is evident from the fact the the gun used in Zillion is based entirely
on the Master System Light Phaser, even down to the trailing wire which connects the weapon
to your console.
It also features Opa-Opa, really the Master System's original mascot starring in the awesome
game, Fantasy Zone from 1986.
As well as providing kids entertainment, the anime had a dual purpose; The first was to
help push sales of the Master System and their exclusive Zillion game, in an attempt to try
and gain ground from Nintendo.
The second was to sell a line of merchandise released by Sega at the same time, including
an Opa-Opa toy!
One obvious question which may pop up with this knowledge is; Why doesn't the Zillion
game actually make use of the Master System Light Phaser, given it's seemingly obvious
tie in?..
The answer to that is given the Light Phaser wasn't actually released in Japan, it wouldn't
have made for very good sales.
But maybe Sega were hoping for a bigger impact when taking the Anime overseas to light gun
owning regions, where the connection could be made..... or, if the series was successful,
maybe Sega had hoped to launch the Master System light gun in Japan as well.
I can't be sure, but unfortunately, the anime failed to gain even enough interest to herald
a second series in even it's home land and therefore didn't really help with Sega's console
sales.
Over in North America, The Sega Light Phaser had been released in 1986, followed by Europe
in 1987, and bundled with Marksman shooting, Trap shooting and Safari hunt.
Although not available in Japan, it's anime tie-in would not be wasted, as the moulds
were re-used for the Zillion Laser Tag toy, released in Japan, Europe and Brazil.
The gun aesthetic fitted the show and of course, using a pre-moulded, Sega associated design
saved money.
Along with the series, the main merchandise didn't sell terribly well, but the tag laser
gun clearly proved the most popular spin off, especially in Japan, and was seemingly sold
for several years after the series finished.
*Japan had both the basic gun releases and JJ's upgraded Zillion gun.
Keen viewers might also spot that the gun changes in the latter episodes.
This is because Sega fell out with Zillion's creators, Tatsunoko Production mid way through
the series due to financial issues,; this being a further and possibly more pertinent
reason why the series was wrapped up early.*
The Zillion laser gun was released in Japan by Sega and in Europe by Matchbox.
This is the version I have, although as we didn't have the anime, it's not adorned with
tied-in box art.
Instead featuring 80s tron like packaging which radiates nostalgic feelings of electronica.
Inside the packaging of the UK version we have, the gun, a power pack, a target and
there should be an instruction sheet, but I don't have it...
Inserting 2 C cell batteries powers your err, power pack.
The gun then plugs into the power pack, and is ready for use.
If you're playing solo, then your objective is really to hit the triangle target, which
you can place anywhere.
This has 3 accuracy settings and beeps and flashes upon successful impact.
You could also get a counter accessory to plug-in and record your hits.
The range is actually quite impressive.
You can achieve 20 meters in daylight and about 30 in the dark, projecting a fierce
flash of white light on whatever it hits.
The box gives you some ideas for how to feel less of a loner using reflective surfaces
to mix up your target practice.
But the real fun was evidently with more than 1 person.
If you have 2 guns and are playing with friends, then you can wear the triangle clip somewhere,
on your belt maybe and fire at each other, just like a light gun game should be played.
You can of course also play with friends using one set.
In a cat and mouse type scenario where one person runs around with the target and the
other shoots frantically with the gun.
Something fun to play perhaps in a shopping mall, or down the pub when you're bored.
Over in Brazil, the Zillion light gun was released in 1988 and distributed through TecToy.
This in fact marks, the beginning of the relationship established between Tectoy and Sega which
would ultimately end up with Tectoy manufacturing and distributing Sega's consoles up until,
well, today really, with a limited edition, SD card ready Mega Drive released earlier
this year.
This relationship created a market which accounted for a substantial portion of Sega's console
share, selling millions of both Master System and Mega Drive consoles, which even led to
exclusive game titles for both consoles running into the late 90s, and a string of all in
one game machines.
Stefarno Arnhold, TecToy's then CEO has said in an interview that sales of the Zillion
pistol in Brazil were crucial to Sega closing the TecToy partnership.
The Brazilian tag gun itself, was based on the upgraded Japanese design, looking somewhat
more fanciful than the Master System Light Phaser mould... *although the Master System
and a TecToy version of it's phaser, would naturally follow in the region.*
Zillion didn't garner the success Sega had hoped, the game was popular enough to warrant
a sequel, with Zillion II launching in December 1987 in Japan, and arriving later in 1988
on Western shores.
Although this game does feel more rushed than the first, so maybe Sega just got it out there
because it was already half way through development!
Ultimately, however, it ended up forging an even bigger market than Sega had envisaged,
just in a different part of the world.
The Zillion light gun toy was phased out at the end of the 1980s, with the Sega Lock-On
guns picking up the laser tag batton from 1992 onwards.
Mimicking the experience of laser game venues like Quasar and Mega Zone, which were particularity
popular throughout the 80s and 90s.
I was always incredibly pleased when a party invite was a Quaser party!
Games were still being launched for the Sega Light Phaser into the 90s, helped in part
as it was bundled with many Master System packs throughout the 80s.
Proving it's niche popularity with those who sometimes enjoy pointing a gun at the screen
rather than dabbling with a control pad.
As for the White Nuts... well, I recommend you don't enter it as a search term on Google
these days.
Thanks for watching this video about light guns and Zillion. You can watch more documentaries by clicking here, you can subscribe, support me through Patreon or just leave. In any case, I hope you have a great evening!