Out Zone is a
science fiction-themed
vertically scrolling run and gun game reminiscent of
Commando and
Ikari Warriors, where players assume the role of two cyborg mercenaries hired by the United Nations through seven increasingly difficult levels, each with a
boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further, in a last-ditch effort to overthrow an alien race from the planet Owagira from invading Earth as the main objective. Players fight enemies on foot, moving upward through the level, and are equipped with a number of
bombs at the start, which obliterates any enemy caught in its
blast radius, but
player characters are not rendered invincible for any time period after using a bomb. A unique gameplay feature is the weapon system; players are equipped with two main weapons at the beginning that can be upgraded by picking up to two "P" icons in a row and switch between them by picking up a "C" icon. The semi-automatic forward gun shoots forward no matter which way players move, but shoots three bullets in a slight spread each time the fire button is pressed, while the all-direction laser fires in the direction of movement, creating a sweep of bullets as the player character changes direction. The laser also shoots rapidly when tapping the fire button and each weapon is useful in certain situations, as players will often have to switch based on the enemy configuration. Other weapons appear on certain occasions as different colored "SP" icons to acquire, like a
flamethrower and a rotating energy ball capable of piercing walls. Another gameplay feature is the energy bar; similar to
Wonder Boy, players must remain aware of the energy bar, which constantly runs down at a steady pace and can only be refilled by collecting "E" icons scattered throughout the stage. The energy bar itself does not act as
health, as players can still be killed with a single enemy shot. Various other "SP"
items can also be picked up along the way such as
1UPs, a speed increaser, shield and an energy extender that increases the length of the energy meter. The game hosts a number of hidden bonus secrets to be found, which is also crucial for reaching high-scores to obtain extra lives, as well as cameos of characters from other Toaplan games such as
Flying Shark,
Truxton and
Zero Wing. The title uses a
checkpoint system in which a downed single player will start off at the beginning of the checkpoint they managed to reach before dying. Getting hit by enemy fire, colliding against solid stage obstacles, falling off the stage or running out of energy will result in losing a life, as well as a penalty of decreasing the characters'
firepower and speed to his original state and once all lives are lost, the
game is over unless the players insert more credits into the arcade machine to
continue playing. Although there is an ending, the game loops back to the first stage after completing the last stage as with previous titles from Toaplan, with each one increasing the difficulty and enemies fire denser
bullet patterns. == Synopsis ==