Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Genesis)

Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Also known as: Zombies (EU/AU) Developer: LucasArts Publisher: Konami Platform: Genesis Released in US: July 19, 1993 Released in EU: January 27, 1994 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences.

Zombies are the least of your worries: Vampires, mermen, blobs, chainsaw-wielding crazies, and yes, spiders, are some of the more terrifying creatures that will also try to off your neighbors.

This neighborhood sucks.

Error Handler

Exclusive to this version of the game is a basic error handler. Handy! Use the Game Genie code ABTA-B92C to trigger a 68000 Error in the demo.

The complete list of error traps starts at 2D60 in the ROM.

68000 Bus error!
Odd address error!
Illegal instruction error!
Divide by zero error!
CHK instruction 
TRAPV instruction 
Privileged instruction error! 
Unexpected 68000 error! 
Reserved exception error! 
Error in normal task allocation!
Error in VBL task allocation! 
Illegal sprite frame definition!
Error in object allocation! 
Wrong task to deallocate object!
Invalid object to deallocate 
Error in add_pickup_item! 
Error in clear_disable_table! 
No more RAM matrices available! 
Bad generator to disable!
Stack overflow! 
Task did not deallocate object! 
Sprite update list overflow! 
Map update list overflow! 
Character update list overflow! 
Backobj update list overflow! 
Odd map address error! 
Zero direction usage error!

Hidden Text

USA
ZOMBIES ATE MY NEIGHBOURS (tm) Copyright (C) 1993 LucasArts Games Version: 4.4 SEGA 7/21/1993
Europe
ZOMBIES ATE MY NEIGHBOURS (tm) Copyright (C) 1993 LucasArts Games Version: 5.4 PAL 9/13/1993

This string is located at 0x279CA in the US version, 0x2799E in the European version.

Unused & Dummied Out Items

A few items and one weapon are unused, though unfortunately there's nothing unique about them besides their graphics. The Game Genie codes replace Player 1's starting weapon.

Banana

Game Genie code: KB2T-AAB6

The banana is functionally identical to the popsicle weapon, and uses the same graphics. In the Sega Genesis version, only the item's pick-up sprite remains. The SNES version contains graphics for the actual weapon and its HUD icon, but they were cleaned out of this version.

Paint Can

This paint can is used in the SNES version, albeit obscured from the player's vision, and acts as the flamethrower weapon's pick-up object. There's no flamethrower weapon in the Genesis version, so its appearance here is even more confusing.

Yellow Potion

Game Genie code: MK2T-AACJ

This is identical to the random potion. It's missing the question mark on the flask, but that's about it.

Miscellaneous

Items 5C and 66 point to the functionless Grey Potion and Machine respectively, at least in the SNES version. In the Genesis game, they don't even have any graphics in the ROM. So in this version, they're just blank entries with no icons and no purpose. Exciting!

Unused Level Bonus

This text appears in the ROM at address 987B:

MONSTER FROZEN
    BONUS

While partially coded in, this bonus was never finished. It would grant 1000 points when a certain number of Blob monsters are destroyed. The Blob monsters can only be destroyed with cold weapons.

Unused Passwords

The following passwords are treated as valid, and will start the player in the bonus stage "Curse of the Pharaoes". Once the bonus is complete, the game will display the message "Dr Tongue welcomes you to 55 levels of terror" before hanging. The first code gives you all ten victims, with each subsequent code removing one victim from the total.

QXTD JXTT RXTC CXTK VXTQ PXTL ZXTJ NXTW TXTX SXTR

Similarly, these passwords are for accessing the credit level. Once complete, you will be prompted to enter a name for the high score (if you scored high enough to have an entry in the high score table). One of the NPCs in the credit level will give you the code QSDZ for all ten victims, however the codes for fewer than ten victims are never revealed.

QSDZ JSDC RSDX CSDM VSDS PSDT ZSDR NSDL TSDK SSDQ

Unused Music

Zombies Ate My Neighbors contains one unused music track. Interestingly, it's actually different from the SNES' unused track, and takes up a different slot! It's track 01, which points to nothing in the SNES version.

Regional Differences

North America	Europe

The Chainsaw Maniac enemy was redesigned into an equally insane Canadian lumberjack in the European version. Surprisingly, it made the transition rather well, behaving identically in both versions. Some related sound effects and text (such as stage names and a bonus related to it) were modified accordingly. (e.g. the "Chainsaw Begone Bonus" became "Axeman Begone Bonus".) This may have been done to prevent comparisons with Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which was banned in England, West Germany, and other European countries.